Cadet-athletes that competed on one of Cal Maritime's six fall teams — men's cross country, women's cross country, rugby, men's soccer, women's soccer and men's water polo — were honored for their academic and athletic excellence when the Department of Athletics and Physical Education hosted its second-annual Fall Athletics Banquet, on December 10 inside the Compass Room.

"I cannot tell you how proud I am of every Cal Maritime cadet-athlete," said Director of Athletics Karen Lee Yoder. "In addition to their rigorous academic workload, cadet-athletes work hard to maintain a successful balance, throughout the entire semester, with their athletic commitments. I commend everyone for succeeding in the classroom and in competition, while representing the campus community in a first-class manner at all times, as a university ambassador."

After President Thomas A. Cropper welcomed members of the campus community to this new Athletics tradition, head coaches from all six sports shared respective season recaps and presented sport-specific accolades.

As the inaugural team to take the podium, head coach Steve Hiatt bestowed the Best Teammate Award to Colby Glaze, the Machado Award (given to the team's defensive MVP) to Dominic Jenevein and Team MVP honors to Jerry McLarnon.

Head Women's Soccer Coach Emily Scheese followed Hiatt and presented the program's Keelhauler Leadership Award to Vonne Ng-Bader, the Coach's Award to Kate Dabrow and MVP accolades to Maddy Dack. As the head coach for the men's team and assistant coach for the women's squad, Mike Carvalho shared similar honors to Nathan Witte, José Diaz and Noah Anderson, respectively.

Head Men's and Women's Cross Country Coach Jeff Ward chose a similar format for both of his teams: Reid Zieber and Mele Tuimaunei received the Coach's Award with Mickey Lapinski and Julia Mast earning Team MVP honors.

Head Men's Water Polo Coach Steve Doten presented the final set of team-specific accolades to Ian Healy, who received the Outstanding Teammate Award, Spencer Powley, the program's Coach's Award selection and Aron Cameron, recipient of the Leadership Award.

The next portion of the evening focused on the Champions of Character program, which celebrates the teamwork and dedication of cadets, coaches, and staff to integrate the pillars of the NAIA's Champions of Character program, with Cal Maritime's values, in the classroom, community and competition. 

The Champions of Character program helps participants find the balance by keeping five core values — integrity, respect, responsibility, sportsmanship and servant leadership — at the heart of the athletics experience.  

Since Cal Maritime's 15 programs are sponsored by numerous governing bodies, Athletics recognized six individuals, one from each team, who best embodied those five values and served as role models within respective programs.

Cal Maritime Champions of Character selections included Sarai Alonso (women's cross country), Harry Bragg (men's cross country), Maddy Dack (women's soccer), Levi DeVries (men's water polo), Ronald Squier (men's soccer) and Justin Zmina (rugby).

As was the case during last year's fall and winter-spring banquets, Yoder presented an athletics slideshow created by men's golf cadet-athlete Ryan Bean — another compilation that elicited cheers and applause from the inaugural image to the final credit.

Balancing academic coursework and athletic responsibilities is a tough challenge for any athlete, let alone one who is earning a highly-coveted degree at the No. 1 institution among western public colleges by U.S. News and World Report in its Best Colleges survey. This is why Yoder shared the next set of awards with Keelhauler Pride and enthusiasm, since it highlighted cadet-athletes who held a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or above, following one full year of coursework at Cal Maritime, when the banquet commenced.

On behalf of the department, Yoder bestowed the Keelhauler Academic Award to the following individuals:

Men's Cross Country: Nolan Bronstrup, David Rico, Andrew Scannell and Reid Zieber
Men's Soccer: Josh Kuiper, Jasen Nicolas, Kai Saunders and Nathan Witte
Men's Water Polo: Marcos Ortega, Spencer Powley and Jack Williams
Rugby: Matthew Ettlin-Loveton
Women's Cross Country: Sarai Alonso, Raven and Safari Frisell
Women's Soccer: Kate Dabrow

A fun-filled and memorable evening concluded with the banquet's final awards, Co-Cadet-Athletes of the Fall, received by Dack (women's soccer) and Zieber (men's cross country).

Dack, a mechanical engineering license track cadet named Co-Cadet of the Fall at last year's banquet, started and played every possible minute this past season.

Currently a Cadet Housing Director, Dack was named the program's captain by her teammates and ended her senior year by earning All-Cal Pac Conference Second team accolades — the second time conference officials recognized her on-field talents and contributions throughout her Cal Maritime career.

Dack finished with 260 saves in 2022, the second-highest total among all NAIA goalkeepers; this is now the No. 1 single-season total in program and Cal Pac Conference history. For her career, the Brea, California native collected 440 saves to set another pair of all-time school and league records.

Said Coach Scheese, "She played a central role in the growth of our program since she stepped on campus her freshman year. The best players you come across in your coaching career are those who lead with passion and inspire others; they help you learn and grow every day; they come into your life and lead you, not just on the field but off it as well and help you become a better person. Maddy has been that to me."

Zieber, a four-year mechanical engineering (licensed track) cadet-athlete, served in the role of team captain for the men's cross country program in 2022.

The two-time Cal Pac All-Academic Team selection also earned Cal Maritime's President's List distinction every semester throughout his undergraduate career by possessing a cumulative GPA of 3.75 or higher; this is presented to cadets who excel academically and earned the university's most prestigious academic honor.

Not only is Zieber an executive officer who is second in command within Cal Maritime's Strategic Sealift Officer Program, he holds additional roles as ASCMA Chair of the Board (the university's student government organization) and Cal Maritime Running Club President.

Said Coach Ward, "When I think of the ideal cadet-athlete, Reid is it. As someone who leads by example, he is someone I hope future cadets emulate.

"I respect how he handles every task or challenge faced with an uncommon level of commitment. I admire his passion and willingness to help his teammates and other cadets succeed, as evident by the numerous leadership positions he holds. Reid's enthusiasm for the cross country program, and campus community, is what makes him the perfect example of what the Cal Maritime experience is all about."

Yoder and her department will host another banquet on April 25 l to celebrate the accomplishments of cadet-athletes whose teams compete in the winter and/or spring.

FALL 2022 ATHLETICS SLIDESHOW