Cullowhee, N.C. -- The Western Carolina Athletics community came together on Wednesday night to celebrate the incredible accomplishments of the Catamount student-athletes during the 2023-24 season-to-date with the department's annual A-CAT-EMY Awards ceremony.  

Student-athletes from all Catamount sports were honored for their performances this year as 27 awards were distributed for standout performances on the court, in the weight room, and in the classroom. In addition, members of this year's senior class across all Catamount sports received their stoles for graduation as they complete their collegiate careers.   

On Wednesday, WCU's women's soccer and football teams were the most well-represented at the 2024 A-CAT-EMY awards as the two Catamount squads combined for 11 awards, collecting six and five honors respectively.  

Led by the 2023 SoCon Coach of the Year Chad Miller, the Catamount women's soccer team finished with an impressive 13-5-3 seasonal record that included the program's third SoCon tournament championship since the 2008 season, and its second regular-season crown since 2001. It was the first time the program won both the regular season and conference championship in the same season in program history. The historic season was highlighted by eight shutout victories over the final 10 matches of the season that included a 7-0 edge in goal differential in all three conference tournament matches including a 1-0 victory over two-time defending champion Samford.

Soccer standouts Isabella DeMarco and Sarah Engen were named the A-CAT-EMY Award Women's Athlete of the Year and the Women's Comeback Athlete of the Year, respectively with Miller garnering the Women's Coach of the Year plaudit. The team was named both the Best Women's and the Academic Team of the Year for their efforts on the pitch and in the classroom. In addition, the team's victory over the Samford Bulldogs in the SoCon championship was selected as the best victory of the year.

Catamount football finished the 2023 season – the third under head coach Kerwin Bell – with a 7-4 overall record and a 5-3 mark in SoCon play, earning the most total and league victories since 2017 with the team's four road wins also matching the 2017 squad. The Catamounts led the NCAA FCS Division I football ranks in total offense with a school-record 5,545 yards of total offense, the only team in the division to average over 500 yards per game, and finished fourth in the country in scoring at 37.5 points per game. Ranked as high as eighth during the season – the highest ranking in WCU's NCAA Division I era – the Catamounts closed the 2023 season ranked 23rd in the final Stats Perform FCS Top 25 poll and were 26th, essentially, receiving votes in the final coaches tabulation.

A combined 14 Catamount football players landed on the All-Southern Conference team with five players receiving various All-America nods. Defensive lineman Jaquarius Guinn, wide receiver AJ Colombo and head coach Kerwin Bell earned individual honors as Guinn was named the Men's Iron Cat of the Year by the WCU sports performance staff, Colombo was named the Men's Scholar Athlete of the Year and Bell was named the Men's Coach of the Year. As a team, the Catamount gridiron squad was named the Team of the Year on the men's side while their thrilling, last-second victory on Richard McCollum's walk-off field goal over Chattanooga was named the Best Men's Win of the Year.  

Below is the nominating criteria for all the awards as well as complete lists of the award recipients and the seniors honored.  

Male & Female A-CAT-EMY Athlete of the Year:

This award is given to the most valuable student-athletes on their respective team, whose presence and performance make the greatest impact. The Athlete of the Year winners have typically earned the attention and respect of their peers in the Southern Conference and beyond with all-conference nominations or higher within their respective sports. 

Mr. and Miss WCU:

These awards are given to the student-athletes who best exemplify the spirit of the Catamounts in all areas possible. The award is given out based on success in all facets of a student-athlete's experience including academics, athletics, team leadership, and service to others.  

Male & Female Newcomer of the Year:

The winner of this award is the student-athlete with the best season performance by a freshman or first-year athlete throughout their season. The recipients show outstanding work ethic and performance while also playing a significant role on their team, showing experience and skill beyond what is expected for their class.

Biggest Victory Award:

The Biggest Victory award is given to the men's and women's teams that had the biggest upset, accomplished a massive goal, triumphed over a rival or fought against improbable odds to come away with the win.

Men's & Women's A-CAT-EMY Coach of the Year Award:

This award is given to the coaches who excelled at putting their respective teams and athletes in the best position possible to succeed, time and time again.  

Men's & Women's A-CAT-EMY Team of the Year:

This award is given to the team that displays the best overall performance in their season, standing out amongst the competition and earning the respect of their peers and competitors alike.  

Spotlight Athlete of the Year:

This award goes to the student-athletes who leave a great impact on their team, being a key component to the group's success despite not necessarily filling the stat sheet.  

Community Service Award:

Goes to the team that leaves the greatest impact on their community, proportionate to their roster size.  

WCU Staff and Faculty Member of the Year Award:

Two respective awards are given out to the WCU staff and faculty members who went above and beyond in helping our student-athletes become the best they can be.  

Iron Cat Award:

Awarded by WCU's sports performance staff, this honor goes to both the male and female student-athletes who demonstrate the ultimate strength in the weight room.  

The Tik-Tok Award:

As the name suggests, this relatively new award goes to the team that produced the best Tik-Tok content and is voted on by the student-athletes in the crowd at the A-CAT-EMY Awards.  

The Academic Team of the Year Award is given to the team with the best cumulative GPA.  

Presented by Prospect Cullowhee, the Back the Cats Award is given to the WCU team that receives the highest number of points for the year by supporting their fellow student-athletes and rooting for the overall success of Catamount Athletics.  

2023-24 Award Winners: 

Spotlight Athlete – Female: Victoria Ladd, women's golf / Male: Russell Jones Jr., men's basketball

Iron Cat – Female: Lauren Esselborn, track & field / Male: Jaquarius Guinn, football 

Comeback Athlete – Female: Sarah Engen, women's soccer / Male: Calvin Jones, football 

Community Service Award – Men's Golf team 

Mr. & Miss – Mr.: Russell Jones Jr., men's basketball / Miss: Kayleigh Baker, women's golf 

Staff of the Year – Arman Jones, Athletics Academic Advisor

Faculty of the Year – Dr. Alex Macaulay, Faculty Athletics Rep 

Newcomer of the Year – Female: Lily Bell / Male: Jace Butcher 

Academic Team of the Year: Women's Soccer - (Team GPA - 3.766) 

Coach of the Year – Female: Chad Miller, women's soccer / Male: Kerwin Bell, football 

Team TikTok – Catamount Cheerleading 

Team of the Year – Female: Women's Soccer / Male: Football 

Best Victory – Female: Women's Soccer SoCon win over Samford / Male: Football win at UTC 

Scholar Athlete of the Year: Female: Brie Mapano / Male: AJ Colombo

A-Cat-Emy Athlete of the Year – Female: Isabella Demarco, women's soccer / Male: Vonterius Woolbright, men's basketball

Back the Cats – Women's Tennis 

2023-24 WCU Graduating Seniors:

Teddy Ayden – Track and Field                                             Paige McAra – Women's Soccer 

Nicole Azar – Women's Basketball                                        David Miles – Track and Field 

Kayleigh Baker – Women's Golf                                            Gavin Mortenson – Baseball 

Savannah Baldwin – Softball                                                 Drew Needham – Baseball 

Clayton Bardall – Football                                                      Micah Nelson – Football 

Lonasia Brewer – Women's Basketball                                 Erica O'Neal - Track and Field

Naomi Campbell – Women's Soccer                                     Magnus Pederson – Men's Golf

Riley Center – Track and Field                                             Cannon Pickell – Baseball

Marissa Clontz – Cheer                                                       Eden Punch – Volleyball  

Clay Cox – Baseball                                                            Eden Reece – Women's Soccer

Derica Currie – Track and Field                                           Giovanni Ricciardi – Football 

Andrew Edney – Track and Field; Cross Country                Malik Richardson – Football 

Sarah Engen – Women's Soccer                                         Kyle Riesselmann – Baseball

Amber Featherson – Track and Field                                   Kamar Robertson – Men's Basketball 

Julia Gardon – Volleyball                                                     Clara Root – Track and Field; Cross Country

Colin Granger – Men's Basketball                                        Mikayla Roseman – Women's Soccer

Kyle Harbison – Baseball                                                     Sydney Runyan – Track and Field; Cross Country

Pablo Hernandez – Men's Golf                                             Ali Schreiber – Volleyball

Charles Lampten – Men's Basketball                                    Cade Snotherly – Football  

Cole Jones – Baseball                                                          Jack Spyke – Baseball

Russel Jones Jr. - Men's Basketball                                      Nate Stocum – Baseball

Zach Ketterman – Baseball                                                   Jonathan Todd – Baseball

Ewa Kielar – Women's Basketball                                         Bailey Trumm – Women's Basketball

Becca Kilpatrick – Cheer                                                       Mikayla Turner – Track and Field

Nicholas Kiser – Track and Field; Cross Country                 Dante Visconti – Baseball 

Carson Lowder – Baseball                                                   Livi Weidmann – Volleyball