WEATHERFORD, Okla. – The SWOSU Athletic Department hosted the 2022-23 All-Sports Awards Ceremony on Wednesday evening at the Pioneer Cellular Event Center in celebration of the past year in Bulldog Athletics. Dustin Sanchez and Abby Hepper of the SWOSU Rodeo team were both labeled SWOSU's Athletes of the Year.
 
Other honors handed out on Wednesday were the Scholar-Athlete of the Year Awards, which were presented to Rachel Masson (track & field) and Mason Hart (men's basketball). SWOSU Athletic Director Todd Helton also presented the Cecil Perkins Service Award to Jim Loomis in appreciation for his long-standing support of the athletic programs.
 
Hepper (Keene, N.D.) has been a consistent Barrel Racing force for SWOSU Women's Rodeo having accrued a pair of wins this season at Oklahoma State and Kansas State and with seven top-5 finishes to her credit. For perspective, upwards of 170 competitors may enter into a given rodeo, and Hepper has finished no worse than sixth place in eight of SWOSU's nine rodeos so far in 2022-23. She has led the Central Plains Region in Barrel Racing nearly all year and is a strong reason why SWOSU's women's team also sits atop the region rankings. Hepper has competed in back-to-back College National Finals Rodeos (CNFR) and has eighth (2021) and third (2022) place finishes to her credit against national competition with her team finishing as Reserve National Champions in back-to-back years.
 

Year	Female Athlete of the Year	Sport	Hometown
1997-98	Kala Freeman	Golf	Arnett, Okla.
1998-99	Charlotte Pfeil	Softball	Moore, Okla.
1999-00	Charlotte Pfeil	Softball	Moore, Okla.
2000-01	Amy Kilhoffer	Cross Country	Elk City, Okla.
2001-02	Courtney Hale	Softball	Rush Springs, Okla.
2002-03	Ashlee Hamar	Basketball	Thomas, Okla.
2003-04	Ginalee Tierney	Rodeo	Broken Bow, Neb.
2004-05	Paige Adams	Basketball	Clinton, Okla.
2005-06	Rachel Ingram	Cross Country	Springfield, Mo.
2006-07	Rachel Ingram	Cross Country	Springfield, Mo.
2007-08	Grace Anne Fath	Basketball/Cross Country	Fort Smith, Ark.
2008-09	Stefanie Jones	Cross Country	Fort Smith, Ark.
2009-10	Stacey Creger	Softball	Mustang, Okla.
2010-11	Amy Outhier	Rodeo	Weatherford, Okla.
2011-12	Darcie Dick	Basketball	Cordell, Okla.
2012-13	Josie Price	Soccer	Calgary, Alberta
2013-14	Michelle Fisher	Basketball	Mustang, Okla.
2014-15	Ana Gomez	Golf	Michoacan, Mexico
2015-16	Carly Zak	Volleyball	Wylie, Texas
2016-17	Carly Zak	Volleyball	Wylie, Texas
2017-18	Hailey Tucker	Basketball	Bartlesville, Okla.
2018-19	Hayden Priddy	Basketball	Piedmont, Okla.
	Hailey Tucker	Basketball	Bartlesville, Okla.
2019-20	Tyra Aska	Basketball	Meridian, Okla.
2020-21	Makyra Tramble	Basketball	Shawnee, Okla.
2021-22	Makyra Tramble	Basketball	Shawnee, Okla.
2022-23	Abby Hepper	Rodeo	Keene, N.D.

 
Sanchez (Ignacio, Colo.) has been the top Bull Rider in the Central Plains Region nearly all regular season. Sanchez, who competes in an event deemed "the most dangerous eight seconds in sports," has taken home first place once this season and has finished within the top-4 three other times including a pair of second places. Should he win the region, Sanchez would become the sixth bull rider to qualify for the CNFR under Mike Visnieski and the first Bulldog to do so since 2019. The senior's best-scoring ride came in Durant, Oklahoma this fall when he scored 80 points in the long round. His most consistent weekend came at the Colby Rodeo when he rode both bulls he was paired with to take home the gold buckle. Sanchez transferred to SWOSU this year from Garden City Community College.  
 

Year	Male Athlete of the Year	Sport	Hometown
1997-98	Bobby Wechsler	Baseball	Elk City, Okla.
1998-99	Greg Jones	Golf	Edmond, Okla.
1999-00	Lucas Aslin	Football	Manhattan, Kan.
2000-01	Jet McCoy	Rodeo	Tupelo, Okla.
2001-02	Milan Pepper	Basketball	St. Louis, Mo.
2002-03	Justin Twyman	Golf	Elk City, Okla.
2003-04	Brian Hostetler	Golf	Arlington, Texas
2004-05	Brian Hostetler	Golf	Arlington, Texas
2005-06	Greg Koch	Golf	Burkburnett, Texas
2006-07	Mark Cole	Baseball	Perry, Okla.
2007-08	Chris Morrison	Baseball	Wolf City, Texas
2008-09	Ruzell McCoy	Football	Frederick, Okla.
2009-10	Jonathan Haggerty	Football	Dallas, Texas
2010-11	Jonathan Darby	Football	Santee, Calif.
2011-12	Clarence Laster	Football	Hemet, Calif.
2012-13	Shane Martin	Baseball	Weatherford, Okla.
2013-14	Rod Camphor	Basketball	Baltimore, Md.
2014-15	Devin Benton	Football	Arlington, Texas
2015-16	DJ Jones	Football	Oakland, Calif.
2016-17	Stefan Idstam	Golf	Marifred, Sweden
2017-18	Alex Pimentel	Baseball	El Paso, Texas
2018-19	Nathan Hatchel	Rodeo	Hennessey, Okla.
2019-20	Alex Bedard	Baseball	Levis, Quebec
2020-21	Alex Bedard	Baseball	Levis, Quebec
2021-22	Gregor Weck	Golf	Wiesbaden, Germany
2022-23	Dustin Sanchez	Rodeo	Ignacio, Colo.

 
Masson (Oklahoma City) is a three-year member of the track & field team competing in the throws portion of competition – mainly shot put and discus. She is a two-time Academic All-Great American Conference selection as well as a two-time Division 2 Athletics Directors Association (D2 ADA) Academic Achievement Award winner. She was also named a GAC Distinguished Scholar Athlete last season and is on track to repeat that recognition in 2023. Masson holds a 3.97 GPA in her Communications major.
 

Year	Female Scholar-Athlete	Sport	Hometown
2011-12	Madison Cabaniss	Basketball	Arapaho, Okla.
2012-13	SaRaya Oyler	Basketball	Beaver, Okla.
2013-14	Jessica Heard	Golf	Clinton, Okla.
2014-15	Brandy Mader	Volleyball	Nickerson, Kan.
2015-16	Kaila Lancaster	Volleyball	Hewitt, Texas
2016-17	Taya Haney	Softball	Leedey, Okla.
2017-18	Erica Brunet	Soccer	Brampton, Ontario
2018-19	Erica Brunet	Soccer	Brampton, Ontario
2019-20	Kaitlyn Dillon	Volleyball	Edmond, Okla.
2020-21	Makynna Koper	Track & Field	Weatherford, Okla.
2021-22	Allie Hoang	Volleyball	Plano, Texas
2022-23	Rachel Masson	Track & Field	Oklahoma City, Okla.

 
Hart (Pond Creek, Okla.) is a four-year member of SWOSU Men's Basketball, having made 72 appearances for the Bulldogs including 28 this past season as a contributing member off the bench. Just like Masson, he is a two-time Academic All-GAC selection, a two-time D2 ADA Academic Achievement Award winner, and was a GAC Distinguished Scholar Athlete last season during SWOSU's GAC Championship run. Hart is a member of SWOSU's Physics & Engineering Club and a member of the Rocket Dawgs – a high powered rocketry team on campus. He holds a 3.90 GPA in his Engineering Physics major.  
 

Year	Male Scholar-Athlete	Sports	Hometown
2011-12	Jeremy Soliday	Baseball	Greeley, Colo.
2012-13	Colton Rainey	Football	Lawton, Okla.
2013-14	Ryan Corbin	Football	Newcastle, Okla.
2014-15	Dalton Daniels	Baseball	Salina, Okla.
2015-16	Cameron Nix	Football	Carnegie, Okla.
2016-17	Cameron Nix	Football	Carnegie, Okla.
2017-18	Brandon Roe	Football	Choctaw, Okla.
2018-19	Brandon Roe	Football	Choctaw, Okla.
2019-20	Braden Sweet	Football	Perry, Okla.
2020-21	Brock Mason	Football	Tuttle, Okla.
2021-22	Gregor Weck	Golf	Wiesbaden, Germany
2022-23	Mason Hart	Basketball	Pond Creek, Okla.

 
 
Each team also awarded their Most Valuable Player awards. A list of those can be found below:
 
Volleyball – Lacy Mott, sophomore (Waxahachie, Texas)
Soccer – Sola Tsuruta, sophomore (Nelson, New Zealand)
Cross Country – Josilyn Schenk, senior (Piedmont, Okla.)
Track & Field – Delaney York, sophomore (Elgin, Okla.)
Football – Tylan Morton, graduate senior (Griffin, Ga.)
Cheer – Kaylyn Yancey, senior (Hydro, Okla.)
Pom – Abigail Rice, senior (Stillwater, Okla.)
Mascot – Ethan Haggard, freshman (Enid, Okla.)
Men's Basketball – Kamden Gipson, senior (Oklahoma City, Okla.)
Women's Basketball – Morgan Smith, junior (Plano, Texas)
Women's Rodeo – Abby Hepper, senior (Keene, N.D.)
   Horse of the Year – Sam, owned by Abby Hebber
Men's Rodeo – Dustin Sanchez, senior (Ignacio, Colo.)
   Horse of the Year – Rascal, owned by Marley Berger
Women's Golf – Drew Dodgion, redshirt sophomore (Guthrie, Okla.)
Men's Golf – Anders Strand, senior (Solrod Strand, Denmark)
Softball – Maddie Rahon, sophomore (Placentia, Calif.)
Baseball – Alex Rice, senior (Lenexa, Kan.)