Photo by: Kate Luffman/Texas A&M Athletics
Student-Athletes Honored at Ninth Annual Building Champions Awards
Apr 18, 2022 | General, Center for Student-Athlete Services
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Texas A&M honored its student-athletes at the ninth annual Building Champions Awards presented by Opportune on Monday inside the Ford Hall of Champions. Women's track and field's Jaevin Reed and men's swimming & diving's Peter Simmons highlighted the evening as they earned Distinguished Letterman's Awards.
Awards were also presented for various academic, service, leadership and athletic endeavors.
Distinguished Letterman's Award
The Distinguished Letterman Award is the highest award presented to a student-athlete once a year by the athletics department. The individual is someone who displays extraordinary talents in the areas of athletics, scholarship, leadership and service.
Winners: Peter Simmons (Men's Swimming & Diving), Jaevin Reed (Women's Track & Field)
Simmons graduates in May with a degree in mechanical engineering. Throughout his time in Aggieland he has been honored for his academic success and presence in the community. This year, Simmons earned the Craig C. Brown Outstanding Engineering Award, the Association of Former Students Buck Weirus Spirit Award and was named to the SEC Community Service Team for the second straight season. The TAMU Distinguished Student and multiple-time member of the SEC Academic, AD and Dean's List Honor Rolls has served as SAAC President as a senior after serving as the Vice President of Selfless Service as a junior.
Reed is a six-time First Team All-American and has 14 marks on the Aggie all-time top 12 performer lists. During the 2021 outdoor season, Reed was a contributing member to the SEC and NCAA Championships 4x400m relay team that broke the collegiate record. Off the track, she has been a member of the Maroon Coats since 2020. Reed also participated in the Mays Business School Reynolds & Reynolds Sales Leadership Institute and placed fourth in the 2020 Texas A&M Collegiate Sales Competition. The senior is also a member of the Twelve which serves as the captains for the women's track & field team.
Athlete of the Year
This award is presented to the top male and female student-athletes based upon athletic excellence over the past year.
Winners: Kurtis Mathews (Men's Swimming & Diving), Athing Mu (Women's Track & Field)
Mathews wrapped up his A&M career in historic fashion, becoming the first men's diving national champion in program history when he swept the springboards in his final collegiate meet. Mathews earned CSCAA Men's Diver of the Year for his outstanding performance at NCAA Championships and was named SEC Men's Diver of the Year for the second time in his career after reclaiming his 1-meter title and bringing home silver on the 3-meter. Mathews concluded his career in Aggieland as a two-time national champion, six-time All-American, medaling seven times at SEC Championships, including four SEC titles. He holds both springboard school records after taking down his own top score on the 1-meter to win his first NCAA title and setting the 3-meter record at the Air Force Diving Invite this season.
Mu rewrote the record book in her lone season in the Maroon & White. As a freshman she set eight Texas A&M records and six collegiate records. She concluded her collegiate career as a three-time SEC Champion winning the indoor 800m, outdoor 400m and outdoor 4x400m, and a three-time NCAA Champion winning the indoor and outdoor 4x400m and the outdoor 400m. Mu continued to shine on the world's biggest stage winning two gold medals at the Tokyo Olympic Games in the 800m and 4x400m. She claimed the 800m medal with an American record time and became the first female American winner in 53 years. For her efforts during the 2021 season, she won The Bowerman, which is given to the top collegiate track & field athlete, and won the World Athletics Female Rising Star award, which is recognized to the world's top rising track & field athlete.
Bill Erwin Scholar-Athlete of the Year
The Bill Erwin Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award recognizes a male and female student-athlete who balances athletics and scholarship while maintaining a minimum 3.25 GPA.
Winners: Macie Kolb (Soccer), William Paysse (Men's Golf)
Kolb earns her second Bill Erwin Scholar Athlete of the Year Award. The McKinney, Texas product was a force to be reckoned with both on the pitch and in the classroom. She dominated her academics, posting a 4.0 GPA in Biomedical Sciences. Her efforts earned Kolb Academic All-District 7 First Team recognition each of the last three seasons as well as earning Aggie soccer's Lafield Academic Excellence Award from 2019-21. She earned a spot on the Dean's List and AD Honor Roll every semester of her career at A&M, as well as being a three-time SEC Academic Honor Roll recipient. In her final go around in Aggieland, Kolb was key contributor, starting all 18 games on the backline and logging two assists. For her career, Kolb played in 73 games, registering 18 points with five goals and five assists as she helped the Aggies to an SEC regular-season title and NCAA Elite Eight finish in 2020-21 and an NCAA Sweet 16 in 2018.
Paysse holds a 3.805 GPA in Sports Management and was named a Srixon/Cleveland Golf All-America Scholar in August. Paysse has competed for the Aggies eight times in 2021-22 and has recorded four top-20 finishes including a tie for third at the Louisiana Classics at 11-under. He has helped the Aggies to two team wins as he donned the Maroon & White at the Louisiana Classics and Aggie Invitational.
Breaking Barriers Award
The Breaking Barriers Award is new to the annual event and was created to celebrate student-athletes and their dedication to fostering a culture of respect, inclusion, and excellence.
Winners: Patrick Johnson II (Men's Track & Field), Jordan Nixon (Women's Basketball)
Johnson II serves as the B.L.U.E.print (Black Leaders who Undertake Excellence) Recruitment & Retention Officer as well as the SAAC (student-athlete advisory committee) Vice President of Student-Athlete Development. The DeSoto, Texas, native, is the Director of Traditions Night which is a student-athlete led initiative that introduces incoming student-athletes to different buildings and monuments, as well the Aggie traditions. Johnson is also a member the track & field captain group, the Twelve, and a member of the Maroon Coats.
Nixon has been on the forefront of advocating for mental health and body positivity among student-athletes across the country. The New York native has written multiple articles detailing her journey with mental health and how she and others view her body. Those articles have been published by Andscape and womenshoopsworld. On campus, the Aggie started a podcast, "Beneath the Surface" or "BTS", that allows her and student-athletes at A&M to discuss who they are as people and how they view the world outside of sport. She helps navigate a conversation that allows listeners and viewers to get to know her fellow student-athletes as people away from the field of play.
Lohman Inspiration Award
The Lohman Inspiration Award recognizes a student-athlete at Texas A&M who has demonstrated integrity and tenacity in overcoming incredible challenges in pursuit of his or her education. This person makes a commitment to working with and learning from others, as well as being a good role model for others who struggle.
Winner: Deshae Wise (Women's Track & Field)
While growing up, Deshae Wise's mother, Rebecca, was essentially captured and thrust into the dark world of human trafficking. Often, Deshae didn't know where her mom was, while being cared for by those who cared little. Enduring the images of violence driven upon Rebecca, and never knowing for sure if survival was in their future. A child pressed on, with her mother.
She did attend school and the activities there served as a distraction. Basketball, Volleyball, Soccer. And she could run, Deshae had blazing speed. And after years in captivity, it was time to run.
When Rebecca's captor was making one final visit to family before serving a prison sentence, she grabbed her daughter and took off. She and Deshae ran far from the darkness, hoping to create a brighter future ahead. Their captor called and searched but it was to no avail - Rebecca and Deshae were finally free. Free to live a life far better than the one they left behind.
And Deshae still runs today, putting more and more distance between her and that childhood. That blazing speed that once served as a distraction, is at the forefront now as she is a hurdler for the Aggies. The obstacles on the track far simpler than the ones she's over come in life.
She persevered, showed strength, forged ahead and never gave up. She's an example that even in dark times, the light is out there to be found. And because if it all, she runs free.
Newcomer of the Year
This award recognizes a freshman or transfer student-athlete in his or her first year at Texas A&M who has made significant athletic contributions.
Winners: Henry Coleman III (Men's Basketball), Mary Stoiana (Women's Tennis)
Coleman III shined in his debut season at Texas A&M as he averaged 11.0 points, which ranked second on the team, and tied for the team lead with 6.2 rebounds. Coleman registered five double-doubles on the year, all of which came against SEC foes. He scored a season-high 27 points in the season-opener against North Florida. In the Aggies' run to the SEC Tournament Championship Game, Coleman averaged a team-high 15.0 points and 7.3 rebounds.
Stoiana made an immediate impact as one of the most prolific and impactful players in collegiate tennis in her freshman season. The Southbury, Connecticut native has won a team-best 29 singles matches with an additional 24 wins in doubles play. Stoiana has clinched 9 team matches this year for the Aggies on court three, helping to secure a third of A&M's program-record 27 victories in 2022. She has been named SEC Freshman of the Week for a program-record four times and logged the deciding points in A&M's wins over Arkansas and Missouri this past weekend to secure the team's first undefeated SEC season in addition to the 2022 SEC Championship.
Nye Academic Award
This award honors a male and a female student-athlete who has demonstrated consistent dedication to their academics by utilizing resources, improving their academic performance, always giving their best effort and having the discipline needed to be successful in the classroom while upholding the Aggie Core Values of Respect, Excellence, Leadership, Loyalty, Integrity and Selfless Service.
Winners: Tierra Robinson-Jones (Women's Track & Field), James Smith II (Men's Track & Field)
Robinson-Jones is studying University Studies Leadership with a concentration in Sports Management and Health. The senior treats everyone with respect and serves as a positive role model for younger students who are working with the Learning Center staff. Being the dedicated and committed person that she is, she has not missed one academic appoints the entire year.
Smith II is studying University Studies Leadership with a concentration in Sports Management and Communications. The senior has shown consistent dedication and motivation when it comes to academics, encourages teammates and other student-athletes to be their best in the classroom. He exemplifies Aggie core values when working with the Center for Student-Athlete Services staff.
Selfless Service Award
The Selfless Service Award is presented to the student-athlete who has demonstrated the greatest commitment to serving the Texas A&M campus and community.
Winner: Caroline Dance (Equestrian)
Dance serves as the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee Vice President of Selfless Service. The senior spearheaded the AggiesCAN food drive which provided over 40,000 meals for the Brazos Valley in the month of November. Dance also created the 'Sports Day Service Event' that allowed the Boys & Girls to visit Texas A&M athletics facilities, while educating the group on the importance of sports and developing leadership skills, discipline and how to promote a healthy lifestyle.
Team GPA Award
The team GPA award is given to the team with the highest grade-point average during the Spring 2021 and Fall 2021 semesters.
Winner: Soccer
The soccer team posted a combined 3.44 GPA for the Spring and Fall semesters in 2021. Leading the way included seven players named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District 7 Team. Lauren Geczik, Macie Kolb and Katie Smith earned spots as defenders while Kendall Bates, Kate Colvin and Taylor Pounds were named as midfielders. Ali Russell made it to the team as a forward. Texas A&M and South Carolina (District 4) led the nation with seven Academic All-District First Team selections. No other Texas school placed a player on the Academic All-District 7 squad.
Awards were also presented for various academic, service, leadership and athletic endeavors.
Distinguished Letterman's Award
The Distinguished Letterman Award is the highest award presented to a student-athlete once a year by the athletics department. The individual is someone who displays extraordinary talents in the areas of athletics, scholarship, leadership and service.
Winners: Peter Simmons (Men's Swimming & Diving), Jaevin Reed (Women's Track & Field)
Simmons graduates in May with a degree in mechanical engineering. Throughout his time in Aggieland he has been honored for his academic success and presence in the community. This year, Simmons earned the Craig C. Brown Outstanding Engineering Award, the Association of Former Students Buck Weirus Spirit Award and was named to the SEC Community Service Team for the second straight season. The TAMU Distinguished Student and multiple-time member of the SEC Academic, AD and Dean's List Honor Rolls has served as SAAC President as a senior after serving as the Vice President of Selfless Service as a junior.
Reed is a six-time First Team All-American and has 14 marks on the Aggie all-time top 12 performer lists. During the 2021 outdoor season, Reed was a contributing member to the SEC and NCAA Championships 4x400m relay team that broke the collegiate record. Off the track, she has been a member of the Maroon Coats since 2020. Reed also participated in the Mays Business School Reynolds & Reynolds Sales Leadership Institute and placed fourth in the 2020 Texas A&M Collegiate Sales Competition. The senior is also a member of the Twelve which serves as the captains for the women's track & field team.
Athlete of the Year
This award is presented to the top male and female student-athletes based upon athletic excellence over the past year.
Winners: Kurtis Mathews (Men's Swimming & Diving), Athing Mu (Women's Track & Field)
Mathews wrapped up his A&M career in historic fashion, becoming the first men's diving national champion in program history when he swept the springboards in his final collegiate meet. Mathews earned CSCAA Men's Diver of the Year for his outstanding performance at NCAA Championships and was named SEC Men's Diver of the Year for the second time in his career after reclaiming his 1-meter title and bringing home silver on the 3-meter. Mathews concluded his career in Aggieland as a two-time national champion, six-time All-American, medaling seven times at SEC Championships, including four SEC titles. He holds both springboard school records after taking down his own top score on the 1-meter to win his first NCAA title and setting the 3-meter record at the Air Force Diving Invite this season.
Mu rewrote the record book in her lone season in the Maroon & White. As a freshman she set eight Texas A&M records and six collegiate records. She concluded her collegiate career as a three-time SEC Champion winning the indoor 800m, outdoor 400m and outdoor 4x400m, and a three-time NCAA Champion winning the indoor and outdoor 4x400m and the outdoor 400m. Mu continued to shine on the world's biggest stage winning two gold medals at the Tokyo Olympic Games in the 800m and 4x400m. She claimed the 800m medal with an American record time and became the first female American winner in 53 years. For her efforts during the 2021 season, she won The Bowerman, which is given to the top collegiate track & field athlete, and won the World Athletics Female Rising Star award, which is recognized to the world's top rising track & field athlete.
Bill Erwin Scholar-Athlete of the Year
The Bill Erwin Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award recognizes a male and female student-athlete who balances athletics and scholarship while maintaining a minimum 3.25 GPA.
Winners: Macie Kolb (Soccer), William Paysse (Men's Golf)
Kolb earns her second Bill Erwin Scholar Athlete of the Year Award. The McKinney, Texas product was a force to be reckoned with both on the pitch and in the classroom. She dominated her academics, posting a 4.0 GPA in Biomedical Sciences. Her efforts earned Kolb Academic All-District 7 First Team recognition each of the last three seasons as well as earning Aggie soccer's Lafield Academic Excellence Award from 2019-21. She earned a spot on the Dean's List and AD Honor Roll every semester of her career at A&M, as well as being a three-time SEC Academic Honor Roll recipient. In her final go around in Aggieland, Kolb was key contributor, starting all 18 games on the backline and logging two assists. For her career, Kolb played in 73 games, registering 18 points with five goals and five assists as she helped the Aggies to an SEC regular-season title and NCAA Elite Eight finish in 2020-21 and an NCAA Sweet 16 in 2018.
Paysse holds a 3.805 GPA in Sports Management and was named a Srixon/Cleveland Golf All-America Scholar in August. Paysse has competed for the Aggies eight times in 2021-22 and has recorded four top-20 finishes including a tie for third at the Louisiana Classics at 11-under. He has helped the Aggies to two team wins as he donned the Maroon & White at the Louisiana Classics and Aggie Invitational.
Breaking Barriers Award
The Breaking Barriers Award is new to the annual event and was created to celebrate student-athletes and their dedication to fostering a culture of respect, inclusion, and excellence.
Winners: Patrick Johnson II (Men's Track & Field), Jordan Nixon (Women's Basketball)
Johnson II serves as the B.L.U.E.print (Black Leaders who Undertake Excellence) Recruitment & Retention Officer as well as the SAAC (student-athlete advisory committee) Vice President of Student-Athlete Development. The DeSoto, Texas, native, is the Director of Traditions Night which is a student-athlete led initiative that introduces incoming student-athletes to different buildings and monuments, as well the Aggie traditions. Johnson is also a member the track & field captain group, the Twelve, and a member of the Maroon Coats.
Nixon has been on the forefront of advocating for mental health and body positivity among student-athletes across the country. The New York native has written multiple articles detailing her journey with mental health and how she and others view her body. Those articles have been published by Andscape and womenshoopsworld. On campus, the Aggie started a podcast, "Beneath the Surface" or "BTS", that allows her and student-athletes at A&M to discuss who they are as people and how they view the world outside of sport. She helps navigate a conversation that allows listeners and viewers to get to know her fellow student-athletes as people away from the field of play.
Lohman Inspiration Award
The Lohman Inspiration Award recognizes a student-athlete at Texas A&M who has demonstrated integrity and tenacity in overcoming incredible challenges in pursuit of his or her education. This person makes a commitment to working with and learning from others, as well as being a good role model for others who struggle.
Winner: Deshae Wise (Women's Track & Field)
While growing up, Deshae Wise's mother, Rebecca, was essentially captured and thrust into the dark world of human trafficking. Often, Deshae didn't know where her mom was, while being cared for by those who cared little. Enduring the images of violence driven upon Rebecca, and never knowing for sure if survival was in their future. A child pressed on, with her mother.
She did attend school and the activities there served as a distraction. Basketball, Volleyball, Soccer. And she could run, Deshae had blazing speed. And after years in captivity, it was time to run.
When Rebecca's captor was making one final visit to family before serving a prison sentence, she grabbed her daughter and took off. She and Deshae ran far from the darkness, hoping to create a brighter future ahead. Their captor called and searched but it was to no avail - Rebecca and Deshae were finally free. Free to live a life far better than the one they left behind.
And Deshae still runs today, putting more and more distance between her and that childhood. That blazing speed that once served as a distraction, is at the forefront now as she is a hurdler for the Aggies. The obstacles on the track far simpler than the ones she's over come in life.
She persevered, showed strength, forged ahead and never gave up. She's an example that even in dark times, the light is out there to be found. And because if it all, she runs free.
Newcomer of the Year
This award recognizes a freshman or transfer student-athlete in his or her first year at Texas A&M who has made significant athletic contributions.
Winners: Henry Coleman III (Men's Basketball), Mary Stoiana (Women's Tennis)
Coleman III shined in his debut season at Texas A&M as he averaged 11.0 points, which ranked second on the team, and tied for the team lead with 6.2 rebounds. Coleman registered five double-doubles on the year, all of which came against SEC foes. He scored a season-high 27 points in the season-opener against North Florida. In the Aggies' run to the SEC Tournament Championship Game, Coleman averaged a team-high 15.0 points and 7.3 rebounds.
Stoiana made an immediate impact as one of the most prolific and impactful players in collegiate tennis in her freshman season. The Southbury, Connecticut native has won a team-best 29 singles matches with an additional 24 wins in doubles play. Stoiana has clinched 9 team matches this year for the Aggies on court three, helping to secure a third of A&M's program-record 27 victories in 2022. She has been named SEC Freshman of the Week for a program-record four times and logged the deciding points in A&M's wins over Arkansas and Missouri this past weekend to secure the team's first undefeated SEC season in addition to the 2022 SEC Championship.
Nye Academic Award
This award honors a male and a female student-athlete who has demonstrated consistent dedication to their academics by utilizing resources, improving their academic performance, always giving their best effort and having the discipline needed to be successful in the classroom while upholding the Aggie Core Values of Respect, Excellence, Leadership, Loyalty, Integrity and Selfless Service.
Winners: Tierra Robinson-Jones (Women's Track & Field), James Smith II (Men's Track & Field)
Robinson-Jones is studying University Studies Leadership with a concentration in Sports Management and Health. The senior treats everyone with respect and serves as a positive role model for younger students who are working with the Learning Center staff. Being the dedicated and committed person that she is, she has not missed one academic appoints the entire year.
Smith II is studying University Studies Leadership with a concentration in Sports Management and Communications. The senior has shown consistent dedication and motivation when it comes to academics, encourages teammates and other student-athletes to be their best in the classroom. He exemplifies Aggie core values when working with the Center for Student-Athlete Services staff.
Selfless Service Award
The Selfless Service Award is presented to the student-athlete who has demonstrated the greatest commitment to serving the Texas A&M campus and community.
Winner: Caroline Dance (Equestrian)
Dance serves as the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee Vice President of Selfless Service. The senior spearheaded the AggiesCAN food drive which provided over 40,000 meals for the Brazos Valley in the month of November. Dance also created the 'Sports Day Service Event' that allowed the Boys & Girls to visit Texas A&M athletics facilities, while educating the group on the importance of sports and developing leadership skills, discipline and how to promote a healthy lifestyle.
Team GPA Award
The team GPA award is given to the team with the highest grade-point average during the Spring 2021 and Fall 2021 semesters.
Winner: Soccer
The soccer team posted a combined 3.44 GPA for the Spring and Fall semesters in 2021. Leading the way included seven players named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District 7 Team. Lauren Geczik, Macie Kolb and Katie Smith earned spots as defenders while Kendall Bates, Kate Colvin and Taylor Pounds were named as midfielders. Ali Russell made it to the team as a forward. Texas A&M and South Carolina (District 4) led the nation with seven Academic All-District First Team selections. No other Texas school placed a player on the Academic All-District 7 squad.
Student-Athletes Summer Social
Monday, July 31
Traditions Night 2021
Monday, August 30
