Glendale, Ariz.- On Monday, Arizona Christian University Athletics celebrated their achievements from the 2025-26 athletic year by hosting the 13th annual Westphal Athletic Awards at the Haven Church.  Athletes and coaches were recognized for their service, character, and success on the field or court with 17 awards or recognition from Female Firestarter to the prestigious Paul Westphal Award.

After closing the awards gala the last several years, Director of Athletics and Dean of Students Dr. Peter Dryer opened the show with quick reflections about the 2025-26 athletic year.  Dynamic Strength Training Director of Performance Rick Gannon started the awards portion by announcing the Female and Male Firestarter Awards.  The fourth award of the evening- Newcomer of the Year- was the new award on the program schedule.

Arizona Christian Board Member Don King was on hand to enthusiastically give out the Inspirational Award bearing his name.  Award winners from previous years- Brent Smith and Assistant Athletic Director Emily Harris - returned to announce the Mike Lusardi Award winner.  Travis Turner, ACU Campus Pastor, and Randy Chambers, ACU Transformation Coach, honored ten student-athletes as members of the Champions of Faith.

New to the recognition lineup was the Cliff Hamlow Champion of Character Award recipients presented by the Great Southwest Athletic Conference (GSAC).  The GSAC honors one male and one female from every member institution annually.

The last newcomer to the evening was the Team of Character Recognition.   In recent years, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has started to select a Team of Character from a pool submitted by all the conferences.  The Arizona Christian team nomination to the GSAC will be announced going forward at the Westphal Awards.

For the final award of the night, the Paul Westphal Award (aka best teammate), Cindy Westphal and Men's Basketball Head Coach Jeff Rutter presented Manny Valenzuela from men's track & field as winner number 13 of the prestigious award.  

The 2026 Westphal Athletic Award winners are:
Female Firestarter- Becca Thomson (Women's Volleyball)
Male Firestarter- Cooper Craig (Football)
Breakthrough Performance- Jason Ramirez (Men's Wrestling)
Newcomer of the Year- Kayla McNatt (Women's Wrestling)
Best Game- Hannah Jyawook (Women's Swimming)
Comeback Athlete of the Year- Emmi Jacobus (Women's Volleyball)
Tim Reed Service Award- Mariah Hall (Dance)
Don King Inspirational Award- Tayler Wonderly (Women's Soccer)
Mike Lusardi Award- Phil Carlisle (Men's/Women's Tennis Coach)
Best Play- Mikayla Navarro/CC Maccagnano (Flag Football)
Team of the Year- Softball
Female Athlete of the Year- Emily Till (Women's Basketball)
Male Athlete of the Year- Hugo Abril (Men's Tennis)
Paul Westphal Award- Manny Valenzuela (Men's Track & Field)

Champions of Faith Recipients
Mark Blodgett (Men's Basketball), Kaden Clute (Baseball), Shelby Emich (Women's Volleyball), Brady Ferris (Football/Men's Track & Field), Tanner Johnson (Men's Track & Field), Brady Lambrecht (Men's Cross Country), Sierra Lauko (Softball), Trenady Newman (STUNT), Alyssa Robles (Beach Volleyball), Audrey Washburn (Women's Swimming)

Cliff Hamlow Champion of Character Recipients
Kaesha Guillaume (Women's Cross Country/ Track & Field)
Logan Johnson (Men's Soccer)

Team of Character Recipient
Baseball

Congratulations to all the Westphal winners, recipients, and nominees!

Roll Storm!