PASADENA, Calif. — Caltech Athletics held its annual Student-Athlete Celebration on Sunday in Braun Gymnasium, honoring the athletic and academic accomplishments of Caltech's student-athletes and their teams as part of a dedicated ceremony.

The event recognized the immense success of Caltech Athletics in 2023-24, which saw over 20 athletes named to an All-SCIAC team, more than 30 athletes earning Academic All-District honors and a plethora of new school records broken across several sports. For the first time ever, Caltech outscored another school in the SCIAC's combined men's and women's category of the SCIAC All-Sport Standings.

Director of Athletics, Physical Education and Recreation, Betsy Mitchell, recognized a number of teams for their achievements on behalf of the department.

The men's and women's swim & dive teams received praise for each ranking No. 1 in the nation in grade-point average; Mitchell then commended the men's soccer team for earning four more points than they did last year in the SCIAC standings, which was an eight-point improvement over the 2021 season. The squad totaled six victories for the first time in more than a half-century.

The department honored the men's cross country team for placing third at the SCIAC championship meet, making it their strongest result in 41 years, while the women's basketball team was praised for tying the program record for wins against conference opponents, with six.

Mitchell then congratulated the women's tennis team – who secured a postseason berth for the second time in the last three seasons – as well as the Caltech baseball team, who beat MIT as part of its first-ever double-digit winning season since joining Div. III.

In the individual awards, the department awarded women's and men's winners in four categories: Scholar Athlete of the Year, Sportsperson of the Year, Athlete of the Year and the Director's Award, the latter of which is chosen by Mitchell.

 

Scholar Athletes of the Year

From left: Betsy Mitchell, Kyle McCandless

The department presented the Scholar Athlete awards to the senior student-athletes who have maintained the highest cumulative grade point average while also making significant commitments and contributions to their sports over their careers. This year, the award was given to Kyle McCandless of Men's Tennis and Cross Country, and Halle Blend of volleyball (not pictured above).
 

Sportspeople of the Year

From left: Noah Hicks, Betsy Mitchell, Cami Scantlin

Mitchell then presented the 12th annual Sportsperson Award, which goes to student-athletes who served as the best example of what a Caltech athlete should strive to be. This year, the plaques were presented to sophomore Noah Hicks of men's basketball and senior Cami Scantlin of women's soccer.

Athletes of the Year

First photo, from left: Ishaan Mantripragada, Betsy Mitchell, Rohun Agrawal. Second photo, from left: Emma Gurcan, Betsy Mitchell, Jana Woo

The Athlete of the Year awards were presented to the Caltech student-athletes who have made the most outstanding contribution to their teams during the 2023-24 year. The award is selected by vote of the athletic department staff from the team MVPs. Sophomore Ishaan Mantripragada of men's soccer and junior Rohun Agrawal of men's cross country and track & field won the men's award; senior Emma Gurcan of women's water polo and sophomore Jana Woo of women's swim & dive won the women's award.
 

Director's Award

From left: Hope Arnett, Betsy Mitchell, Andrew Pasco

Lastly, Mitchell presented the Director's Award, which is awarded to one senior from a men's team and one from a women's team who each have participated in athletics for at least two years and have made the most outstanding contribution to intercollegiate athletics as a whole during their career as a Beaver.

"In competition, they represent Caltech with poise, integrity and the spirit of competitive play," said Mitchell. "Beyond competition, they are stewards of the scholar, athlete and citizen model, displaying leadership, character and maturity," she said. "These are young leaders who understand and live the values of the NCAA and Caltech scholar-athletes, and they show us every day what it means to strive for excellence," said Mitchell.

This year's Director's Awards were presented to Hope Arnett of women's basketball and Andrew Pasco of men's swim & dive.

Dr. R. Michael Alvarez, who serves as faculty liaison of the Caltech men's basketball team, also shared thoughts as he discussed the strength of student-athletes at Caltech; head Cross Country coach Kelli Blake gave remarks after winning SCIAC Men's Cross Country Coaching Staff of the Year.



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