HILO, Hawai`i—Softball standout
Bailey Gaspar was named the Female Athlete of the Year, baseball star
Phillip Steering was named the Male Athlete of the Year and the Vulcan men's tennis team was selected as the UH Hilo Team of the Year during the 2017-18 All-Sports Banquet held on Thursday night at the Nani Mau Gardens.
Over 300 UH Hilo student-athletes, coaches, staff and supporters filled the room to honor the Vulcan senior class and the award winners.
Gaspar, a senior who also won the award as a sophomore, will leave the Vulcan program with a number of school records in her possession. With two games still to play, she has tied her own single-season mark with 14 home runs, and is the career record holder with 34. She is hitting .399 and leads the Vulcans with 45 runs scored, 47 RBI and a slugging percentage of .762. She has hit three walk-off home runs this season, and the third baseman is sure to garner a number of post-season awards when they are announced in the coming weeks.
Steering, a senior first baseman, will also have his name etched into Vulcan lore in a number of categories. Like Gaspar, he owns the single-season Vulcan home run record with 10 and leads his team in a number of offensive categories, including batting average (.368), runs scored (35), doubles (13), triples (2), home runs, RBI (35), slugging percentage (.694) and stolen bases (9). When the season is completed in two weeks, more awards are sure to come his way as well.
The UH Hilo men's tennis team, under head coach
Tina McDermott, is advancing to the NCAA Championships for only the second time in school history. The Vulcans finished second at the Pacific West Conference tournament and have already won a NCAA Preliminary Round match, defeating Point Loma (5-3) in Kona last Monday. They will take a 17-2 record to Arizona next week for the national tournament, where they will play Indianapolis in the first round on Wednesday.
The senior class from each sport was honored, with a representative speaking from each team. Additionally, a Pono Vulcan was selected by his or her teammates—Pono meaning righteous and inspirational. Other awards given included the Sakai and Harue Wakakuwa Female Scholar Athlete of the Year (
Anna Baker Mikkelsen, cross country), the Joe and Harriet Estrella Male Scholar Athlete of the Year (
Micah Carter, baseball), the Community Engagement/Service Award (men's and women's tennis), and the Ramon Goya Academic Team of the Year (women's golf).
"This is one of our great nights of the year," said Athletic Director
Patrick Guillen. "It's an honor to share the accomplishments of our student-athletes with our staff, coaches, sponsors and booster club members. We are proud of all that they have accomplished this year."
Here follows a list of awards that were announced on Thursday evening.
- Kokua Award/Volunteer of the Year: Terry Yagihara
- Vulcan Athletic Club Booster of the Year: Ashley Yamamoto.
- Community Engagement and Service Award: Men's and Women's Tennis
- Sakai and Harue Wakakuwa Female Scholar Athlete of the Year: Anna Baker Mikkelsen, cross country.
- Joe and Harriet Estrella Male Scholar Athlete of the Year: Micah Carter, baseball.
- Ramon Goya Academic Team of the Year: Women's Golf.
- Male Athlete of the Year: Phillip Steering
- Female Athlete of the Year: Bailey Gaspar
- Vulcan Team of the Year: Men's Tennis (Coach Tina McDermott)
The following student-athletes were honored as having the highest accumulative grade point average on their team.
The following student-athletes were selected as Pono Vulcans by their teammates.
