Photo by: Mike Denison
Oregon State Hands Out 2018 Benny’s
May 30, 2018 | General
Gulich and Dhesi take top honors
CORVALLIS, Ore. – Marie Gulich and Amarveer Dhesi took home top honors at the 20th annual Benny's Tuesday evening. The end-of-the-year celebration commemorated the achievements of Oregon State student-athletes over the course of the 2017-18 academic year.
Gulich earned Female Athlete of the Year honors, after earning All-America honors and making the All-Pac-12 Team for the second-straight year. The 6-foot-5 German center becomes the fourth-straight women's basketball player to take the Benny for Female Athlete of the Year, joining Ruth Hamblin, Jamie Weisner and Sydney Wiese. Gulich helped lead the Beavers to the Elite Eight, as the team reached the Sweet 16 for the third-straight season.
Dhesi was named Male Athlete of the Year, after earning All-America honors this season - finishing third in the nation in his weight class, the highest finish by a Beaver since 1998. A heavyweight from British Columbia, Dhesi went 25-4 this past season capturing the Pacific-12 conference championship. He also earned a Benny for Male Athlete of the Year in 2016 after he was tabbed as Pac-12 Wrestler of the Year that season.
Gymnast Kaitlyn Yanish was honored as Female Newcomer of the Year. The freshman was an All-Pac-12 Second Team selection, finished the regular season ranked 16th in the nation in the floor exercise and was named to the Regular Season All-America Second Team by the National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches/Women (NACGC/W).
Ethan Thompson notched Male Newcomer of the Year honors after starting all 32 games for the men's basketball team. Thompson scored 316 points on the year, the ninth-highest total by a freshman in Oregon State history.
The men's basketball program also provided the Benny winner for Male Moment of the Year, as the award was presented to Stephen Thompson Jr. for his game-winning 3-pointer against Washington. The double-overtime triple marked the second time in her career that Thompson Jr. had knocked down a game-winning basket vs. the Huskies.
The women's basketball team's victory over No. 7 Oregon was tabbed as the Female Moment of the Year. The Beavers knocked off the Ducks in overtime to extend their Civil War winning streak to 14 games, behind a 34-point effort from sophomore guard Kat Tudor.
A new award was also added to this year's ceremony, as the Vintage Benny was introduced to highlight performances from the previous academic year that occurred after Benny voting had been completed. The Male Vintage Benny was split between the individual performance on baseball player Nick Madrigal and the overall team performance of the OSU baseball team. Madrigal was an All-American and it .380 on the year, while the Beaver baseball program won the Pac-12 and made the College World Series.
The Female Vintage Benny highlighted Kara Hallock of the track and field team. Hallock finished 10th in the heptathlon at the 2017 NCAA Championships, earning All-America honors.
Golfer Nicole Schroeder was highlighted with a Special Moment honor winning the NCAA Regional in Madison and advancing to Nationals.
The Robert Byers Spirit Award went to the #DamWorthIt Campaign, which was started by former gymnast Taylor Ricci and men's soccer player Nathan Braaten. The program is designed for student-athletes in order to decrease the stigma surrounding mental health through education and awareness.
Baseball's Jack Anderson was honored with the Everyday Champion Award. The senior is a kinesiology major who is planning on attending Regis University next year, where he will study for a graduate degree in physical therapy. Anderson is active in the community, serves on SAAC is an Academic All-District 8 selection for two consecutive years. He's a significant contributor to the Beavers, having played in more than 150 games since 2016.
Women's basketball's Mikayla Pivec took the Glenn Klein Community Service Award. The sophomore worked with numerous organizations this year, including Impact for Live, Habitat for Humanity, Corvallis Women's Shelter, The Boys and Girls Club of Corvallis and Southside Youth. Pivec will head to the Dominican Republic with Beavers Without Borders this summer.
OUR MISSION
Oregon State Athletics strives to Build Excellent Authentic Visionary Student-Athletes (Go BEAVS).
Gulich earned Female Athlete of the Year honors, after earning All-America honors and making the All-Pac-12 Team for the second-straight year. The 6-foot-5 German center becomes the fourth-straight women's basketball player to take the Benny for Female Athlete of the Year, joining Ruth Hamblin, Jamie Weisner and Sydney Wiese. Gulich helped lead the Beavers to the Elite Eight, as the team reached the Sweet 16 for the third-straight season.
Dhesi was named Male Athlete of the Year, after earning All-America honors this season - finishing third in the nation in his weight class, the highest finish by a Beaver since 1998. A heavyweight from British Columbia, Dhesi went 25-4 this past season capturing the Pacific-12 conference championship. He also earned a Benny for Male Athlete of the Year in 2016 after he was tabbed as Pac-12 Wrestler of the Year that season.
Gymnast Kaitlyn Yanish was honored as Female Newcomer of the Year. The freshman was an All-Pac-12 Second Team selection, finished the regular season ranked 16th in the nation in the floor exercise and was named to the Regular Season All-America Second Team by the National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches/Women (NACGC/W).
Ethan Thompson notched Male Newcomer of the Year honors after starting all 32 games for the men's basketball team. Thompson scored 316 points on the year, the ninth-highest total by a freshman in Oregon State history.
The men's basketball program also provided the Benny winner for Male Moment of the Year, as the award was presented to Stephen Thompson Jr. for his game-winning 3-pointer against Washington. The double-overtime triple marked the second time in her career that Thompson Jr. had knocked down a game-winning basket vs. the Huskies.
The women's basketball team's victory over No. 7 Oregon was tabbed as the Female Moment of the Year. The Beavers knocked off the Ducks in overtime to extend their Civil War winning streak to 14 games, behind a 34-point effort from sophomore guard Kat Tudor.
A new award was also added to this year's ceremony, as the Vintage Benny was introduced to highlight performances from the previous academic year that occurred after Benny voting had been completed. The Male Vintage Benny was split between the individual performance on baseball player Nick Madrigal and the overall team performance of the OSU baseball team. Madrigal was an All-American and it .380 on the year, while the Beaver baseball program won the Pac-12 and made the College World Series.
The Female Vintage Benny highlighted Kara Hallock of the track and field team. Hallock finished 10th in the heptathlon at the 2017 NCAA Championships, earning All-America honors.
Golfer Nicole Schroeder was highlighted with a Special Moment honor winning the NCAA Regional in Madison and advancing to Nationals.
The Robert Byers Spirit Award went to the #DamWorthIt Campaign, which was started by former gymnast Taylor Ricci and men's soccer player Nathan Braaten. The program is designed for student-athletes in order to decrease the stigma surrounding mental health through education and awareness.
Baseball's Jack Anderson was honored with the Everyday Champion Award. The senior is a kinesiology major who is planning on attending Regis University next year, where he will study for a graduate degree in physical therapy. Anderson is active in the community, serves on SAAC is an Academic All-District 8 selection for two consecutive years. He's a significant contributor to the Beavers, having played in more than 150 games since 2016.
Women's basketball's Mikayla Pivec took the Glenn Klein Community Service Award. The sophomore worked with numerous organizations this year, including Impact for Live, Habitat for Humanity, Corvallis Women's Shelter, The Boys and Girls Club of Corvallis and Southside Youth. Pivec will head to the Dominican Republic with Beavers Without Borders this summer.
OUR MISSION
Oregon State Athletics strives to Build Excellent Authentic Visionary Student-Athletes (Go BEAVS).
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Baseball
M
/ Men's Soccer
HEAVY
/ Wrestling
SPRINTS
/ Women's Track & Field
C
/ Women's Basketball
IF
/ Baseball
G
/ Women's Basketball
AA
/ Women's Gymnastics
/ Women's Golf
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
AA
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