Top Cats: These Arizona athletes won CATSYS for having the best year ever
- Updated
Lakers coach Luke Walton handed out the awards at a McKale Center ceremony on April 19.
- Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
The last day of classes for the University of Arizona's spring semester is May 11, but the Wildcats have already started celebrating.
The party started April 19, when Arizona Athletics hosted its first-ever "CATSYS" awards ceremony to honor the top student-athletes of the year.
The CATSYS, styled after ESPN's annual ESPYS awards show, was hosted by former Wildcat and current Los Angeles Lakers head coach Luke Walton and Emmy Award-winner Chris "Geeter" McGee. The event featured live music by recording artist Kelley James.
Here's a look at all the Wildcats who took home awards:
- Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Name: Katiyana Mauga
Sport: Softball
Why she won: Mauga, the softball team's resident power hitter, has been dropping "Mauga Bombs" her whole career. She broke the UA's all-time career home run record this season, which previously stood at 87 before Mauga hit her 88th on April 22. She now has 89 for her career and 22 this season, which ranks first in the Pac-12 and second in the country. She needs just seven more home runs to break the NCAA's all-time record. Mauga is also the only player in NCAA history to hit at least 20 home runs in all four of her seasons.
Other nominees: Danielle O'Toole (softball), Sage Watson (track and field), McKenna Witt (beach volleyball).
- Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Name: Penina Snuka
Sport: Volleyball
Why she won: Snuka finished her career as the UA's all-time leader in career sets played and ranks second in both career assists and digs. She was an All-Pac-12 selection and an AVCA All-America selection for three consecutive years. Snuka was also the 2016 Pac-12 Setter of the Year.
Other nominees: Danielle O'Toole (softball), Sage Watson (track and field), McKenna Witt (beach volleyball).
- Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Name: Aaron Castle
Sport: Track and field (throws)
Why he won: Castle, a three-time All-American and Academic All-American, ranks 11th in the country in the shot put with 19.10 meters. He is also a three-time All-Pac-12 selection.
Other nominees: Kadeem Allen (men's basketball), JC Cloney (baseball), Tyler Fowler (swimming and diving).
Photo courtesy of Stan Liu / Arizona Athletics
- Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Name: Wanasa Zhou
Sport: Women's golf
Why she won: Zhou, a senior accounting major, holds a 3.98 GPA and is a two-time Pac-12 All-Academic first-team selection. As a sophomore, Zhou earned the NCAA Elite 89 Award, given to the participant with the highest GPA at the NCAA championships. She notched a 74.4 stroke average and had nine Top-10 finishes in her career.
Photo courtesy of Jelissa Holder / Arizona Athletics
- Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Name: The Arizona women's basketball team
Why they won: The Wildcats posted an average of 20.9 hours of community service per team member this year.
Photo courtesy of Stan Liu / Arizona Athletics
- Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Name: Claire Green
Sport: Track and field, cross country
Why she won: Green broke the UA's indoor record for the 3,000-meter (1.86 miles) run with a mark of 9 minutes 5.94 seconds and was a second-team All-America selection in the 3,000 meters.
Other nominees: Krystal Quihuis (women's golf), Gabi Stoian (soccer).
Photo courtesy of Stan Liu / Arizona Athletics
- Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Name: Justin Wright
Sport: Swimming
Why he won: Wright broke the UA's record in the 200-meter butterfly and placed seventh at the NCAA championships. He was a first-team All-America selection.
Other nominees: George Cunningham (men's golf), JJ Matijevic (baseball), Dusan Ristic (men's basketball).
Photo courtesy of Stan Liu / Arizona Athletics
- Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Name: Haley Moore
Sport: Women's golf
Why she won: At the time of the CATSYS, Golfweek.com ranked Moore as the No. 8 collegiate female golfer in the country. Moore won the Allstate Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate for his first career victory earlier this season.
Other nominees: Kendra Dahlke (volleyball), Katrina Konopka (swimming), Addi Zerrenner (cross country).
Photo courtesy of Stan Liu / Arizona Athletics
- Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Name: Cesar Salazar
Sport: Baseball
Why he won: Salazar is known as one of the best defensive catchers in college baseball. He also has a big impact offensively, as he is batting .288 with nine doubles and 22 RBIs.
Other nominees: Blair Bish (swimming), Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles (football), Allonzo Trier (men's basketball).
- Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Name: Jessie Harper
Sport: Softball
Why she won: Harper has been one of the Wildcats' most consistent freshmen this season. She's batting .350 and has started all 52 of UA's games this season. She also has 18 home runs which is tied for the most by a freshman in the country and ranks second in the Pac-12. Her .783 slugging percentage also ranks second in the Pac-12.
Other nominees: Samantha Falasco (soccer), Dejah Mulipola (softball), Alyssa Palomino (softball).
- Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Name: Lauri Markkanen
Sport: Men's basketball
Why he won: The sharpshooter from Finland finished his freshman season with 576 total points, tied for the second-most in UA history by a first-year player. He was the only Pac-12 player to finish in the conference's top 12 in scoring, rebounding, free-throw percentage and 3-point percentage. He averaged 15.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per game while shooting 49.2 percent from the field.
Other nominees: David Laskin (men's golf), Nick Quintana (baseball), Justice Summerset (track and field).
- Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Team: Men's cross country
Why they won: The men's cross country team boasts a cumulative GPA of 3.355.
Photo courtesy of Alex McIntyre / Arizona Athletics
- Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Team: Women's golf
Why they won: The women's golf team boasts a cumulative GPA of 3.526.
Photo courtesy of Stan Liu / Arizona Athletics
- Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Name: Inge Hendrikx
Sport: Women's tennis
Photo courtesy of Stan Liu / Arizona Athletics
- Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Name: Krysten Howard
Sport: Gymnastics
Photo courtesy of Stan Liu / Arizona Athletics
- Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Name: McKenzie Jacobson
Sport: Volleyball
- Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Name: McKenna Witt
Sport: Beach volleyball
- Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Name: Kyle Lewis
Sport: Baseball
- Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Name: Avery Mickens
Sport: Track and field
Photo courtesy of Stan Liu / Arizona Athletics
- Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Name: Lizzie Smith
Sport: Track and field
Photo courtesy of Stan Liu / Arizona Athletics
- Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Name: Gabby Laub
Sport: Gymnastics
Photo courtesy of Jelissa Holder / Arizona Athletics
- Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
Performance: The Arizona baseball team's trip to the 2016 College World Series finals.
- Arizona Daily Star
The last day of classes for the University of Arizona's spring semester is May 11, but the Wildcats have already started celebrating.
The party started April 19, when Arizona Athletics hosted its first-ever "CATSYS" awards ceremony to honor the top student-athletes of the year.
The CATSYS, styled after ESPN's annual ESPYS awards show, was hosted by former Wildcat and current Los Angeles Lakers head coach Luke Walton and Emmy Award-winner Chris "Geeter" McGee. The event featured live music by recording artist Kelley James.
Here's a look at all the Wildcats who took home awards:
- Arizona Daily Star
Name: Katiyana Mauga
Sport: Softball
Why she won: Mauga, the softball team's resident power hitter, has been dropping "Mauga Bombs" her whole career. She broke the UA's all-time career home run record this season, which previously stood at 87 before Mauga hit her 88th on April 22. She now has 89 for her career and 22 this season, which ranks first in the Pac-12 and second in the country. She needs just seven more home runs to break the NCAA's all-time record. Mauga is also the only player in NCAA history to hit at least 20 home runs in all four of her seasons.
Other nominees: Danielle O'Toole (softball), Sage Watson (track and field), McKenna Witt (beach volleyball).
- Arizona Daily Star
Name: Penina Snuka
Sport: Volleyball
Why she won: Snuka finished her career as the UA's all-time leader in career sets played and ranks second in both career assists and digs. She was an All-Pac-12 selection and an AVCA All-America selection for three consecutive years. Snuka was also the 2016 Pac-12 Setter of the Year.
Other nominees: Danielle O'Toole (softball), Sage Watson (track and field), McKenna Witt (beach volleyball).
- Arizona Daily Star
Name: Aaron Castle
Sport: Track and field (throws)
Why he won: Castle, a three-time All-American and Academic All-American, ranks 11th in the country in the shot put with 19.10 meters. He is also a three-time All-Pac-12 selection.
Other nominees: Kadeem Allen (men's basketball), JC Cloney (baseball), Tyler Fowler (swimming and diving).
Photo courtesy of Stan Liu / Arizona Athletics
- Arizona Daily Star
Name: Wanasa Zhou
Sport: Women's golf
Why she won: Zhou, a senior accounting major, holds a 3.98 GPA and is a two-time Pac-12 All-Academic first-team selection. As a sophomore, Zhou earned the NCAA Elite 89 Award, given to the participant with the highest GPA at the NCAA championships. She notched a 74.4 stroke average and had nine Top-10 finishes in her career.
Photo courtesy of Jelissa Holder / Arizona Athletics
- Arizona Daily Star
Name: The Arizona women's basketball team
Why they won: The Wildcats posted an average of 20.9 hours of community service per team member this year.
Photo courtesy of Stan Liu / Arizona Athletics
- Arizona Daily Star
Name: Claire Green
Sport: Track and field, cross country
Why she won: Green broke the UA's indoor record for the 3,000-meter (1.86 miles) run with a mark of 9 minutes 5.94 seconds and was a second-team All-America selection in the 3,000 meters.
Other nominees: Krystal Quihuis (women's golf), Gabi Stoian (soccer).
Photo courtesy of Stan Liu / Arizona Athletics
- Arizona Daily Star
Name: Justin Wright
Sport: Swimming
Why he won: Wright broke the UA's record in the 200-meter butterfly and placed seventh at the NCAA championships. He was a first-team All-America selection.
Other nominees: George Cunningham (men's golf), JJ Matijevic (baseball), Dusan Ristic (men's basketball).
Photo courtesy of Stan Liu / Arizona Athletics
- Arizona Daily Star
Name: Haley Moore
Sport: Women's golf
Why she won: At the time of the CATSYS, Golfweek.com ranked Moore as the No. 8 collegiate female golfer in the country. Moore won the Allstate Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate for his first career victory earlier this season.
Other nominees: Kendra Dahlke (volleyball), Katrina Konopka (swimming), Addi Zerrenner (cross country).
Photo courtesy of Stan Liu / Arizona Athletics
- Arizona Daily Star
Name: Cesar Salazar
Sport: Baseball
Why he won: Salazar is known as one of the best defensive catchers in college baseball. He also has a big impact offensively, as he is batting .288 with nine doubles and 22 RBIs.
Other nominees: Blair Bish (swimming), Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles (football), Allonzo Trier (men's basketball).
- Arizona Daily Star
Name: Jessie Harper
Sport: Softball
Why she won: Harper has been one of the Wildcats' most consistent freshmen this season. She's batting .350 and has started all 52 of UA's games this season. She also has 18 home runs which is tied for the most by a freshman in the country and ranks second in the Pac-12. Her .783 slugging percentage also ranks second in the Pac-12.
Other nominees: Samantha Falasco (soccer), Dejah Mulipola (softball), Alyssa Palomino (softball).
- Arizona Daily Star
Name: Lauri Markkanen
Sport: Men's basketball
Why he won: The sharpshooter from Finland finished his freshman season with 576 total points, tied for the second-most in UA history by a first-year player. He was the only Pac-12 player to finish in the conference's top 12 in scoring, rebounding, free-throw percentage and 3-point percentage. He averaged 15.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per game while shooting 49.2 percent from the field.
Other nominees: David Laskin (men's golf), Nick Quintana (baseball), Justice Summerset (track and field).
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