Golden Cobb Award Winners 2023

MOORHEAD, Minn. (4/20/23)--- The Concordia Student Athletic Advisory Committee (SAAC) hosted the 10th annual Golden Cobbs award ceremony on Thursday night in Memorial Auditorium.

The Golden Cobbs are a year-end celebration of all the great accomplishments from the past year in Concordia athletics.

The awards ceremony was preceded by a free dinner which was supplied by Buffalo Wild Wings who is one of the sponsors for the ceremony.

The awards ceremony featured 18 different category winners. In addition to the awards voted on by fans, family and friends – achievements in academics by the Concordia student/athletes were also recognized. 

| 2023 Golden Cobbs Award Ceremony Complete Video |

The 2023 Jaynie Halvorson Service Award was presented to the women's track & field team for their community service work. The award is named after former Cobber women's basketball player Jaynie Halvorson and is awarded to the Concordia team with the most volunteer impact in the Fargo-Moorhead community. 

This year's Bucky Burgau Impact Award was awarded to Cobber hype man Sam Beedy who helps out the Cobber football and men's hockey team.    

Here is a list of the award winners from the 10th annual Golden Cobbs awards:

Male Athlete of the Year: Ty Bisek, Wrestling
Ty Bisek became the first Concordia wrestler to earn All-American honors since 2016. Bisek, who was nationally ranked for almost the entire season, finished the year with a 33-5 record. The 33 wins tie for the ninth most by a Cobber wrestler in a single season. Bisek competed in four multi-team invitationals during the year and won his weight class in all four events.

Female Athlete of the Year: Peyton Selle, Women's Track & Field 
Peyton Selle won the heptathlon at the 2022 MIAC Outdoor Championship Meet and the pentathlon at the 2023 MIAC Indoor Championship Meet. Selle has now won four straight conference multi-event competitions. Selle was also named the 2023 MIAC Indoor Field Athlete of the Year. Selle, who won the MIAC pentathlon with a career-best score, also finished fifth in the high jump and seventh in the long jump at the conference indoor meet. Selle also qualified for the NCAA National Outdoor Meet in 2022 and the National Indoor Meet in 2023.     

Male Newcomer of the Year: Liam Haslam, Men's Hockey
Liam Haslam transferred to Concordia after playing at SUNY-Oswego for two seasons. He earned All-American honors in his very first season playing for the Cobbers. Haslam also earned MIAC All-Conference honors after leading all conference defensemen in assists. Haslam was third in total points with three goals and 17 assists for 20 points.        

Female Newcomer of the Year: Carlee Sieben, Women's Basketball
Carlee Sieben transferred to Concordia after playing her freshman season at the Univ. of North Dakota. Sieben earned MIAC All-Conference honors in 2023. Sieben led Concordia in 3-point field goals and was second in scoring with a 12.3 points per game average. She scored in double figures in 19 games and had a career-high 27 points against Minn.-Morris. Sieben made at least one 3-pointer in 25 of the 26 games she played in.       

Coach of the Year: Kim Wagers, Women's Basketball
Kim Wagers became the first coach in Cobber women’s basketball history to be named the D3hoops.com Regional Coach of the Year. She was also named the MIAC Coach of the Year after helping Concordia finish second in the MIAC standings with an 18-4 conference record. It was the highest league finish for Concordia since 2014. The Cobbers also won 22 total games which were the most since 1990. During the year, the Cobbers beat No.6-ranked Amherst on their way to winning the D3hoops.com Classic in Las Vegas.  

Best Single Performance By a Male Individual Sport Athlete: Ty Bisek, Wrestling 
Ty Bisek finished sixth at the NCAA National Meet to become the first Concordia wrestler to earn All-American honors since 2016. Bisek finished the national meet with three wins. He finished the year with a 33-5 record.

Best Single Performance By a Female Individual Sport Athlete: Peyton Selle, Women's Track & Field
Peyton Selle was named the 2023 MIAC Indoor Field Athlete of the Year after winning the pentathlon with a career-best score. Her mark qualified her for the NCAA National Indoor Meet. Selle also finished fifth in the high jump and seventh in the long jump at the conference indoor meet.  

Best Single Performance By a Male Team Sport Athlete: Andy Gravdahl, Baseball, 4-for-4 And Scores Walkoff Run vs. Carleton
Andy Gravdahl went 4-for-4 and scored the winning run in the Cobbers’ 14-13 walkoff win over Carleton. He scored three runs and also walked twice as he got on base in all six at-bats.

Best Single Performance By a Female Team Sport Athlete: Makayla Anderson, Basketball, Double-Double vs. #6 Amherst
Makayla Anderson posted career-high numbers in points and rebounds in the Cobbers’ 79-68 win over No.6-ranked Amherst in the D3hoops.com Classic. She scored 23 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in the upset win. Anderson went on to be named the D3hoops.com Classic Most Outstanding Player and earned D3hoops.com Team of the Week honors for her performance.

Best Milestone Moment of the Year: Emily Beseman Scoring Her 1,000th Career Point
Emily Beseman scored her 1,000th career point in the Cobbers’ comeback win at St. Catherine. She scored a game-high 26 points to become the 29th player in program history to reach the 1,000-point milestone.

Men's Game/Contest of the Year: Men’s Basketball Buzzer-Beating Win Over Hamline In Season Finale
Matthew Johnson sank a 40-foot 3-pointer to give the Cobbers a 68-65 comeback win over Hamline in the final game of the season. Concordia never led in the second half until Johnson’s final shot won the game and capped off a 10-2 run in the final 90-seconds of play.

Women's Game/Contest of the Year: Women’s Basketball Upset Win Over #6 Amherst in Double Overtime
The Cobber women’s basketball team outscored No.6-ranked Amherst 13-2 in the second overtime period to earn a 79-68 win. The game featured eight tie scores and eight lead changes with neither team holding more than a 6-point lead for the first 45 minutes of the game. Concordia then sprinted away, from previously unbeaten Amherst in the second extra session. 

Team of the Year: Women’s Basketball
Concordia posted their most overall wins, conference wins and MIAC finish in over a decade as they advanced all the way to the conference tournament championship game for the first time since 2013. The Cobbers finished second in the final league standings with an 18-4 conference record. It was the highest league finish for Concordia since 2014. The Cobbers also won 22 total games which were the most since 1990. During the year, the Cobbers beat No.6-ranked Amherst on their way to winning the D3hoops.com Classic in Las Vegas.  

Super Cobb: Madie Guler, Women's Basketball & Track & Field
Athletic:
- 2-sport athlete
- Named women’s basketball 6th Person of the Year
- Played in all 27 games for women’s basketball in 2023
- MIAC All-Conference Honorable Mention in the 400 meters, 4x100-meter and 4x400-meter relay at the 2022 MIAC Outdoor Meet
- Posted the No.13 time in school history in the 400 meters 

Academic:
- 3.94 GPA in Biology & Psychology (Pre-Med)
- Teaching Assistant
- MIAC Academic All-Conference
- Dean’s List

Service:
- SAAC member
- Member of the Homecoming Committee
- Campus Events Commission
- Orientation
- Volunteer for Legacy Foot Delivery, Reading in the Classroom and Cobber Kids
- Youth Summer Basketball Camp helper

Men's Team GPA: Men's Tennis
Women's Team GPA: Women's Tennis
Jaynie Halvorson Service Award: Women's Track & Field
Bucky Burgau Impact Award: Sam Beedy