Golden Cobbs Award Winners 2025

MOORHEAD, Minn. (4/14/25)--- The Concordia Student Athletic Advisory Committee (SAAC) hosted the 12th annual Golden Cobbs award ceremony on Monday night in Memorial Auditorium.

The Golden Cobbs is a year-end celebration of all the tremendous 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 15 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. 

| 2025 Golden Cobbs Pre/Post Show Pic Gallery | 2025 Golden Cobbs Award Winners Pic Gallery |

| 2025 Golden Cobbs Award Ceremony Complete Video |

This year's Bucky Burgau Impact Award was awarded to Kailey Thomas. She becomes the first female to win the award. Kailey worked in the Concordia Sports Information and Cobber Athletic Office for four years. She was the leader of the group of sports information workers that compiled all the in-game statistics and ran the live stream video for all Cobber athletic events. Her dedication and tremendous character helped Concordia student-athletes shine on the field, court, rink, track and diamond and in the pool. She was one of the workers behind the scenes who never get recognized but are invaluable to the department.     

Here is a complete list of the award winners from the 12th annual Golden Cobbs awards:

Team of the Year: Women's Track & Field 
The Cobber women’s track and field recorded 15 Top 5 finishes and placed third at the MIAC Indoor Championship Meet. It was the highest finish by a Concordia team since 2016. CC scored 103 team points, which was the most since 2016. During the year, the Cobbers broke at least one school record in nine consecutive meets.

Acceptance Quote: “We are honored to be accepting this award and want to congratulate all the nominees. Thank you to Marv Roeske, each of our event coaches, families, and teammates for helping us achieve all we have done this past season. It truly is a record-breaking year for us all and we are so excited to continue our progress in the outdoor season. CGBO!” 

Female Athlete of the Year: Makayla Anderson, Women's Basketball 
Makayla Anderson was named to the D3hoops.com All-Region Team for the second straight season and earned MIAC All-Conference honors for the third straight year. She finished the year by leading the MIAC in rebounding and was third in scoring. Anderson also became the fifth player in school history to score at least 1,000 points and record at least 750 rebounds in a career.

Acceptance Quote: “I’d like to thank my parents and family — their love, encouragement, and support have meant everything to me. They have been with me every step of the way, and I wouldn’t be here without them. To my coaches and teammates — thank you for challenging me, believing in me, and making these last four years something I’ll never forget. I’m thankful to God for the strength, peace, and purpose He’s given me through every high and low. It’s been a blessing and honor to compete. #RollCobbs”

Male Athlete of the Year: Ty Bisek, Wrestling
Ty Bisek earned his second Male Athlete of the Year award and is the third straight Cobber wrestler to take home Male Athlete of the Year honors. Bisek finished fourth in the 141-lb weight class at the NCAA National Championship Meet to earn his second All-American honor. Bisek was only the fifth wrestler in program history to earn multiple NCAA All-American honors and finished his career with 116 wins. 

Acceptance Quote: “Thank you so much. I’m truly honored to receive this award. First and foremost, I want to thank my coaches for pushing me beyond what I thought were my limits, and for always believing in me. To my teammates you guys are like family. Every practice, every game, every moment of support, and I wouldn’t be here without you. To my family, thank you for your endless encouragement, your sacrifices, and for always being there in the stands”

Female Rookie of the Year: Genevieve Gruba, Women's Track & Field
Genevieve Gruba won the javelin at the MIAC Outdoor Championship Meet in her very first conference meet. She recorded a distance of 130-07 which won the event by over four feet. Her best throw of the year came at the Drake Relays – where her toss of 131-11 was good enough for 2nd at the meet and #28 in NCAA DIII.

Acceptance Quote: “I'm incredibly honored and grateful to receive this award -- thank you. I couldn't have done it without the support from my coaches, teammates, parents, siblings, and everyone who believed in me along the way. Your encouragement has pushed me to grow, persevere, and give my all. Thank you for being part of this journey.”

Male Rookie of the Year: Jake Long, Football
Jake Long was named the MIAC Rookie of the Year. Long started all 10 games for the Cobbers on the offensive line and helped Concordia post a 7-3 record and finished in a tie for second place in the MIAC standings.    

Acceptance Quote: “I first want to thank my family for all their support through my football career. I want to thank Coach Horan and Coach Pollock for giving me the opportunity to play football at the next level here at Concordia. I want to thank  Coach King for believing in me and coaching me to be the best of my ability. Finally, I would like to thank all of my teammates without them I would not be up here today. Roll Cobbs!”

Coach of the Year: Marv Roeske, Women's Track & Field
Marv Roeske helped the Cobber women’s track & field team place third at the MIAC Indoor Championship Meet. It was the highest finish by a Concordia team since 2016. CC scored 103 team points, which was the most since 2016. During the year, the Cobbers broke at least one school record in nine consecutive meets.

Acceptance Quote: “This isn’t an individual award.It’s a Family award. Congratulations Lisa, Quinn, and Leah. Love you! It's also a Coaching Staff award
Congratulations Wade, Chelsea, Michael, Nicole, Emily, Munir, John, Maddie, and Garrick. The best! It’s a TEAM award. Special Congratulations Women’s T&F - you’re the best team ever!”     

Female Performance of the Year: Ashlea Arvidson, Women's Hockey 
Goaltender Ashlea Arvidson made 44 saves to help Concordia beat No.9-ranked Wis.-Eau Claire 3-1. She stopped the final 29 shots she faced. Arvidson was named the MIAC Defensive Player of the Week for her performance against Eau Claire.

Acceptance Quote: “I just want to say thank you to the entire team and coaches for welcoming me this year. I’m beyond grateful to God for bringing me here, and to my friends and family for their constant support. It’s truly been the best year yet, and I feel so blessed to have been part of such an amazing group.”

Male Performance of the Year: Cooper Folkestad, Men's Track & Field
Cooper Folkestad finished fourth in the shot put at the NCAA Championship Meet by recording a PR in the event. He earned his third NCAA All-American honor and became only the second Cobber to earn more than two NCAA Indoor All-American honors.

Acceptance Quote: ”I would like to start off by saying thank you to my amazing coaches and teammates for pushing me and constantly believing in me. As athletes, we tend to be extremely hard on ourselves, but I have one wish for all of us. My hope is that your self-worth is never defined by results because you are so much better than you give yourself credit for. Thank you again and best wishes.”

Female Golden Moment: 4x200-Meter Relay, Women's Track & Field
The Cobber 4x200-meter relay team of Emily Rengo, Andie Sandman, Piper Osborne and Kyla Nygaard broke the school record in winning the event at the MIAC Indoor Championship Meet. The quartet ran a 1:43.56 and lowered the school record in the event by 4.1 seconds over the last two years.

Acceptance Quote: “We want to thank all our coaches and teammates for always believing in us and giving us endless opportunities for success, especially our super speedy teammates we practice with! We would not be capable without all of us pushing each other every day!” 

Male Golden Moment: Cooper Mattern, Football 
Cooper Mattern broke the school’s record for total offensive yards in a career. He finished his career with the Cobbers with 7,748 total offensive yards which is more than 800 yards better than the next athlete.

Acceptance Quote: “Thank you to the entire coaching staff, especially Coach Horan, Offensive Coordinator Jake Pollock, O-Line coach Joel King, and Running Backs coach Jared Lozano. Thank you also to my teammates for constantly pushing me to compete at my best and for the lifelong memories.”

Comeback Athlete of the Year: Nolan Morical, Men's Track & Field 
Nolan Morical was diagnosed with brain cancer during his sophomore year and went on to overcome his ailment and return to the track & field team. He started competing again in 2024 and was a part of the Cobber 4x200-meter relay team broke the school record at the MIAC INdoor Championship Meet.      

Best Team Moment: Men's Hockey Playoff Win vs. St. John's
Men’s hockey scored the first three goals in their MIAC Quarterfinal game at St. John’s and went on to beat the Johnnies 4-3. The playoff win was the first for the Cobbers since 2020 and only the fifth since 2000.

Acceptance Quote: “Thank you so much for this incredible honor. This award is a testament to the hard work, dedication, and collaboration of every team member—I'm proud to be part of such a driven and supportive group. Here's to continuing our success together!”

Super Cobb: Collin Thompson, Football

Acceptance Quote: “Thanks to all of my friends, teammates, coaches, and teachers! Thanks to my family and all they've done for me, my sister Ashlyn whose support I could not have done this without, and Callum who always inspires me to become the best dad I can be.” 

ACADEMIC:
3.96 GPA as a Data Analytics & Business Management Double Major who is now enrolled in the Management Science and Quantitative Methods Master’s Program. Graduated Summa Cum Laude, made Dean’s list in eight semesters, 4x Academic-All Conference, 2x Academic All-District, and 2x First Team Academic All-American.

ATHLETIC: 2024 Team Captain and a 3x All-MIAC selection. Also honored as All-Region and All-American and awarded NCAA Post Graduate Scholarship. 2023 All-American Defensive Lineman and MIAC Mike Stam Award Winner (Most Valuable Lineman). Finished his career in the top 15 all-time in sacks, 3rd all-time in yards from tackles for loss, and set both the single season record for tackles for loss and the career record for tackles for loss.

SERVICE: Volunteered with the following organizations: Habitat for Humanity, Creative Care for Reaching Independence, Young Women’s Christian Association, United Way Backpack Drive, InSports Foundation, and Down Home. Also helped with creation and facilitation of the Cobber Playbook for Change program and volunteered at Cobber Football camps and fundraisers.helper

Small Team GPA: Men's Tennis (3rd Straight Year)
Large Team GPA: Volleyball (2nd Straight Year)
Bucky Burgau Impact Award: Kailey Thomas

Past Bucky Burgau Impact Award Winners
2014 - Bucky Burgau 
2015 - Jim Forde 
2016 - Dom Fraboni 
2017 - Jim Cella 
2018 - Larry Knutson 
2019 - Dan Kostich, Dale Hertl, & John Marsh 
2020 - Max Smith & Andrew Deters 
2022 - Larry Papenfuss 
2023 - Sam Beedy 
2024 - Bob Nick