WICHITA, Kan. – The 2023-24 athletics season at Friends University has come to an end, and it was marked by student-athletes shining bright at both the conference and national level.
The Falcon run on top conference players started with Football, as K'Vonte Baker was named the KCAC Player of the Year after sparking the program to its most wins since 2008. It kept rolling with Women's Basketball, as Taylor Jackson earned KCAC Defensive Player of the Year honors while leading the Falcons to their best season in six years. The Men's Indoor Track & Field Falcons captured their first conference title since 2020-21, with Mikkel Tarver being named the KCAC Men's Indoor Field Athlete of the Meet and head coach Henry Brun and assistant coach Trevor Biedron collecting top coaching honors in the league.
The spring season was a smorgasbord of top awards, highlighted by Trinton Nobles being named the KCAC Men's Golf Player of the Year after fueling the Falcons to their second consecutive KCAC championship that also featured Dustin Galyon receiving KCAC Coach of the Year honors. The Women's Tennis Falcons won their most matches since 2018-19, which resulted in Silva Avakian receiving both the KCAC Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year award. For the Baseball Falcons, Francisco Moscoso was selected as the KCAC Pitcher of the Year and Brett Black garnered KCAC Freshman of the Year recognition.
The Falcons were also well-represented at the national level, with Keegan Martin (Football), Gage Carr (Men's Indoor Track & Field), Malachi Sanders (Men's Indoor Track & Field), Avakian (Women's Tennis), Gianna Moreno (Women's Wrestling), Nobles (Men's Golf), Pablo Sanz-Rillo (Men's Outdoor Track & Field) and Becca Dunn (Softball) all earning an All-American award. Martin also received the prestigious Rimington award, given to the top center in the NAIA, while Moreno was the first All-American in women's wrestling program history.
Here are additional highlights that made the 2023-24 campaign truly memorable:
Football
In head coach Terry Harrison's second year at the helm, the Falcons scored a school-record 509 points and won nine games, the program's most since 2008. Individually, 20 Falcons earned All-KCAC recognition.
Women's Soccer
The Falcons earned their third NAIA National Tournament appearance in the past five seasons in dramatic fashion, getting a goal from Kylie Lewis with 1:16 left in the first overtime period to defeat Kansas Wesleyan University 2-1 in the KCAC semifinal round. The 2023 season was the Falcons' best in recent memory, with head coach Brent Hobson leading the program to an unbeaten season in the KCAC (10-0-3) for the first time in the modern era.
Men's Soccer
The Falcons finished as the fourth seed in the KCAC with a 7-2-4 conference record and were 16 seconds away from a berth in the KCAC championship match, but top-seeded Oklahoma Wesleyan University scored to tie the contest at 2-2 and eventually won 3-2 with a goal five minutes into the second overtime period.
Cross Country
The Men's Cross Country Falcons posted a top-five finish at the KCAC Championship meet, with the Falcon Women coming in seventh in the league.
Volleyball
The Friends University Volleyball Falcons were awarded the KCAC Team of Character for the 2023 season. Partnering with the Make-A-Wish program helped the Falcons achieve this award, which included volunteering at their Starry Night, an auction organized to help raise funds for Make-A-Wish projects and one team member participating in a training program to become a "Wish Granter." The entire Falcon team also helped in a Wish Reveal.
Additionally, six Falcon members are scheduled to go on mission trips to three different countries during the summer.
Men's Golf
Head coach Dustin Galyon guided the Falcons to their second consecutive KCAC championship before the program recorded a Top-10 national finish at the NAIA Championships.
Women's Golf
The Friends University Women's Golf Falcons came in third at the KCAC conference championship, the program's best conference showing in school history. Victoria Hoffman finished tied for eighth at the conference championship to be named the KCAC Freshman of the Year, while the program also received the prestigious KCAC Team of Character award.
Track & Field
The Friends University Men's Indoor Track & Field Falcons brought back to Wichita the program's first KCAC championship since the 2020-21 season. Mikkel Tarver, the KCAC Men's Indoor Field Athlete of the Meet, won the Triple Jump with a school and meet record mark of 14.57m. Also at the conference indoor meet, the Falcon Women claimed a third-place finish.
Wrestling
The 2023-24 Wrestling season featured a pair of firsts for the Falcons, with Gianna Moreno earning the first NAIA All-America honor in program history with a top-five finish in the Women's 136-pound division at the NAIA National Championships. On the men's side, Gunnar Henderson became the first men's wrestling national qualifier in school history by advancing to the title bout of the 149-pound division at the KCAC championship meet.
Powerlifting
In her first season as head coach, Kate Jones led the Men's Powerlifting Falcons to a top-five finish at the USA Powerlifting Collegiate Nationals. The even also featured numerous national appearances for both the men and women squads.
Women's Basketball
Head coach Dean Jaderston led the Falcons to their best season in the past six years, going 22-6 overall and 19-3 in the KCAC. In addition to Taylor Jackson and Rayland Garner's honors, Lauryn McIver was named the KCAC Newcomer of the Year.
Men's Basketball
The Men's Basketball Falcons wrapped up head coach Phil McClintock's first season at the helm on a high note with an 80-54 Senior Day victory over Avila University (Feb. 24). KJ Spiller went on to earn All-KCAC honorable-mention honors after leading the Falcons with 15.6 points per game.
Softball
The Friends University Falcons made their third NAIA Opening Round appearance in the past six seasons during the tenure of head coach Suzanne Unruh. The Falcons finished 34-19 overall and 19-7 in the KCAC, with wins over the top two seeds Evangel University and Ottawa University at the KCAC Tournament to receive an at-large bid. Riley Wertz was also tabbed as the KCAC Newcomer of the Year for the 2024 season. The Wichita native was tied for second in the conference with 16 wins while ranking second in the league in strikeouts (154) and third in ERA (1.58).
Baseball
In addition to Moscoso and Black's individual accolades, the Baseball Falcons finished the season 30-23 for the program's second 30-win season in the past three years. Seven Falcons also received All-KCAC recognition.
Tennis
Silva Avakian, the KCAC Women's Tennis Player of the Year, was also named the league's top newcomer after blitzing through the KCAC undefeated in the No. 1 singles position and leading the Falcons to their most wins (six) since the 2018-19 season. For the Falcon Men, Bruno Suiama was the KCAC Men's Tennis Newcomer of the Year and helped the program secure its most victories (five) since the 2015-16 campaign.
Competitive Cheer & Dance
After winning consecutive KCAC championships, the Competitive Cheer Falcons recorded a runner-up finish at this year's KCAC meet. Maggie Green was the Falcons' KCAC Champions of Character winner, while Tanija Byrd won the KCAC Champions of Character award for the Competitive Dance Falcons.
Impactful Coaching Project
Dr. Rob Ramseyer, Friends University VP of Athletics and Strategic Expansion and a past KCAC Athletic Director of the Year and NACDA Athletic Director of the Year winner, has initiated a new project called "Impactful Coaching". The Impactful Coaching Project was launched last winter and focuses on training coaches to develop the whole person. The new project has featured speaking engagements at Garden City CC, Trinity Academy and Eastminster Presbyterian Church. It has also birthed a podcast entitled "Beyond Coaching" and has already attracted 5,000 listeners. Two books from the project are also in the works, highlighted by a book co-authored by Ramseyer and Friends Director of Golf Dustin Galyon entitled "Coaching the 21st Century Athlete." Ramseyer is also penning a book for Athletic Administrators, with both books expected to be released this summer. Yearly research will be conducted through athletic program evaluations, with the current topic being "What motivates student-athletes to participate in their sport." Weekly posts are also available at www.impactfulcoachingproject.substack.com
First-team All-KCAC selections for the Falcons in 2023-24 are listed below:
K'Vonte Baker (Football)
Elias Pino (Football)
Laken Clowdus (Football)
Keegan Martin (Football)
Kel Stroud (Football)
Sora Shibata (Men's Soccer)
Yushin Kitada (Men's Soccer)
Keily Larosee (Women's Soccer)
Hanon Nakagami (Women's Soccer)
Gianna Honda (Women's Soccer)
Kylie Lewis (Women's Soccer)
Taylor Jackson (Women's Basketball)
Rayland Garner (Women's Basketball)
Francisco Moscoso (Baseball)
Riley Wertz (Softball)
Becca Dunn (Softball)
Priscilla Mora (Softball)
Trinton Nobles (Men's Golf)
Gerardo Alemany (Men's Golf)
Silva Avakian (Women's Tennis)
Olivia Landreth (Competitive Cheer)
Karlea Rich (Competitive Cheer)
Off the playing surface, the Falcons put together a productive year in the classroom. The Falcon Women teams averaged a 3.26 cumulative GPA for the 2023-24 school year, while the Falcon Men recorded a solid 3.00 GPA. Noteworthy was the Men's Golf and Women's Soccer Falcons each averaging a 3.60 GPA.
The top three teams for each gender are listed below:
Men's Golf (3.60)
Men's Soccer (3.32)
Men's Tennis (3.28)
Women's Soccer (3.58)
Women's Tennis (3.42)
Women's Golf (3.40)
Friends Athletics wishes to thank the following sponsors for their support throughout the 2023-24 season!
6S
Aegis
Ascension Via Christi
Batzlaff Insurance
BSN
Burwell Construction
Central Power Systems
Chick N Max
Chick-Fil-A
Crestview Country Club
Deano's
Delano BBQ
Dustin Galyon Photography
Emser Tile
Equity Bank
Farha Roofing
Gambino's Pizza Colwich
Hampton Inn East
Home2Suites
IMA Corporation
Indian Hills Animal Clinic
Johnson Controls
Kansas Candy
Kansas Orthopedic Center
Kruse Corporation
Legacy Bank
McCown Gordon Contstruction
MIT Restoration
Munds Energy
Nike
On the Border
Overland Charter
Phoenix Home Health and Hospice
Pizza Hut/Taco Bell/Fugate Enterprises
Pizza Ranch Wichita
Promo Depot
"Pulse" Sports Talk Radio
Qdoba
Sandifer Controls
Scheels
Seiwert Realtor
Serviam Company
Spangles
Stearman
Superior Broom
Supplement World
Taco Shop
UBS Financial Services
UMB Financial
Waste Connections
Water Walk Wichita
Wichita Business Journal
Wichita Sports Commission
Willow Bend Golf Club
As always, follow www.friendsathletics.com for everything Falcon Athletics!
