2022-23 Blue & Golden Globes Award Winners Announced

The Marquette student athletes were recognized at the Blue & Golden Globes Awards Sunday night at Discovery World in celebration of the 2022-23 athletics and academic year.

Photo by: Dhruvaa Shroff

2022-23 Blue & Golden Globes Award Winners Announced

5/1/2023 1:42:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Men's Lacrosse, Men's Soccer, Women's Basketball, Women's Lacrosse, Women's Volleyball, Track & Field, Academics and Student Programs

Student Athletes Honored for Outstanding Performances

By: Communications

MILWAUKEE – Marquette University student-athletes were recognized at the Blue & Golden Globes Awards Sunday night at Discovery World in celebration of the 2022-23 athletics and academic year.

The Ralph H. Metcalfe Outstanding Senior Athlete Awards were given to Lukas Sunesson from men's soccer and Chloe Marotta from women's basketball.

Sunnesson is one of the most decorated players in Marquette soccer history, ranking top-10 in goals scored, matches played and matches started in program history. In 2021, Sunesson was a consensus All-American, a finalist for the MAC Hermann Award, and earned the BIG EAST Sports Excellence Award for men's soccer.

Marotta concluded her Marquette career after playing in a total of 149 contests. She ranks eighth in program history with 912 career rebounds and is 29th on the career scoring list with 1,094 points. Marotta is one of just seven Marquette players to ever record at least 1,000 points and 850 rebounds in a career. She was a member of the All-BIG EAST First Team after ranking in the top-10 in the BIG EAST in both points and rebounds.

Marotta was granted two more awards on the night. She was also bestowed the honor of the Cura Personalis award, which is given to the student athlete that displays a care for the whole person. Marquette president dr. Michael Lovell, selected Chloe Marotta to be the recipient of the President's Award.

The Ralph H. Metcalfe, Sr. Outstanding Senior Leadership & Service Award honorees were Marissa Valentini and Julian Wright of women's and men's track & field, respectively.

Valentini has been involved in SHAPE during her career at Marquette and is currently the leader of the program. She is an advocate for mental health and wellness for student-athletes at all levels.

As the BIG EAST SAAC president, Wright exemplified his passion for social justice issues through his time at Marquette. He is also the SAAC VP of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, hoping to encourage other student-athletes to follow his lead.

Four student-athletes were given the Ralph H. Metcalfe, Sr. Outstanding Senior Scholar Athlete Award, which is awarded to student-athletes with the highest cumulative grade-point averages. Simon Werven, Mallory Lafever, Claire Nuessmeier and Katie Dingle earned the honors.

The male and female rookie of the year honors were awarded to men's track & field's Gus Kasun and women's volleyball's Hattie Bray.

Kasun broke the freshmen record in the heptathlon with a score of 4,692 and finished fourth overall at the BIG EAST Indoor Championships, and eighth in MU history. He recorded the seventh-best individual score in program history in the decathlon with 6,289 points this spring.

An All-BIG EAST and unanimous all-freshman team selection, Bray was also named to the NCAA All-Regional Team. She recorded the eighth-best single-season hitting percentage in program history this season for players with at least 500 total attempts. As a redshirt freshman, she hit .354 (250-70-508), averaging 2.16 kills and 0.73 blocks per set, while playing in all 166 frames with 32 of 33 matches started.

The Record-Breaking Performance Award was bestowed upon Mary Schumar (women's lacrosse) and Tyler Kolek (men's basketball).

Schumar has shattered program records all season, leading the program to historic successes with a 15-1 record and a top-25 national ranking. She has 66 assists and 85 total points this season, breaking the program records she set last year in both categories and she also became Marquette's all-time assist leader earlier this season with 112 helpers in her career. She currently leads the nation with 4.1 assists per game, a mark which ranks fourth in NCAA history, and set a Marquette and BIG EAST single-game record with nine assists against Butler.

Kolek became just the eighth player in over 100 years of program history to earn consensus All-American honors. He was selected BIG EAST Player of the Year and is the first MU player to claim the most valuable player accolades at the league tournament. Kolek's 270 assists in 2022-23 was the second-best single-season total in program history and the highest total in almost 30 years.

The For the Love of the Game honor was given to Billy Rojack of men's lacrosse. This award is given to the athlete that exemplifies what it means to be a true team player at Marquette. Rojack is a dedicated teammate, a student worker in the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics and involved with a number of student-athlete projects, including coaching the Milwaukee Eagles wheelchair lacrosse team.

For the first time in over 30 years of conference affiliation, the men's basketball team claimed the league's regular season and tournament titles in the same year. The team featured the player of the year, coach of the year, sixth man of the year, and two more all-conference selections and won a school-record 29 games. This earned 2022-23 Memorable Moment of the Year.

Harry Baker, the men's basketball team, and the women's volleyball team were recognized for their outstanding seasons, claiming BIG EAST titles.

The volleyball team, which advanced to the Sweet 16 for the second time in history, earned its second consecutive regular-season title and third overall with a sweep of Creighton at the Al McGuire Center.

The men's basketball team's historic year included the BIG EAST regular season title, its first outright BIG EAST crown since joining the league in 2005-06.

This spring, Harry Baker won the individual BIG EAST title in the high jump at the indoor championships.

To cap off the night, the MAGIS Team Spirit Cup was awarded to the women's soccer team for the fourth year in a row. The Spirit Cup is an honor given based on four areas: academics, community service, student-athlete development and athletes supporting athletes.

Ralph H. Metcalfe, Sr. Outstanding Senior Athlete Award
Lukas Sunesson, men's soccer
Chloe Marotta, women's basketball

Ralph H. Metcalfe, Sr. Outstanding Senior Leadership & Service Award
Marissa Valentini, track & field
Julian Wright, track & field

Ralph H. Metcalfe, Sr. Outstanding Senior Scholar Athlete Award
Simon Werven, track & field
Mallory Lafever, track & field
Claire Nuessmeier, women's volleyball
Katie Dingle, track & field

President's Award
Chloe Marotta, women's basketball

SAAC Awards:

Rookie of the Year
Gus Kasun, track & field
Hattie Bray, women's volleyball

For the Love of the Game
Billy Rojack, men's lacrosse

Record-Breaking Performance
Mary Schumar, women's lacrosse
Tyler Kolek, men's basketball

Cura Personalis Award
Chloe Marotta, women's basketball

MAGIS Team Spirit Cup
Women's Soccer