All-Time Golden Wings Award Winners
By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech Athletics continued its recognition of the best and brightest of its more than 300 student-athletes by releasing six more winners of its 2020 Golden Wings Awards.
On Wednesday, football's Henry Karimu was announced as the Newcomer of the Year Award winner. Five Golden Eagle Award winners were released as well, spanning five fall sports programs including men's cross country, volleyball, football, women's cross country and soccer.
In his first season in Cookeville, Karimu made an instant impact on the Golden Eagle defensive line, playing in 11 of the team's 12 games and tying for the team-lead with 5.5 sacks. His 36 total tackles ranked him eighth on the team and second among defensive lineman.
A native of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., the junior compiled 7.5 tackles-for-loss, second-most on the team, and a team-best six quarterback hurries. The Citrus College transfer's disruptive nature was on display almost immediately, as Karimu accounted for Tech's only safety of the season in his first quarter in the purple and gold, a double-overtime victory over Samford in the season-opener.
An honor created by members of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee in 2016, a Golden Eagle Award is presented to each of Tech's 13 teams (indoor and outdoor track & field are combined), as well as the Golden Eagle cheer and dance teams. The teams each vote to select one member of the roster whom they would hold up with pride to represent the team, who is always positive and giving 110 percent, supporting their teammates, win or lose, and serving as the "heart" of the team, no matter whether they were a star or a seldom-used backup.
Junior Katie Bain was selected as the soccer team's Golden Eagle Award winner, playing in 16 of the team's 19 matches while providing great depth off the bench in a number of roles. Listed as a forward and defender, she played all over the pitch while registering a pair of shots.
On the women's cross country team, the Golden Eagle Award winner was sophomore Alexa Brugere. Originally a member of the Tech volleyball team as a freshman, the St. Charles, Mo. native transitioned to a member of the track team for the second half of 2018-19. This year, she competed in her first cross country campaign, placing in the top five of Tech participants in all five meets.
For the men's cross country team, it was sophomore Gabriel Kiprono taking home the squad's Golden Eagle Award. The second-year man finished second among Tech runners in each of his team's five meets on the year.
The Golden Eagle Award winner from the football team was senior Aderick Moore. The linebacker was a clear leader for a resurgent Golden Eagle squad, topping the team with 104 tackles while earning All-OVC Second Team honors. The team selected Moore as one of two team captains and the program's Sonny Allen Leadership Award winner.
Outside hitter Ali Verzani was the choice for the volleyball team, displaying a contagious fire and intensity each match. She earned All-OVC First Team honors while leading her team in kills, service aces and points. The junior also ranked in the top five in the Ohio Valley Conference in points and kills.
The Golden Wings Awards, which enters its fifth year, is an end-of-the-year award ceremony for the Tennessee Tech University student-athletes to honor and celebrate their academic and athletic accomplishments over the past complete seasons.
Due to the COVID-19 outbreak and subsequent cancellation of the remainder of campus activities for the 2019-20 academic year, the annual awards show was also canceled. The choice was made to still honor the student-athletes for their accomplishments, however, as each competitive season drawn from to determine the honors had been completed.
The timeframe of the awards period is the current season (2019-20 in this instance) except for sports that compete in the spring, including baseball, softball, outdoor track & field, men's golf, women's golf and tennis. With those sports typically competing with a large portion of their seasons still left at the time of the awards show, the previous campaigns (2018-19 in this instance) are recognized. The Man and Woman of the Year awards encompass the 2019-20 period for all sports.
Prior to the 2019 Golden Wings Awards, men's golf, women's golf and tennis were included from their current season, but due to scheduling conflicts and to allow a more complete campaign from which to gather nominees, the three sports were added to the rest of the spring sports in using its previous season for consideration.
Prior to the first Golden Wings Awards show, Tennessee Tech Athletics annually presented four awards to deserving student-athletes, including Male Athlete of the Year, Female Athlete of the Year, Man of the Year and Woman of the Year. The first honor established, for the 1990-91 academic year, was the Woman of the Year Award, coinciding with the first NCAA Woman of the Year Award. Two years later, in 1992-93, Tech established its Man of the Year Award. Both the Male Athlete of the Year and Female Athlete of the Year honors were added for the 1993-94 academic year. The four honors were officially adopted into the Golden Wings Awards, including criteria, for the 2016-17 academic year and all previous winners can also be found in the all-time list below.
