FAIRMONT, W.Va. - Following event finals on the final day of the 2024 National Collegiate Acrobatics & Tumbling Association (NCATA) National Championships on Sunday afternoon, the association announced its yearly awards winners, All-American Team, All-Academic Team and Academic Honor Roll.
The awards were headlined by the Most Outstanding Athlete of the Year at each level of competition. Baylor's Riley Chimwala earned the Division I Athlete of the Year Award, while Ali Price was honored as the Division II Athlete of the Year. UMHB's Katelyn Kolodziejczyk was voted the Division III Athlete of the Year.
Baylor's Jordan Gruendler, Gannon's Brianna Arre and UMHB's Sarah Williamson were recognized as the divisional winners of the NCATA Specialist of the Year awards.
The 2024 major awards continued with the 2024 Freshman of the Year awards. The divisional winners included Baylor's Payton Washington, Gannon's Alex DeAngelis and UMHB's Addison Williams.
In honor of Colleen Kausrud, one of the founding coaches in the association from Azusa Pacific, the NCATA added the Colleen Kausrud Leadership Award to the regular season annual awards presented at the NCATA National Championships in 2021.
Throughout her career, Kausrud exemplified servant leadership in her work with the NCATA and at Azusa Pacific. A servant-leader focuses primarily on the growth and well-being of people and the communities to which they belong.
The Colleen Kausrud Leadership Award is awarded annually to a senior student-athlete who exemplifies servant leadership throughout her career by:
• Being considered a selfless leader among teammates and coaches
• Demonstrating leadership in her campus or local community
• Contributing positively to the sport of Acrobatics & Tumbling through advocacy, education or training at the youth level
The winner of the 2024 Colleen Kausrud Leadership Award is Sarah Lang from Azusa Pacific University.
Gannon's Brianna Arre was the recipient of the 2024 Louise Goodrum Academic Award. Arre has a perfect 4.0 grade-point average at GU.
The Louise Goodrum Academic Award is given annually to recognize the true meaning of student-athlete. Modeled after the NCAA's Elite 90 award, which honors the individual who has reached the pinnacle of competition at the national championship level in his or her sport while also achieving the highest academic standard in his/her sport. In the NCATA, the award is presented to the junior or senior student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average whose team earned a berth participating in the NCATA national championship tournament.
In addition, Mary Hardin-Baylor's Raffaela Scott was voted the 2024 Coach of the Year. Scotto led Mary Hardin-Baylor to a 9-2 record and its first-ever NCATA National Championship appearance this spring.
The NCATA also announced its 16-member All-American Team, eight-member All-Acadmeic Team, and Academic Honor Roll on Sunday afternoon (each listed below).
| 2024 NCATA Major Award Winners |
Most Outstanding Athlete of the Year
Division I: Riley Chimwala (Baylor)
Division II: Ali Price (Gannon)
Division III: Katelyn Kolodziejczyk (UMHB) |
Specialist of the Year
Division I: Jordan Gruendler (Baylor)
Division II: Brianna Arre (Gannon)
Division III: Sarah Williamson (UMHB) |
Freshman of the Year
Division I: Payton Washington (Baylor)
Division II: Alex DeAngelis (Gannon)
Division III: Addison Williams (UMHB) |
| Colleen Kausrud Leadership Award: Sarah Lang (Azusa Pacific) |
| Louise Goodrum Academic Award: Brianna Arre (Gannon) |
| Coach of the Year: Raffaela Scotto (UMHB) |
| 2024 NCATA All-America Team |
| Name |
School |
Position |
| Abbie Baker |
Frostburg State |
Top/Tumbler |
| Makena Carrion |
Oregon |
Top |
| Riley Chimwala |
Baylor |
Base |
| Alexis Giardina |
Oregon |
Top/Base/Tumbler |
| Bayley Humphrey |
Baylor |
Base |
| Kacie Kier |
Limestone |
Base/Tumbler |
| Katey Koehl |
Fairmont State |
Top/Base/Tumbler |
| Katelyn Kolodziejczyk |
UMHB |
Base/Tumbler |
| Jordan Gruendler |
Baylor |
Top |
| Jenna Hall |
UMHB |
Top/Tumbler |
| Sarah Lang |
Azusa Pacific |
Base/Tumbler |
| Ali Price |
Gannon |
Top/Tumbler |
| Lyndsey Rudolph |
Quinnipiac |
Top/Tumbler |
| Ty Upton |
Gannon |
Top/Base/Tumbler |
| Payton Washington |
Baylor |
Top/Tumbler |
| Tiffany Zieba |
Quinnipiac |
Top/Base/Tumbler |
| 2024 NCATA All-Academic Team |
| Name |
School |
Position |
| Brianna Arre |
Gannon |
Base |
| Kalyn Dujka |
UMHB |
Base/Tumbler |
| Jordan Gruendler |
Baylor |
Top |
| Sarah Lang |
Azusa Pacific |
Base/Tumbler |
| Melanie Reed |
Quinnipiac |
Base |
| Rylee Rossman |
Limestone |
Top/Tumbler |
| Rylee Vinson |
Fairmont State |
Top/Tumbler |
| Cami Wilson |
Oregon |
Base |
| 2024 NCATA Academic Honor Roll * |
| CLICK HERE |
* All members of the NCATA Academic Honor Roll must have a grade-point average of 3.30 or higher and be on their team's active roster.