Athletics Honors Golden Eagle Winners

The 22nd annual Golden Eagle Awards Dinner April 12 honored a dozen Westmont scholar-athletes who have exceled athletically and in the classroom while being a faithful follower of Christ. This year’s winners were Alberto Gastaldo, men’s track and field, Melissa McCormick, women’s track and field, Tommy Nightingale, men’s tennis, Sydney Striff, women’s volleyball, Nathan Evans, men’s cross country, Alisa Johnson, women’s cross country, Haley Strandness, women’s tennis, Michael Rishwain, baseball, Stefan Inouye, men’s basketball, Carly Richardson, women’s soccer, Nate Ruble, men’s soccer, Lauren McCoy, women’s basketball. Kirsten Moore, head women’s basketball coach, was master of ceremonies. President Gayle D. Beebe offered closing remarks.

Pete and Gerd Jordano and Pacific Beverage Company have sponsored the annual event since it began in 1995.

Gastaldo, a thrower who helped the team win three conference titles, enrolled at Westmont following the death of his father. “There’s no better place to express and work out those things than through athletics, a safe place to throw things around and get angry,” says Russell Smelley, head track and field coach.

The senior history major says he is under no illusion about his athletic prowess. “But I was taught from a very young age by my mother and my father that you may not be the best athlete, but you are going to be one of the hardest working ones and you are always going to give 100 percent, no matter where you’re at,” he says.

McCormick, a liberal studies senior, walked onto the track team after competing only one year in high school. “It was the first time my high school had ever had a track team, so I just had a little taste of it,” she says. Smelley and Coach Josh Priester convinced her to compete in the heptathlon two weeks before the GSAC Championships. She finished eighth, earning a point for her team. The following year, as a junior, she finished third. “Westmont has taught me to take risks and try new things, especially ones without the guarantee of success,” she says. “Failing can be scary, but the blessings that can come out of bravely stepping out of your comfort zone can be more rewarding than you ever thought possible.”

Nightingale, a junior economics and business, English and religious studies triple major, is WCSA vice president and a David K. Winter Servant Award winner. Last year at Nationals, a match came down to Nightingale who was coming off a bout of pneumonia and had suffered a torn knee ligament. “He battled like I couldn’t believe,” says Mark Basham, head men’s tennis coach. “What a warrior he was,  and he lost 7-6 in the third. Tommy is a joyful, enthusiastic person. The next day, he was cheerful and knew that in the overall perspective this wasn’t that big of a deal and that life goes on.”

“Westmont has been a redeeming experience where I’ve been able to explore what it means to have Christ at the center of life and how that’s connected to everything,” Nightingale says.

Sydney Striff, a senior kinesiology major, endured numerous injuries including a hip surgery and a concussion that kept her out of the Senior Night match. “Over my collegiate career, I experienced my fair share of injuries, fought for a starting spot, and had to balance the rigorous academics that always seemed to not so conveniently coincide with our travel schedule,” she says. “While I would have never wished for these adversities, giving up was never an option. I was told freshman year that persistence is your measure of faith in yourself, and I had, (and still have) my eye set on the prize of becoming a physician’s assistant, so I chose a path of perseverance.”

Nathan Evans, a senior economics and business major from Fresno, overcame the same hip surgery that Striff had. And similar to Gastaldo, Evans came to Westmont struggling to deal with the loss of his father in high school.  “As Nate grew and dealt with loss, he also dealt with becoming a genuine and real person, who would follow through on his heart in what matters the most,” Smelley says.

As Evans recovered from his surgery, he pondered his future and whether he wanted to resume running. “I came back to run because I love running, love my teammates and coach,” Evans says. “The body I have is a gift from God and so are athletics.”

Johnson, a kinesiology major from Glendale, cites a religious studies course with Professor Tremper Longman and a semester abroad in Mexico as Westmont highlights. “She’s had some wonderful running accomplishments and some disappointments that have been very difficult and caused her to grow and examine herself,” Smelley says.

“From the moment I arrived on campus, I have been showered with love and support in ways I could've never imagined,” Johnson says.

Stradness, a biology major from Spokane, Wash., was 9-5 this season in singles and 10-6 in doubles. She helped the women’s team secure a GSAC Regular Season Championship and a GSAC Tournament Championship. Stradness walked onto the tennis team her first year, notching a 12-2 record in singles and 6-0 in doubles. She also earned the Santa Barbara Athletic Roundtable’s Scholar Athlete of the Year. “I have struggled emotionally and spiritually,” Stradness says. “I always wanted to give my absolute best every day on the court and in the classroom, but this radical perfectionism caused me to stumble. I experienced failure on the court and in the classroom, yet that failure has taught me that there is beauty in knowing I can’t be perfect. Jesus is redeeming my desire to do everything perfectly. He is teaching me that he is in control and he is bigger than my anxious heart.”

Michael Rishwain, a kinesiology major from Lodi, is a right-handed relief pitcher with an unreal ERA of 0.59 in 29 appearances in 2016. He has helped lead the Warriors to their best season record in program history and their first GSAC regular season championship since 1994. In his first year at Westmont, Rishwain finished with an ERA of 2.77 in 17 appearances. “My time at Westmont has introduced me to friends and mentors who have invested in me as a student, baseball player and person and I think that’s the best part about the Westmont community – you meet people who truly care about you,” he says. “I’m not just a face in a lecture, my teachers know me by name. They care if I show up, they care if I learn something, and they care about my future. To my coaches, I’m not just a player with a number on my back, I’m a man who needs molding. My coaches care if I treat people the right way on campus, they care if I’m doing well in the classroom, and they care about my well-being off the field just as much as they care about my ERA.”

Inouye, a junior guard from Torrance, was named an NAIA Scholar-Athlete this year. He saw action in 17 games for the Warriors this season and is a kinesiology major at Westmont with a GPA of 3.83. He also earned the Westmont Men’s Basketball Champions of Character award. Inouye, a fastidious learner, thanked the Westmont professors who have taught him the most valuable lessons. Christian Hoeckley: “You taught me the importance of learning class material even if I’m not going to remember it in 20 years.” Rick Ifland: “You challenged us to question whether or not we have a secular mindset with a Christian skin on top and if we’re just faking it, or whether we truly have a Christian worldview and if we’re allowing that to permeate every aspect of our lives, including our vocational choices.” Glenn Town’s lecture, “What Women Want from a Man,” using source material from Seventeen magazine: “He quoted Ephesians 5:25, ‘Husbands, love your wives just as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for her.’ That’s a message that as an 18-year-old, I needed to hear.”

Richardson, a senior kinesiology major from Belmont, earned a Select Sport America Champion of Character Scholarship for women’s soccer in 2013 and was an NAIA and GSAC Scholar-Athlete in 2014 and 2015. “She is an example of selfless leadership, regard for other, and wisdom beyond her years,” says Chantel Cappuccilli, head women’s soccer coach. “Her desire to be the best version of herself on and off the field and commit to spiritual growth has made our program better.”

Richardson recalled the time in 2013 when the team went on a mission trip to Africa with Sports Outreach and they played against a prison team inside a high-security Gulu prison.

“That moment really catalyzed a movement in my heart toward joy unbound by circumstance and it was one of the greatest lessons that I’ve learned at Westmont,” Richardson says. “As the following year unfolded, I felt God’s presence in my life and in our team in a way we had not seen. Our team embodied prayerfulness and gratitude which lead us to a real freedom and joy on and off the field.”

Ruble, a junior kinesiology major from Fresno, was a medical red shirt in 2014 and has been unable to participate in soccer the last two years due to back-to-back knee injuries.

“Though recent experiences have not been especially kind, the choices have been wise and his resolve has been steadfast,” Dave Wolf, men’s head soccer coach. “Most importantly, while life can be undeniably tricky, the source of life, the giver of life is graciously simple, accessible and ever ready to join our journey.”

“I’m somebody who typically deals with struggle by putting my head down and going full force into it, but after having two injuries back to back, I’ve had to really look up and gaze into the face of fear a little bit and be able to learn to trust the Lord through those situations,” Ruble says. “Though this award may be intended to honor me individually, any success that I have had here at Westmont is an unmistakable reflection of the persistent and gracious and unconditional faith that people have had in me, particularly my family, teachers and coaching staff.”

McCoy, a sophomore political science major from Arcata, finished the season second in the GSAC and 13th in the NAIA in rebounding with an average of 8.6 rebounds per game; fifth in the GSAC in field goal percentage with a shooting percentage of 49.6; and 16th in the NAIA in double-doubles with a total of nine on the season. McCoy led the Warriors this season with 267 rebounds. In her two years, she has been an All-American twice and All-GSAC twice. “I am genuinely inspired by her and her fierce resolve to make the world a better place,” says Kirsten Moore, head women’s basketball coach. “What a gift to have this young lady with us for another two years as well.”

“Not only am I here tonight representing my teammates and coaches, but I am here representing the ultimate teammate for life and ultimate coach, Jesus Christ,” McCoy says. “We are called to be the salt in the light of the world, but hear this carefully: we are not the light, we are just the reflection. I am not up here tonight as the light that the world needs, I am up here as a reflection of the light Jesus came to our world to be. This light was not something I found on my own. I am here before you with a desire to glorify God because of the sport of basketball because this sport brought me here to Westmont.”