BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Ziggys, BGSU Athletics' end-of-year awards show, took place at the Stroh Center on Wednesday night.

"Our goal was to have an awards show feel, and I think we were really successful in that," Meghan Horn, BGSU Assistant Director for Student-Athlete Services and organizer of The Ziggys, said after the event.

The show was centered around celebrating the athletic and academic achievements by BGSU student-athletes over the past year.

"This group of student-athletes is making this university very, very proud, and I hope that you understand that," Derek van der Merwe, BGSU Vice President for Athletics Strategy and Director of Athletics, said.

While the award show usually switches between the Stroh Center and the ballroom in the Bowen-Thompson Student Union, this year's event may have changed the future plans.

"When we have it in the Stroh, this isn't the first time, it's always a little different vibe. But we always like to use the ballroom as well," Horn said. "I think maybe this might be the permanent location; I just think it's a great space because this is where a lot of the history goes."

Falcon Media Sports Network played a pivotal role in coverage before and during the event for the second straight year.

"I think the partnership has grown tremendously over the past couple of years. I mean, this partnership is fairly new; I want to say we just completed a second full year partnering with BGSU athletics," Falcon Media Sports Network Sports Content Director Lucas Kleimeyer said. "They've been incredible helping with travel, getting interviews and just being a helpful resource for Falcon Media Sports Network whenever we really need them to be."

Kleimeyer highlighted the partnership between the student-led media organization and BGSU athletics at the beginning of the show.

"Getting even just a couple minutes at the biggest awards show for BGSU athletics to talk about our partnership and talk about Falcon Media Sports Network and talk about student media, in general, was amazing, and it helped bring awareness to our organization, to other athletes and kind of just put us on the spotlight even more," Kleimeyer said. "I don't think I could thank Derek van der Merwe and his staff enough for giving us the chance to talk about our organization and highlight our partnership."

Five Falcon Media Sports Network members — Kleimeyer, Tyler Kavalecz, Chas McNeil, Samantha Momeyer and Ben Corak — presented awards during the show.

"It highlights some of our most important members and also some of our members who cover each sport as a beat reporter," Kleimeyer said. "So, kind of rewarding them and getting to present an award at the end of the year ceremony is a big deal."

A new element for this year's event was the addition of outside fans for the first time in the show's 11-year history.

"We've always kind of invited a few Falcon Club members, but it was really great to have more to give like a true athletic event experience to showcase what they've done," Horn said. "So, I really enjoyed it, and I think it just builds our community ties stronger."

BGSU football senior wide receiver Finn Hogan and BGSU women's soccer senior midfielder Jaden Frigerio hosted the event, opening the show with a monologue and roast of all 17 Bowling Green athletics teams.

"Our hosts being student-athletes and doing some of the roasting at the beginning was a perfect touch because you see that a lot at the Golden Globes or the Oscars," Horn said.

After the opening segment, Vice President for Student Engagement and Success Glenn Davis spoke to the audience, stepping in for BGSU President Rodney Rogers, who was out of state on university business.

Early in the show, van der Merwe, honored Mike Liut, the 1977 Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) and 1983 BGSU Athletic Hall of Fame inductee, with the Distinguished Alumnus Award.

"Thank you to the university for this recognition but much more importantly, my congratulations to everyone who was recognized here, both team and individual," Liut said. "The small victories in life add up over time and it's an indicator of future success."

Then, later in the show, van der Merwe honored Senior Associate Athletic Director for International Affairs Jim Elsasser with a special recognition award in honor of him retiring after 30 years of service with BGSU.

Football junior tight end Harold Fannin Jr. headlined the winners, taking home Male Athlete of the Year. However, he was unable to attend the event with the NFL Draft starting on Thursday.

Women's basketball senior guard Amy Velasco led all athletes with four awards, winning Female Athlete of the Year, Female Medal of Honor, Female Senior Scholar-Athlete and Iron Falcon.

"I just have been really blessed to be here…It's just been an honor to be a Falcon," Velasco said. "I'm passionate about basketball and I'm passionate about being a physical education (PE) teacher, as well as a health teacher. So, when you love what you do, it makes it easy."

Two other women's basketball players also took home awards.

Fifth-year guard Lexi Fleming, who recently transferred to High Point, won Comeback Performance.

"It's definitely nice to be honored for this award. Everything I've been through for the past five years, two ACL injuries, it's not really possible without my family, my coaches or my teammates. So, shoutout to them for always supporting me; it's just awesome to have a strong support system," Fleming said. "BG has been a special place for the last five years, and to come back through two injuries, this means a lot."

Meanwhile, freshman guard Johnea Donahue won Female Freshman of the Year.

"I'm so appreciative of this award," Donahue said. "Coming in as a freshman, you're not expected to meet those high of standards that I met this year, and I just want to thank all of my teammates and coaches for helping me get to that point."

Sophomore catcher Garrett Wright and former outfielder Jack Krause were the two baseball players to take home awards.

Wright took home Male Freshman of the Year after winning Mid-American Conference (MAC) Freshman of the Year during the 2024 season.

"Thank you coach Hallock for giving me an opportunity to be here. I mean, this wouldn't happen without him, as well as [my teammates]," Wright said. "They push me every day; this is what happens."

Krause won Male Senior Scholar-Athlete, delivering a message with a pre-recorded video.

"I am incredibly honored to receive the Senior Scholar-Athlete award. Firstly, I want to thank my parents, as well as my teammates, for supporting me, as well as God for helping to guide me through every challenge," Krause said. "Thank you to coach Hallock, as well as the rest of the staff, for taking a chance at me. Being an original member of the 2020 Falcon baseball team that had the program cut, it means that much more to me to be honored with such a prestigious award, as well as be a member of the 2024 MAC Championship team that got the Falcons back where they belong."

Volleyball junior opposite hitter Lauryn Hovey, the reigning MAC Player of the Year, won Junior Scholar-Athlete.

"I'm really honored," Hovey said. "There are a lot of amazing athletes at this school and amazing students as well, so being recognized as some of the top few is just a great accomplishment."

Meanwhile, senior golfer Darin Hudak won the Male Medal of Honor.

"It's nice to be recognized. It's definitely not just on me though. My teammates, coaches, friends and family have all contributed to my journey, and I could say that freshman year me would probably be pretty proud of where I'm at right now," Hudak said. "I just love working every day with my best friends and teammates that feel like a family."

Hockey junior defenseman Dalton Norris was the final major award winner, taking home Men's Junior Scholar-Athlete.

Other award winners included senior breaststroke/freestyle swimmer Abigail Dolliver, who was honored for providing an inclusive environment at BGSU, and graduate student freestyle/butterfly swimmer Riley McNichols, who won the Individual Community Service Award.

Additionally, Dillon Liskai won the Falcon Fanatic of the Year.

"It's a huge honor for me. I think it really represents the group that we have here at Falcon Fanatics. Two years ago, the idea coming back after that great Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) run. When I got the opportunity to be a part of Falcon Fanatics, I jumped right on it," Liskai said. "We have fantastic student-athletes here at BGSU, but the crazy part is they're better people outside of the sport than in the sport. So, when you got a great crew like that, they're really easy to root for; they play with heart, they play with hustle, they play with grit, and it's really hard not to root for that."

Meanwhile, women's cross country had the highest grade point average (GPA) of any women's program, men's golf had the highest GPA of any men's program, track and field won the Team Community Service award, the BGSU Transfer Evaluation Office won the Distinguished Service Award, women's tennis won the TikTok Challenge and volleyball won the Meserve Cup.