| Culminating the 2012-2013 athletic season, the best student-athlete performances were celebrated at the fifth annual “EeeWoos” on June 4, with football taking home the lion’s share of the hardware.
The team that finished 11-3 and advanced to the Football Championship Subdivision semifinals won best team, and quarterback Vernon Adams won best male freshman and play of the year. Brandon Kaufman, currently a wide receiver for the Buffalo Bills in the National Football League, won best male athlete and record-breaking performance. Kaufman set the FCS all-time mark in 2012 with 1,850 receiving yards. |
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| “This year was incredible,” Kaufman said upon receiving the first of his two awards. “These last four years were incredible. I want to thank everyone in this room for making these the best four years of my life.”
Head football coach Beau Baldwin won coach of the year and safety Jeff Minnerly won male scholar athlete. |
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| Coming off a highly successful season that included a postseason tournament invite, the women’s basketball team racked up four EeeWoos, most notably Lexie Nelson’s wins for best female athlete and best newcomer. “It’s a great group,” the Montana transfer said of her coaches and teammates. “I feel very fortunate and blessed to be a part of this team. I wouldn’t trade them for anything.” |
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| Shooting guard Hayley Hodgins picked up the EeeWoo for female freshman of the year after receiving the same award from the Big Sky Conference, and the squad also won for best game, thanks to a thrilling battle versus Washington in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament that unfortunately saw the Eagles fall 65-60 in double overtime. |
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| The biggest cheers of the night, however, came for senior sprinter Brad Wall, who won his first ever EeeWoo. Recently winning his fourth Big Sky Conference title in the 400-meter dash, Wall figured that his best chance for winning was in the career achievement category, and he was right. Nicholas Edwards, Jeffrey Forbes, Greg Herd, Zach Johnson and Kevin Winford were also nominated. “It’s an honor to even be mentioned with them,” Wall said. “It’s been a hell of a ride.” |
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| Cora Kellerman, who starred in both volleyball and track and field at Eastern, was the fourth athlete to win dual awards, winning for female career achievement and female scholar athlete. Tennis sensation Joseph Cohen won for male newcomer after winning his final 12 singles matches and going 8-0 in the Big Sky, and volleyball’s Laney Brown won the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee Triple Threat Citizen award. |
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| The highlight of the evening comically came during a skit with 7-foot-1-inch Frederik Jörg and 5-foot-1-inch Kylie Huerta from the men’s and women’s basketball teams, respectively, in which the two palled around campus while “Best Friend” by Harry Nilsson played in the background. At one point, Huerta ducked through Jörg’s legs in a game of 1-on-1 with Jörg looking stunned beyond belief. The night was capped off by a performance by the Code Red band and an EWU cheer rendition of “Gangnam Style.” A video of the skit can be found here courtesy of EWU athletics. |
