KUTZTOWN, Pa. – Kutztown University's
Brandon Raguz (Chalfont, Pa./Central Bucks South) of the track & field team and
Emily Zwiercan (Reinholds, Pa./Cocalico) of the women's soccer team have been named the 2018 KU Athletes of the Year.
Raguz is the first male track & field performer to win the award since Justin Collins in 2004, while Zwiercan marks the third women's soccer winner in the last four years.
Raguz capped his career with a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championship and All-America First Team honors in the pole vault. He had a career-best seventh-place finish in the pole vault at the NCAA Outdoor Championships to become a two-time All-American. He won his first career PSAC Championship this spring and broke the meet record by clearing over 17'.
Raguz qualified for his second NCAA Championship in 2018, third of his career, finishing in the top-15 at nationals for the third time in his career. The Chalfont-native earned his fourth consecutive All-Atlantic Region honor, having now accumulated six total All-Region awards in his career. The five-time All-PSAC selection owns the fourth-best indoor and second-best outdoor heights in school history, 16-4.75 and 17-0.25, respectively.
He is also a Dean's List student and earned a KU Chambliss Academic Achievement Award Copper Medal.
Zwiercan was honored as the PSAC Athlete of the Year, the Atlantic Region Player of the Year and was named to the All-America Third Team as a sophomore. The Reinholds-native also garnered First Team All-PSAC and All-Atlantic Region accolades, finishing the season as the team-leader with 14 goals and nine assists.
A Dean's List student, Zwiercan also received recognition for her hard work in the classroom, being named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District team.
Members of the KU athletic department staff voted upon the nominees to determine KU's year-end awards. The awards will be formally presented at halftime of the Sept. 8 football game vs. California (PA) at 12:05 p.m.
KU Male Athlete of the Year Award Winners
| Year |
Winner |
| 1987 |
Mike Cantrel, Track & Field |
| 1988 |
Marty Eggleston, Basketball |
| 1989 |
Butch Hills, Basketball |
| 1991 |
Bart Wasiolek, Cross Country/Track |
| 1992 |
Mark Steinmeyer, Football |
| 1993 |
Todd Wiley, Cross Country |
| 1994 |
Mike Fantanarosa, Football/Track |
| 1995 |
John Mobley, Football |
| 1996 |
John Mobley, Football |
| 1997 |
Andy Bausher, Baseball |
| 1998 |
Ryan Vogelsong, Baseball |
| 1999 |
Chris Spinozzi, Baseball |
| 2000 |
Paul Schmitt, Track & Field |
| 2001 |
Tim Bausher, Baseball |
| 2002 |
Glenn Woolard, Baseball |
| 2003 |
Scott Eisenhart, Track & Field |
| 2004 |
Justin Collins, Track & Field |
| 2005 |
Matt Keller, Baseball |
| 2006 |
Mike McCardell, Baseball |
| 2007 |
Joe Kemmerer, Wrestling |
| 2008 |
Elfren Quiles, Football |
| 2009 |
Joe Kemmerer, Wrestling |
| 2010 |
Stephen Dennis, Basketball |
| 2011 |
Kevin Morton (Royersford, Pa./Spring-Ford), Football |
| 2012 |
Kevin Morton (Royersford, Pa./Spring-Ford), Football |
| 2013 |
Kevin Morton (Royersford, Pa./Spring-Ford), Football |
| 2014 |
Ziad Haddad, Wrestling |
| 2015 |
Ziad Haddad, Wrestling |
| 2016 |
Josh Johnson, Basketball |
| 2017 |
Jordan Morgan, Football |
| 2018 |
Brandon Raguz (Chalfont, Pa./Central Bucks South), Track & Field |
KU Female Athlete of the Year Award Winners
| Year |
Winner |
| 1987 |
Fran Metz, Basketball |
| 1988 |
Sharon Toth, Softball |
| 1989 |
Gwen Kerr, Field Hockey |
| 1990 |
Lisa Marrella, Field Hockey |
| 1991 |
Missy Boettger, Basketball/Softball |
| 1992 |
Shayn Mosley, Field Hockey, Diving |
| 1993 |
Daphne Hoyt, Cross Country/Track |
| 1994 |
Lorie Erie, Softball |
| 1995 |
Deidre Lynn Rhodes, Track & Field |
| 1996 |
Deidre Lynn Rhodes, Track &Field |
| 1997 |
Tara Crozier, Track and Field |
|
Claudine Gruver, Swimming |
| 1998 |
Tara Crozier, Track & Field |
| 1999 |
Amy Wahl, Basketball |
| 2000 |
Kristi Braine, Track & Field |
| 2001 |
Megan Seefeldt, Cross Country/Track |
| 2002 |
Kellie Evans, Softball |
| 2003 |
Missy Klein, Volleyball |
| 2004 |
Jessie Didier, Volleyball |
| 2005 |
Kerstin Kloeffer, Tennis |
| 2006 |
Laura Kline, Field Hockey/Track |
| 2007 |
Steph Denlinger, Softball |
| 2008 |
Ashley Fitzgerald, Softball |
| 2009 |
Steph Denlinger, Softball |
| 2010 |
Steph Jeppesen, Swimming |
| 2011 |
Melissa McQuade, Basketball |
| 2012 |
Kayla Jones, Bowling |
| 2013 |
April Doyle, Track & Field |
| 2014 |
Erin Reynolds, Field Hockey |
| 2015 |
Sam Costello, Soccer |
| 2016 |
Anna Behm, Field Hockey |
| 2017 |
Alaina Curry, Soccer |
| 2018 |
Emily Zwiercan (Reinholds, Pa./Cocalico), Soccer |
