BEMIDJI -- Zoe Carrasco and Derek Thompson were selected Bemidji State’s 2020-21 Female and Male Athletes of the Year, as announced during the school’s 2021 Beaver Nation Celebration held virtually Thursday.
Carrasco is a junior thrower on the women’s track and field team, while Thompson is a senior forward on the men’s basketball team. The duo were selected from a pool of nominated athletes from all 15 of BSU’s intercollegiate programs.
Carrasco, formerly Zoe Christensen, earned First Team All-America honors at the 2021 NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships last month in Alabama, where she took fourth overall in the shot put. She is only the second BSU thrower to earn multiple All-America honors since at least 2002.
A native of Glencoe, Minn., Carrasco also took home NCAA All-Region honors this season.
Thompson finished the season leading the Beavers in scoring at 17.9 points per game. He also ranked fifth in the NSIC in scoring, 10th in shooting (51.1%) and 11th with 6.3 rebounds per game.
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A Cold Spring native, Thompson was named to the NSIC All-Conference Second Team.
Additionally, Maryse Mbenoun of the women’s track and field team and Lukas Sillinger of the men’s hockey team were named BSU’s 2020-21 Female and Male Newcomers of the Year.
Maggie Cade, Carolyn Smith, Hannah Peterson, Ashley East, Taylor Neir, Hunter Haggenmiller, Alex Adams, Rumer Flatness, Abby DeLeRosa and Kara Werth each received Scholar Athlete of the Year honors.
The Bemidji State athletic department traditionally celebrates the end of each school year with a banquet, though the festivities were held virtually for the second straight year due to the pandemic. The five major award winners each made an appearance by submitting videos greeting fellow student-athletes, reminiscing about their time at BSU and wishing them well.
