OLYMPIA, Wash. -- The Evergreen State College has eight athletes and one coach who have been nominated for the 2024-25 Thurston County Sports Awards, which will be held at South Puget Sound Community College on Wednesday, June 4.

Evergreen's nominees for the 2024-25 Sports Awards from men's sports are Max Baeder (So.) from the cross country and track and field teams, Jourdan Joseph (Sr., G) from the basketball team, and Emmanuel Nicasio (Sr., M) from soccer team.

Nominees from Evergreen women's teams are Alauna Carstens (Jr.) from the cross country and track and field teams, Allison DeBerry (Sr., G) from the basketball team, Flor Parker Borrero (Jr.) from the wrestling team, Izabelle Trefts (Jr.) from the cross country and track and field teams, and Sydney VanNess (Sr., G/F) from the basketball team. Also nominated was Assistant Women's Wrestling Coach John Lane.

Baeder, Joseph, and Nicasio were nominated for the Men's Collegiate Sports Star of the Year. Nicasio also was nominated for Sports Moment of the Year. Carstens, Parker Borrero, Trefts, and VanNess were nominated for the Women's Collegiate Sports Star of the Year.  Carstens, DeBerry, and Parker Borrero were nominated for Sports Moment of the Year. Lane was nominated for two awards, Sports Contributor of the Year and Thurston County Sports Legend.

Max Baeder (Men's Cross Country, Men's Track and Field)
Baeder (So.) was named All-American by earning eighth place at the 2024 NAIA Men's Marathon Classic in December. In cross country, he was Evergreen's top finisher at the 2024 Cascade Collegiate Conference Championships. He competed at the 2025 CCC Track and Field Championships in the 10,000-meter run. Baeder leads by example and sets a great standard for his teammates.


Nominated for:
Men's Collegiate Sports Star of the Year

Jourdan Joseph (Men's Basketball)
Joseph led Evergreen in scoring with 344 points and 16.4 points per game. He finished fourth in the CCC in scoring and was fourth in free throw percentage at 84.8% (112 of 132). He scored a career-high 30 points versus Multnomah on Feb. 7, 2025. Joseph Is Evergreen's career leader in free throw percentage at 85.2% (190 of 223) and is fourth all-time in career 3-point field goal percentage at 38.8% (69 of 178). He ranked fifth all-time for the Geoducks in career scoring average with 15.3 points per game.

Nominated for:
Men's Collegiate Sports Star of the Year

Emmanuel Nicasio (Men's Soccer)
Nicasio led the Geoducks with six goals and four assists for 16 total points during the 2024 season and was selected First Team All-Cascade Collegiate Conference. He was named Honorable Mention All-CCC in 2023 when he also was nominated for the Men's Collegiate Sports Star of the Year.

In his two seasons at Evergreen, Nicasio played in and started 30 games and contributed seven goals and five assists. This past fall, he scored the game-winning goal with four seconds left in a 2-1 home victory over Northwest University, and he earned a three-goal hat trick against Rocky Mountain College. Nicasio was a team captain for the Geoducks.

Nominated for:
Men's Collegiate Sports Star of the Year
Sports Moment of the Year (for the winning goal with four seconds left against Northwest)

Alauna Carstens (Women's Cross Country, Women's Track and Field)
Carstens has received multiple conference and national honors for her accomplishments in track and field and cross country. She has earned NAIA All-American five times in five different races.

She achieved NAIA All-American three times in 2024-25 by winning the marathon in 2 hours, 47 minutes, and 4 seconds, placing third in the indoor 3,000-meter run, and placing eighth in the outdoor 10,000-meter run. She was named the USTFCCCA West Region Athlete of the Year for 2025 in NAIA indoor track and field.

Carstens holds nine Evergreen school records. She was chosen CCC Athlete of the Week four times this year between indoor track and field and outdoor track and field.

Nominated for:
Women's Collegiate Sports Star of the Year
Sports Moment of the Year (for winning the NAIA Marathon Championship)

Allison DeBerry (Women's Basketball)
DeBerry made a 3-point basket with just 0.3 left in the game to send Evergreen to a 64-63 victory at Multnomah on Feb. 7, 2025. She was assisted by Sydney VanNess. Evergreen trailed by two points prior to the play, but grabbed the win after DeBerry sank the 3-point shot. The win was the second victory in a five-game winning streak that helped propel Evergreen into the Cascade Collegiate Conference Tournament.


Nominated for:
Sports Moment of the Year (for the last-second, winning 3-pointer against Multnomah)

Flor Parker Borrero (Women's Wrestling)
Parker Borrero earned All-American for the second season in 2024-25, as she took third place in the 160-pound weight class at the NAAI National Women's Wrestling Championships. She placed sixth at 155 pounds in 2023-24. This year, she received the NAIA Most Pins in the Fastest Time Award. For the season, she was 23-1 overall with 22 pins and one victory by a technical fall.

She was chosen CCC Outstanding Wrestler of the Meet in 2024-25 after winning the individual championship in the 160-pound weight class with four pins.  Parker Borrero was named CCC Women's Wrestler of the Week twice this season and was selected NAIA Women's Wrestler of the Week once.

Nominated for:
Women's Collegiate Sports Star of the Year
Sports Moment of the Year (for winning a CCC individual championship and being named Outstanding Wrestler of the Meet)

Izabelle Trefts (Women's Cross Country, Women's Track and Field)
Trefts won the 2025 NAIA Indoor Track and Field national championship in the women's 3,000-meter race walk in 13:53.46 to become an All-American for the Geoducks. She placed seventh at the 2025 USA Track and Field Indoor Championships in the 3,000-meter race walk.

At the 2025 NAIA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, she placed second in the 5,000-meter race walk in 23:22.79. She won the 5,000-meter race walk at the CCC Championships to earn All-CCC recognition.

Trefts holds the Evergreen school record and the third-fastest time in NAIA history in the 5,000-meter race walk at 23:01.80. She also qualified for the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in race walking.

Nominated for:
Women's Collegiate Sports Star of the Year

Sydney VanNess (Women's Basketball)
VanNess was named Honorable Mention All-Cascade Collegiate Conference in women's basketball three times during her Evergreen career (2022-23, 2023-24, and 2024-25). In 2024-25, she led the Geoducks with 13.3 points per game. She also averaged 5.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. She hit 78.8% of her free throws (52 of 66). She was named CCC Offensive Player of the Week on Feb. 10, 2025.

On Evergreen's career lists, she ranks sixth all time with 956 points, is third with 76.3% free throw accuracy, and is eighth with 421 rebounds. She also earned 125 assists and 72 steals.

Nominated for:
Women's Collegiate Sports Star of the Year

John Lane (Assistant Coach, Women's Wrestling)
Lane was nominated for two awards due to his many contributions to Thurston County sports over the years. He coached at Olympia High School for 20 years and he coached at Tumwater High School for 15 years. He has spent the past two years as the assistant women's wrestling coach at The Evergreen State College.

He has developed athletes into strong competitors as well as responsible and accountable adults. His positive energy and commitment to sports are two great qualities that have made him a key person in Thurston County athletics. Lane played an important role in launching the Evergreen women's wrestling program, which advanced wrestlers to the NAIA National Championships in both 2023-24 and 2024-25.

Nominated for:
Sports Contributor of the Year
Thurston County Sports Legend