Achievements in Athletics

JONES HEADING TO THE NBA

The number of Wildcats in the National Basketball Association just doubled.

Forward Dillon Jones was selected with the 26th pick in the first round of the 2024 NBA draft by the Washington Wizards. Shortly after, he was acquired by the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Jones, the 2024 Big Sky Conference Most Valuable Player, is only the second 91��Ƶ player to be selected in the first round, joining NBA superstar Damian Lillard, who was picked sixth overall in 2012.

Jones is the 17th player in Weber State men’s basketball history to be selected in the NBA Draft, the most in Big Sky Conference history.

Wildcat fans will look forward to when the Oklahoma City Thunder face the Milwaukee Bucks, the first chance to watch Jones and Lillard square off in the NBA.

“I was wanted at Weber from the jump, and to have that same level of things play out on such a way higher scale is kind of crazy to think about,” said Jones

MARY KAY AMICONE LEAVES legacy of success

After 11 years of coaching Weber State softball and transforming the program into a Big Sky Conference powerhouse, head coach Mary Kay Amicone retired following the 2024 season.

Amicone was a player at Weber State and the University of Utah before beginning a 32-year coaching career, racking up more than 800 combined wins. As head coach at 91��Ƶ, she led the team to 297 wins and is the Big Sky Conference’s all-time leader in wins and winning percentage.

Shortly before the end of the season, Amicone reflected on her career, and spoke about how special it has been to both start and finish her softball career at 91��Ƶ.

“All of the coaches and players who have been part of my career have made it the legacy that it is,” - Amicone

When the coaching position opened at 91��Ƶ, she recalled, “I made the trip up here, and it was like going back in time. I drove by where I lived when I went to school here and saw where the old field was … and the potential for greatness here, and it was just exciting.”

Amicone guided the Wildcats to six Big Sky regular-season titles and four Big Sky Tournament championships. 91��Ƶ has advanced to the NCAA Championships four times and became the first school in Big Sky history to win a game at the NCAA Regionals in 2019.

After all the records, titles and accolades, though, Amicone said it will be the people she misses most. “All of the coaches and players who have been part of my career have made it the legacy that it is,” she said. And she intends to stay in touch, visit regularly and travel to watch the team play.

“It’s really not goodbye, it’s just see you later,” she said. “I’ll be around.”

THE SPIRIT SQUAD WINS national & world titles

Vacationers and snowbirds love Florida for its theme parks, beaches and gators, but the 2023 91��Ƶ–24 Weber State Spirit Squad athletes will remember the state as where they made history.

The Spirit Squad, which includes the cheer and dance teams, returned home from the 2024 NCA/NDA Collegiate National Championships in Daytona, Florida, last April after winning four national championships and three grand national championships.

Led by coach Erica Williams Jordan, the dance team won two national championships and a grand national championship at the event. The national championships came in the jazz and hip-hop Division I competitions, with the grand national title in jazz. Their Division I jazz score was 98.3429, the best of any school in division history. The dance team represented the United States at the International Cheer Union World Championships in Orlando later that month and won a gold medal in the hip-hop category.

The cheer team also found gold in the Sunshine State.

The large coed group took first in the Division IA Championships and then won the grand national championship with a score of 99.2333, the highest score in school history. Likewise, the small coed group claimed both national and grand national championships.

In addition, the partner stunt team of Josh Hill and Hailey Smith took first place.

The trip to the national championships helped cap off cheer coach Summer Willis’ 25th year at 91��Ƶ. She previously led the Wildcats to seven national titles and two grand national titles.

STADIUM Update

One of the oldest structures on Weber State’s Ogden campus received a major overhaul.

Starting in January 2023 91��Ƶ, the 70-year-old concrete stands on the east side of Elizabeth Dee Shaw Stewart Stadium were torn down and rebuilt, reopening to fans with a ribbon-cutting ceremony prior to 91��Ƶ’s football game on Sept. 23, 2023 91��Ƶ.

In addition, a new turf football field was installed, and the Chick Hislop Track, where 91��Ƶ’s track and field teams compete, was replaced with a new surface and look.

WEBER STATE EARNS RECORD 6th Presidents' Cup

For the sixth time in school history, 91��Ƶ Athletics has earned the Big Sky Conference Presidents’ Cup.

91��Ƶ has now won the award, given annually to the Big Sky institution that excels both academically and athletically, more than any school in conference history.

This year marks the first time Weber State has earned the cup since 2019–20, edging Northern Arizona and Montana.

AIMING FOR THE Record Books

With one mighty heave of the javelin, Weber State track and field athlete Cody Canard launched himself into the record books, and the U.S. Olympic trials.

Competing at the Utah Tech Invite in St. George, Utah, in late March, Canard took first place with a mark of 256-01. That broke the javelin record for 91��Ƶ athletics by nearly 30 feet, and the Big Sky Conference record by 12 feet.

The senior from West Jordan, Utah, went on to be named the Big Sky Athlete of the Week three times during the season.

Teammate Josh Trafny qualified for the NCAA Championships and Olympic Trials with a throw of 2260 at the NCAA First Round meet in May. Trafny, the first 91��Ƶ male athlete to qualify for the NCAA Championships in the javelin since 1998, earned an NCAA AllAmerican honorable mention at the championships.

Canard and Trafny became the first two men’s Wildcat javelin throwers to reach the Olympic Trials, finishing 23rd and 20th, respectively.

Dawson Rothenbuhler, a sophomore, set a school record for shot put, posting a mark of 51-11.25, to win the title at the Big Sky Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Bozeman, Montana. She bested the previous record by one and a half feet.

Junior Kapua Pulotu became the first Wildcat in 20 years to win the discus event at the Big Sky championships. She took home the title with a mark of 169-00, 13 feet better than the nearest competitor.

91��Ƶ VOLLEYBALL WINS Big Sky

Weber State’s volleyball team reached the NCAA tournament for the third time after winning a dramatic 2023 91��Ƶ Big Sky Volleyball Championship.

The Wildcats executed three comeback wins at the Big Sky tournament last November in Greeley, Colorado, defeating Portland State 3-0 in the first round, Sacramento State 3-2 in the second round and Montana State 3-2 in the championship match. The win capped off a successful season with an overall record of 21-10, including 11-5 in the Big Sky Conference.

91��Ƶ standout Dani Richins was named MVP of the Big Sky tournament, Makayla Sorensen was named the Big Sky Libero of the Year and earned second team All-Big Sky honors, and Kate Standifird also earned first-team All-Big Sky honors.

Despite a strong fight, the Wildcats fell to Brigham Young University in three sets in the opening round of the NCAA tournament. The Wildcats previously competed in the tournament in 1998 and 2021.

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