Clarksville, Ark.-The University of the Ozarks Athletic Department held an Athletic Celebration Award Ceremony Tuesday night where numerous student-athletes were recognized, including the Female and Male Athlete of the Year.
The 2022-2023 Female Athletes of the Year award was given to Rewa Chababo and Hayley Rivett. The 2022-23 Male Athletes of the Year award was given to Jake Dado and Charleus Emmanuel Ritch.
Chababo, a freshman member of the wrestling team, was the program's first national championship qualifier after a standout rookie season. Chababo placed second at regionals and placed third at the Missouri Valley Open, the third largest women's collegiate tournament in the country. A native of Houston, Texas, she earned Scholar All-American from the National Wrestling Coaches Association. She finished the season with a 14-4 overall record and posted 11 pins among those wins. She was nationally ranked for most of the season at 191.
Rivett, a junior member of the softball team, is among the most productive offensive players in the American Southwest Conference. She leads the ASC in home runs with eight, and ranks among the ASC's top-10 in RBI with 26. She is leading the team in nearly every major offensive category, including batting (.344), hits (32), slugging percentage (.667), on-base percentage (.390) and runs (16). She was named ASC Hitter of the Week once this season. ASC All-Conference honors have not been announced yet.
Dado, a junior member of the wresting team, was nationally ranked for most of the 2022-23 season and proved to be among the nation's best at 141. He placed fourth at regionals and went undefeated at the Gator Boot Duals. He finished the season with a 33-4 record, including three wins against NCAA III ranked opponents. Additionally, he placed second at the highly competitive Pete Willson Invite. The Lockport, Ill. native went undefeated in dual competition and was ranked as high as No. 8 in NCAA III during the season.
Ritch, a senior member of the soccer team, was among the top offensive players in the ASC. The three-time First Team All-Conference player ranked second in the ASC in goals with ten and points with 24. Ritch was the team leader in goals and points and ranked second in assists (4) and game-winning goals (3). He was named ASC Offensive Player of the Week twice during the season. The Carrefour, Haiti, native has proved to be among the program's best ranking third at Ozarks in career game-winning goals (10), seventh in career goals (22) and seventh in career shots (140).
The ASC Scholar-Athlete Medal of Honor honors went to Ritch and Kailey Barnes.
Fans can re-watch the ceremony here: https://fb.watchkhsYPiL-rT
