Pasos, Ryan honored with Trapper Awards

Leonardo Medeiros and Cheyenne Saltsman were named the athletes of the year for Northwest College on Monday night at the school’s annual athletic awards ceremony. The dinner and program was held at The Commons in downtown Powell. Medeiros was an All-American and the Region IX MVP last fall for the Trapper men’s soccer program. He led the Trappers in goals scored this season while helping lead head coach Rob Hill’s team to a Region IX championship and a trip to the NJCAA District tournament in Arizona.

Medeiros recently signed a letter of intent to continue his playing career at the University of Texas at Brownsville. He is expected to take an active role for a Scorpion team that reached the NAIA national tournament last autumn.

Saltsman spent much of the fall semester ranked atop the nation in barrel racing as a member of the Northwest College women’s rodeo team. The Republic, Wash., freshman has fallen on hard times during the spring semester while waiting for her horse to heal from injury. Despite the adversity, Saltsman continues to rank second in the Big Sky Region in the barrel race standings for the Trappers, who hope to clinch a team berth at the College National Finals Rodeo when they wrap up the regular season this weekend in Missoula, Mont.

“She had a heck of a winter,” said NWC rodeo coach Del Nose. “To go in there and be winning, being first in the nation. We’ve never had someone do that before for us. If she hadn’t had a setback with her horse, she’d still be up there.”

It marked the first time representatives from both the men’s soccer program and the women’s rodeo team had been selected for athlete of the year honors at Northwest College.

The other highlight awards of the evening were the Trapper Awards, given annually to the student-athletes who best embody the mission of the Northwest College athletic programs by being solid competitors, students and community representatives. Both went to members of the Trappers’ basketball teams.

The men’s award went to sophomore Diego Pasos. The Orlando, Fla., native started 46 of a possible 60 games and averaged slightly more than 20 minutes per contest over the course of his Northwest College career. Pasos averaged 7.8 points and 5.2 rebounds per game for the Trapper men over the last two years.

New head men’s basketball coach Brian Erickson noted Pasos plans to continue his playing career at a four-year school, but has not signed a letter of intent yet.

Ryan, like Pasos, was a key performer on the hardwood the past two years for Northwest College. Ryan, who came to campus from Kaysville, Utah, started 42 games during her Trapper career, averaging nearly 22 minutes per night during those two years. Ryan averaged 5.4 points and 5.2 rebounds during her junior college career.

Ryan has signed a letter of intent to continue her basketball career at Rocky Mountain College in Billings.

“Taylor does a lot on and off the floor,” said Janis Beal, head women’s basketball coach at Northwest College. “When she leaves Northwest, she’ll have two degrees. She’s a Trailblazer for the admissions department and she’ll represent Northwest at the next level very well.”

Overall, approximately 120 men’s and women’s athletes were recognized and honored during the 2012 athletic awards banquet for Northwest College.