Year in Review: Athletes of the Year
This week BroncoSports.com reflects and celebrates the success of the Broncos from the 2022-23 academic year. The series concludes day with the department's Male and Female Athletes of the Year.
The Boise State Athletes of the Year each participated in the NCAA postseason during the 2022-23 campaign. The Male Athlete of the Year is Simon Arca Costas from men's tennis, while Courtney Blackson (women's gymnastics) and MaLeigha Menegatti (women's track and field) are the Co-Female Athletes of the Year.
Male Athlete of the Year
Simon Arca Costas is the Male Athlete of the Year led the men’s tennis team to a Mountain West Championship title and a berth in the NCAA Championship.
A senior from Vigo, Spain, he set the school record for consecutive singles’ victories at 24 and posted a 23-0 mark in dual regular season matches, the top mark in school history. His 33 wins in singles ranks third all-time on Boise State’s single-season list and his winning percentage of .846 is fourth.
He was named the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Mountain Region Most Improved Senior. Arca Costas and his doubles partner Michael Bott went 20-8 in team duals and 21-9 overall. The 21 victories tied for 12th on the Broncos’ single-season list. His 28 wins in doubles overall tied for 10th in school history.
Arca Costas finished his career as a six-time All-Mountain West honoree, three times each in single and doubles. His 104 singles wins rank fifth on Boise State’s career list and his winning percentage of .722 is eighth. His 77-career doubles victories are 12th all-time at Boise State. His 181-career wins combined are tied for sixth at Boise State and his career winning percentage of .681 is 12th.
Boise State's Arca Costas named ITA's Mountain Region Most Improved Senior for 2023.
— Boise State Men's Tennis (@BroncoSportsMTN) June 12, 2023
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Sport Enhancement Funds allow Bronco fans to give to individual teams and help support their specific goals and needs. All 18 varsity sports at Boise State have established sport enhancement funds that help supplement and offset operational costs.
Female Co-Athletes of the Year
Courtney Blackson (gymnastics) and MaLeigha Menegatti (track and field) are Co-Female Athletes of the Year.
Blackson scored a 9.925 on vault at the NCAA Championships to earn a tie for national runner-up. It marked the highest vault score and the highest finish in any event by a Broncos at nationals.
A junior from Elk Grove, Calif., scored a 10.000 on vault during the second round of the NCAA Los Angeles Regional. Her score was the first perfect mark by a Bronco at a regional competition, the fourth 10.000 on vault in Boise State history and the sixth 10.000 all-time for the Blue and Orange.
Blackson won the Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference (MRGC) vault title and was named MRGC Specialist of the Week seven times this season. She was named MRGC First Team on bars on floors and MRGC Second Team on vault.
MaLeigha Menegatti captured the Mountain West title in the 800-meters at both the indoor and outdoor conference championships. She went on to earn Second-Team All-America honors in the event during the indoor and outdoor seasons.
Her time of 2:02.76 at the NCAA Outdoor Championships ranks third on the Boise State all-time performance list.
A native of Pueblo West, Colo., the redshirt senior is a seven-time All-Mountain West honoree and a four-time Mountain West Track Athlete of the Week.
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— Boise State Gymnastics (@BroncoSportsGYM) April 14, 2023
(Also, can confirm the ???????????????? ????????????-?????? on vault each got their own trophies)#BleedBlue | #WhatsNext pic.twitter.com/ZvnhNp0Zg1
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— Boise State XC | T&F (@BroncoSportXCTF) June 15, 2023
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We just can't get enough of MaLeigha Menegatti. Check out a behind the scenes look at her stay in Austin for NCAA Outdoor Nationals! ??
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The Women's Sports Fund helps to raise awareness and enhance the experience for Boise State's female student-athletes. Donations to the Women’s Sports Fund will help push Boise State female student-athletes to even greater heights in the classroom, competition, and in the community.
