General | 4/22/2025 4:41:00 PM

Six Utah Tech University student-athletes were honored as recipients of the Second-Annual "Strive To B" Award, presented by Black Desert Resort, at a special awards luncheon held on Tuesday at the Resort's Onyx Ballroom.
 
The six Trailblazers who were presented with this year's "Strive To B" Awards were junior men's golfer Zach Felts, senior baseball player Ethan He, senior women's volleyball player Kennedi Knudsen, fifth year women's soccer player Gracie Knutzen, redshirt senior women's swimmer Ginevra Molino, and junior men's soccer goalkeeper Stockton Short.
 
"We are so grateful and appreciative of our partnership with Black Desert, it is a great relationship and one we want to continue to foster," Utah Tech University Executive Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Ken Beazer. "We appreciate what we do with Black Desert and the 'Strive to B' Award program, it has been awesome. Our student-athletes really look forward to it and it has gained equity with our student-athletes on receiving the award."
 
The six student-athletes were chosen for the first Black Desert "Strive To B" Award because of their continued commitments to the core principles of the award, which are:
·      Be outstanding.
·      Be a leader.
·      Be accountable.
·      Be kind.
·      Be compassionate.
 
"Congratulations to all the athletes, I love that the 'Strive to B' Award celebrates not just the sport, but the community and the community outreach," said Patrick Manning, managing partner of Black Desert Resort. "I appreciate seeing the future of our community, and that these athletes are so invested in the community beyond their sport."
 
Beazer shared how the "Strive to B" Award falls into the department's mission of "Tassels, Titles and Traditions," which he noted encompasses the whole development of the student-athlete. 

"Tassels obviously represents [our student-athlete's] academic pursuits at the institution, and how we encourage and promote that with them," said Beazer. "Titles is what it is – we're in it to win it, and our athletes all come in with that same attitude.
 
"Traditions is more qualitative, whether we are a coach, administrator or a student-athlete, it's where we fit in the history [records, honors] of Utah Tech University Athletics, and the mark we left not only the institution, but in the community," Beazer added. "That's where I think this really works with Black Desert and the 'Strive to B' Award. We are taking in the academics, the Tassels; the competitiveness, the championships; and the Traditions as where we fit individually in the history of [Utah Tech] and the community."