BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — Augustana College’s Casey Barragan (So., Commerce, Calif./La Serna/Fresno State University) makes history by earning Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player recognition, while Vikings’ head coach Ryan Pryor earns his first Coach of the Year nod to lead the 2023 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III-West Region All-Conference Team.
Selected based on nominations and votes by the head coaches of the league’s five Division III-West region institutions (Augustana, Austin College, Carthage College, Macalester College, Wittenberg University), the All-Conference Team honors the 16 best players (14 field players, two goalies) in the majority opinion of the coaches.
Barragan achieves a unique position in the annals of the league – although matched by Gigi Sandull (Fr., Kenilworth, N.J./Union County Vocational-Technical Schools) of Connecticut College who garnered MVP and Rookie of the Year status in the CWPA Division III-East Region this year – as the duo of Barragan and Sandull become the first women’s Division III athletes to earn both MVP and Rookie (defined for award purposes as, “an athlete competing in their inaugural season in the CWPA”) status in the same season.
In the history of the league, only Hartwick College’s Kirsten Hudson matched the feat in women’s competition as the former Hawks’ standout garnered MVP and Rookie of the Year status during the 2007 season when the Division I and III programs competed in a single conference schedule.
A transfer student from Fresno State, Barragan eads a contingent of four Augustana athletes on the All-Conference First Team as the second-year sensation is joined by Annie Opal Dickson (So., Imperial Beach, Calif./Mar Vista), Charlotte Newport (So., Baytown, Texas/Ross S. Sterling) and goalkeeper Lizzie Pelzman (So., Roseville, Calif./Roseville). The recognition marks the inaugural All-Conference nods for the quartet as 10 of the 14 athletes to earn spots on either the First or Second teams receive their first postseason recognition from the West Region head coaches.
Lauren Olivier (Sr., Indio, Calif./Citrus College) of Austin College earns her second All-Conference kudo as she collects First Team recognition following Second Team acknowledgement in 2022. She is joined on the First Team by 2022 First Team honoree Eleanor Michaud (Sr., Long Grove, Ill./Adlai E. Stevenson) and Sydney Hollingsworth (Sr., Evanston, Ill./Evanston Township) of Macalester as the pair of Scots round out the 2023 First Team selections.
Macalester goalkeeper Laurel O’Hare (Jr., Evanston, Ill./Evanston Township) also snags a second All-Conference award as the 2022 Second Team pick is joined by teammate Elizabeth Matlin (So., Buffalo Grove, Ill./Adlai E. Stevenson) on the 2023 Second Team.
2021 and 2022 West Region First Team pick Grace McLaughlin (Jr., Hatfield, Pa./North Penn) and Savannah Cross (Sr., Cincinnati, Ohio/Kings) of Wittenberg University, Aubrey Paskey (Sr., Paso Robles, Calif./Paso Robles) and Alyssa Ross (Jr., San Jose, Calif./Leland) of Austin College along with Ocean Akau (So., Pana’ewa, Hawaii/Kamehameha) of Augustana round out the 14 honored athletes.
Pryor becomes the third head coach to earn a CWPA Division III-West Region Coach of the Year cachet following Mark Lawrence of Austin (2022 CWPA Division III-West, 2021 CWPA Division III) and former Monmouth College head coach/current Augustana assistant coach Peter Ollis (2019 CWPA Division III-West). Prior to 2019, a single Division III All-Conference team was named with one Coach of the Year as Scott Reed of Macalester (2017, 2018), Joe Tristan of Penn State Behrend (2016), Matt Anderson of Connecticut College (2015), Andy Bax formerly of Carthage (2014), JJ Addison formerly of Connecticut College (2013), Jon Miller formerly of Grove City College (2010, 2012) and Sarah Zink formerly of Carthage (2011) earned status prior to the award system splitting into East and West honors.
For the sake of clarity, the 2019 All-Conference teams were divided into East and West Regions, while the 2020 was lost to the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to limited competition in 2021, the East and West All-Conference teams were merged into a single “CWPA Division III” group prior to the return of East and West Teams for the 2022 campaign.
2023 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III-West All-Conference Team
Most Valuable Player: Casey Barragan (Augustana College)
Rookie of the Year: Casey Barragan (Augustana College)
Coach of the Year: Ryan Pryor (Augustana College)
First Team
Lizzie Pelzman (Goalie) – Augustana College
Casey Barragan – Augustana College
Annie Opal Dickson – Augustana College
Charlotte Newport – Augustana College
Eleanor Michaud^ – Macalester College
Sydney Hollingsworth – Macalester College
Lauren Olivier* – Austin College
Second Team
Laurel O’Hare (Goalie)* – Macalester College
Elizabeth Matlin – Macalester College
Aubrey Paskey – Austin College
Alyssa Ross – Austin College
Grace McLaughlin^% – Wittenberg University
Savannah Cross – Wittenberg University
Ocean Akau – Augustana College
^2022 CWPA Division III-West All-Conference First Team; *2022 CWPA Division III-West All-Conference Second Team; %2021 CWPA Division III First Team
