FRESNO, Calif. – Fresno Pacific Athletics' annual spring celebration, Flight Night, returned to the Special Events Center for the 10^th edition of the awards ceremony celebrating the past year of Sunbird Athletics. Over 400 were on-hand to see who would take home the illustrious Birdie Awards. Returning as co-emcees for the evening were KSEE24/CBS47 Sports Director and voice of Sunbirds hoops Scott Bemis, and host of the Sunbirds Sports Show and FPU alum Paul Meadors.  
 
Seniors Geneva Elliott (Volleyball) and Forrest Gray (Men's Water Polo) took home the top honors as the Women's and Men's Sunbird of the Year, respectively.  The award recognizes their accomplishments not only as student-athletes but in academics, team leadership, spiritual leadership, and involvement on campus and in the community.  Volleyball and Men's Track & Field were honored as this season's Teams of the Year.
 
The night kicked off with dinner catered by Old Clovis favorite Luna, while the guests socialized and posed for photos with Sunny Sunbird. The show began with a short film produced and directed by senior Enzo Perragine (Men's Swimming) starring over 25 Sunbird student-athletes as well as FPU President Dr. André Stephens.  Following an opening invocation prayer by Gray, a brief highlight video featuring moments from the past season played.  Bemis and Meadors then got the honors started by recognizing the Chi Alpha Sigma honor society recipients, followed by the announcement of FPU's National Strength & Conditioning Association (NSCA) All-American Team of Year.  After acknowledging the all-conference selections and conference award winners so far in 2025/26, it was time to start handing out the trophies.  Presenters included Director of Athletics Kyle Ferguson, VP of Student Development Jake Gilbertson, SAAC President Angel España, Faculty Athletics Representative Jay Pope, and Dr. Kerry Sue Brown.
 
20 different student-athletes took home Birdies in ten different categories, as well as four different teams across five team categories.  Highlights include Shemar Palmer (Men's Track & Field) and Cambria Waites (Volleyball) awarded Senior of the Year honors, while Fabiana Gonzalez (Women's Tennis) and Luke Sanders (Men's Cross Country) were named Freshmen of the Year. Mikayla Weiss (Volleyball) and Shane Bagley (Men's Track & Field) took home Newcomer of the Year for the women and men, respectively.  The four Sunbird Scholars of the Year were Nico Barna (Men's Swimming), Elmer Carballo (Men's Soccer), Julissa Avila (Women's Cross Country), and Martina Ebner Cignetti (Women's Soccer).
 
A new Birdie was added this year – the Grace & Glory Award – designed to honors student-athletes whose lives reflect the transforming grace of God, evident in their character, leadership, and commitment both in and out of competition.  The inaugural winners were and Malachi Carrasco (Men's Track & Field).
 
Following a closing prayer from Dr. Stephens, an after party hosted by SAAC kicked off in the cafeteria that featured a custom photo booth, DJ, karaoke, and a delicious food truck serving up mini pancakes with different topping options.
 
Flight Night is an annual FPU Athletics tradition with nominations submitted by coaches, athletic trainers, SAAC, and administrators. The Flight Night committee is comprised of administrators Hillary Markley, Betsy Myers, and Jim Jeltema, along with Catie Speas, Charlotte Carillo, Channa Hart, and Eric Bentley.
 
Full list of winners below.
 

WOMEN'S FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR	Fabiana Gonzalez	Tennis
MEN'S FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR	Luke Sanders	Cross Country
WOMEN'S COMEBACK ATHLETE OF THE YEAR	Autumn Johnson	Water Polo
MEN'S COMEBACK ATHLETE OF THE YEAR	Tejean Smith	Baseball
WOMEN'S BREAKTHROUGH ATHLETE OF THE YEAR	Clara Wagner	Track & Field
MEN'S BREAKTHROUGH ATHLETE OF THE YEAR	Brandon Gibson Jr	Basketball
WOMEN'S NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR	Mikayla Weiss	Volleyball
MEN'S NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR	Titus Wheelock	Baseball
WOMEN'S BEST INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE	Sienna Evans	Basketball
MEN'S BEST INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE	Shane Bagley	Track & Field
SUNBIRD SUPERFAN	Quentin & Cindy Kinnison
STRENGTH & CONDITIONING TEAM OF THE YEAR	Volleyball
WOMEN'S SCHOLARS OF THE YEAR	Martina Ebner Cignetti	Soccer
	Julissa Avila	Cross Country
MEN'S SCHOLARS OF THE YEAR	Nico Barna	Swimming
	Elmer Carballo	Soccer
UPSET OF THE YEAR	STUNT
TEAM COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT & SERVICE AWARD	Women's Water Polo
WOMEN'S SENIOR OF THE YEAR	Cambria Waites	Volleyball
MEN'S SENIOR OF THE YEAR	Shemar Palmer	Track & Field
WOMEN'S GRACE & GLORY AWARD	Malia Mitchell	Tennis
MEN'S GRACE & GLORY AWARD	Malachi Carassco	Track & Field
PLAY OF THE YEAR	Baseball
WOMEN'S TEAM OF THE YEAR	Volleyball
MEN'S TEAM OF THE YEAR	Track & Field
WOMEN'S SUNBIRD OF THE YEAR	Geneva Elliott	Volleyball
MEN'S SUNBIRD OF THE YEAR	Forrest Gray	Water Polo

 

SUNBIRD SOCIAL 

• X - @fpusunbirds 
• Instagram - @fpusunbirds 
• Facebook - /FPUsunbirds 

#TeamFPU

---