Highlights from the 2025 Bearcat Awards

Krisna LaFrance ('25) on Oct. 20, 2024. Photo by Keenan Yoshizawa.

On April 30, members of all 20 of Willamette’s varsity sports congregated in Hudson Hall for the athletic department’s Bearcat Awards, an annual event that seeks to commemorate the accomplishments of student athletes in their respective sports and the wider campus community. Let’s take a look at the highlights of the event!

Women’s Athlete of the Year

The Athlete of the Year award is presented to one male and one female athlete who were each “a standout, if not consistent” performer for their team and is decided based on the statistics and accolades they accumulated throughout their season, said Athletic Director Rob Passage when announcing the award. On the women’s side, the winner for the 2024-25 academic year was Lily Bachiochi (’25) of lacrosse. 

Lily Bachiochi ('25) on April 1, 2025. Photo by Patricia Krepel.

Bachiochi broke her own records for career goals scored, assists, and total points (a stat which combines assists and goals) this year. She surpassed 200 career goals scored on Sunday, April 27 versus Linfield at home, with the No. 2 record being held by Maddie Garcia (’23) with 138 goals scored. Last season, she won Offensive Player of the Year for the Northwest Conference and was selected by the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) for Second-Team All West Region Honors.

Men’s Athlete of the Year

On the men’s side of things, the Athlete of the Year award was given to Oliver Smith (’26) of golf. Smith helped the Bearcats take No. 1 in conference over the rival Whitman Blues, who broke Willamette’s four-year first-place streak during the 2023-24 season. Along with the contributions he made to the team, Smith was awarded player of the year and received first-team honors in the NWC. 

Smith’s and the Bearcats’ overall performance has earned them a bid to the NCAA men’s golf national championship, which will take place in Penfield, New York from May 20-23.

Jean Williams and JH Booth Awards

The Jean Williams and JH Booth awards are given to two graduating seniors to commemorate their accomplishments both on and off the field. Whereas the Athlete of the Year awards honor standout performers in terms of statistical and athletic accolades, the Jean Williams  and JH Booth awards are intended to honor athletes who, according to the Willamette athletics website, “excel in all areas of their careers at the University.”

This year, the recipient for the Jean Williams Award was Katherine Thornton (’25), a hurdler for women’s track and field. Earlier this season, Thornton broke the school record in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.7 seconds, then broke her own record again by 0.2 seconds at the NWC Championships last weekend. 

Outside of track, Thornton has been heavily involved in the wider Salem community. She is currently the co-president of the local nonprofit Beyond These Walls, which seeks to “achieve justice and liberation for LGBTQIA2S+ people impacted by incarceration in the Pacific Northwest and the world,” according to its website. She is also involved in The Conversation Project, a Willamette initiative that hosts events on campus to “cultivate capacity for honest, transformative dialogue,” according to a description on the Willamette website.

The recipient of the JH Booth Award this year was Krisna LaFrance (’25) of men’s soccer. A team captain, LaFrance racked up impressive stats on the field this year, leading the team and finishing fourth in the NWC in goals, with 10 on the season. He also earned All-NWC first-team and Academic All-District honors, marking the third year in a row that he’s received a nod for the latter. 

Off the field, LaFrance is the lead human anatomy teaching assistant and a member of the Exercise and Health Science department executive board. For his work in the classroom, LaFrance also received the men’s Senior Scholar-Athlete award, which honors the graduating male athlete that achieved the highest cumulative grade-point average among all other student-athletes. LaFrance was the only student to receive two major awards in this year’s Bearcat Awards.