IRVINE, Calif. – During Sunday's Marty Awards, which was formerly named the Senior Legacy Awards Banquet, six Concordia University Irvine student-athletes were honored for their amazing contributions during their time as Golden Eagles. Three staff members were also recognized for their many years of service behind the scenes to help make the overall CUI student-athlete experience a memorable chapter in their lives.

Here are your 2026 Marty Award Winners:

Male Athlete of the Year
Noah Plaza – Men's Cross Country & Track and Field

• 1st CUI MXC runner to compete at NCAA DII Men's Cross Country Championships
  • Finished in Top quarter of the field, 60th overall out of 250+ competitors
• First CUI MXC runner to earn First Team All-PacWest honors in back-to-back seasons (2024 & 2025)
  • Placed second overall at the 2025 PacWest conference meet
  • First Team All-Region with Top 6 finish at regional meet
• In Indoor Track, Plaza has set 4 school records, including the 3k race which had stood for 13 years.
• CUI's Top West Region runner in 3 different events (3k, 5k & as a member of the Distance Medley Relay (DMR) quartet).
• 3.4 GPA as a Kinesiology major
  • Academic All-PacWest honors (3x)
  • USTFCCCA All-Academic Team (3x)

Female Athlete of the Year
Riley Urquiza – Women's Soccer

• Starting Goalkeeper for all 4 seasons and All 3 NCAA DII Regional Playoff Victories
  • Helped CUI Climb to No. 5 national ranking (highest in NCAA DII program history)
• Holds multiple School Records including:
  • Most Career Individual Shutouts (30)
  • Most Wins
  • Goals Against Average (0.57)
  • Fewest Goals Allowed In One Season
• Helped CUI set Longest Unbeaten Streak at home (18-0-4) in 22 games. 
• Ranked No. 8 in the nation for GAA
• Ranked No. 18 in the nation for shutouts
• 3x All-PacWest honors including First Team honors as a junior
• 4x Academic All-PacWest selection
• PacWest Goalkeeper of the Year in 2024 as a sophomore

Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Kevin Sanchez – Men's Soccer

• Scored 5 game-winning goals - which ranks Top 10 all-time in program history
• Played in 58 matches during his 4 years
• A true difference-maker: CUI was 10-1-1 in his career when he scored a goal
• Named Second Team All-PacWest as a sophomore
• Served as SAAC rep for multiple years and finished his career as SAAC Vice President
• Holds a 3.81 GPA as a kinesiology major
• Academic All-PacWest Team selection

 
Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Riley Norris – Women's Track and Field

• 2x NCAA National Qualifier in Indoor & Outdoor track
• 2x All Region selection
• Holds school records in both the Heptathlon & Pentathlon
  • A versatile athlete, she competed and excelled in a wide range of events for the heptathlon and pentathlon events
• 3.8 GPA as a Kinesiology major 
• 4x Academic All-Region honors
• Earned Academic All-PacWest Conference honors all 4 years
• D2 ADA Academic Award Winner multiple times

Male Golden Eagle Award
Luke Addington – Men's Water Polo

• Senior on first CUI men's water polo team to win WWPA Conference Tournament and make first NCAA Tournament Appearance in program history
• Represented his team as Featured CUI Speaker at NCAA Championship Banquet
• Served as SAAC Representative for men's water polo
• USA Water Polo Academic All-American honors for multiple years
• Academic All-WWPA Conference honors multiple years
• 3.56 GPA as a sports business major
• Interned with PacWest Conference to help elevate the Championship experience for student-athletes in many sports
• One of select group of CUI sports business majors who worked the entire week at Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara
• Excelled as CUI Athletics student-worker for women's water polo home game on scorer's table

Female Golden Eagle Award
Mattie Prior – Women's Volleyball

• Served as SAAC President for multiple years
• First Concordia student-athlete to also serve as PacWest SAAC President and represent both the entire conference and her school.
• First ever CUI Team Impact Liaison to spread awareness to a very reputable charity and
• Hosted the first ever Team Impact 5k run in Newport Beach in partnership with UC Irvine in which over 100 CUI student-athletes attended, raising over $1800. 
• Member of CUI Volleyball that won nearly 60 games over her four years and established tradition of hosting the Golden Eagle Classic to begin each fall season
• Started multiple initiatives on campus to help teams support each other throughout the school year
• Represented student-athletes in several proposals to faculty and staff to better serve CUI students
• Helped Women's Volleyball make the AVCA Academic Team Honor Roll 4 years in a row

At this year's banquet, three staff members were also honored by the CUI Athletics department for their dedication and consistent support of our student-athletes.

Sports Business professor Ed Willett received the distinguished "Faculty Award." He was introduced by SAAC representatives and water polo players SofiaAnn Smith and Luke Addington, who mentioned how thankful they were for his energy, passion and active willingness to engage with students both in and outside of the classroom. Willett has over three decades of experience that spans time working at Sports Illustrated, USA Today, ESPN, LPGA, Topgolf and other sports business related ventures.

Sabina Arace from the Hilton Garden Inn was honored as the "Sponsor of the Year." Arace is the Director of Sales at the Hilton and has developed a strong partnership with Concordia over the years. The local hotel branch works with the athletics department to best serve families, fans and visiting teams when they travel to Irvine for sporting events throughout the school year.

In addition, CUI Athletics acknowledged long-time servant Bill Ayala as the "LifeTime Impact Award" winner. This award honors dedicated staff members at Concordia who make an impact behind the scenes and put in countless hours of work that is vital to the whole operation. Ayala has served for over 17 years at Concordia in this role helping with budgets and operations.

Congrats to the award winners and to ALL our seniors – you will be greatly missed. We are so proud of you and how you have left your legacy at Concordia.