Gymnastics' Kara Houghton is the winner of this year's Female Hornet Award…nominated by coaches, the honor is awarded to one female and male student-athlete that best exemplify the spirit of a Hornet with their sportsmanship, community service and intangibles that make them a great teammate.

Kara Houghton, Senior, Gymnastics
• Completed her fourth season with the gymnastics program
• Graduated last month Magna Cum Laude with a business degree and a 3.852 GPA
• Named to the Dean's Honors List all eight semesters at Sacramento State
• Member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) for three years
• Organized the gymnastics team's community service events
• Directed and produced the Hornet gymnastics team's hype video
• Described by head coach Melissa Genovese as the heart and soul of Hornet Gymnastics during her Houghton's career
• Never missed a meet during her career
• Was in the lineup for every meet during her four seasons, and competed in multiple events (bars, floor and beam) in all but three contests
• Holds the school bars record with a 9.975, which also is the highest score by a Hornet in any event in program history
• Has claimed 11 individual titles during her career, including eight on bars
• Finished with a total of five career scores of 9.9 or better (three times on bars, and twice on beam)
• Named the 2026 MPSF Specialist of the Year, first team all-conference on bars, and second team all-conference on floor

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AWARD TIMELINE

June 12 - Male Freshman of the Year - Jamar Andrews, Jr. (t&f)
June 13 - Female Freshman of the Year - Keonahi'ilani Solaita (vb)
June 14 - Male Newcomer of the Year - Gianni Miles (t&f)
June 15 - Female Newcomer of the Year - Victoria Marthaler (vb)
June 16 - Male Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year - Nathan Rider (t&f)
June 17 - Female Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year - Jamisen Rasmussen (row)
June 18 - Male Individual Performance of the Year - Ryan Ellis (bsb)
June 19 - Female Individual Performance of the Year - Madison Evers-Lyles (sb)
June 20 - Men's Academic Team of the Year - Baseball
June 21 - Women's Academic Team of the Year - Golf
June 22 - SAAC Award - Jamisen Rasmussen (row)
June 23 - Male Team Performance of the Year - Baseball
June 24 - Female Team Performance of the Year - Tennis
June 25 - Team of the Year - Women's Tennis
June 26 - Coach of the Year - Kamden Brakel (mgolf)
June 27 - Male Hornet Award - Lucas Gimenez (soc)
June 28 - Female Hornet Award
June 29 - Male Student-Athlete of the Year
June 30 - Female Student-Athlete of the Year