2019 Dakota State University Athletics Annual Awards
Curt Boeke (2019) - Football (Co-Outstanding Male Athlete)
Curt Boeke (football) is the first defensive lineman to be named as a two-time NAIA All-American in DSU football program history. Also, he is a two-time North Star Athletic Association Football All-Conference First-Team recipient.
He was selected as the conference's co-Defensive Player-of-the-Year after leading the North Star in tackles and quarterback sacks. He racked up a total of 124 tackles in 10 games in 2018, averaging 12.4 tackles per game for the Trojans. He collected eight quarterback sacks and averaged 0.8 sacks per game.
Boeke finished his stellar four-year career with 290 tackles, 19 quarterback sacks for 123 yards loss, and 46 tackles-for-loss of 212 yards loss. He had an interception and returned it for 13 yards.
Curt is the son of Neal Boeke and Kim Thomas of Clear Lake, S.D. He is a senior Business Management major at Dakota State University.
Braden Curnow (2019) - Cross Country, Track & Field (Co-Outstanding Male Athlete)
Braden Curnow (cross country and track & field) had a fantastic junior season as he collected two NAIA All-America distinctions at Dakota State. In the fall season, he won four individual cross-country titles, including the North Star conference championship. He was named the NSAA Most Valuable Runner.
He fueled the Trojans to its second NSAA Conference men's cross-country team championship in program history and qualified for the NAIA Men's Cross Country National Championship, where they placed 30th as a team.
At the national cross country meet, Curnow produced a personal record time of 24 minutes, 54 seconds to place 19th overall in the race. As a result, he earned his first NAIA All-America distinction after placing it in the 'Top 30'.
In track, Curnow is a two-time North Star Indoor 5000-meter run conference champion for the Trojans. He also won the 3000-meters race in the conference meet this recent winter, helping DSU dethrone the four-time defending champion Dickinson State (N.D.) for the North Star Men's Indoor Track & Field Conference Championships.
Curnow collected his second NAIA All-America honor at the 2019 national indoor track & field meet in Brookings. After producing the top time in the men's 5000-meter run in the semifinal round, he placed fourth in the national final with a time of 14 minutes, 58.47 seconds.
He collected All-Conference honors in the outdoor track season. He qualified for the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Nationals, where he will be making his third straight appearance in the full marathon this coming spring. He also ran in the 10,000-meter run in last year's national outdoor track meet.
Barbara Briceno (2019) - Volleyball (Outstanding Female Athlete)
Barbara Briceno (volleyball) was award as the DSU Most Outstanding Female Athlete-of-the-Year. She became the first Trojan to be named to NAIA Volleyball Honorable Mention in program history. She was named to AVCA/NAIA All-Region First Team.
Briceno was also selected to the North Star Athletic Association Volleyball All-Conference First Team after an impressive 2018 season for DSU. She led the team with 347 kills and 47 service aces. She ranked fifth in the conference in overall kills per set and sixth in digs per set. She averaged 3.0 kills and 4.2 digs per set during 14 North Star conference contests.
Briceno was an integral member of the Trojan volleyball team that recorded three victories over the NAIA's Top 25 nationally-ranked teams, including a 3-1 shocking victory over No. 7-ranked Viterbo (Wis.) which ended the V-Hawks' historic 53 straight victories in North Star conference matches. DSU advanced to their first-ever NSAA Volleyball Postseason Tournament's championship match, falling short to Viterbo.
Barbara is the daughter of Luis Enrique Briceno and Carmen Rosa Rabanal of Lima, Peru. She is a junior Computer Science major at Dakota State University.
Justin Folkers (2019) - Men's Basketball (Dusty Andersen Award)
Justin Folkers was this year's recipient for the annual Dusty Andersen award for his outstanding accomplishments in men's basketball.
He was selected to the NAIA Division II Men's Basketball All-America Second Team for the Trojans this past winter. In addition, he was chosen as the North Star Athletic Association Men's Basketball Player-of-the-Year.
Folkers was named to the North Star All-Conference team for two consecutive years. He started in all 31 games in 2018-19 for DSU. He poured in 582 points and averaged 18.8 points per game. He led the NSAA conference in overall scoring. His 582 points ranked as the ninth-most points in DSU men's basketball single-season school record book.
He was 241-of-443 from the field during the season, which is the fifth most field goals made in the single-season record book. He scored in double digits 27 times and produced double-double seven times in the 2018-19 season.
Folkers finished his astounding career as the eighth all-time scorer in Trojan men's basketball program history with 1,518 points. He was 630-of-1,136 from the field, recording the ninth-best all-time field goal percentage of 55.5 percent. His 630 field goals made ranks fifth-most all-time field goals.
He also collected 570 career rebounds, which is the seventh most all-time rebounds in the record book. He registered 59 blocks, tied for fourth all-time blocks at DSU.
Justin is the son of Brad and Amanda Folkers of Mission, S.D. He is a senior Exercise Science major at Dakota State.
