The commander of the 1st Infantry Division Sustainment Brigade, Col. Allen T. Cassell, presented Kayla Goth the Tammie Romstad Durable Award during the Kansas State women's basketball awards banquet March 12 at the West Stadium Center in Manhattan, Kansas.
The award, part of the partnership between the team and the 1st Inf. Div. Sust. Bde., is awarded to the player who best represents what it means to be a "Durable" Soldier and teammate. It was named after Tammie Romstad who was a former Kansas State women's basketball star whose jersey was retired in 2009 when she was inducted into the Kansas State Athletics Hall of Fame. This was Goth's second consecutive time winning the award.
The significance of being recognized by her teammates, school and the brigade was not lost on her.
"It feels awesome," Goth said. "It is something that you can really take to heart because there is a lot of meaning behind it."
On the basketball court, Goth proved to be a valuable member of the team this year. Even with an injured shoulder most of the season, she managed to play 31 games, making career highs in several categories. When her team needed her the most, she was there leading the Wildcats with an average 18.5 points in the 2017 Big 12 Championship Tournament. She was especially instrumental in the team's first round defeat of Iowa State, scoring a career-high 25 points. However, her stats were not what earned her the award.
"The award is not about the stats on the court, it is about everything else that makes that player such a special and durable player," Cassell said. "It is about the intangibles; the commitment to the game, the commitment to her teammates and to her team."
The partnership between the team and the Durable brigade goes back to 2009 when it was first formalized. Since then, the relationship has grown through events like the basketball clinics and includes Soldiers standing on the sidelines for the team's season-opening games.
"Each year we hear the team and the staff rave about their experiences and their interactions with the great folks at Fort Riley and its equally rewarding to see those families and Soldiers come over and experience K-State women's basketball games," said Brian Smoller, the master of ceremonies and K-State's director of video services, during the ceremony.
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