FAIRMONT, W.Va. – Fairmont State seniors Peyton Barnes and Isaiah Sanders were picked as the 2023 recipients of the Jasper H. Colebank Award following a vote of Fairmont State Athletics administrators and head coaches on Tuesday (April 18).
 
The Jasper H. Colebank Award is presented annually to the male and female senior student-athlete who, in the course of his or her college career, has done the most to promote the best interest of athletics at Fairmont State. The award is presented annually at the All-Sports Reception presented by Diversified Energy and Mon Health. This year's All-Sports Reception will take place on Monday, May 1 at 6 p.m. inside Joe Retton Arena.
 
Peyton Barnes, a senior from Waldorf, Md., is a four-year starter on the Fairmont State acrobatics & tumbling team. During her time on the mat, Barnes has helped lead the team to two regular season Mountain East Conference Championships and two MEC Tournament Championships (2021 & 2022). Barnes was named MEC Specialist of the Year in 2023 and garnered All-MEC Second Team honors in 2022 and 2023. She won a trio of individual event championships at the 2022 MEC Championship and led the Falcons to two individual event championships at the 2023 conference tournament. She will be participating in her second National Collegiate Acrobatics & Tumbling Association (NCATA) National Championship next week after her team earned the No. 8 seed in the 2023 championship with a 9-2 record.
 
In the classroom, Barnes has completed three degrees at Fairmont State and has accepted a job with the FBI this spring. Barnes' academic repertoire includes a bachelor's degree in National Security and Intelligence, Political Science and Criminal Justice. She is currently enrolled in a master's program that specializes in National Security & Intelligence. She is a three-time NCATA Academic Honor Roll recipient and has been named to the NCATA All-Academic team twice. Barnes has appeared on the All-MEC Academic Honor Roll for three seasons and has been on the Fairmont State University President's List all seven semesters of her academic career.
 
Barnes is involved with a number of extracurricular programs at Fairmont State. She is a member of the National Society for Leadership and Success. She has been the President of the Black Student Union since 2020 and has been the Treasurer, Vice President and Domestic Violence Prevention Liaison for the Iota Phi Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority. Barnes is an Honors Student Ambassador for the Fairmont State Honors College and was a Skills USA Crime Scene Investigations Champion. The senior was also a 2022 Fairmont State Homecoming Court representative.
 
Isaiah Sanders, a Sicklerville, N.J. native, has played four seasons at Fairmont State after transferring his sophomore year. Sanders has been named to the MEC All-Conference First Team three times in his career. He is a three-time all-region winner and is a three-year captain at Fairmont State. Sanders appeared on the Bevo Francis Award Finalist Watchlist two times in his career, which is awarded annually to the top player in small college basketball. Sanders became the ninth player in Fairmont State history to eclipse 2,000 points wearing a Fairmont State uniform. He finished with 2091 career points at Fairmont State, which is the 8th highest all-time. Sanders accolades are etched in Mountain East Conference history, as he is the second all-time in career points with 2,449 points.
 
In his final season with the Falcons, Sanders led his team to the NCAA Tournament for the fifth consecutive year. He led the team in scoring (18.8 ppg), three-point buckets (94) and steals (66). Sanders was named a State Farm Dark Horse Dunker Finalist and was a participant in the 2023 NABC – Reese's Division II College All-Star Game. During the 2021-22 season, Sanders led the team in scoring with 21.2 points per game and landed NABC All-Atlantic Region First Team honors. In 2021, Sanders led the Falcons to its first conference tournament championship since 1984 and was crowned the Most Valuable Player of the MEC Tournament. He poured in an average of 20.8 points per game and sank a team-high 49 three-point baskets in the 2021 season.
 
Barnes and Sanders will be recognized at the 2023 Fairmont State Athletics All-Sports Ceremony. The end-of-year celebration will begin at 6 p.m. from Joe Retton Arena on the campus of Fairmont State University.