In a six-month period in 2016, Washington State center Riley Sorenson endured the death of his father and his mother, and beat testicular cancer. It’s more tragedy than many people ever have to deal with over the course of a lifetime, yet somehow, Sorenson kept his composure and his sunny disposition, and played out his senior season with WSU.
His story has inspired many, and on Wednesday night at the MTRWestern Sports Star of the Year Awards at the Paramount Theater, Sorenson was honored with the Wayne Gittinger Inspirational Award that goes to a young athlete who has overcome major medical obstacles to inspire others.