Iowa State honors slain golfer with emotional ceremony at football game

Iowa State University honored slain golfer Celia Barquin Arozamena with an emotional ceremony at Saturday’s football game against Akron.

Arozamena, 22, a former Cyclones student-athlete, was found dead on Monday at a golf course in Ames, Iowa. Five days later, the Iowa State athletics community came together to pay tribute to her.

The school’s marching band formed her initials on the field:

A touching video, featuring friends and teammates, played on the stadium video board before the game:

Arozamena was originally supposed to be the subject of a different type of ceremony on Saturday. She had been named the school’s female athlete of the year. The athletic department planned to celebrate her and the achievement, according to the Iowa State Daily.

Instead, tragedy changed everything.

The university has mourned her death and honored her life in other ways as well. Students attended a candlelight vigil on Wednesday. At the game on Saturday, both Iowa State and Akron wore helmet stickers with the initials CBA. Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell wore an “Iowa State golf” hat, and a CBA patch on his shirt.

On Friday, the school’s women’s soccer team made Arozamena an honorary captain, and wore the same patches Campbell did a day later:

Fans were encouraged to all wear yellow to Saturday’s football game. They held a moment of silence before kickoff.

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