Celia Barquín Arozamena’s death honored locally, regionally and nationally
September 25, 2018
After Celia Barquín Arozamena’s death last week, social media flooded with tributes, photos and condolences of the former Iowa State student-athlete.
At Iowa State, a handful of different teams honored Barquín Arozamena. Against Akron, Iowa State’s football team gathered in a moment of silence after carrying out Spain’s flag. Following the moment of silence and the band’s performance, which included a “CBA” formation, a video tribute played on the Jack Trice Stadium screens.
“Our fanbase today, even before the game, the tribute to Celia, the emotion in that stadium,” said coach Matt Campbell, sporting an Iowa State polo with a “CBA” patch on it. “Our fans are the best in the country. A really tough week, an emotional week in Ames, Iowa. To be honest with you, you hope a little bit of today starts the healing process.”
A fraction of Iowa State’s enrollment of nearly 35,000 students is made up of student-athletes. Multiple Iowa State teams attended Barquín Arozamena’s vigil on campus two days after her death.
Many former and current athletes tweeted about Barquín Arozamena’s tragic death, and that emotion was on display at the Akron game — not only from the fans, but from the players, too.
“The moment of silence was definitely surreal,” said running back David Montgomery. “Reality hits people in different areas and different times. It hit me today, just understanding how many people supported that young lady. Being a Cyclone, it sucks to see it happen, but our main thing was getting a win for her.
“That win is in honor of her, and she deserves it all. It sucks to see, but we know God has a beautiful angel up there.”
Aside from football, the Cyclone soccer team elected to wear its gold jerseys against Texas Tech in honor of Barquín Arozamena — yellow was her favorite color.
Iowa State soccer also named Barquín Arozamena its honorary captain before facing Texas Christian University.
The Cyclone volleyball team warmed up in yellow shirts with the statement “Stronger Together” on the front and a “CBA” patch on the sleeve before its match against Baylor.
The effects felt from Barquín Arozamena’s death trickled into other schools around the Big 12.
The Big 12 Conference Tweeted condolences to Barquín Arozamena’s friends and family, along with all of Iowa State.
Baylor athletics’ Twitter account offered cardinal and gold logos to followers, while changing its own profile picture to cardinal and gold in honor of Barquín Arozamena.
In Lubbock, Texas, the screen inside Jones AT&T Stadium featured the Iowa State logo on Sept. 18.
Prior to kickoff in the University of Texas’ matchup against TCU, the fans inside Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium joined in a moment of silence for Barquín Arozamena.
Outside of the Big 12, the University of Northern Iowa’s football stadium featured yellow scattered around its stadium.
On a national scale, the news affected the golf community, too. Kendall Dye won the Symetra Tour and dedicated the win the Barquín Arozamena. Dye also competed in an Iowa State hat.
The European Ryder Cup team plans to wear a yellow ribbon in honor of Barquín Arozamena. A photo of Barquín Arozamena and Ryder Cup competitor Sergio Garcia surfaced on social media throughout the week.
From Ames, Iowa to Europe, people felt the loss of Barquín Arozamena.
“It was a very interesting week in a lot of ways, in terms of watching this community rally around each other,” Campbell said on Saturday. “I said this quite honestly when we went up to Marshalltown this summer, one of the things that makes it really special to be an Iowan, is how these communities rally around each other and stand together. I thought [it was] a really impactful day, and obviously the game being a little bit of the second part of the day in a lot of ways.”