April 22, 2013

FAYETTEVILLE, NC - Fayetteville State student-athletes were treated to "A Blue Carpet Affair" on Monday evening as the Department of Athletics held its annual Athletic Awards Ceremony at Seabrook Auditorium on the FSU campus.

The spotlight was focused on the student-athletes as the 2012-13 academic calendar begins to wind down. The evening's awards were completed with the naming of the Female and Male Student-Athletes of the Year.

Volleyball's Ifeyinwa Nwokolo (Sr., Greensboro, NC), the reigning CIAA Player of the Year, was selected as the Female Student-Athlete of the Year. Jacob Barge (Sr., Fayetteville, NC), who currently ranks second among CIAA players, of Men's Golf received the Male Student-Athlete of the Year.

Nwokolo capped off her senior season on the volleyball court by being named Honorable Mention AVCA Atlantic All-Region. She also earned NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional All-Tournament Team honors as well as being named CIAA First Team All-Conference. Nwokolo tallied 17 games this season with double-digit kills including a career-high 27 against Virginia State.

Jacob Barge received the Male Student-Athlete of the Year

Barge has excelled in his final season on the golf course for FSU. He posted four top 10 finishes this year on the links including Individual Medalist honors at the CIAA Southern Division Tournament. He holds the highest ranking position amongst the conference and is currently ranked within the top 50 of the Atlantic Region.

Awards were given out to student-athletes of the ten Bronco athletic programs.

The program began with the announcement of the Student-Athlete Academic Scholar winners. The recipients of the Academic Awards were: Adonis Johnson (Cheerleading), Brandon Elmore (Men's Cross Country), Chiquanna Anderson (Women's Cross Country), Joseph McLean (Football), Akysia Resper (Women's Basketball), Paul Lane (Men's Basketball), Ashley Cooper (Bowling), Joylene Thompson (Tennis, Volleyball), Sierra Henderson-Holmes (Softball) and Brandon Jobe (Golf).

FSU's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) followed by naming the winners of its three awards. The Fayetteville State cheerleading team, Cheer Phi Smoov, was acknowledged as the SAAC Humanitarian Award winner; and was followed by JaMisha Jordan (Jr., Fayetteville, NC) of Volleyball receiving the SAAC Most Involved Award and Britney Whitehead (Sr., Enfield, NC) of Women's Basketball being named the SAAC Outstanding Leadership and Citizenship Award winner.

Football's Travis Matagi (Jr., Raeford, NC) and Volleyball's Nikita Cheadle (Jr., Hope Mills, NC) earned Male and Female Comeback Student-Athlete of the Year Awards, respectively.

Most Valuable Players for each sport were also announced. They are: Leemarvin Stilley (Cheerleading, Best All-Around), Ernest Hawkins (Men's Cross Country), Amanda Anderson (Women's Cross Country), Kristen Hanzer (Women's Basketball), Tyrrel Tate (Men's Basketball), Kiara Reid (Bowling), Samantha Ledbetter (Tennis), Spencer Embler (Softball), Jacob Barge (Golf) and Ifeyinwa Nwokolo (Volleyball).

The ceremony finished with closing remarks by FSU Chancellor Dr. James A. Anderson and the singing of the school's alma mater, "Old White And Blue."

A list of all of the awards:

ACADEMIC:
Cheerleading - Adonis Johnson
Men's Cross Country - Brandon Elmore
Women's Cross Country - Chiquanna Anderson
Football - Joseph McLean
Women's Basketball - Akysia Resper
Men's Basketball - Paul Lane
Women's Bowling - Ashley Cooper
Women's Tennis, Volleyball - Joylene Thompson
Softball - Sierra Henderson-Holmes
Men's Golf - Brandon Jobe

SAAC:
Humanitarian Award - Cheer Phi Smoov
Most Involved - JaMisha Jordan
Outstanding Leadership and Citizenship - Britney Whitehead

SPORTS MEDICINE:
Male Comeback Student-Athlete of the Year - Travis Matagi
Female Comeback Student-Athlete of the Year - Nikita Cheadle

CHEERLEADING:
Most Spirited - Zametria Moses
Most Dedicated - Andrew Brassard
Best All-Around - Leemarvin Stilley
Coaches - Latisha Terrell

MEN' S CROSS COUNTRY:
Coaches - Brandon Elmore
MVP - Ernest Hawkins

WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY:
Coaches - Renee Guischard
MVP - Amanda Anderson

FOOTBALL:
Most Valuable Newcomer - Andre Montgomery
Most Valuable Special Teams - Antonio Mayo
Most Valuable Defensive Player - Bryce Williams
Most Valuable Offensive Player - Colon Bailey, Jr.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL:
Most Improved Player - Tierra Coleman
Coaches - Makeea Suggs
Leadership - Britney Whitehead
Hustle - Akysia Resper
Most Outstanding Player - Shuanda Ashford
MVP - Kristen Hanzer

MEN'S BASKETBALL:
Coaches - Shel'Donte Fields
Most Improved - Travis Marcus
Defensive Player of the Year - Andre Best
MVP - Tyrrel Tate

BOWLING:
Most Improved - Megan Maynor
Leadership - De'Andrea Bethea
Most Outstanding Rookie - Ashley Cooper
Most Outstanding Bowler - Crystal Mujica
MVP - Kiara Reid

TENNIS:
Most Improved Player - Laura Worriax
Most Valuable Newcomer - Taylor Norris
MVP - Samantha Ledbetter

SOFTBALL:
Newcomer of the Year - Daniqua Taylor
Offensive Player of the Year - Sencerae Locklear
Defensive Players of the Year - Maya Washington & Sierra Henderson-Holmes
MVP - Spencer Embler

GOLF:
Leadership - Brandon Jobe
Most Valuable Newcomer - Justin Smith
Most Improved Golfer - Antonio Mayo
MVP - Jacob Barge

VOLLEYBALL:
Coaches - Nikita Cheadle
Most Outstanding Newcomer - Joylene Thompson
Most Valuable Defensive Player - Joi Emanuel
MVP - Ifeyinwa Nwokolo

FEMALE STUDENT-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR:
Ifeyinwa Nwokolo

MALE STUDENT-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR:
Jacob Barge