April 27, 2011
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April 27, 2011
FAYETTEVILLE, NC - All of the Fayetteville State Broncos' stars were out for "All of the Lights: Commitment, Character and Class," the annual season-ending student-athlete awards banquet in Capel Arena on Tuesday night.
It was an evening to honor all of Fayetteville State's student-athletes, with a few stars aligning for the biggest awards of the night. Fayetteville State named not one, but two Female Student-Athletes of the Year as well as the Male Student-Athlete of the Year.
In addition, the Fayetteville State Broncos' bowling team, the 2011 CIAA Champions, were honored with the raising of their championship banner to conclude the event, which featured Urban Sports and Entertainment and ESPN sports analyst Stan Lewter as the emcee.
Two of Fayetteville State's most decorated female student-athletes in the history of their respective programs, volleyball player Samantha Meeks (Sr., Laurinburg, NC) and bowling's Akira Turner (Sr., Detroit, MI), were named as Fayetteville State's top female student-athletes of the 2010-11 athletic season.
Richard Medlin (Sr., Raleigh, NC), who has starred for the Broncos' football team for several years, was named as the top male student-athlete at Fayetteville State this season.
Meeks is a three-time All-CIAA selection who ranked second in the country in service aces for Division-II this season. She helped the Lady Broncos rank first in the nation in aces per set this season, with 3.12. Meeks finished her four-year career with nearly 1,000 kills, more than 150 aces and more than 2,700 offensive attacks. She was a member of the 2007 CIAA Championship Broncos team and helped guide Fayetteville State to two conference runner-up finishes.
Turner is perhaps the best bowler in the history of Fayetteville State's vaunted program. She is a two-time CIAA Player of the Year who led Fayetteville State to two league championships, including 2011. Turner was also named as the 2011 CIAA Tournament Most Valuable Player and was the backbone of a team that featured just five bowlers - the minimum required to compete - that marched virtually unscathed to a CIAA Championship this season.
Medlin is a tireless worker whose dedication to the program epitomizes the term that is a favorite of head coach
Kenny Phillips - "Bronco Football." Medlin, a running back, was the Broncos' leading rusher during the 2010 season and the unquestioned leader on the field for a team that won four of its last five games. Medlin was the 2009 CIAA Special Teams Player of the Year and was a featured back for the 2009 Broncos team that won the CIAA Championship.
Awards were given out to student-athletes of the 10 Fayetteville State varsity sports.
To open the program, the recipients of the Student-Athlete Academic Scholar were honored. The winners of the academic awards are: Tiane Ellis (tennis), Daisy Weishman (bowling), Ashley Wlezen (softball), Willie McClure (golf), Carla Peguese (cheerleading), Britany Whitehead (women's basketball), Tyrrel Tate (men's basketball), Joi Emanuel (volleyball) and Larry McDonald (football).
Most valuable players for the respective teams were also announced. They are: Varice Love (tennis, Coach's Award), John Cole (golf), Olivia Peavey (softball), Shomika Edmonds (cheerleading, Best All-Around), Je'Lena Robertson (women's basketball), Sidney Evans (men's basketball), Tamikka Portee (women's cross country), Ernest Hawkins (men's cross country), Samantha Meeks (volleyball) and Akira Turner (bowling).
Also, football's Larry McDonald was honored as the Male Comeback Player of the Year while volleyball's Ifeyinwa Nwokolo was named as the Female Comeback Player of the Year.
Cheer Phi Smoov, the Broncos' cheerleading team, was also honored with the Humanitarian Award for its significant community service work.
A list of all of the awards:
ACADEMIC
TENNIS Academic Award - Tiane Ellis
GOLF Academic Award - Willie McClure
SOFTBALL Academic Award - Ashley Wlezen
CHEERLEADING Academic Award- Carla Peguese
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL Academic Award - Britany Whitehead
MEN'S BASKETBALL Academic Award - Tyrrel Tate
VOLLEYBALL Academic Excellence - Joi Emanuel
FOOTBALL Academic Award - Larry McDonald
BOWLING Academic Award - Daisy Weishman
SPORTS MEDICINE
MALE COMEBACK STUDENT-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR - Larry McDonald
FEMALE COMEBACK STUDENT-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR - Ifeyinwa Nwokolo
TENNIS
Most Improved - Danielle Boone
Outstanding Rookie - Brittney Williams
Coach's Award - Varice Love
GOLF
Most Improved - Bryan Connor
Sportsmanship - Michael Wallace
Coach's Award - Lincoln Jackson
Most Outstanding Newcomer - John Cole
MVP - John Cole
SOFTBALL
Most Outstanding Newcomer - Olivia Peavey
Coach's Award - Maya Washington
Leadership Award - Demarius Pankey
MVP - Olivia Peavey
CHEERLEADING
Most Spirited - Emerald Jones
Most Dedicated - Daniel Watson
Coach's Award - Bianca Malloy
Best All-Around - Shomika Edmonds
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Coach's Award - Britany Whitehead
Most Outstanding Offense - LaQuasha Jordan
Most Outstanding Defense - Tiffany Haywood
MVP - Je'Lena Robertson
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Leadership - Ariel Robinson
Most Outstanding Defensive - Tim Plummer
Hustle Award - Jarrick Jones
MVP - Sidney Evans
CROSS COUNTRY
WOMEN's
Coach's Award - Keisha Edwards
MVP - Tamikka Protee
MEN's
Coach's - Ervin Brinkley
MVP - Ernest Hawkins
VOLLEYBALL
Coach's Award - Ifeyinwa Nwokolo
Sportsmanship - Sierra Gilmore
Most Improved - Octavia Wynn
MVP - Samantha Meeks
Senior Awards - Samantha Meeks and Achari Mainor
FOOTBALL
Most Outstanding Defensive Newcomer - Simeon Marshall
Most Outstanding Offensive Newcomer - Robert Benjamin
Most Outstanding Lineman (Offensive) - Larry McDonald
Most Outstanding Lineman (Defensive) - Aaron Patterson
Most Outstanding Linebacker - Jeremy Cunningham
Most Outstanding Special Teams - Austin Turner
Most Outstanding Offensive - Robert Benjamin
Most Outstanding Defensive - Andre Lyles
Most Outstanding Skilled - Richard Medlin
Larry `The Hammer" McClain - Larry McDonald (offense) and Derrick Redman (defense)
BOWLING
Sportsmanship - Kelly Wakerhauser
Outstanding Rookie - De'Andrea Bethea
Most Improved - Daisy Weishman
Most Outstanding - Jamie Donnelly
MVP - Akira Turner
SAAC AWARDS
Most Involved SAAC Member - Octavia Wynn
Most Outstanding SAAC Leader - Joi Emanuel
FEMALE STUDENT-ATHLETES OF THE YEAR
Samantha Meeks
Akira Turner
MALE STUDENT-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Richard Medlin
