FOR THE WEEK OF MAY 24 - 30, 2011
Spring Championship Notes
™ SWAC Baseball Championship
TRACK &
Lincoln (Mo.) Sports Photo
BASEBALL RILEY: Top South Cen-
tral Region track athlete
ALL THAT'S heads into weekend's
Div. II championship with
LEFT top 100 meters time.
ALCORN STATE, BETHUNE-COOKMAN
RULE THE SWAC AND MEAC DIAMONDS
UNDER THE BANNER
WHAT'S GOING ON IN AND AROUND BLACK COLLEGE SPORTS
DUFFUS GREEN L. KIENKA KOLEZYNSKI
CIAA ALL-ACADEMICS SELECTED:
Twenty student-athletes representing eleven of the
Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association's (CIAA)
twelve member schools have been named to the Commis-
sioner's All-Academic Team. This year's team defines the
total NCAA Div. II student-athlete experience with each
member excelling on their respective playing fields and
courts as well as in their classrooms and communities.
Saint Augustine's had three student-athletes named
to the team, led by Allison Sikes (Richmond, Va.) and
Orolando Duffus (St. Catherine, Jamaica), both named to
the first team. Sikes was this year's CIAA women's basket-
ball player of the year and graduated Magna Cum Laude
earlier this month. Duffus maintains a 3.92 GPA in Busi-
ness Administration while also sporting five NCAA Div.
II Track & Field All American titles. Duffus was named
last year's men's CIAA Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Johnson C. Smith sprinter Leford Green (St. Cath-
erine, Jamaica) was named to the first team for the Golden
Bulls. The senior Information Systems Engineering ma-
jor has maintained a 3.776 grade point average. He was
named an Indoor all-American after winning the 400 me-
ters national title and was on the 4 x 400 meter relay team
that took home the national indoor title.
Shaw also placed two student-athletes of the first team
in tennis players Kalada Kienka and Lolia Kienka, both
from Lagos, Nigeria. Kalada Kienka has compiled a 3.95
overall grade point average in Computer Science while
helping his team win their seventh straight conference
title. Lolia Kienka was named all-CIAA for the women's
team after going 16-0 in conference play and maintains a
3.92 GPA in Business/International Relations.
Allie Kolezynski (Strongsville, Oh.) and Tricia Gor-
man (Ambridge, Pa.) represent Chowan on the first team.
Kolezynski was named first team all-CIAA for softball af-
ter helping lead her team to a regular season champion-
ship. She has maintained a 3.97 grade point average in
Business Administration. Gorman was the CIAA Softball
player of the year, and led all of NCAA Div. II in RBI. She
has a 3.51 GPA in Psychology.
Virginia State placekicker Justin Parker (Peters-
burg, Va.) led the conference in field goal accuracy (100%)
while maintaining a 3.76 GPA in Health and Physical Edu-
cation and Recreation. Parker won the 2011 CIAA Special
Teams Player of the Year award.
Winston-Salem State's Travis Taylor (Newberry,
SC) was instrumental in the Rams' football program's suc-
cess this season as an offensive lineman. Taylor has a 3.75
GPA in Political Science.
Virginia State's Rhon'Neisha Taylor (Nashville,
Tn.) helped the Lady Trojans basketball team to NCAA
post season play after averaging 17.7 points an outing.
She was named this year's Lowe's Senior Class Award
winner and maintains a 3.44 GPA in Sport Management.
COMMISSIONER'S ALL-ACADEMIC
SECOND TEAM
– Sarah Danaher, (Waitsfield, Vt.), Lincoln
Bowling / French (4.0 GPA)
– Brian Acoth, (Salisbury, N.C.), Livingstone
Football / Biology (3.87 GPA)
– Jasmine Nixon, (Middletown, NY), Bowie State
Volleyball / Psychology (3.8 GPA)
– Adidias Arrington, (Norfolk, Va.), Virginia Union
Football / Sports Management (3.56 GPA)
– Shermaine Williams, (St. Andrew, Jamaica), J. C. Smith
Women's Track / Biology (3.776 GPA)
– Brucelee Sterile, (Miami, FL), Lincoln
Football / Business Management (3.8 GPA)
– Kathryn Tokarski, (Saskatchewan, Can.), St. Augustine's
Volleyball, Softball and Track / Human Performance and Well-
ness (3.818 GPA)
– Christopher Copeland, (Suffolk, VA), Saint Augustine's
Track / Sports Management (3.668 GPA)
– Dallin Gray, (Mebane, N.C.), Fayetteville State
Football / Physical Education (3.95 GPA)
© AZEEZ Communications, Inc. Vol. XVII, No. 43
Alcorn State wins its first-ever
Shreveport, La. - For the first time in school history, Alcorn State is
celebrating a SWAC baseball championship. The Braves continued their
offensive assault on the rest of the teams in the tournament with a 12-6
victory over Southern in Sunday's championship final at Fair Grounds
Field.
Tournament most valuable player, Alcorn designated hitter, Kilby
Perdomo, hit his third home run in four games to give Alcorn a 1-0 lead
before the Jaguars had even a chance at bat.
Cameron McGriff tied the game in the bottom of the second with a
solo shot of his own.
Alcorn State, however carded four-run innings in the fourth and sixth,
and then added two insurance runs in the top of the ninth to keep the Jag-
uars at arm's length all day.
Eduardo Gonzalez's double down the left field line plated a run and
was followed by a two-run single by Antolin Morales to key the four-run
fourth for the Braves. Another run scored on a wild pitch, and ASU led for
good, 5-1.
The bottom of the fourth proved to be a turning point if Southern
was to make a comeback. After a run scored while Alcorn was trying to
turn a routine double play, the throw to first base got away. Dio Gonzalez
attempted to score on the error, but was out at the plate, halting a Jaguar
rally. Gonzalez and SU assistant coach Fernando Puebla were ejected
from the game for arguing the call at home plate.
Kenny Rowan's two-run homer in the sixth gave the Braves a 7-2
lead before adding two more runs in the inning to make it 9-2.
Southern was able to chase Alcorn starter Brent Blaum in the sixth
as McGriff added another RBI, and the Jaguars scored three times. An-
other McGriff RBI on a sacrifice fly in the seventh made it 9-6, but that is
as close as Southern would get.
Rowan knocked in another run with a double in the ninth to highlight
a three-run rally in the final two innings that let the Braves be on cruise
control for their first SWAC title.
Steve Easter worked 3.2 innings of solid relief giving up just one un-
earned run to earn the save. Blaum (2-5) earned the victory, while Jaguar
starter Jose DeLeon (5-2) took the loss.
Alcorn scored 49 runs in the tournament in going 4-0 and earning the
league's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. The pairing will be
announced on Monday, May 30 at 12:30 p.m. on ESPN.
2011 SWAC BASEBALL ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Kilby Perdomo – Alcorn State (MVP)
Kenny Rowan – Alcorn State
Eduardo Perez – Alcorn State
Steve Easter – Alcorn State
Wilmy Marrero – Southern
Frazier Hall – Southern
Ozzie Lamis – Southern
Dakota Laufenberg – Texas Southern
Charles Epperson – Jackson State
Kendall Logan – Jackson State
Eldred Barnett – Grambling;
Giovanni Angel – Prairie View A&M.
Coach of the Year: Barret Rey, Alcorn State
PERDOMO
Bethune-Cookman takes sixth
consecutive MEAC Baseball title
Daytona Beach, Fla., - Bethune-Cookman won the 2011 Mid-East-
ern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Baseball Championship title with a
9-3 victory over Norfolk State at Jackie Robinson Ballpark on Saturday
afternoon.
The championship crown was the sixth consecutive and 13th overall
for the Wildcats. Bethune-Cookman extended its win streak to 46 against
BCSP Notes
Div. II regional track & field
award winners named
NEW ORLEANS – The U.S. Track &
Field and Cross Country Coaches Association
(USTFCCCA) announced winners of regional
awards for the 2011 NCAA Division II Outdoor
Track & Field season. As selected by coaches
in the respective regions, four female and three
male student-athletes from HBCUs earned
awards as a track or field athlete of the year
while three USTFCCCA members from black
colleges earned plaudits as a coach or assistant
coach of a women's or men's team.
Most of the award winners will participate
in the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field
Championships to be held this weekend, May
26-28, in Turlock, Calif. Cal State Stanislaus
will serve as host at its home Al Brenda Track
at Warrior Stadium.
2011 NCAA DIVISION II OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD
REGION AWARD WINNERS FROM HBCUS
WOMEN'S TRACK ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
SOUTH REGION
Camille Clemmons-James – Benedict - Clemmons-James, a junior
from Columbia, S.C., captured three school records during the 2011
regular season, rewriting the school bests for 100 meters, 200 me-
ters, and 400 meters. Her time in the 400 meters ranks fifth overall
in NCAA Division II headed into the Championships. At the 2011
SIAC Championships, she finished second in the 100 meters and
fourth in the 200 meters.
SOUTH CENTRAL REGION
Judith Riley – Lincoln (Mo.) - The junior from Manchester, Ja-
maica, was high point winner at the MIAA Championships with 30
team points. She broke the conference record in winning the 100-
meter hurdles, and she also scored individual wins in the 100 meters
and 200-meters. Riley has the top-ranked time in the 100 meters
heading into the NCAA Division II Championships, and she will
also compete in the 200 meters and as a member of Lincoln’s top-
ranked 4x100-meter relay.
WOMEN’S FIELD ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
ATLANTIC REGION
Xahnn George-Reid – Johnson C. Smith
George-Reid, a sophomore from Clarendon, Jamaica, scored a
wind-aided season’s best in the long jump of 19-6? (5.95m) on the
final weekend of the season to claim a spot as the seventh seed into
the NCAA Championships. George-Reid also finished the season in
the nation’s top 20 in the high jump with a 5-7 (1.70m) clearance. In
the CIAA Championships, George-Reid claimed a third place finish
in the long jump and sixth in the high jump.
SOUTH REGION
Antoinette Oglesby – Fort Valley State
Oglesby, a senior from Athens, Ga., is entered in both the long and
triple jumps at the NCAA Championships. Her season’s best in the
triple jump of 42-2? (12.87m) won the collegiate division of the
Penn Relays and is the No. 2 seed for the NCAA meet. In the long
jump, Oglesby claimed a jump of 19-6? (5.95m) in the final week-
end of the season to rank seventh in the country.
WOMEN’S ASSISTANT COACH OF THE YEAR
conference opponents including tournament play.
John Rasberry got the Spartans on the board first with a solo home
run in the top of the first.
Matt Wright and Alejandro Sanchez countered for the Wildcats to
take the 2-1 lead in the bottom of the frame.
B-CU's Brashad Johnson stole home on a throwing error by Bran-
don Hairston in the bottom of the third and Peter O'Brien scored in the
fourth to extend the score to 4-1 for the Wildcats.
After a scoreless fourth inning by both teams, Brandon Hairston's
two run single closed the scoring gap for the Spartans to 4-3.
The Wildcats took control in the bottom of the sixth off a Sanchez
single to left field for a Brandon Turner score. O'Brien singled to left
field to score Sanchez and then crossed the plate himself off a DJ Leonard
RBI to push the score to 7-3.
Turner tripled in the bottom of the seventh to score Johnson and then
scored the final run off a Wright hit to left field for the 9-3 final.
Patrick Goelz (8-3) pitched six innings allowing six hits, three runs
and striking out five for the win. Jordan Egan (3-3) allowed six hits, six
runs and struck out six batters in 5.1 innings of action for NSU.
Bethune-Cookman catcher O'Brien finished 8-for-14 with 8 RBI to
earn Outstanding Performer honors, while Wildcats' head coach Mervyl
Melendez was named Outstanding Coach for the 11th time in his career.
"We have had a great year, I just went in and swung the bat and tried
to help my team," said O’Brien. "We just wanted to go out there and play
hard and get the win."
With the victory, Bethune-Cookman (35-22) earned the conference's
automatic qualification to the NCAA Baseball Championship for the sixth
consecutive year. The pairings will be announced on Monday, May 30 at
12:30 p.m. on ESPN.
2011 MEAC BASEBALL ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Troy Adeyemi, Florida A&M
John Rasberry, Norfolk State
Luis Mena, Maryland Eastern Shore
Peter O’Brien, Bethune-Cookman
Tre-Von Johnson, Maryland Eastern Shore
Nick Oelker, North Carolina A&T
Ryan Durrence, Bethune-Cookman
James Taylor, Norfolk State
Ryan Shook, Norfolk State
Brandon Hairston, Norfolk State
Scott Davis, Delaware State
O'BRIEN MELENDEZ
Outstanding Performer: Peter O’Brien, Bethune-Cookman
Outstanding Coach: Mervyl Melendez, Bethune-Cookman
Jackson State finishes 14th
in NCAA Men's Golf
OCALA, Florida - The Jackson State men's golf team completed the
final round of the 2011 NCAA Southeast Regional in Ocala, Florida finish-
ing in 14th place. The University of Florida hosted the event at the Golden
Ocala Golf Course.
After shaving 14 strokes from its round one score, JSU cut another
four strokes from round two's scores Saturday by shooting a 307 in the
final round. Jackson State's final score for the tournament was 943 (325,
REY
311, 307).
Senior Jonathan Coleman and junior Maurice Jeffries both tied for
60th place, finishing with total scores of 227. Freshman Justin Still fin-
ished in 72nd place with a score of 244 and freshman Josh McCormick
shot a 245 to finish in 73rd place.
The Florida Gators won the regional with a score of 846, Augusta
State finished second (852), Kennesaw State came in third (853), North
Carolina State came in fourth place (855) and Arkansas shot 856 for fifth
place. The top five teams will advance to the NCAA Championships.
ATLANTIC REGION
Larry Moore – Johnson C. Smith
The throws coach assisted the Lady Bulls to their first CIAA Team
Championship and a fifth national ranking during the outdoor sea-
son following a seventh-place finish as a team at the Indoor NCAA
Championships.
WOMEN’S COACH OF THE YEAR
SOUTH CENTRAL REGION
Victor Thomas – Lincoln (Mo.)
Victor Thomas guided the Blue Tigers to the MIAA title winning by
49? points and was named MIAA Coach of the Year. Lincoln will be
competing with 17 entries at the NCAA Championship meet includ-
ing seven athletes with automatic times and the top ranked 4x100-
meter team in the nation and third ranked team in the 4?400-meter
relay. Lincoln claimed six MIAA Track Athlete of the Week honors
during the season. The team ranks No. 1 in the South Central region
and No. 2 nationally.
ALLISON SIKES JUSTIN PARKER
MEN'S TRACK ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
ATLANTIC REGION
Leford Green – Johnson C. Smith scoring (17.0 ppg.), second in the CIAA, aver-
Green, a senior from St. Catherine, Jamaica, earned 2011 CIAA Male aged 7.2 rebounds per game (10th) and led the
Athlete of the Meet honors after winning the 400 meters and 400-me-
ter hurdles, finishing second in the 200 meters, and running a leg on conference in steals per game (3.1). Sikes was
the Golden Bulls’ second-place 4?400-meter relay. Green will look to also third in three-point field goal percentage
extend his undefeated season over the single-lap distance next week-
(.342). Sikes boasts a .361 GPA.
end, as he has the fastest entering marks in both the 400 meters and
the 400-meter hurdles. Parker, a senior Health, Physical Education
and Recreation major for the Trojans' football
MEN’S FIELD ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
ATLANTIC REGION and golf teams, led the CIAA in field goal ac-
Orolando Duffus – Saint Augustine's curacy for the 2010 season, finishing 8 for 8
A junior from St. Catherine, Jamaica, Duffus has qualified for the
NCAA Championships in both the long and triple jumps. With season (100%) with a long of 40 yards. He ranked sec-
bests of 24-6? (7.47m) and 49-1? (14.98m), respectively, Duffus has ond in Point After Touchdown kicking, hitting
top-15 national seeds in both events. Duffus was CIAA Champion of
on 32-of-34 (94%). Parker maintains a 3.769
both events and added a fourth-place finish in the high jump.
SOUTH REGION GPA. Parker also serves his community, hav-
LaQuan Priest – Claflin
ing volunteered for the Rudy Johnson Founda-
Priest, a junior, will enter the NCAA Championships in the triple
jump as the seventh seed thanks to a season’s best of 50-2 (15.29m). tion, Habitat for Humanity and participated in a
Priest was the winner of the triple jump in the SIAC. breast cancer walk.
MEN’S COACH OF THE YEAR Both Sikes and Parker were formally rec-
ATLANTIC REGION ognized at the 2011 CIAA Spring Awards Lun-
George Williams – Saint Augustine’s
cheon on May 24th in Newport News, Va.
By claiming the 2011 CIAA title, George Williams added to the
impressive tally of over 150 conference championships that he has
amassed as the track & field coach at St. Augustine’s. The Falcons
will be sending sixteen entries to the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
His team is third nationally heading into the championship meet. NCAA TOURNAMENT RESULTS
Div. I Softball
Sikes, Parker named top – FIRST ROUND
Alabama 8, Jackson State 0
CIAA scholar-athletes Chattanooga 8, Jackson State 1
Hampton, VA - Saint Augustine's women's
– FIRST ROUND
Florida 8, Bethune-Cookman 0
basketball player Allison Sikes was named the Jacksonville 8, Bethune-Cookman 0
female winner while Virginia State placekicker
and golfer Justin Parker was named the men's Div. II Baseball
winner of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic – SOUTH REGION FIRST ROUND
West Florida 10, Stillman 1
Association Male and Female Scholar-Athlete Nova Southeastern 12, Stillman 3
of the Year Awards. – ATLANTIC REGION FIRST ROUND
Sikes is a senior psychology major from
Concord 11, Winston-Salem State 3
Mercyhurst 7, Winston-Salem State 2
Richmond, Va., who led the Lady Falcons in