TaKayla Ellis and Jowan Lewis-Kearse were named Cheyney University Student-Athletes of the year on Tuesday evening at the annual Athletic Department Student-Athlete Success Banquet, honoring the accomplishments of the student-athletes and cheerleaders, held inside Ada Georges Banquet Hall.
Interim Athletic Director, Suzanne Kilian opened the festivities, while Cheyney University President Aaron A. Walton served as the evening’s keynote speaker. Kilian, along with the coaches, spoke on the student-athletes and those who supported the department throughout the year and distributed Awards.
Lewis-Kearse made a career-high 29 catches for 273 yards during the football season and then joined the indoor track and field squad for the spring semester. In his first meet, he took the title in the Triple jump and qualified for the PSAC Championships, then recorded the second longest triple jump indoors in Cheyney history.
During the Championships, Lewis Kearse earned all-conference honors in the both events with a third-place in triple jump and a second-place finish in the long jump.
Jowan went to the outdoor track season and promptly broke the all-time Cheyney record in the triple jump surpassing Lynwood Loper’s mark, which stood since the 1976 PSAC Championships.Last week at Shippensburg he improved the record to 14.99m and became the first Cheyney athlete to jump over 49 feet.Lewis-Kearse enters the PSAC Outdoor Championships, this weekend at Slippery Rock, as the top seed in the triple jump, and third in the long jump.TaKayla Ellis averaged a career-high 14.4 points per game with 47 3-point makes shot .797 from the free-throw line, to help her earn 2nd-team all-PSAC honors. It was the first post-season accolades for the senior from Accokeek, Md., who earned PSAC and ECAC Player of the Week honors in December following her career-high 34 point performance in a victory at West Liberty University.Ellis, who surpassed the 1,000-point plateau on February 17, vs Kutztown University, finished her Cheyney University career with 1,037 points in 99 games played, in 2017 she set the new career-mark in 3-point makes, and closes with 157 3-point makes, 201 assists, 263 rebounds, 120 steals and 43 blocked shots.Assistant women’s basketball coach Mariah Chandler prepared a music video that played during dinner, and the evening closed with the coating of the senior’s, followed by the singing of the Alma Mater. Check out the full list of awards, and award winners, at this year’s Student-Athlete Success Banquet: Most Outstanding Distance RunnerFemale: Nazirah Purnell
Male: Michael CusatisMost Improved
Female: Olayamisi Oresanwo
Male: Brandon McCrayVolleyball
Sportsmanship and Leadership: Jamera Stanciel
MVP: Virshawna CampbellFootball
Offense Most Valuable Player: Keon Hughes
Defensive Most Valuable Player: Keyson Dingle
Team Most Valuable Player: Dominic TrautzMost Outstanding Sprinter
Female: Sheala Miles
Male: Devin MillerIndoor Field MVP
Female: Erica-Lyn Russell
Male: Jowan Lewis-Kearse
Women’s Basketball
Sportsmanship: Drazana Vulic
Defensive Player of the Year: Yasmine Dorrielan
Most Valuable Player: TaKayla Ellis
Men’s Basketball
Sportsmanship: Brewster Ward III
Leadership: Amir Boney
Most Valuable Player: Jeff Lewis
Cheerleaders
MVP: Sawieh Miller
Unsung hero: Noni Peaks
Most improved: Tazha Matthews
Most outstanding All-Around Track and Field Athlete
Nickeela Austin
Isaiah Galloway
Brandon Joyner
Nigel Wiley – FootballService and Dedication to Cheyney University Award
Brianna LieboldPresident’s Scholar-Athlete Award
Female: Bryanna Taylor (Volleyball)
Male: Bradley Dardas (Football)Athletic Director’s Award
Jamera Stanciel – VolleyballStudent-Athlete of the Year
Female Athlete of the Year: TaKayla Ellis (Basketball)
Male Athlete of the Year: Jowan Lewis-Kearse (Football/Track & Field) Top Photo (L to R): Male Athlete of the Year, Jowan Lewis-Kearse (Football/Track & Field) with Interim Athletic Director, Suzanne Kilian and Female Athlete of the Year, TaKayla Ellis.