Newspaper Page Text
12 The Savannah Tribune • Wednesday, April 26, 2023
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Savannah State Holds Sports Banquet
Ri’yon Adams
The Savannah State
Department of Athletics held
their annual athletic banquet
on April 20 inside of the SSU
Student Union Ballroom.
During the banquet,
student-athletes were honored
for their accomplishments and
hard work during their respec
tive athletic seasons.
The women’s volley
ball team finished their fall sea
son with a 12-12 overall record
and 12-7 mark in conference
play. It was thee first time in
school history the team has had
a winning conference record.
The Most Valuable
Player/Leadership Award went
to Destinee Langston while Al
iena Norton won Freshman of
the Year and Jasmine Nettles
earned the Coach’s Award.
The men’s cross
country team finished sixth at
their conference meet while the
women’s squad was fourth and
was led by Kayla Chance, who
won the SIAC Women’s Run
ner of the Year Award.
Under first year head
coach Aaron Kelton, the Tiger
football team finished their
year with a 5-5 year but was
3-4 in conference play.
Quarterback Jadon
Adams (Offensive Player of the
Year), defensive end Makenley
Newbill (Defensive Player of
the Year), offensive lineman
Ri’yon Adams (Lineman of the
Padmasree Murugan
Year), linebacker Tavare Brew-
ton (Newcomer of the Year)
and wide receiver DaShun
Mitchell (Team Impact Player
of the Year) all went home with
some hardware.
The SSU basketball
teams both had exciting sea
sons and finished second in
the regular season conference
standings. The Tigers finished
the year with a 15-11 overall
record and 13-8 in the SIAC
while the Lady Tigers were
17-8 and 13-6 in the confer
ence.
Eleik Bowles was
named the men’s team Most
Valuable Player while his
twin brother, Elavian Bowles,
walked away with the Coach’s
Award. The Defensive Player
of the Year went to Andrew
Okorodudu while Larson Ash
ford captured the Senior Cap
tain Award.
Head women’s bas
ketball coach Cedric Baker
presented Bria Gibbs and Nyla
Allen the Co-Most valuable
Player Awards while Myasia
Jones was the Newcomer of the
Year and Jashiyah Jones earned
the Most Improved Award.
Others receiving awards were
Amari Heard (Best All Around
Player) and Paris Thompson
(Coach’s Award).
The women’s tennis
team ended their season on
April 1 and finished the year
Tavare Brewton
with a 5-12 overall mark and a
5-10 conference record.
Padmasree Muru
gan earned the Most Valuable
Player Award while Sarah Joa
chim and Stella Ekwalla both
were given the Most Improved
Award.
The SSU track pro
grams were gearing up for their
last regular season meet be
fore heading to Atlanta for the
SIAC Meet on April 27-29.
Aiden Holliman
(Outstanding Male in Field
Events), Erik Roberts (Out
standing male in Distance
Events) and Winfred Porter
(Outstanding Male in Sprint
Events) won awards for the
men’s team while Sadrea Mab
ry, Kayla Chance and Ravyn
Cystrunk were award winners
on the women’s side. Roberts
also won the Coach’s Award.
The baseball and
softball teams are also still in
volved in their regular seasons.
At the time of the banquet
the baseball team had a 24-9
overall record and was 20-6
in conference play while the
softball team, under first year
head coach Amber Hallman
was 7-18 overall and 6-13 in
the SIAC.
Baseball awards went
to Joe Smith (Offensive Play
er of the Year), Enrico Peele
(Pitcher of the Year) and Mer
ritt Evans II (Newcomer of the
Sunzahra Banks
Year).
Earning softball
honors were Samantha Mo
rales (Offensive Player of the
Year), Kayla McDuffie (De
fensive Player of the Year),
Kylie Rhymer (Rookie of the
Year), Ziahya Griffin (Rookie
of the Year), Demonee Miles
(Mental Toughness Award) and
Katrie-ana Bradshaw (Mental
Toughness Award).
The Savannah State
golf teams have both wrapped
up their regular seasons. The
men placed second in the SIAC
Tournament while the women
competed in the Peach Belt
Conference Tournament April
21-23 in Augusta.
Also during the ban
quet, the Savannah State Com
munity Booster Club presented
two student-athletes the pres
tigious W. W. Law Athletic
Scholarships. The 2023 recip
ients are Tavare Brewton and
Sunzahra Banks. Brewton is
a freshman linebacker on the
football team and hails from
Savannah while Banks is a
sophomore on the tennis team
and is from Rendezvous Bay,
Anguilla.
DeLoach Signs
With UGA
University of Georgia
men’s basketball coach Mike
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White announced on April 22
that Savannah native Jalen De-
Loach has decided to transfer
from Virginia Commonwealth
and will play for the Bulldogs.
The 6-9, 215-pound
Mike White
rising junior was named third-
team A11-A10 last season after
starting 32 of 34 games played
and averaging 9.7 points, 6.9
rebounds and 1.4 blocks per
game for the Rams. DeLoach
was even more productive in
A10 action, contributing 10.2
points and 7.4 rebounds per
game. Among the league’s
statistical leaders, he ranked
No. 7 in rebounds and No. 5 in
blocks. DeLoach helped VCU
finish 27-8 and sweep off the
Jalen DeLoach
Atlantic 10 regular-season and
tournament titles en route to
an NCAA Tournament appear
ance.
On April 4,when De
Loach announced on his so
cial media account that he had
narrowed his top six programs
to consider and UGA was not
listed. The list included Flori
da State, San Diego State, Vir
ginia Commonwealth, Miami
(Fla), Indiana and Penn State.
However, 13 days later, he said
his recruitment was still open.
DeLoach joins a
Bulldog team that was 16-16
overall last season but 6-12 in
the Southeastern Conference.
SSU Boosters To Meet
SAVANNAH STATS ATHLETICS
COMMUNITY
BOOSTER CLUB
The next meeting of Room on the SSU campus,
the Savannah State Universi- For more informa-
ty Community Booster Club tion, call Barbara McGhee,
will be April 26 at 7 p.m. in who is the president of the
the Tiger Arena Multi-Purpose group at 912-441-1868.
Sanders, Austin Awarded Scholarships
From Abbie DeLoach Foundation
L-R: Anna DeLoach, Jaden Saunders, Jaeda Austin,
and Jimmy DeLoach, Jr.
Photo: Abbie DeLoach Foundation
Savannah State stu
dent-athletes Jaden Saunders
and Jaeda Austin were award
ed scholarships from the Abbie
DeLoach Foundation (ADF) at
the 7th annual scholarship class
luncheon on April 14 at Savan
nah Golf Club.
Saunders, a sopho
more on the men’s golf team,
and Austin, a freshman on the
women’s volleyball team, were
part of 17 students from the
Savannah area that received
scholarships this year.
The event celebrated
recipients’ academic excel
lence, exemplary service work
or athletic commitment, ac
cording to a press release from
ADF. To date, 106 recipients
have received an ADF schol
arship including 12 Savannah
State student-athletes.
A sold-out audience
of recipients, families, friends,
coaches and community lead
ers heard from guest speak
er Dr. Sherry Danello, MSN,
NEA-BC, vice president of
patient care services and chief
nursing officer at St. Joseph/
Candler Health System, about
the state of Georgia’s health
care workforce.
Also in attendance
were Savannah Mayor Van
Johnson, Chatham County
Sheriff John Wilcher, Savan
nah Chatham-County Public
School System (SCCPSS) Su
perintendent Dr. M. Ann Le-
vett, Ed.D., and SCPSS Board
President Roger Moss.
Jimmy DeLoach Jr.,
Abbie’s father and Abbie De
Loach Foundation president,
addressed the scholarship re
cipients. He invited them to
stand and be the focus in the
room as he spoke about the
award and leadership.
“From this point on,
in everything you do, you will
be talked about because you
are out in front,’’ said DeLoach.
“You are the ones setting the
pace, and the footprint that oth
er people will follow.’’
He also spoke about
the importance of education.
“As I told my daughters, ed
ucation is a ticket on the bus.
No one will tell you what to
do with life because you have
this ticket that enables you to
do what you want to do, but the
ticket comes with responsibili
ty-”
Viet P resident/
Advertising’ Director
gwts Martin 1 .vttwr King Jr, UP'-xJ
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