PINE BLUFF, Ark. (April 26) - The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Department of Athletics held its Inaugural Golden Lion Awards and Reception this past Monday at the Hathaway Fine Arts Auditorium.
 
It was a fun filled evening where UAPB honored 151 student-athletes for their success in both the classroom and in their respective sport.
 
The evening's festivities were kicked off by a Drum Line performance by members of the Marching Musical Machine of the Mid-South percussion section.  
 
Members of the audience were also entertained by the father and son duet of Mr. Kenneth Gatewood, Sr., and his son Kenneth Gatewood, Jr., with their renditions of "I Believe I can Fly" and "Wind Beneath My Wings".  
 
UAPB's own Mr. John Proctor captivated the audience with the reading of a poem he wrote entitled "Success Begins with Me".
 
Over 115 student-athletes, who are upperclassman with a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 and higher through the fall semester, received the Academic Excellence Awards .
 
Both Maria Aguilar of Softball and Harry Estep of baseball received the prestigious Mary E. Benjamin Female and Male Scholar Athlete of the Year Award for their academic success in the classroom.    This award is given to an upperclassman male and female student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA.
 
UAPB closed out the event with the naming of  the Trotter Ford-Lincoln Male and Female Athlete of the Year.  Both of this year's recipients were from track and field with Sireta Roach being named the Female Athlete of the Year and Jerrel Wilson the Male Athlete of the Year.  
 

Sports	Chancellor's Unsung Hero	Most Valuable Player
Baseball	Adam Graham	Julian Jones
Football	LaFarrell Franklin	Kyle Coleman
Men's Golf	Jackie Harris, Jr.	Brian Cloud
Men's Basketball	Ghiavonni Robinson	JoVaughn Love
Men's Cross Country	Harlan Clarke	Malique Smith
Men's Track and Field Indoor	Justin Cooper	Jerrel Wilson
Men's Track and Field Outdoor*	Justin Cooper	Jerrel Wilson
Men's Tennis	Edward Butler	Jualon Greig
Soccer	Makayla Cowles	Karissa Fenwick
Softball	Hailey Forbes	Tonnay Hawkins
Volleyball	Katy Hufnagel	Lauren Corby
Women's Cross Country	Sabratina Rojas	Sharoya Simmons
Women's Track and Field Indoor	Takia Taylor	Sireta Roach
Women's Track and Field Outdoor*	Summer Gilliam	Sireta Roach
Women's Tennis	Courtney Brand	Tia Thomas
Women's Basketball	Destiny Brewton	Niya Head

Mary E. Benjamin Female Student-Athlete Academic Excellence Award: 
Maria Aguilar - Softball
Mary E. Benjamin Male Student-Athlete Academic Excellence Award: 
Harry Estep – Baseball
Trotter Ford Female Student-Athlete of the Year:
Sireta Roach – Women's Track and Field
Trotter Ford Male Student-Athlete of the Year:
Jerrel Wilson – Men's Track and Field
 

 
 
2015-2016 UAPB All- SWAC Performers
 
Football
Willie Duncan, First Team
Demarcus Berry, Second Team
 
 
Men's Golf
Brian Cloud, Second Team
 
Women's Indoor Track and Field
Sireta Roach, Co, Women's Most Outstanding Field Performer
 
Women's Basketball
Niya Head – SWAC New Comer of the Year
 
Women's Soccer
Karrisa Fenwick - Co-Freshman of the Year
 
Men's Tennis
Simon Lewis, Freshman of the Year
Jualon Greig / Sajid Rahman – Second Team (Double Play)

 
ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE AWARDS
(UPPERCLASSMAN STUDENTS WITH CUMULATIVE GRADE POINT AVERAGES OF 3.0 AND HIGHER FALL 2015)
 
 
Baseball (19)
Michael Bradley*
Dontrell Brown
Christopher Burns, III*
Roberto Colon
Harry Estep*
Jerimiah Figueroa*
Adam Graham
Austin Grier
Tommy Haas
Ashton Holdridge
Jaylen Jackson
Jordan Knox*
Cole Lewington
Antoine Luster
Humberto Medina*
Gabriel Munoz
William Olson
Christopher Phelps
Matthew Shindlebower
 
Men's Basketball (2)
Austin Cox
Chauncy Parker
 
Football (22)
David Adams
Tyler Bell
Obadiah Bennett
Blake Conner
LaFarrell Franklin
Deston Freeman
Jamal Gladden
Kyron Lawson
Don'dre Maney
Gabriel McDonald
Kaleb McDonald
Eddie Miles
Devin Mitchell
Eric Reid
Nolan Sorenson*
Nicholas Stroud
Roger Totten, II
Kyle Walker
Malik Walker
Keshawn Williams
Ryan Willis
Cameron Willis
 
Men's Golf (2)
Brian Cloud
Matthew Dismuke*
 
Men's Tennis (6)
Myles Adams
Hanif Fadaeel
Jualon Greig
Khusto Ledwaba
Simon Lewis
Sajid Rahman
 
 
Men's Track & Field/CC (8)
Travis Bibbs
Andrew Bingham*
Miles Dortch
Rasheed McAlpin
Juwan Parker
Malique Smith
Demetrius Thompson
LaMarques Woodard
 
Women's Basketball (11)
Destiny Brewton
Ashlee Daniel
Niya Head
Jasmine Johnson*
Tyjha McGee
Ajia Richardson
Kye Richardson
Hannah Roberts
Nia Sapp
Ashely Velasquez
Cassidy Wright
 
Soccer (17)
Victoria Bresler
Maria Abreu-De Campos
Nathalia Canizalez
Makayla Cowles
Cierra Fenwick
Karissa Fenwick
Elandra Gilmore
Rebecca Holmes
Stephanie Jett
Mariah Johnson
Abigail Key
Jordan Knorr
Kristen Moore
Veronica Parker
Tierra Poyner
Maria Del Carmen Rios Jean
Gabrielle Ybarra
 
Softball (13)
Maria Aguilar*
Misty Callas*
Morgan Carter
Sydney Crossett
Hailey Forbes*
Karia Hall
Tonnay Hawkins
Delya Jackson*
Lydia Mitchell
Monique Nikolao
Kayla Reap
Alexandria Taylor
Brianna Young
 
Women's Track and Field/CC (9)
Summer Buckley
Briana Burke
Summer Gilliam
Salonica Hunter
Sireta Roach*
Sabratina Rojas*
Sharoya Simmons*
Ashley Tasher
Sydnee Worlds
 
Volleyball (10)
Courtney Billups
Courtney Brand
Lauren Corby
Kayla Dowdell
Natalie Gibbs
Whitney Harris
Katy Hufnagel
Jade Sanlin
Sydney Stanmore
Jenna Wuzinski
 
*These students are inductees into Chi Alpha Sigma (National College Athlete Honor Society)