NEW YORK (May 14, 2008) - The 22nd Annual Michael Steuerman City University of New York Athletic Conference Scholar-Athlete Awards Dinner took place Wednesday night at Baruch College, where CUNYAC Executive Director, Zak Ivkovic announced the four recipients of the conference's Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards: Berbelin Jape, a volleyball star at Hostos, and Chinedum Azikiwe, a standout soccer player at Borough of Manhattan, are the recipients of the community college awards. Also, Allyshia West, a two-sport performer (swimming, softball) at Hunter, and Kafui Kouakou, a Most Valuable Player recipient in men's soccer at York, will take home senior college scholar-athlete praise. Additionally, 32 honorable-mention selections were named, and the CUNYAC's 14 All-America performers and one national coach of the year recipient were also recognized.

"This class of Scholar-Athletes of the Year represents the best and brightest the CUNY Athletic Conference has to offer," noted Ivkovic. "While the CUNY system serves New York's brightest individuals, the fact that our four winners all originally hail from other countries is a strong testament to the worldwide pool of students that the City University of New York draws from."

Azikiwe (Brooklyn, N.Y.) came to the United States from his native Nigeria in 2004, and has taken full advantage of every opportunity. One of the top defenders in NJCAA Region XV, he helped head coach Kenichi Yatsuhashi's Panthers squad to two CUNYAC men's soccer championships in as many seasons (2006, '07). In the classroom, Azikiwe owns a 3.41 grade-point average in business administration, and is a member of the Honor Society of Black Student Scholars, Phi Theta Kappa and Chi Alpha Epsilon honor societies. He is active on the BMCC campus in the Business Enterprise Club, the BMCC African Students Association, and serves as part of the school's Student Ambassadors program. Azikiwe also helped the school to organize a coat drive two winters ago, a canned food drive this entire academic year and volunteered at his employer's (Banana Republic) coat drive this past winter.

Jape (Bronx, N.Y.) arrived in this country from the Dominican Republic four years ago, and like the entire scholar-athlete class, has persevered in the face of adversity to accomplish all of her goals thus far. One of her cousins led Jape to head coach Keisha Hall-Lynch's team in the fall of 2006. After receiving all-tournament accolades as a freshman at the CUNYAC Community College Women's Volleyball Championships, this past season she led the Caimans to their first-ever conference title. Jape was named Most Valuable Player of the championships, after putting down a match-high 20 kills in an emotional five-game victory over BMCC in the title game. She sports a 3.5 grade-point average in business management at Hostos, and was the recipient of the Peter Vallone Academic Scholarship this past spring. Jape is a member of the Phi Theta Kappa honor society, and is a member of Hostos' Dominican Republic Club.

Kouakou (Springfield Gardens, N.Y.) moved to the United States from his native Togo in 2004, and happened to find York by chance. An established family member pointed out that York had soccer and a business program, and was close by to his residence. From there, Kouakou proceeded to climb the ladder on the soccer field, academically, and in the school's student government. A goalkeeper for coach Linval Cunningham's Cardinals, he was a second-team all-region selection after picking up not only the CUNYAC Player of the Year award this past fall, but also the Most Valuable Player of the CUNYAC Men's Soccer Championships after making 10 dramatic saves to preserve York's first conference championship and NCAA appearance since 2001. Kouakou wrapped up his bachelor's degree in business administration during the fall with a 3.6 grade-point average, and has served as a tutor at the school for each of the last three years. Kouakou served as vice-president not only of York's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, but also of York's student government.

West (Owen Sound, Ont.) was a three-time CUNYAC Softball Pitcher of the Year (2006-08), and decided that her schedule was not busy enough entering this past winter. For the first time in her college career, she joined head coach Scott Bintner's swimming team for the 2007-08 campaign. All West did from there was garner CUNYAC Rookie of the Year accolades, and picked up four gold medals (100 Back, 200 Back, 400 Medley Relay, 800 Free Relay) in helping the Hawks to a conference championship. She also placed sixth in the 200-yard backstroke at the prestigious year-end Metropolitan Conference Championships, aiding Hunter's best finish (ninth) at the meet in over 20 years. On the softball diamond, the right-handed pitcher led the Hawks to a trio of regular-season titles (2005-06, '08) and the 2006 and 2008 CUNYAC tournament titles -- garnering tournament MVP accolades in the latter event. At this spring's NCAA Division III Softball Championships, West pitched the Hawks to a 6-4 victory over Kean. Perhaps more impressive, though, is West's academic performance. She has registered a grade-point average of 3.8 in anthropology, with a minor in history. Furthermore, this past fall West participated in the NY Cares program, reading and tutoring in local elementary schools twice per week.

2008 CUNYAC Scholar-Athlete Award Winners

Scholar-Athlete of the Year Selections

Chinedum "Anthony" Azikiwe, BMCC soccer (Brooklyn, N.Y.; 3.41 gpa; Business Administration)
Berbelin Jape, Hostos volleyball (Bronx, N.Y.; 3.497 gpa; Business Management)
Kafui Kouakou, York soccer (Springfield Gardens, N.Y.; 3.604 gpa; Business Administration)
Allyshia West, Hunter softball/swimming (Owen Sound, Ont.; 3.8 gpa; Anthropology, minor in history)

Honorable-Mention Selections

All-America Selections (as of May 15, 2008)

• Dean Brown, CCNY - Men's Indoor Track and Field (high jump)
• Pavel Buyanov, Staten Island - Men's Swimming (100-yard and 200-yard breaststroke - two-time national champion)
• Pete Charles, Lehman - Men's Indoor Track and Field (triple jump)
• Claudette Hetmeyer, Bronx - Women's Outdoor Track and Field (400-meter dash, 800-meter run)
• Richard Jean-Baptiste, Brooklyn - Men's Basketball
• Kingsborough Community College - Men's Outdoor Track and Field (4x400 meter relay team; Robert Mortel, Oluwatobi Oni, Blake Prince, Jamie Wilson, Beraiah Yisrael)
• Kristal McGreggor, Bronx - Women's Outdoor Track and Field (shot put, discus, hammer throw - three-time national champion)
• Anthony Minter, Bronx - Men's Indoor Track and Field (discus)
• Faisal Muhammad, Kingsborough - Men's Indoor Track and Field (hammer throw - national champion), Men's Outdoor Track and Field (hammer throw - national champion)
• Jodyann Raymond, CCNY - Women's Indoor Track and Field (55-meter dash)

National Coach of the Year

• Monica Stevens, Bronx - NJCAA Division III Women's Outdoor Track and Field