Men's and Women's Basketball Candidates Announced for Lowe's CIAA Senior CLASS Award
Charlotte, NC
Nineteen CIAA men’s and women’s basketball student-athletes who excel both on and off the court were selected as candidates today for the Lowe’s CIAA Senior CLASS Award
®. An acronym for
Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School ®, the Lowe’s CIAA Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages players to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as a senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. The complete list of candidates follows this release.
The Lowe’s CIAA Senior CLASS Award, which focuses on men’s and women’s basketball players from the CIAA, is a division of the national Senior CLASS Award program that recognizes student-athletes in 10 NCAA Division I sports.
CIAA award candidates were nominated by their respective universities. Of those 19 student-athletes, all are in excellent academic standing at their universities with nine holding GPAs of 3.5 or greater, and five were honored with preseason conference honors for outstanding performance on the court. Each of the candidates volunteers his or her time with charitable organizations and causes while upholding a reputation for positive character on campus and in the community.
“The Lowe’s CIAA Senior CLASS Award shows the company’s commitment to the CIAA mission, which is to support and showcase our student-athletes through community, classroom, character and competition,” said CIAA Commissioner Jacqie McWilliams. “Their involvement on the campuses, culminating at the tournament, helps to recognize and celebrate the overall NCAA Division II student-athlete experience.”
Each of the men’s and women’s candidates will be recognized on-court at a home game during the season. The winners will be determined through a voting system that includes fans, CIAA basketball media and conference coaches. Fan balloting will take place from January 23 through February 20 at
LowesCIAASCA.com, the award website that will contain information about each candidate and the overall program.
The male and female winner will be announced during the CIAA Tournament in Charlotte, North Carolina, and presented with the prestigious Senior CLASS Award trophy at the championship games on Saturday, March 2.
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MEN’S BASKETBALL CANDIDATES:
Tyre Gathright, Saint Augustine’s University
Anthony Harper, Johnson C. Smith University
Jamel McAllister, Winston-Salem State University
Javen McNeill, Fayetteville State University
Cyonte Melvin, Virginia State University
Shyheid Petteway, Elizabeth City State University
Triston Thompson, Claflin University
Jordan Thornton, Virginia Union University
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL CANDIDATES:
Kelsee Arnold, Saint Augustine’s University
Peré Alexander, Bowie State University
Jalyn Brown, Elizabeth City State University
Ashley Fields, Claflin University
Linda Galay, Livingstone College
Chrisanna Green, Virginia State University
Chinwendu Maduegbunam, Fayetteville State University
JaKeyah McNeil, Johnson C. Smith University
Brionna Pate, Winston-Salem State University
Rejoice Spivey, Virginia Union University
Tahniya Sweatt, Shaw University
CONTACT
Jill Lee
Phone: (913) 563-5417
jill@seniorclassaward.com
ABOUT THE AWARD
An acronym for C
elebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Lowe’s CIAA
Senior CLASS Award recognizes the CIAA's top senior men's and women's basketball student-athletes. In addition to the core requirement that a candidate be an NCAA Division II CIAA senior in men's or women's basketball, the award winners are selected based on personal qualities that define a complete student-athlete. These areas of excellence are defined by the four Cs: community, classroom, character and competition. Premier Sports Management manages the award.
ABOUT LOWE’S IN THE COMMUNITY
Lowe’s, a FORTUNE® 50 home improvement company, has a 60-year legacy of supporting the communities it serves through programs that focus on K-12 public education and community improvement projects. In the past decade, Lowe’s and the Lowe’s Charitable and Educational Foundation together have contributed more than $300 million to these efforts, and for more than two decades Lowe’s Heroes volunteers have donated their time to make our communities better places to live. For the latest news, visit
Newsroom.Lowes.com or follow
@LowesMedia on Twitter.
ABOUT THE CIAA
Founded in 1912, the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) is the first African American athletic conference and one of the most recognized conferences in Division II. The CIAA conducts 14 championships attended by more than 150,000 fans from around the country. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the CIAA is governed by the Presidents and Chancellors of its 13 member-institutions: Bowie State University, Chowan University, Claflin University, Elizabeth City State University, Fayetteville State University, Johnson C. Smith University, Lincoln University of Pennsylvania, Livingstone College, Saint Augustine's University, Shaw University, Virginia State University, Virginia Union University, and Winston-Salem State University. For more information on the CIAA, visit
theciaa.com. For more information on the CIAA Basketball Tournament, visit
CIAATournament.org, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter and Instagram.