General | 4/25/2017 3:46:00 PM

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Howard University Athletics Department's annual Bison Blue Carpet Awards was held on Monday evening at Cramton Auditorium.

Athletics Director Kery Davis started the night by welcoming the gathered student-athletes, coaches, staff and administration to the celebration by looking back at the past year of Bison excellence.

All-MEAC First Team football player Anthony Philyaw was selected as Male Athlete of the Year, while MEAC Player of the Year and All-MEAC First Team women's basketball player Te'Shya Heslip was named Female Athlete of the Year.  

Other finalists for the top honors included: Rajae Gayle (Men's Track & Field), TJ Miller (Men's Swimming & Diving), Kenneth Hersey (Men's Soccer), Sydni Johnson (Women's Basketball), Khaila Donaldson (Volleyball), Dominique Bynum-Cooper (Women's Track & Field) and Gabrielle Emilien (Women's Soccer).

The softball program was honored as the team with the highest grand point average with a 3.34 team GPA.

One of the many highlights of the evening included the introduction of the Sydney Satchell Award for Perseverance. A former member of the women's lacrosse team, Satchell graduated from Howard in 2014 with the distinction of magna cum laude. In 2015, she was involved in a life-altering car accident that resulted in the amputation of her left leg. Unwilling to be deterred, Satchell fought every day to get stronger and has become an inspiration to many.

With Satchell standing at the podium, men's basketball player Prince Okoroh received the inaugural Sydney Satchell Award for Perseverance.

Kery Davis closed the ceremony with the presentation of the Athletics Director Award, the highest honor of the night. After leading the volleyball team to back-to-back MEAC championships and NCAA Tournament appearances, Khaila Donaldson received the top accolade. 

Other Bison Blue Carpet Awards handed out included:

Iron Will Award – Jasmine Hill, Women's Basketball

Iron Bison Award – Jalen Avery, Football

Highest Male GPA – Lloyd Pierre, Men's Soccer

Highest Female GPA – Sara Vaughan, Women's Soccer

Female Co-Rookie of the Year – Sydney Benson, Women's Track & Field and Jayla Myles, Women's Basketball

Male Rookie of the Year – Charles Williams, Men's Basketball

Coach of the Year – Ty Grace, Women's Basketball

Team of the Year – Volleyball