Three Receive Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar Recognition
5/7/2003 10:19:44 AM | Cross Country, Track and Field
The Arthur Ashe Jr. Award is in recognition of the late tennis star who excelled in academics, athletics and community service. In addition to exhibiting prowess in an intercollegiate sport, student-athletes must maintain a cumulative grade-point average of 3.2 and be active in the community or on their campuses to be considered for the award.
Bitok, a junior biology/pre-med major, was a first-team selection. He won the 2002 IC4A Cross Country Championship, becoming the first Orangeman to do so since John Simmons in 1919. Bitok also competed in the 2003 BIG EAST Indoor Track & Field Championship. In April Bitok was given the 2003 Hisako Fujitsuka Award for Outstanding International Service and Caring by the University's Slutzker Center for International Services. He was also a first-team selection in 2002.
Watkins, a graduate student pursuing a degree information system management, garnered second-team recognition after earning honorable mention honors last year. She was sixth at the 2003 BIG EAST Indoor Championship in the triple jump and eighth in the long jump at the 2003 ECAC Indoor Championship. Watkins holds the outdoor triple jump record at SU and competed at the 2002 USA Track & Field Championship.
Jones earned a spot on the third team. She is a graduate student majoring in chemical engineering. Jones was the BIG EAST runner-up in the 100-meter hurdles at the conference championship on May 4. She shares the 60-meter hurdle record at SU and competed at the 2002 NCAA Indoor Championship.
Jones will compete at the ECAC Championship, May 16-18 at Princeton, and the NCAA Regional Meet at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., May 30-31., on Sunday, April 21, at the Joe Vielbig Track at the Lampe Athletics Complex. Both Bitok and Watkins have missed the spring season due to injury.
Past Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholars
2002 John Bitok and Aprelle Watkins
2000 Deniece Bell
1999 Melanie Scherenzel
1998 Adrienne Scherenzel and Paul Gittens
