Fifty-Eight Student-Athletes Graduate From St. Augustine's

RALEIGH, North Carolina  --  Fifty-eight student-athletes and cheerleaders graduated from Saint Augustine's University this past weekend at the school's 2013 Commencement, held on the lawn of the campus Quadrangle.

Twenty-five percent (25%) of the graduating class were student-athletes and cheerleaders. The total number of graduates was 228. The percentage surpasses last year's percent number (22%).

Among the graduates were All-American football player Tyron Laughinghouse (Greenville, N.C.), who received numerous national, regional and conference awards including Beyond Sports Network Division II Special Teams Football Player of the Year and CIAA Special Teams Football Player of the Year. CIAA Baseball Player of the Year Ariel Polanco (Harlem, N.Y.) and football player Franklin James (Hampton, Va.) also were in the graduating class. James received The Fannie Glovenia Carter Baker Scholarship, given each year in honor of President Dianne Boardley Suber's grandmother, Mrs. Glovenia Carter Baker, to a graduating senior.

Cynthia Marshall, the Senior Vice President of Human Resources for AT&T Services, Inc., delivered the commencement address at the event on Sunday, May 5, 2013. The class of 2013 made history as the first graduating class of Saint Augustine's University. On Aug. 1, 2012, the school changed its name from Saint Augustine's College to Saint Augustine's University.

The ceremony capped another successful academic year for the school's athletic program. St. Aug won CIAA championships in five sports this season including men's cross country, women's cross country, men's indoor track and field, women's indoor track and field and men's outdoor track and field. The men's track & field team won the NCAA Division II indoor championship, and the women's basketball team won the CIAA team highest grade point average award in its sport.

Below is a list of the 2013 student-athletes who graduated from St. Aug and their respective sports:

Bachelor of Science (School of Applied Health and Medical Sciences)
Cum Laude (3.40-3.59 GPA)
Abeje Carrington – Volleyball, Softball

Romeo Deloatch – Football
Franklin James – Football
Ja'Nia Jones – Bowling, Softball
Katelyn Parson – Cheerleading
Gerkenz Senesca – Men's Track & Field
Najah Watson – Bowling
Julius West – Men's Track & Field
Jeremy Wilkins – Baseball

Bachelor of Science (School of Business, Technology and Sport Management)
Summa Cum Laude (3.80-4.00 GPA)
Keisha Parris – Volleyball

Magna Cum Laude (3.60-3.79 GPA)
Rory Nixon – Football, Men's Track & Field

Cum Laude (3.40-3.59 GPA)
Theodore Bacote – Football
Mallory Felder – Men's Tennis
Scharlawn Hubbard – Women's Basketball

Hilberto Ayala – Football
Anthony Boone – Track & Field
Nicholas Chamblee – Basketball
Stedman Gardner – Football
Anthony Holloway – Baseball
Derek Johnson – Golf
Jonathan Kindred – Men's Basketball
Tyron Laughinghouse – Football, Basketball
Ariel Polanco – Baseball
Christopher Rogers – Baseball
Amber Thomas –Cheerleader
Gerald Marshall – Football
Steven Woods – Men's Basketball

Bachelor of Arts (School of Liberal Arts and Education)
Cum Laude (3.40-3.59 GPA)
Daniel Pittman – Golf
Aisha Taylor – Cheerleading

Charles Clark – Cheerleading
Lakesha Fowler – Women's Tennis
Christopher Grant – Men's Basketball
Brandon Houston – Football
Tawanna Lynn – Bowling
Tiana Morris – Women's Basketball, Volleyball, Women's Tennis
Christian Pride – Football
ShRhonda Ross – Cheerleading
Keaven Russell – Football
Claude Simeus – Men's Track & Field

Bachelor of Science (School of Sciences, Mathematics and Engineering)
Jermaine Browne – Football
Jone' Harris – Football
Kharea Roseboro – Football
Deonte Toliver – Football
Alejandro Crisostomo – Baseball

Bachelor of Arts and Science (School of Social and Behavior Sciences)
Cum Laude (3.40-3.59 GPA)
Ramadana Simmons – Softball

Nicketa Bernard – Women's Track & Field
Che Brown – Football
Jasmine Cobbs – Women's Track & Field, Women's Cross Country
Christopher Dalton – Football, Men's Track & Field
Keianna Evans – Women's Basketball
Brittany Hicks – Volleyball
Christopher Johnson – Men's Basketball
Cory Landrum-Smith – Golf
William Martin – Golf
Chantel Floyd – Softball
Vaniecia Reaves – Cheerleading
Shane Russell – Football
Darnea Sayles – Cheerleading

COURTESY SAINT AUGUSTINE'S UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION