Temple Honors Student-Athlete Success at the 2022 Stellas: A Celebration of Champions
4/25/2022
Temple Athletics celebrated the 19th annual student-athlete Celebration of Champions on Monday night, honoring the excellent team and individual performances of the 2021-22 academic year. This is the first time since 2019 that the Stellas have been in person due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The Stellas honor the best of the best of our student-athletes. It allows us to come together to showcase and recognize the dedication of our student-athletes in competition, in the classroom, or in the community. We are all very proud of their hard work throughout the course of this academic year.Vice President/Director of Athletics Arthur Johnson
The Director’s Honor Roll recognizes student-athletes who achieved a cumulative grade point average between 3.0 and 3.49, and this year, there are 220 student-athletes on that list. Our President’s Honor Roll recognizes student-athletes who have achieved a 3.5 cumulative GPA or greater, with 202 student-athletes on the list. In addition to individual academic success, we also recognize team academic success. This year, the team with the highest cumulative GPA -- a 3.56 -- is Women's Gymnastics!
The Scholar-Athlete of the Year award recognizes the top scholars in the department. These are individuals with demonstrated passion for academia, scholarship and the pursuit of excellence in the classroom – transcending a high GPA.
A leader in all aspects, Michelle Joyce, majoring in bioinformatics, is a three-time team captain with a 4.0 GPA. Michelle became just the second runner in program history to race at the NCAA Championships on her way to being named to the national All-Academic team.
Foil squad leader Cassie Navalta had a solid performance in her final season. Cassie saw her best mark at the Duke Invitational, where she posted a team-leading 9-0 record. Away from the strip, Cassie is a public health major with a 3.98 cum GPA.
Lauren Zinkl has led by example in the classroom during her four years with the lacrosse program. She is a mechanical engineering major with a 3.99 GPA, who interned at NASA last summer.
Kenneth Raynor came to Temple as a transfer and almost immediately had an impact. Kenneth fought through the ranks to make a late run at the 2021 Varsity 8 and has been elected by his peers to be a captain for this year’s Varsity 8. He embodies our value of "Excellence in All Things" and carries a stellar GPA in Engineering, pulling down 4.0 semesters.
The Trustee Ten Awards recognize the student-athletes with the top 10 GPAs in the department. Each recipient must have earned a minimum of 60 credit hours and have participated on his/her athletic team for at least one year.
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The Temple Tuff Award is earned by student-athletes who embody the spirit of Temple Athletics, and what it truly means to be Temple Tuff. Each team nominated a single athlete from their team that they believed best represented what it means to be a Temple Owl!
The Community Service award is given to two student-athletes who have demonstrated leadership qualities in the area of community service, inspiring others to engage in similar selfless civic endeavors for the purpose of improving the quality of life for those in the local community.
Riley McGowan has spent many years and countless hours working with the Harlem Lacrosse youth program, a program that provides disadvantaged children the opportunity to play lacrosse and learn the game. They provide opportunities, relationships, and experiences that activate the skills and traits to put youth on a path to success. Riley has worked with the organization since they were only in New York and was one of the first people to sign up to work with the group when they expanded to Philly. She primarily works with the group in the after-school program to give the kids an incentive to come to school.
Isaac is a leader on and off the field. He often encourages his teammates to join him in community service activities. Originally from Sweden, Isaac has adopted Philadelphia as his home. Isaac is truly a uniquely kind soul with a big heart. This is evident by him spending his free time volunteering with the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society of Pennsylvania. He serves as an English instructor to help teach Afghan refugees English.
The Novacare Comeback Student-Athlete of the Year award is given to student-athletes who have suffered a recent serious injury, illness or setback and has made a tremendous impact on their team upon return for the current academic year.
Milana has had three surgeries on the same knee over the past five years. She had her first surgery during her junior year of high school, had to have a revision surgery one year later, and then had another surgery last winter. She spent all spring and summer of 2021 rehabilitating and finally entered her first collegiate match in fall of 2021 where she scored her first career goal. Outside of her tenacity and determination coming back from injuries and surgeries that would have caused the vast majority of athletes to quit, Milana has also maintained an amazing team-first and positive mentality. She has been the ultimate teammate while in the rehab process.
Jahlil injured his left knee in the Fall of 2020. He had an intense rehab process from October 2020 up until he was fully cleared in October 2021. After missing the entire season last year, Jahlil played in every game of this season, becoming a starter. He was able to stay healthy, and became a leader on and off the court. Jahlil has worked himself into being one of men’s basketball's best defensive players, and deserves a tremendous amount of credit for the work he has put into his recovery.
The Newcomer of the Year award is designed to recognize outstanding athletic accomplishments for student-athletes in their initial campaign at Temple University.
Freshman Anna Novoseltseva had an impressive debut in Cherry and White, qualifying for the NCAA Championships after finishing seventh at Regionals and earning All-Region Second Team honors. In South Bend, Ind., the foilist placed 21st with six bout wins to help lead the Owls to a 16th place finish overall. Anna also earned gold at the NIWFA Championships, the second-straight season Temple has won the individual foil title.
Zach Hicks had a stellar introduction for the Owls, being named to the All-AAC Freshman Team while averaging over eight points and four rebounds per game. Against Delaware State, Zach exploded for 35 points, tying the Temple freshman scoring mark while draining 10 threes which set a new school record. The performance earned him AAC and Big 5 Player of the Week honors.
The Performer of the Year award is designed to recognize outstanding athletic accomplishments for student-athletes who have achieved at the highest level in college athletics.
Mia Davis had a historic final season for the Owls as she became the program's all-time leading scorer while becoming one of just three players in program history to record over 1,000 career rebounds. For her efforts, Mia was named a Cheryl Miller Award Finalist for the third year in a row while being named to the All-AAC First Team for the fourth consecutive year.
Adam Oliver is in his third year with Temple Crew and has been in our Varsity 8 the entire time. Adam is a positive influence on the squad, balancing Temple's Need to win with his national team aspirations. One of two returners from last year's Varsity 8, Adam recently moved into one of the top all-time positions on our 2k Leaderboard. Sitting in the four seat of this year's top boat, Adam continues to set the standard that other Temple guys must reach.
Congratulations to all of our awards winners!
