QUEENS --- (www.YORKATHLETICS.com) York College seniors Taylor Bellmon, Emmaly Merced, Djelili Okoro and Kristina Sierra were four of the 41 CUNYAC Scholar Athletes of the Year Honorable Mentions selections recognized Thursday at the 36th annual Michael Steuerman Scholar-Athlete Awards Dinner held at Terrace on the Park.  The CUNYAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year award recognizes the CUNYAC's best and brightest student-athletes, who not only excel in athletics, but succeed in the classroom as well. 
 
Bellmon, a native of New York, achieved a 3.099 grade-point average as a movement science major.  Bellmon played for seven different teams for the Cardinals, garnering CUNYAC honors as a four-year member of women's soccer (2018-19, 2021-22) and two years with cross country (2021-22).  As a member of the women's soccer team, Bellmon totaled 37 points on 17 goals and three assists, including game-winning goals in each of her four campaigns. In 2021, Bellmon was tabbed the program's first CUNYAC All-Star since 2015, claiming the Sportsmanship Award the same season. As a senior, Bellmon earned a spot on the Sportsmanship Team to cap her 41-game playing career. Bellmon also made a name for herself in just two seasons on the cross country course, being named the 2021 CUNYAC Rookie of the Year and All-Star. The Rookie of the Year laurel was the program's first since 2006, and she also earned York's first All-Star selection since 2016, following a seventh-place finish (31:07.2) for York's top performance at CUNYAC Championships since 2009. In her final season, Bellmon placed 10th with her career-best CUNYAC Championship meet time of 31:00.4 to be named a CUNYAC All-Star and Sportsmanship Team honoree. In her lone season with outdoor track & field, Bellmon medaled in three events and compiled 21 points at the 2022 CUNYAC Championship meet. She took second in the 4x100 relay (54.28) and 4x400 relay (4:42.63), placed third in the 400-meter dash (1:09:53), and finished sixth in the 200-meter dash (30.95). Competing in two indoor track & field seasons, Bellmon generated 18 points at the 2021-22 CUNYAC Indoor Championships, earning medals with a 4x400 second-place finish (4:39.54) and third in the 200-meter (29.17), while finishing fourth in the 400-meter (1:07.83). Playing two seasons (2018-19, 2021-22) for the basketball team, Bellmon contributed to York's second-consecutive CUNYAC Championship Tournament appearance in 2021-22. Bellmon also played one season for the softball (2022) and tennis (2022) teams. 

"This award is all about being a student first and an athlete second. I prioritize my education so that I can have room to continue to do what I love, which is competing. Also, not settling for the bare minimum.  I like to be competitive in the classroom as well as when I am competing." - said Bellmon

 
Merced, a first-year member of the women's cross country and indoor/outdoor track & field teams, generated a 3.992 grade-point average as a music major with a minor in psychology.  As a Dean's List honoree, Merced was recognized as a CUNYAC Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll selection for the Fall 2022 semester.  Competing in six meets during the outdoor track & field season, Merced captured silver medals in the 4x100 and 4x400 meter relays at the 2023 CUNYAC Championships.  Merced also ran a career-best time in the 800-meter dash (2:56.07) at the year-end meet to earn two points for a seventh-place ranking on the 2023 CUNYAC Outdoor Performance List. During the indoor track & field season, Merced competed in a program-leading five meets, claiming a silver medal in the 4x400 relay as she contributed to a third-place finish (5:28.37) to help York finish top-3 in the event for the fourth-consecutive CUNYAC Championship meet. Individually, the Bronx native produced three points at the CUNYAC Championship meet with career-best performances in the 400-meter (1:14.03) and 800-meter (2:57.38) races. Her performances were good enough to claim top-10 results on the CUNYAC Performance List.  During the cross country season, Merced was York's top-finisher in two of its eight meets.  Merced was York's second-highest finisher at the CUNYAC Championship meet, running the 6K course in 36:00 to place 28th.  

"I am very thankful to be selected as one of the honorable mentions for Scholar-Athlete of the Year. It feels like my hard work to earn my 3.9 gpa is really paying off. This past year has been the best and most stressful time of my college experience. Joining the cross country and track teams in my final year helped relieve some of that stress and helped me find more people that I could rely on. If it wasn't for my teammates or my amazing coaches, I wouldn't have stayed on the cross country and track teams to earn this award. I feel more motivated to keep pushing forward and that giving up isn't an option anymore." - said Merced

As a product of Lomé, Togo, Okoro has constructed a 3.191 grade-point average as a clinical trials management major. Okoro competed for two seasons as a member of the men's soccer (2021-22), cross country (2021-22), and indoor track & field (2021-22, 2022-23) teams.  On the pitch, Okoro started in 14 of his 18-career games and helped York to three shutouts as a defender/midfielder. During the 2022 season, Okoro scored on his lone shot of the season, lifting York to a 4-0 win versus Medgar Evers College. As a key member of the cross country program, Okoro was York's top finisher in five of six meets in 2022, including a 28th-place finish (36:08.0) at the CUNYAC Championship meet. In 2021, Okoro was York's second finisher at the CUNYAC Championships in 23rd (37:03.1). Okoro competed in five-career meets for York's indoor track & field program, producing a top-3 time on the 2022-23 CUNYAC Performance List in the 400-meter (55.55). In addition, Okoro's fourth-place finish in the mile at the 2022 Indoor Championships with a time of 5:18.62 placed him seventh on the 2021-22 CUNYAC Performance List.

"My student-athlete experience provided me with discipline, focus and self-rigorous on the field as well as in class, and the love of people gives you the strength needed to result in a satisfactory manner to thrive and shine. The honor of being named CUNYAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year showed me I was not wrong, instead it gave me a belief that the same rules are needed outside to be successful both as a professional and in my personal life."  - said Okoro

 
Hailing from the Bronx, Sierra boasts a 3.241 grade-point average as a journalism major. Sierra contributed to York's three-straight CUNYAC Championship Tournament appearances as a four-year (2018-20, 2021-23) member of the women's basketball team. In 91 games (68 starts), Sierra averaged 8.1 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game, with career totals of 736 points (160 3FG), 341 rebounds, 139 assists and 73 steals. Additionally, the sharpshooter led York in made 3-pointers for three-consecutive seasons. Throughout her career, Sierra has been one of the CUNYAC's top sharpshooters, ranking third in 2022-23 with a career-best 48 3FG, and her 37 trifectas were tied for second in 2021-22. As a sophomore, Sierra drained 43 3-pointers to rank tied for ninth in the league. Sierra gained additional leadership experience since 2018-19, serving as Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) Treasurer (2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23) and Team Representative (2018-19, 2020-21, 2021-22). 

"It is an honor to be named a CUNYAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year. To be among the most athletic and brightest in our conference, is a privilege like no other. I hope this sets the trend for future York student-athletes to strive to their fullest potential." - expressed Sierra

York's four selections in 2022-23 give the Cardinals 61 all-time Honorable Mention Scholar-Athletes.

In a tradition that began when the conference was first founded in 1986-87, the CUNYAC annually recognizes four of its graduating student-athletes, rich in both academics and athletics, as its Scholar-Athletes of the Year.  In 2022-23, the four student-athletes to earn the distinct honor are:

• Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year (4YR) Katie Healy (John Jay College)
• Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year (4YR) Robert Novo (Hunter College)
• Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year (CC) El Hadji Gaye (Borough of Manhattan Community College)
• Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year (CC) Valerie Muse ((Queensborough Community College)

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