NEW YORK-- (www.YORKATHLETICS.com) York College seniors Keanna Clouden, Bryan Godette, Julia Wyman, and Michael Zhang were four of the 42 CUNYAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year Honorable Mentions selections recognized Thursday at the 39th annual Michael Steuerman Scholar-Athlete Awards ceremony. The CUNYAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year award recognizes the conference's best and brightest student-athletes, who not only excel in athletics but also succeed in the classroom.
 
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 2025-26, the two student-athletes to earn the distinct honor were Paz Moran (Baruch College) and Mateo Penafiel (Hunter College).

Keanna Clouden has generated a 3.388 grade-point average as a Health Science major at York. She has also been honored twice on the CUNYAC Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll and has achieved Dean's List status. Athletically, Clouden has been a significant contributor to the women's cross country and track and field programs for the past three years. Competing in nine cross country races in two campaigns (2024-25), the Brooklyn native has recorded eight first-place team finishes. In the 2025 CUNYAC Championships, she surpassed her previous career-high time in the 6K course, crossing the finish line in 35:27.3. For all of the effort and dedication she has shown in the past two seasons, Clouden has landed on the CUNYAC Women's Cross Country Sportsmanship Team twice and is a two-time CUNYAC Women's Cross Country Runner to Watch. Participating in 15 indoor meets as a Cardinal (2024-26), Clouden has mainly run in the 60-meter, 200-meter, and 400-meter events. This recent campaign was her best, compiling career-high indoor times (9.54), (31.81), (1:19.75) in those categories, respectively. In fact, that 400-meter result (1:19.75, 8th) came in the CUNYAC Championships, helping Clouden generate her first career indoor point. Award-wise, the Health Science Major garnered the 2024-25 CUNYAC Sportsmanship Award laurel and followed with a 2025-26 CUNYAC Sportsmanship Team honor to go along with a pair of York College Indoor distinctions. Galvanizing the program in three outdoor campaigns (2024-26), Clouden has laced up for 18 meets, consistently competing in the 100 meters, 200 meters, the 4x100-meter relay, and the 4x400-meter relay. She provided a big spark in the 2024 CUNYAC finale, helping the squad win Silver in the 4x100-meter relay (56.44) and Bronze in the 4x400-meter relay (5:05.83). In last year's CUNYAC Championship meet, Clouden totaled four points in the 400-meter run (31.18) and two more points in the 4x100-Meter Relay (59.39). Recently, she helped the squad produce two points in the 4x100-Meter Relay (58.72, 5th) at the 2026 conference ender. For her efforts, the senior has been selected to three Sportsmanship Teams, claimed a pair of York College awards, and has landed on the 2024 All-Star team for her performance in the 4x400-meter relay. Away from the track, Clouden also contributed in 11 games in her first year as a member of the women's basketball team. 

Bryan Godette has constructed a 3.131 grade-point average as a Business Administration major at York. A two-year contributor to the men's basketball program (2024-26), Godette appeared in 38 games (13 starts), averaging 3.7 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. Starting 10 games in a row for the Cardinals in 2025-26, Godette played a part in eight CUNYAC victories, including securing a career-high nine rebounds versus John Jay College, and totaling eight in a home victory against Brooklyn College. During the 2024-25 campaign, Godette reached double-digit points on two occasions, authoring a 13-point outing against John Jay and netting 11 points against Baruch College. Apart from basketball, the Far Rockaway, New York native competed in three meets for the outdoor track & field squad in the 2025 season, earning CUNYAC Track & Field Athlete of the Week for his 1.95-meter high jump at the Big Hurt Invite (read more). Utilizing his 6-foot-5 frame, Godette joined the 2026 men's volleyball team, pacing the group with 2.50 kills per set, recording a team-leading .145 attack percentage, and scooping up 44 digs in only 22 sets. In a four-set thriller against CCNY back in March, the senior smacked down a career-high 17 kills and produced a personal-best mark of nine digs. 

Julia Wyman has earned a 3.642 grade-point average as a Health Science major at York. Finalizing her third season with the women's tennis program (2023-25), Wyman starred in 2025, registering four singles victories at the No. 3 level and racking up a pair of doubles victories on the No. 1 court. Overall, Wyman competed in 21 doubles and 19 singles matches during her time as a Cardinal, finishing with seven singles triumphs to go along with this year's doubles success. Alongside women's tennis, Wyman also swam in seven meets for the women's swimming program during the 2023-24 campaign. At the CUNYAC's year-end meet, Wyman produced a trio of top-nine results, accumulated five points, and placed herself in the York history books. Wyman recorded a fifth-place result in the 100-yard butterfly (1:16.05, 4 points), an eighth-place finish in the 100-yard freestyle (1:04.51, 1 point), and rounded that off with a ninth-place outcome in the 500-yard freestyle (6:53.54). From 2011 onwards, Wyman's 500-yard freestyle time tops the program's charts, and the results in the 100-yard freestyle and the 100-yard butterfly are good for second among all attempts in the CUNYAC Championships. The Forest Hills native landed on the 2023-24 Sportsmanship Team for her merits, and also collected the York College Women's Swimming Most Outstanding Award. Academically, Wyman is a two-time Dean's List member and was named to the Fall 2023 CUNYAC Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll. 

Michael Zhang has formulated a 3.923 cumulative grade-point average while studying Clinical Laboratory Science and Medical Technology at York. He has been named to the Dean's List five times as a Cardinal, claimed the 2024-25 York College Scholar-Athlete of the Year, and is a three-time CUNYAC Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll representative. Zhang's academic wizardry extends as a member of the men's cross country and track & field programs. In 14-career cross country meets for York (2023-25), the Brooklyn native has produced eight first-place team results. This past year, Zhang crossed the finish line at the CUNYAC Championships at a career-high 16th position (33:27.5). For his effort and dedication, Zhang landed on the CUNYAC Men's Cross Country Sportsmanship Team. This laurel adds to his pair of CUNYAC Men's Cross Country Runners to Watches, a York College Cross Country Coaches Award for the 2024 season, and a York Most Outstanding Award in 2023. Across 16 indoor meets (2023-26), Zhang became a fixture in the 800-meter, mile, and 3,000-meter events. Running in three CUNYAC year-end meets, the senior generated 18 total points. His best effort came in the 2025 Indoor finale, as he claimed one point in the 800-meter category (2:25.25, 8th), three points in the 3,000-meter event (11:08.00, 6th), and helped the squad earn silver in the distance medley relay (11:58.86, 7 points). At the 2025-26 CUNYAC Championships, Zhang crossed the finish line in the mile race at a career-high 5:20.55 (4th), earning five points. In addition to the success at the CUNYAC Championships, Zhang has been recognized as a one-time CUNYAC Men's Indoor Track & Field Athlete of the Week Honorable Mention selection during the 2024-25 season, and is a two-time York Men's Indoor Track & Field Coaches Award winner. Finalizing his third outdoor track campaign (2024-26), Zhang has participated in 19 meets, providing a large presence in the 5,000-meter and 10,000-meter distance runs, and collecting three medals. At the 2024 Championships, the senior earned a Silver in the 5,000 meters and a Bronze in the 10,000 meters. He followed that up in 2025 with another Bronze in the 10,000-meter event, and earned a fourth-place result in the 5,000-meter competition at the 2026 CUNYAC finale. 

York''s four honorees in 2025-26 give the Cardinals 73 all-time Scholar-Athlete of the Year selections.

In addition, the CUNYAC recognized the league's top award winners, as York's Firdaus Abdulai, Ernest Bawilliam, Stephanie Gonzalez, Tyrone Morris, and Jonte Wallace were featured for their accolades in their respective sports.

A four-year member of the men's tennis program, Abdulai was recognized as a CUNYAC Men's Tennis Sportsmanship Award winner, for York's third distinction in four seasons. Abdulai has steadily moved up in York's ranks, playing two singles matches on the No. 3 court this season. For his career, the Bronx native competed in 25 singles contests and 23 doubles matchups, triumphing individually on four occasions. Read More about Abdulai's award. 

In his second season with the program, Bawilliam played in all of York's 13 matches, rotating from left winger to left back, and even deputizing at center back. Offensively, he netted three goals, including two at CCNY (Nov. 5) to keep the team's playoff hopes alive, and contributed a squad-best four assists. He follows Alex Conde as consecutive Sportsmanship Award winners for the Cardinals. Read More about Bawilliam's award. 

Gonzalez, the CUNAC Women's Soccer Rookie of the Year, was a shining star for the Cardinals this season, producing 10 goals and one assist across 13 matches, and pacing the squad with 53 shots and 32 shots on goal. The freshman sensation led the Cardinals to three victories, including scoring a program-record seven goals in a 7-5 triumph at Keystone College (Sept. 24). Gonzalez secured four CUNYAC weekly laurels for her performances, and ultimately led the conference in points, goals, shots, and shots on target. Read More about Gonzalez's award. 

Morris competed in seven meets in his debut campaign for men's swimming. He was instrumental to the team's relay efforts in the CUNYAC Championships, helping the Cardinals earn top-four finishes in the 400-yard freestyle relay (7:06.58, 3rd, 12 points) and the 200-yard medley relay (3:20.05, 4th, 10 points). The Brooklyn native became the program's third CUNYAC Sportsmanship Award recipient this decade. Read More about Morris' award. 

Dominating Rookie of the Week charts, Jonte Wallace became York's third consecutive CUNYAC Men's Basketball Rookie of the Year, following Brandon Barrett (2024-25) and Aidony Nivar (2023-24). In 22 games, he led the team with 13.5 points to go along with 6.9 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 2.1 steals per game. During conference play, the all-around forward increased his offensive output to 15.4 points and 3.2 assists. Overall, Wallace's impact was well known in the conference leaderboard, ranking in the top eight in points (5th), rebounds (8th), assists (7th), and steals (3rd). Read More about Wallace's award. 

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