LINCOLN UNIVERSITY, PA. (May 4, 2008) – A distinguished collection of Lincoln University student-athletes received their degrees during the 149th Commencement ceremony Sunday afternoon.
This wonderful group of student-athletes set records, won championships, received national recognition, provided many memorable moments, raised the standard of excellence and more importantly, shined in the classroom.
Included in one of the most successful graduating classes in quite some time was a nine-time All-American track and field athlete, a NCAA Woman of the Year finalist, a pair of two-time national NCAA team champion members, one of the most prolific soccer goal scorers in school history and a pair of players who helped the women’s basketball team win its first postseason championship in school history.
Charles J. Ogletree, Jr., Esq, delivered the commencement address. Ogletree, a distinguished law professor, legal theorist and an award-winning author, is the Harvard Law School Jesse Climenko Professor of Law and Director of the Criminal Justice. In addition, Dr. Ernest C. Levister Jr., a member of Lincoln’s class of 1958, and Bishop Nathan D. Baxter were awarded honorary degrees. Levister received a Doctor of Science and Baxter received a Doctor of Laws.
Earning degrees on a picture-perfect and sun-splashed afternoon were men’s soccer players Chimomso Nwachuku (Okpala, Nigeria/Oxford Area), Peter Jarbo (Monrovia, Liberia/Mission Carver Academy), Kamah Duwana (Philadelphia, PA/Engineering & Science) and Emmanuel Cooper (Philadelphia, PA/Southern), women’s basketball players Latoya Thompson (York, PA/William Penn) and Natasha James (Philadelphia, PA/William Penn), women’s track and field standouts Shanda Jackson (East Orange, NJ/East Orange Campus), Yolana Sabb (East Orange, NJ/East Orange Campus) and Ashley Parker (Pleasantville, NJ/Pleasantville), men’s track and field national champions Bobby Young (Providence, RI/Mt. Pleasant) and Lance Wigfall (East Orange, NJ/East Orange Campus), volleyball players Tasieka Cummings (Brooklyn, NY/Midwood), Ashley Warren (Severn, MD/Meade), Equisha Newsome (Staten Island, NY/Curtis) and Lai Ara Reagans (Brooklyn, NY), men’s basketball players Julian Hall (Baltimore, MD), Vincent Carter-Bey (Baltimore, MD/Randallstown) and Khalif Johnson (Philadelphia, PA), baseball player Tim O’Rear (Baltimore, MD), women’s soccer player Salena Young (Trenton, NJ/Notre Dame), men’s tennis player Donnell Bolds (Philadelphia, PA/Olney) and softball player Latoya Milstrey (Union, NJ/Union).
The following student-athletes received their degrees and participated in at least one athletics contest during their time at Lincoln: Shaun Sherwood (men’s soccer), Mary Oke (women’s soccer), Heather Beasley (women’s tennis), Clyde Ledbetter (men’s tennis), Wilahemina Bonney (women’s cross-country), Hashan Johnson (women’s track) and Lynekka Clark (softball), Steven Lee (men’s basketball), Loveiee Robinson (softball), Courtney Jackson (softball), and Stephanie Logan (softball).
Jackson won consecutive 55-meter dash indoor national titles and back-to-back 100-meter dash outdoor national titles to cement her reputation as one of the best sprinters in NCAA history. Jackson, who was named the Most Outstanding Female Track and Field Athlete of the 2006 NCAA Championships, won her final 15 100-meter races in the month of May over a two-year period. She was the first female in school history to be featured in Sports Illustrated.
Meanwhile, Jarbo, Cooper, Duwana and Nwachuku helped the men’s soccer team earn its first trip to the postseason since 1966. The Lions were the No. 1 seed in the Association of Division III Independents tournament. Jarbo finished his fantastic career with 54 goals. Carter-Bey was a member of two men’s basketball teams that advanced to the NCAA Division III Sweet 16 in consecutive years. Carter-Bey helped the Lions win a school record 25 games during the 2005-06 year. Carter-Bey and the Lions were featured on ESPN's Outside the Lines following their memorable run in the NCAA tournament in 2006.
Wigfall and Young were members of the 2005 outdoor and 2007 indoor national championship track and field teams. Young was the first student-athlete in school history to be featured in Sports Illustrated. Young also became the first Division III 400-meter runner to win three consecutive national championships in 20 years. James and Thompson helped the women’s basketball team win a school record 19 games and win the Association of Division III Independents Northeast Region championship in 2007.
Parker, who was also featured in Sports Illustrated, became the first female from a Historically Black College to be named a finalist for the prestigious NCAA Woman of the Year Award. Parker also became the first student-athlete in Lincoln’s history to be named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America team.
Milstrey was Lincoln's first batter in its first softball game in school history. Young was a member of the women's soccer team that set a school record for goals scored in a season with 25.
With Lincoln in the process of transitioning from Division III to Division II, many of these graduates blazed the trail for future generations of Lincoln student-athletes. They will be the ones who will reap many of the rewards of their hard work, sacrifices and struggles as Lincoln continues to grow its athletics program.
This wonderful group of student-athletes advanced the Lincoln legacy in ways they never imagined when they entered the historic Lincoln arch as freshmen.
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