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Ben Taylor (left), Jerily Benjamin (center) and Michael Terry (right) were each named ECC Scholar Athletes of the Year in their respective sports.
Ben Taylor (left), Jerily Benjamin (center) and Michael Terry (right) were each named ECC Scholar Athletes of the Year in their respective sports.
Posted: May 21, 2015

Benjamin, Taylor and Terry Each Earn East Coast Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year Awards

BRIDGEPORT, CT – Three University of the District of Columbia student-athletes earned East Coast Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards for their respective sports as announced at the ECC Awards Banquet on Monday, May 18th.

Jerily Benjamin (Health Education – Queens, NY/Phillip Randolph HS) was named the Scholar-Athlete of the Year for Women's Track & Field, Ben Taylor (Biology – New Westminster, BC/Simon Fraser University) for Men's Lacrosse, and Michael Terry (Homeland Security – Philadelphia, PA/Boston University) for men's basketball.

Benjamin, who recently took home UDC's most prestigious student-athlete award – the Reslyn Woodruff Henley Memorial Award (given to the student-athlete who exhibits the highest character combined with athletic and academic excellence) – is a two-time USTFCCCA All-Academic selection and a two-time All-American in the 4x400M Relay. She is a school-record holder in the 4x400M Relay and boasts 11 First Team All-ECC honors and three Second Team All-ECC honors in three years of Indoor/Outdoor sprint events. She helped the team capture the ECC Indoor Championship in 2013 and 2014 and the Outdoor Championship in 2014. She has a cumulative GPA of 3.58 and has earned a 3.0 or above five different semesters.

Taylor, who recently was named Capital One First Team Academic All-District and is on the ballot for Academic All-America, just capped a terrific two-year academic and athletic career at UDC. A Biology major with a 4.0 GPA, he is also an active member of both the Biology Club and Iota Phi Theta Fraternity. Taylor spearheaded a community service project with his fraternity that collected 800 articles of clothing and toiletries for the DC General Emergency Family Shelter. Athletically, he registered 28 points on 26 goals and two assists in the first two years of existence for the start-up UDC Men's Lacrosse program. Taylor, who participated in the 38th Annual UDC Commencement on Saturday, May 9th, has a career goal to become a large animal veterinarian.

Terry, a graduate student pursuing a graduare degree in Homeland Security after earning his bachelors degree in Criminal Justice, has a GPA of 3.67. He was 2nd on the team and 9th in the ECC in scoring with 14.4 points per-game and 7th in the ECC in free-throw percentage at 78-percent. Over his two-year playing career, he accumlated 739 points, 258 rebounds and 79 assists. A two-year member of SAAC, Terry has also participated as a student panelist during UDC judicial hearings.