NORFOLK, Va. – Junior cross country and track and field athlete Martha Bissah was named the NSU Female Athlete of the Year for the third consecutive year, and senior men's basketball player Derrik Jamerson Jr. was chosen Male Athlete of the Year at the department's year-end awards ceremony Monday night.

In addition, junior volleyball player Anna Rupertova and junior baseball player Caleb Ward were honored as the department's Female and Male Scholar Athletes of the Year, respectively.

Bissah, a native of Accra, Ghana, has continued her dominance of the MEAC running sports and cemented herself as one of the top track athletes nationally. Last fall, she became the first female since 2002-03 to win two straight MEAC cross country individual championships when she easily outraced the field by some 40 seconds. She led the Spartans to a second-place team finish, their best since 2009.

In February, Bissah won the MEAC indoor titles in the 800 meters and mile for the third straight year. From there, she went on to earn first-team NCAA Division I All-America honors in the 800 meters by placing fifth at the indoor nationals. She became NSU's first indoor female track All-American since Debbie Dunn in 2000.

A native of Detroit, Michigan, Jamerson was a key cog in the NSU men's basketball team's regular-season MEAC title and upset of top seed Alabama in the NIT, the biggest upset by point spread in the tournament's history. Jamerson was a second-team All-MEAC and NABC all-district selection after averaging 10.4 points and 3.9 rebounds per game. He was the top 3-point shooter in all of Division I, hitting 49.7 percent of his long-distance attempts. 

Jamerson's 92 made 3-pointers set a new NSU single-season Division I record. Despite playing just two seasons with the Spartans, Jamerson finished in the top five in school history in 3-pointers made and 3-point percentage.

Rupertova, from Tlucen, Czech Republic, carries a 3.98 grade-point average and is majoring in graphic design. She is a member of NSU's Chi Alpha Sigma chapter of the national student-athlete honor society. Ward, from Hampton, Virginia, has a perfect 4.0 GPA and is majoring in mass communications.

Other awards ceremony winners are below:
Marvin Prince Track Awards
Women: Kellyann James
Men: Keith Brown

Joseph Echols Award
Jonathan Mahoney

Men's Cross Country
Rookie of the Year: Kamil Jihad
MVP: Festus Bett

Women's Cross Country
Rookie of the Year: Fridah Koech
Most Improved: Caroline Samoei
MVP: Martha Bissah

Men's Track & Field
Rookie of the Year: Lelei Too
Most Improved: Trequan Barnes
MVP: Jaylen Banks

Women's Track & Field
Rookie of the Year: DaJah Parker-Love
Most Improved:  Kiara Grant
MVP: Martha Bissah

Football
Special Teams MVP: Marcus Taylor
Co-Offensive MVPs: Wes Jones, Aaron Savage
Defensive MVP: Nigel Chavis

Volleyball
Rookie of the Year: Bojana Bolozan
Most Improved: Jannel Ezeagwu
MVP: Anna Rupertova

Men's Basketball
Rookie of the Year: C.J. Kelly
Co-MVP: Nic Thomas / Derrik Jamerson Jr.

Women's Basketball
Most Improved: De'Janaire Deas
Defensive Player of the Year: Khadedra Croker
MVP: La'Deja James

Bowling
Rookie of the Year: PreAsia Salley
Most Improved: Dieonjonai Haupt
MVP: Crystal Brewer

Men's Tennis
Rookie of the Year: Julius Gavin
Most Improved: Agustin Carrizo
MVP: Vini Da Silva

Women's Tennis
Rookie of the Year: Zoe Fraser
Most Improved: Paula Fortuno
MVP: Naz Karagoz

Baseball
Coaches Award: Justin Hayes
(Other awards TBA at a later date)

Softball
Coaches Award: Tuli Iosefa
(Other awards TBA at a later date)

Male All-Scholar Team (men's team with highest team GPA)
Men's cross country

Female All-Scholar Team (women's team with highest team GPA)
Women's tennis

12th Player Awards (non-athletics staff member)
Dr. Joseph A. Monaco and Anthony Vincent

Female Scholar Athlete of the Year
Anna Rupertova, volleyball

Male Scholar Athlete of the Year
Caleb Ward, baseball

Female Athlete of the Year
Martha Bissah, women's track/cross country

Male Athlete of the Year
Derrik Jamerson Jr., men's basketball