St. Aug's Duffus Selected CIAA Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year

Duffus Selected CIAA Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year

May 18, 2010
 
RALEIGH, N.C. – Orolando Duffus of Saint Augustine’s College was named the CIAA Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year on Tuesday at the 2010 CIAA Coach of the Year Award Program at the Crabtree Valley Marriott.
 
Duffus, a junior from St. Catherine, Jamaica, won the prestigious award for posting a 3.96 cumulative grade point average and earning NCAA Division II All-America honors in indoor track and field this season. He helped the Falcons sweep the CIAA men’s indoor and outdoor championships and finish second nationally at the 2010 NCAA Division II Indoor Championships.
 
“I am definitely honored,” said Duffus, a business administration major. “I thank the people who nominated me and I thank the coaches. This has been a tough season. I had a lot of injuries but I bounced back.”
 
Duffus became an All-American after finishing third in the triple jump and fourth in the long jump at the NCAA Indoor Championships. He also earned All-CIAA honors after finishing second in the long jump and fourth in the high jump at the 2010 CIAA Indoor Championships. During the outdoor season, Duffus won the CIAA Field most valuable performer award and claimed All-Conference honors at the 2010 CIAA Outdoor Championships.  He won the triple jump, finished second in the long jump and placed fifth in the high jump.
 
Academically, Duffus was named to the CIAA Commissioner’s All-Academic First Team last week. He is the top honor student in the division of business and computer science, and he is also on the Presidential Scholars List, the 2009 Fall Dean’s List and the school’s Scholar Athletes List. He won the school’s Wiley M. Davis Award for most outstanding international student-athlete, and he has the school’s highest GPA in men’s indoor track, men’s outdoor track and men’s cross country.
 
“He is a prime example of the ideal student-athlete which we try to exemplify at Saint Augustine’s College,” Falcon Athletic Director and acclaimed track and field head coach George Williams said. “He is very coachable because of his academic expertise.”
 
When he arrived at Saint Augustine’s College as a freshman, Duffus learned quickly how to balance his time between the classroom and the track.
 
“It is time management,” Duffus said. “I do my work in advance so that I do not run into problems.”
 
His study habits have earned him good grades, a high GPA and a CIAA plaque.