NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana's 2019-20 Athletic Awards Night was scrapped because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but XULA moved its presentations to social media May 29-June 7.
     XULA Athletics presented one award per day, culminating with Medal of Honor recipients Adili Rikondja of volleyball and Khalil McCoy of men's basketball.
     The Medal of Honor is awarded to the senior female and male student-athlete who best define the qualities of scholarship, athletics, leadership and service.
     Rikondja — a psychology/pre-medical major from the Los Angeles suburb of Inglewood, Calif., and a graduate of Culver City High School — produced 456 kills and 166 blocks during her career to help the Gold Nuggets win four Gulf Coast Athletic Conference regular-season championships and four GCAC Tournament tiles. The Nuggets finished 31-9 in 2019 and, for the first time, reached the NAIA National Championship Final Site.
     Rikondja earned her bachelor's degree in May and received the Sister Beatrice Jeffries Student Life, Leadership and Service Award. Rikondja will attend graduate school this fall in the University of Southern California's Doctor of Physical Therapy program.
     McCoy, a pharmacy major from Suwanee, Ga., and a graduate of Newnan High School, was a four-year member of the Gold Rush and helped XULA win GCAC regular-season championships two of his final three seasons. In March the Gold Rush won the GCAC Tournament for the first time since 1996. McCoy shot 38.2 percent from 3-point range in 52 career games.
     McCoy will continue in the six-year XULA pharmacy program this fall and is scheduled to receive his degree in May 2022.
     Recipients of the other eight awards were:
     •  Male Athlete of the Year:  William Loyd, basketball (Baton Rouge, La./Madison Preparatory Academy) . . . Finalists were Samuel Abdellatif, track and field/cross country (Murphy, Texas/Wylie High School), Rayshawn Mart, basketball (Houma, La./H.L. Bourgeois High School) and Santiago Perez, tennis (Pereira, Colombia).
     •  Female Athlete of the Year:  Angela Charles-Alfred, tennis (Saint-Pierre, Martinique/Lycee de Bellefontaine) . . . Finalists were Lailaa Bashir, tennis (Jackson, Miss./Jackson Academy), Kayla Black, volleyball (Houston/St. Pius X High School), Ariel Ford, track and field (Mansfield, Texas/Lake Ridge High School), Chardunnay Lee, competitive cheer (Las Vegas/Western High School), Shaelynn Moore, basketball (Houston/Atascocita High School) and Taylor Price, cross country/track and field (Missouri City, Texas/Ridge Point High School).
     •  Male Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year:  Samir Chikhaoui, tennis (Lille, France/St. Remi School) . . . finalists were Donovan Armstrong, basketball (Round Rock, Texas/Round Rock High School), Jerry Gibson, basketball (Alexandria, La./Alexandria Senior High School) and McCoy.
     •  Female Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year:  Yi Chen Pao, tennis (Taichung City, Taiwan/National Shan-Hua School) . . . Finalists were Angelle Guillard, competitive cheer (Kentwood, La./Jewel Sumner High School), Quiana Harrell, track and field (Marksville, La./Marksville High School), Jalyn Hodge, basketball (Plano, Texas/Plano West High School), Justyce Riggs, track and field (Fort Walton Beach, Fla./Choctawhatchee High School), Rikondja and Maya Trench, basketball (Edgard, La./West St. John High School).
     •  Male Junior Scholar-Athlete of the Year:  Ed Carter, basketball (Detroit/Edison High School) . . . . Alexander Morrison, track and field (New Orleans/Brother Martin High School) was a finalist.
     •  Female Junior Scholar-Athlete of the Year:  Asha Abiade, competitive cheer (Chicago/Whitney Young Magnet High School) . . . Finalists were Kiara Davillier, competitive cheer (Calhoun, La./West Ouachita High School), Jaida Dowd, volleyball (Aurora, La./Metea Valley High School), Adriana Fernandez, basketball (Sont Quirze del Valles, Spain/Institut Sont Quirze del Valles) Eva Le Guillou, volleyball (Velizy-Villacoublay, France/Lycaa Emmanuel Mounier) and Hillary Smith, track and field (Arlington, Texas/Martin High School).
     •  Male Newcomer of the Year:  Juan Batalla, tennis (Mexico City/Laurel Springs High School) . . . Finalists were Abdellatif, TJ Jones, basketball (Opelousas, La./Lafayette Christian Academy) and Makye Richard, basketball (Morgan City, La./Morgan City High School).
     •  Female Newcomer of the Year:  Bashir . . . Finalists were Emerald Carter, track and field (Houston/Cypress Woods High School) Abryhia Irons, basketball (Boutte, La./John Curtis Christian School), Taylor McGee, volleyball (Sacramento, Calif./Inderkum High School), Moore, Teddie Reid, competitive cheer (Bowie, Md./Paint Branch High School), and Jennifer Torres, volleyball (Jacksonville, Fla./Trinity Christian Academy).
     Here are links to the awards presentations on Twitter:
     •  Female Newcomer of the Year (May 29)
     •  Male Newcomer of the Year (May 30)
     •  Female Junior Scholar-Athlete of the Year (May 31)
     •  Male Junior Scholar-Athlete of the Year (June 1)
     •  Female Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year (June 2)
     •  Male Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year (June 3)
     •  Female Athlete of the Year (June 4)
     •  Male Athlete of the Year (June 5)
     •  Female Medal of Honor (June 6)
     •  Male Medal of Honor (June 7)
     •  Recap: All 10 recipients (June 8)