Big South Announces 2022-23 Women's Track & Field Athletes of the Year
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (www.BigSouthSports.com) – Campbell junior
Chastity Pickett (Albany, Ga.) has been voted the 2022-23 Big South Conference Women’s Track Athlete of the Year, while High Point junior
Sydney Horn (Lancaster, Pa.) has been selected the league’s 2022-23 Women's Field Athlete of the Year, it was announced today by the Conference office. The awards are voted on by the Big South head track & field coaches as part of their annual June meeting, and encompass both the indoor track & field and outdoor track & field seasons.
Pickett claimed First-Team All-America honors in outdoor track & field as she finished third in the 400m Hurdles at the NCAA Championships with a school- and Big South-record time of 54.86. She earned Campbell’s highest individual finish in women’s program history, as she had automatically qualified for the final with her second-place finish in her semifinal heat with a then-record time of 55.62. Pickett first broke the school and conference record in the 400m Hurdles with a time of 56.54 to win her first round heat at the NCAA Preliminaries, then finished fourth overall in the quarterfinal to punch her ticket to the National Meet. She also competed in the 100m Hurdles at the NCAA Preliminaries, and ran a 12.94 for the second-fastest time in Big South history. At the Big South Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Pickett swept the 100mH (13.34) and 400mH (57.28) titles, becoming the first individual to capture gold in both events since 2019 and sixth overall. Her outdoor season also included a 100mH win at the Vertklasse Meeting, and victories in the 400mH at the Georgia Tech Invitational and Raleigh Relays. Pickett was the Most Valuable Athlete at the Big South Indoor Track & Field Championships, as she accumulated 31.5 points with her wins in the 60m, 60m Hurdles and 200m, as well as a third-place finish as part of Campbell’s 4x400m relay. Her time of 8.21 in the 60mH at the Conference Meet is second all-time in league history, while her 23.73 in the 200m is tied for sixth-fastest in Big South annals. She also won the 200m at the South Carolina Invitational during the indoor season.
Horn captured First-Team All-America honors in the outdoor pole vault for the third time, as she was fifth overall with a clearance of 4.30m at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships -- recording the program’s highest finish by an individual. She tied for first at the NCAA Preliminaries with a height of 4.22m, and was the Big South’s pole vault champion with a clearance of 4.26m. Horn posted an outdoor season-high 4.41m at the Liberty Twilight Qualifier in early May, and also had a clearance of 4.32m at the Vertklasse Meet. Horn capped her indoor season with Second-Team All-America distinction with her clearance of 4.20m at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships. She won the conference indoor title with a Big South-record height of 4.50m, which ranks third nationally. Horn won the pole vault three additional times, and cleared 4.45m at the Virginia Tech Invitational in January. Now a six-time All-American in the pole vault (five First-Team honors, one Second-Team), Horn is just the second individual to be voted Big South Women’s Field Athlete of the Year three consecutive times, joining Winthrop’s
Marthaline Cooper (2015-17).
Finalists for the Big South’s annual Women's Track & Field awards were:
* Track Athlete of the Year:
Lindsey Cooper (High Point)
* Field Athlete of the Year:
Claudia Prieto (UNC Asheville)
ANNUAL WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD ATHLETES OF THE YEAR
1997 - Angela Murphy, Coastal Carolina
1998 - Jolene Williams, Coastal Carolina
1999 - Jolene Williams, Coastal Carolina
2000 - Khadijah Conda, Radford
2001 - Amber Campbell, Coastal Carolina
2002 - Heather Sagan, Liberty
2003 - Amber Campbell, Coastal Carolina
2004 - Amber Campbell, Coastal Carolina
2005 - Chasity Johnson, Coastal Carolina
2006 - Tiffany Evans, Radford
2007 - Tiffany Evans, Radford
2008 - Dionne Gibson, Charleston Southern
2009 - Charleston Southern 4x100 relay team (Dionne Gibson, Jessica Thomas, Misha Morris, Gabrielle Houston)
2010 - Natalie Pearson, UNC Asheville
2011 - Natalie Pearson, UNC Asheville
2012 - Gabrielle Houston, Charleston Southern
2013 - Erica Peake, Coastal Carolina
2014 - Jessica Gelibert, Coastal Carolina (runner); Christine Rickert, High Point (field)
2015 - Letitia Saayman, Coastal Carolina (runner); Marthaline Cooper, Winthrop (field)
2016 - Ednah Kurgat, Liberty (runner); Marthaline Cooper, Winthrop (field)
2017 - Joan Maritim, Campbell (runner); Marthaline Cooper, Winthrop (field)
2018 - Famke Heinst, High Point (runner); Sabina Allen, Campbell (field)
2019 - Famke Heinst, High Point (runner); Natasha Hamilton, Gardner-Webb (field)
2020 - none (season incomplete and canceled due to coronavirus pandemic)
2021 - Zoe Geis, High Point (track); Sydney Horn, High Point (field)
2022 - Grace Nwokocha, North Carolina A&T (track); Sydney Horn, High Point (field)
2023 - Chastity Pickett, Campbell (track); Sydney Horn, High Point (field)