12 Student-Athletes Earn Christenberry Award for Academic Excellence
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (www.BigSouthSports.com) – The Big South Conference today announced that a league record-tying 12 student-athletes have been awarded the Conference’s prestigious
George A. Christenberry Award for Academic Excellence. The award is given to a graduating male and female student-athlete who attain the highest GPA during their undergraduate collegiate careers. It is the 13th consecutive year at least
SIX student-athletes have been honored, and matches the record number of recipients first achieved in 2019-20. Below are this year’s recipients in alphabetical order:
- Radford softball player Cassi Barbato (4.00 in Exercise, Sport and Health Education)
- Gardner-Webb men’s swimmer Theodore Drescher (4.00 in Graphic Design)
- Longwood women’s lacrosse player Elena Firestone (4.00 in Computer Science)
- USC Upstate volleyball player Julia Gladhill (4.00 in Early Childhood Education)
- Presbyterian women’s soccer player Kelly Hall (4.00 in Business Administration)
- USC Upstate volleyball player Ali Jansen (4.00 in Middle Level Education)
- USC Upstate men’s soccer player Cooper Jennings (4.00 in Management)
- Gardner-Webb women’s lacrosse player Reese Jones (4.00 in Biology/Biomedical Science)
- Radford women’s soccer player Marley Krach (4.00 in Biology)
- Winthrop women’s soccer player Lily Meisten (4.00 in Biology)
- Charleston Southern women’s soccer player Sydney Thomas (4.00 in Management)
- Longwood women’s cross country/track & field runner Lauren Vick (4.00 in Communication Sciences & Disorders)
Big South member institutions nominate one male and one female student-athlete for the annual Christenberry Award, or multiple student-athletes that tie for the highest GPA on their respective campus. The honor is named for
George A. Christenberry, the former President of Augusta College (now Augusta University) and one of the founders of the Big South Conference. A member of the Big South Hall of Fame, Christenberry served as the league’s first President from 1983-86.
Barbato (Milford, Conn.) was a four-year Highlander and a leader on and off the field, and graduated this spring after earning a 4.0 GPA as an Exercise, Sport and Health Education major. Most recently named the Big South’s Softball Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Barbato has also collected NFCA all-academic awards, Dean’s List and Presidential Honor Roll honors throughout her Radford career. On the field, Barbato was a consistent starter all four seasons with 181 starts in her 190 total appearances, while totaling 141 hits, 21 doubles, 7 home runs, 80 RBI, 53 runs scored and 10 sacrifice hits, which rank top 10 in program history.
Drescher (Gainesville, Va.) was a four-year member of the Gardner-Webb swimming program. He has been named to the Dean’s List twice, President’s List six times, and graduated as part of Alpha Chi with a cumulative 4.0 GPA with his degree in Graphic Design, while working on a minor in Theater Arts. Drescher posted a decorated career in the pool as well, including Third Team All-CCSA honors as a member of the 800-yard freestyle relay team as a sophomore, a fifth-place finish in the 500-yard freestyle at the CCSA finals as a junior, and a second-place run as a member of the 800-yard relay team during his senior season at the ASUN Championships.
Firestone (Aldie, Va.) was a Big South All-Academic Team honoree for women’s lacrosse this spring, and graduated in just three years while also posting a perfect 4.0 as a computer science major. She is planning to work in the national defense security sector after graduation. On the field, she had one goal and one assist while adding 12 draw controls plus three ground balls and two caused turnovers. She played in all 15 games this season with 13 starts.
Gladhill (New Market, Md.) earned College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District, Big South All-Academic Team and was USC Upstate’s Dr. Jim Griffis Female Scholar Athlete of the Year honoree. A four-time Big South Libero of the Week during the 2024 season, Gladhill became the 16th member of the program’s 1,000 Dig Club (ninth in the program’s Division I era [2007-pres.]), also became the sixth player in school history (second in the Division I era) to reach 500 digs in a season. She appeared in all 28 matches and 114 sets this past year, and led the Spartans with 544 digs (4.77 per set) as well as 37 service aces, and tallied 116 assists and two kills. Gladhill dug up a career-high 37 balls vs. Presbyterian on Nov. 22, 2024 -- a Division I era program single-match record and tied for the program’s single-match record, and landed a career-high six service aces in that same contest. She strung together 16 consecutive matches with double-figure digs from Oct. 6, 2023-Sept. 6, 2024, recorded double-digit digs in 26 matches, accumulated 20 or more digs in 13 matches, and 30 or more digs in two matches.
Hall (Suwanee, Ga.) was a three-time Big South All-Academic Team member and three-time qualifier for CSC Academic All-District. She was named to the Big South Presidential Honor Roll every year since 2022 and maintained a 4.0 GPA through her entire college career. Hall concluded her Blue Hose tenure as the school record-holder in all-time shutouts (11) and goals-against average (1.62), and ranks second among all PC goalies in save percentage (.769) and saves (274). She became the first player in program history to play every minute of each contest over the course of her senior season (all 1,640 minutes), aiding PC to its first-ever postseason win in the Big South Championship Quarterfinals this past fall.
Jansen (Plainfield, Ill.) was named a recipient of USC Upstate’s Joe Bowman Pinnacle Award. This past season, she appeared in 25 matches, and played in 91 sets. Jansen ranked fourth on the team with 172 kills (1.89 per set) as well as with 29 total blocks (0.32 per set; five solo blocks and 24 block assists), and posted 54 digs and six assists. Jansen recorded a career-high 23 kills and 24.5 points versus Charleston Southern on Nov. 2, and registered double-figure kills in seven matches.
Jennings (Murrells Inlet, S.C.) received CSC Academic All-District and Big South All-Academic Team honors this past season, and was named USC Upstate’s Dr. Jim Griffis Male Scholar Athlete of the Year. He appeared in 15 games with 14 starts, and accumulated 1347:02 minutes in goal. Jennings tallied 76 saves against 124 shots on goal, posting a .613 save percentage, and saved a season-best 11 shots versus UNC Asheville on Nov. 2. Jennings also notched a 2-0 shutout victory over East Tennessee State on Aug. 25.
Jones (Edmonton, Alberta) became a member of the honors college, was named to the Dean’s List twice, President’s List six times, and graduated as part of Alpha Chi with a cumulative 4.0 GPA with her degree in Biology, with a concentration in Biomedical Science. On the field, Jones started 40 matches for the Runnin’ Bulldogs and made 65 appearances over her four-year career, with five goals scored, 49 ground balls, and 30 caused turnovers, including a career-best 12 in the 2025 season.
Krach (The Woodlands, Texas) graduated from Radford this spring after earning a 4.0 GPA towards her degree in Biology. Splitting time at midfield and defender, Krach appeared in 19 games throughout her Radford career and totaled 286 minutes played. In 2024, she struck her first and second career goals in a win over South Carolina State and secured a tie at Winthrop. In her three years at Radford, Krach was named to the Dean’s List in every semester as well as the President’s Honor Roll all three seasons.
Meisten (Greenville, S.C.) was a three-year starter as a center back (missed 2023 with injury) and graduated with a degree in Biology (minors-Spanish/Business Administration). Named CSC Academic All-District and twice to the Big South All-Academic Team, Meisten started all 44 games she appeared over her career, and led the Eagles in minutes played in 2021, 2022 and 2024. She was selected to Alpha Lamda Delta, National Society for Collegiate Scholars and Phi Kappa Phi (January, 2024). Meisten wishes to become a medical device sales representative and attend the Disney College Internship Program. She has done numerous volunteer work that includes Special Olympics and served as a Peer Buddy.
Thomas (Henderson, Nev.) graduated with a perfect 4.0 GPA from Charleston Southern, spending two years with the Buccaneers after transferring from Iowa State. In her two years with the Bucs, she started 28 games as a defender and played more than 2,300 minutes -- including 20 matches where she played the full 90 minutes. Thomas scored a pair of goals and tallied two assists for six career points as a Buccaneer. During the 2023 season, she registered the goal-winning goal in a 1-0 victory at Longwood.
Vick (Quinton, Va.) earned Big South All-Academic Team honors in 2024-25 in both cross country and outdoor track & field. She has posted a perfect 4.0 through her first five semesters of college to earn President’s List honors. The Communication Sciences and Disorders major finished 11th in the 3,000m Steeplechase earlier this week at the Big South Outdoor Track & Field Championships, and she has already posted a time in the top 10 in team history, which dates back two decades. Vick set a personal best during the cross country season with a 5K time of 20:44.2 at the Upstate Invitational.
Below are the 2024-25 South Conference Christenberry Award candidates, as nominated by their institutions. Each individual receives a personalized medallion for this achievement.
Charleston Southern
Sydney Thomas (soccer), Aidan McAskie (baseball)
Gardner-Webb
Reese Jones (lacrosse), Theodore Drescher (swimming)
High Point
Tatum Mehring (lacrosse), Graham Ferguson (cross country/track)
Longwood
Elena Firestone (lacrosse), Lauren Vick (cross country/track & field), Valentin Brandis (soccer)
Presbyterian College
Kelly Hall (soccer)
Radford
Cassi Barbaro (softball), Marley Krach (soccer), Collin Hawes (soccer)
UNC Asheville
Caitlin Hefner (swimming), Tarek Erlewein (tennis)
USC Upstate
Julia Gladhill (volleyball), Ali Jansen (volleyball), Cooper Jennings (soccer)
Winthrop
Lily Meisten (soccer), Shane Keup (baseball)