Big South Announces 2024-25 Men's Track & Field Athletes of the Year
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (www.BigSouthSports.com) – High Point freshman
Camerin Williams (Wilmington, Del.) has been voted the 2024-25 Big South Conference Men’s Track Athlete of the Year, while Panthers’ senior
Cole Wilson (Burgessville, Ontario) has been selected the league’s 2024-25 Men's Field Athlete of the Year, it was announced today by the Conference office. The awards are voted on by the Big South track & field head coaches as part of their annual June meeting, and encompass both the indoor track & field and outdoor track & field seasons.
Williams is the first HPU Panther since 2013 to be voted the Big South Men’s Track Athlete of the Year. The true freshman competed in eight different events during the indoor season -- mile, 4x400m, 400m, 1,000m, 600m, 800m, 500m and the DMR. He won three gold medals at the Big South Indoor Track & Field Championships, as he won the 800m in a Meet-record time of 1:49.49, which is second-fastest in Big South history. He was also a member of the winning 4x400m and DMR, which set Championship Meet records with times of 3:11.14 and 9:54.14, respectively. Williams’ indoor season included a Big South-record time of 1:18.23 in winning the 600m at the Gamecock Challenge, while his 1:02.01 in the 500m at the Doc Hale VT Meet is third-fastest in the conference record book. Williams also recorded a time of 2:26.94 in the 1,000m for seventh all-time in league annals. In the outdoor season, Williams competed in four different events (1,500m, 4x400m, 400m and 800m), won the Big South 800m with a Meet-record time of 1:47.37, and was a member of HPU’s gold-winning 4x400m relay (3:07.58). He finished first six times this past spring (four – 4x400m, two – 800m), ran a 1:47.11 to qualify for the finals of the 800m at the NCAA Division I East First Round, and posted a PR of 1:46.81 to win the 800m at the USA Track & Field U20 Championships this past weekend to break the school record.
Wilson is the first-ever Big South student-athlete to earn All-America distinction in the heptathlon and decathlon in the same season, as well as the first to win back-to-back Big South titles in both events. Wilson won the Big South heptathlon with a Championship-Meet record 5,705 points, and he also owns the overall league record of 5,772, which he set at the Liberty Kickoff back in December. He established an indoor PR in the pole vault with a clearance of 5.00m at the Division I Pre-National Meet in February, becoming one of 13 student-athletes in conference history to clear 5.00m. Wilson capped the indoor season with a 14th-place finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships with a total of 5,571 points for Second-Team All-America honors. In the outdoor season, Wilson won the Big South decathlon with a Meet-record 7,609 points -- capturing nine of the 10 events along with a second-place finish in the 400m. His performance qualified him for the 24th and final spot at the National Championship Meet in Eugene, where he finished 11th with a PR total of 7,662 points for Second-Team All-America accolades.
Finalists for the Big South’s annual Men's Track & Field awards were:
* Track Athlete of the Year:
DeMarr Harvey (UNC Asheville)
* Field Athlete of the Year:
Quentin Peterson (Gardner-Webb)
ANNUAL MEN'S TRACK & FIELD ATHLETES OF THE YEAR
1997 - David Bobb, UMBC
1998 - Greg Benhase, Liberty
1999 - Mike Decker, Liberty
2000 - Mike Decker, Liberty
2001 - Mike Decker, Liberty
2002 - Rod Lorick, Winthrop
2003 - Goran Nava, Radford
2004 - Paulvince Obuon, VMI
2005 - Josh McDougal, Liberty
2006 - Josh McDougal, Liberty
2007 - Josh McDougal, Liberty
2008 - Josh McDougal, Liberty
2009 - Sam Chelanga, Liberty & Donnie Cowart, VMI
2010 - Sam Chelanga, Liberty
2011 - Sam Chelanga, Liberty
2012 - Kolby Shepherd, Liberty
2013 - Dakota Peachee, High Point
2014 - Vincent Wyatt, Radford (runner); Braxton Drummond, Charleston Southern (field)
2015 - Lawrence Kipkoech, Campbell (runner); Reggie Nelson, Coastal Carolina (field)
2016 - Lawrence Kipkoech, Campbell (runner); Braxton Drummond, Charleston Southern (field)
2017 - Amon Terer, Campbell (runner); Carson Waters, Liberty (field)
2018 - Amon Kemboi, Campbell (runner); Markus Ballengee, Liberty (field)
2019 - Amon Kemboi, Campbell (runner); Colby Thorn, Winthrop (field)
2020 - none (season incomplete and canceled due to coronavirus pandemic)
2021 - Athanas Kioko, Campbell (track); Chris Van Niekerk, High Point (field)
2022 - Randolph Ross Jr., North Carolina A&T (track); Brandon Hicklin, North Carolina A&T (field)
2023 - Dominique Alexander, Campbell (track); Channing Ferguson, USC Upstate (field)
2024 - Shawn Langley Jr., Charleston Southern (track); Chris Van Niekerk, High Point (field)
2025 - Camerin Williams, High Point (track); Cole Wilson, High Point (field)