Big South Announces 2016-17 Athletes of the Year
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (www.BigSouthSports.com) – Winthrop track & field athlete Marthaline Cooper (Providence, R.I.) and Campbell cross country/track & field runner Amon Terer (Eldoret, Kenya) have been voted the Big South Conference Female and Male Student-Athletes of the Year for the 2016-17 season by the league’s Athletics Directors, Senior Woman Administrators and Sports Information Directors, it was announced today by the conference office.
Cooper is the first Winthrop student-athlete to win the conference’s Female Student-Athlete of the Year award since 2013-14, as she received 77 points and nine first-place votes. She finished ahead of Campbell softball player Amber Schisler, who was second with 65 points (four first-place votes). Winthrop tennis player Lauren Proctor was third with 58 points (four first-place votes), followed by Radford volleyball player Maddie Palmer (48 points, four first-place votes). High Point lacrosse player Samantha Brown finished fifth in the voting with 31 points (one first-place vote).
Terer earned 115 points and 18 first-place votes in capturing the Howard Bagwell Male Student-Athlete of the Year award, becoming the first Campbell student-athlete to receive the honor since the Camels rejoined the Big South in 2011-12 (the award did not exist during Campbell’s initial Big South membership from 1983-94). Terer finished ahead of Radford soccer All-American Jo Vitle Rimstad (64 points, three first-place votes), while UNC Asheville tennis player Henry Patten (three first-place votes) and Liberty baseball All-American D.J. Artis tied for third with 45 points each. Gardner-Webb quarterback Tyrell Maxwell (41 points, one first-place vote) rounded out the top five.
Cooper was voted the 2016-17 Big South Women’s Field Athlete of the Year as well as the 2017 Women’s Indoor Track & Field Most Outstanding Field Performer. She won the Big South indoor weight throw for the third straight year with a mark of 21.18m (69 ft.-6 in.), which qualified her for the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships. At the national meet, she placed 12th in the weight throw to earn her fourth All-American honor in two years. In seven indoor meets in 2016-17, Cooper finished first five times. She is also the first three-time winner of the conference’s Women’s Field Athlete of the Year award.
Terer was a four-time All-American in 2016-17. He earned First-Team honors in Cross Country and in the Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field 5,000m, plus Second-Team honors in the Indoor 3,000m. Terer opened his 2016-17 championship season with the Big South Men’s Cross Country individual title in a time of 24:48.16. He was named the USTFCCCA Southeast Region Athlete of the Year after winning the NCAA Southeast Regional Championship with a school-record time of 28:48.7 in the 10K race. He qualified for the NCAA Cross Country Championships and concluded the race with another All-American finish. Terer then went on to win the Big South Indoor 3,000m and 5,000m events to capture the league’s Most Outstanding Track Performer award. He claimed third-place in the NCAA Indoor Track 5,000m run and followed with a 12th-place standing in the NCAA Indoor 3,000m event. The outdoor season saw him win the Big South 5,000m race, as well as the NCAA East Region Preliminary 5K, and he concluded his season with a fifth-place finish in the 5,000m at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championship. Terer was voted the Big South’s Men’s Track & Field Runner of the Year for his performance during the season.
In March 2000, the Big South Conference Executive Committee voted to create an annual Male and Female Student-Athlete of the Year award, and named the male award in honor of former Charleston Southern Athletic Director Howard Bagwell, who was one of the founders of the Big South Conference. The annual candidates for the award consist of the Players of the Year from each sport for the season most recently completed.
HOWARD BAGWELL MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
2016-17............ Amon Terer, Campbell (cross country/track & field)
2015-16............ Andrew Beckwith, Coastal Carolina (baseball)
2014-15............ Quinn Backus, Coastal Carolina (football)
2013-14............ Lorenzo Taliaferro, Coastal Carolina (football)
2012-13............ Miguel Maysonet, Stony Brook (football)
2011-12............. Ashton Bennett, Coastal Carolina (soccer)
2010-11............ Sam Chelanga, Liberty (cross country/track & field)
2009-10........ Sam Chelanga, Liberty (cross country/track & field)
2008-09...... Sam Chelanga, Liberty (cross country/track & field)
2007-08...... Josh McDougal, Liberty (cross country/track & field)
2006-07....... Josh McDougal, Liberty (cross country/track & field)
2005-06....... Josh McDougal, Liberty (cross country/track & field)
2004-05....... Mike Costanzo, Coastal Carolina (baseball)
2003-04....... Joseph Ngwenya, Coastal Carolina (soccer)
2002-03....... Joseph Ngwenya, Coastal Carolina (soccer)
2001-02........ Justin Owens, Coastal Carolina (baseball)
2000-01....... Jason Colson, Winthrop (baseball)
1999-00......... Keith Butler, Liberty (baseball)
FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
2016-17............ Marthaline Cooper, Winthrop (track & field)
2015-16............ Ednah Kurgat, Liberty (cross country/track & field)
2014-15............ Megan Baltzell, Longwood (softball)
2013-14............ Dequesha McClanahan, Winthrop (basketball)
2012-13............ Brooke Short, Longwood (softball)
2011-12............. Gabrielle Houston, Charleston Southern (track & field)
2010-11............ Natalie Pearson, UNC Asheville (track & field)
2009-10........ Kristen Shifflett, Radford (softball)
2008-09...... Megan Frazee, Liberty (basketball)
2007-08...... Megan Frazee, Liberty (basketball)
2006-07....... Aruka Felgueroso, Coastal Carolina (golf)
2005-06....... Tiffany Evans, Radford (track & field)
2004-05....... Katie Feenstra, Liberty (basketball)
2003-04....... Katie Feenstra, Liberty (basketball)
2002-03....... Amber Campbell, Coastal Carolina (track & field)
2001-02........ Heather Sagan, Liberty (cross country/track & field)
2000-01....... Amber Campbell, Coastal Carolina (track & field)
1999-00......... Anthonia Akpama, Liberty (volleyball)