High Point's Famke Heinst Named 2017-18 Women's Runner of the Year
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (www.BigSouthSports.com) – High Point freshman Famke Heinst (Gelderland, Netherlands) has been voted the 2017-18 Big South Conference Women’s Runner of the Year, it was announced today by the Conference office. The award is voted on by the Big South head cross country/track & field coaches as part of their annual June meeting, and encompasses the entire cross country, indoor track & field and outdoor track & field seasons.
Heinst is the first High Point honoree to win the Runner of the Year award and second overall Track & Field annual award recipient. She was voted the Outstanding Women’s Track Performer at the 2018 Big South Outdoor Track & Field Championships, and was both the Big South Women’s Cross Country Runner of the Year and Freshman of the Year after winning the individual title at the conference meet in a time of 17:55.1. Heinst won six total Big South crowns in 2017-18, including the Indoor Track & Field mile and 3,000m, plus the Outdoor Track & Field 1,500m, 3,000m Steeplechase and 5,000m.
A five-time Big South Athlete of the Week honoree this past year, Heinst set the High Point and Big South Championship meet record with her time of 16:51.45 in the 5,000 meters, and re-established the conference and school standard in the 3,000m Steeplechase with a record-breaking time of 10:11.03 at the NCAA East Preliminaries on May 25. In addition, she was part of the Big South record-breaking indoor track Distance Medley Relay squad that posted an all-time best 11:45.81 at the Darius Dixon Memorial in February. In all, Heinst won 15 combined events in 2017-18: two Cross Country, five Indoor Track & Field and eight Outdoor Track & Field, and established four school records in her freshman season.