Campbell's Amon Kemboi Voted 2017-18 Howard Bagwell Male Athlete of the Year
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (www.BigSouthSports.com) – Campbell sophomore cross country/track & field runner Amon Kemboi (Kapsabet, Kenya) has been voted the Big South Conference Howard Bagwell Male Student-Athlete of the Year for the 2017-18 season by the league’s Athletics Directors, Senior Woman Administrators and Sports Information Directors, it was announced today by the conference office.
Kemboi earned 68 points and seven first-place votes in capturing the Male Student-Athlete of the Year award, becoming the second consecutive Campbell student-athlete to receive the honor. He finished ahead of UNC Asheville tennis player Henry Patten (65 points, seven first-place votes), while Winthrop men’s basketball player Xavier Cooks was third with 51 points (two first-place votes). Kennesaw State quarterback Chandler Burks (48 points, four first-place votes) and Charleston Southern defensive lineman Anthony Ellis (38 points, two first-place votes) rounded out the top five.
Kemboi earned First-Team All-America honors in each of the three running sports and was the Big South’s 2017-18 Men’s Runner of the Year. He clocked in at 29:52.1 and finished 29th in his debut at the NCAA Cross Country Championship in November. Kemboi qualified for the national race with a second-place finish at the NCAA Southeast Regional meet to earn All-Region honors, and was the Big South’s individual Cross Country Champion in leading Campbell to its third consecutive conference title. Kemboi collected his second First-Team All-America honor at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships with an eighth-place finish in the 5,000m. He ran a 14:17.42 and was 1.03 seconds from the top five. His time of 13:43.78 in the 5K at the Iowa State Classic in February secured his berth in the NCAA postseason. Other indoor highlights include breaking the school record in the mile run with a 4:06.16 performance at the Big South Championship, as well as winning the Big South title in the 3,000m at 8:13.15. Kemboi capped the 2017-18 campaign with a fifth-place finish in the 5,000m run at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in June. He posted a time of 13:56.37, took over the lead from teammate Lawrence Kipkoech with five laps to go, and paced the pack until the final lap. Kemboi won the men's 5,000 meters at the East Preliminaries in Tampa, Fla., to qualify for nationals, and claimed the region title with a time of 13:54.89. During the outdoor campaign, Kemboi ran a school-record 5,000m time of 13:37.48 at the Mt. Sac Relays, which ranks third all-time in Big South history. He also set a conference standard in the 1,500m with a time of 3:43.49 at the VertKlasse Meet in April.
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 and an inaugural inductee into the league’s Hall of Fame. 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 WINNERS
2017-18 - Amon Kemboi, Campbell (cross country/track & field)
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)