Record 10 Student-Athletes Earn Christenberry Award for Academic Excellence
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (www.BigSouthSports.com) – The Big South Conference today announced that a league record 10 student-athletes have been awarded the Conference’s prestigious George A. Christenberry Award for Academic Excellence. The award is given to the male and female student-athlete who attain the highest GPA during their undergraduate collegiate careers. It is the seventh consecutive year with a record total, and the seventh-straight year at least SIX student-athletes have been honored.
The 10 overall selections bests the previous record of nine honorees established in 2017-18. Below are this year’s recipients, and the conference will formally present the awards on Thursday, May 30 at The Westin Resort in Hilton Head, S.C., as part of the league’s annual Spring Meetings and Hall of Fame Dinner.
· Gardner-Webb women’s soccer player Callista Eckert (4.00 in English)
· Hampton women’s golfer Jakari Harris (4.04 in chemical engineering)
· Gardner-Webb women’s swimmer Emily Nordberg (4.00 in exercise science)
· Winthrop baseball player Mattison Pike (4.00 in chemistry)
· Gardner-Webb volleyball player Amanda Sahm (4.00 in exercise science)
· Longwood women’s basketball player Kate Spradlin (4.00 in business administration)
· Gardner-Webb women’s track & field/cross country runner Amy Turlington (4.00 in music education)
· Winthrop softball player Blake Wallert (4.00 in exercise science)
· Campbell men’s tennis player Dustin Werner (4.00 in economics & business double major)
· Radford women’s soccer player Jessica Wollmann (4.00 in anthropological sciences)
Big South member institutions nominate one male and one female undergraduate student-athlete for the annual Christenberry Award. 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.
“The Christenberry Award is the highest academic honor awarded to Big South student-athletes,” said Big South Conference Commissioner Kyle B. Kallander. “It is incredible to think that a record 10 individuals completed their undergraduate academic career with perfect GPAs, especially with the demands placed on them as student-athletes. We congratulate Callista, Jakari, Emily, Mattison, Amanda, Kate, Amy, Blake, Dustin and Jessica for their accomplishments in the classroom and in their sport. Their academic careers truly exemplify the highest ideals of the Big South Conference.”
Eckert (Newnan, Ga.) helped the Runnin’ Bulldogs to a runner-up finish in the 2018 Women’s Soccer Championship. She played all 21 contests with nine starts, and posted an assist in 1,245 minutes from her defensive midfield position. Eckert concluded her career with 56 appearances (32 starts) and more than 3,500 minutes played.. She was a member of the Gardner-Webb chapter of the Alpha Chi Honor Society and has been named to the Big South Conference Presidential Honor Roll on multiple occasions, while also being a Gardner-Webb Dean's List member.
Harris (Atlanta, Ga.) appeared in six events for the Lady Pirates this season, and ranked first on the squad with an 83.20 stroke average. He carded a season-best round of 79 in the Big South Championship, while her best finish of the year was runner-up at the Maryland-Eastern Shore Invite. Harris was also named to the Women’s Golf All-Academic Team in 2018-19.
Nordberg (Woodbridge, Va.) earned CCSA Academic All-Conference honors all four years, was the recipient of Gardner-Webb’s Dee Hunt Award for academic achievement in 2018 and 2019, and received the GWU One-Year Scholastic Achievement Award all four years. Nordberg swam the backstroke, butterfly and freestyle for the Runnin’ Bulldogs, and achieved personal-bests of 24.89 seconds in the 50-yard freestyle, 58.23 seconds in the 100-yard butterfly, and 58.96 seconds in the 100-yard backstroke.
Pike (Beaufort, S.C.) is a four-year member of the Winthrop baseball team, appearing in 16 games during his career. He hit .375 (3-8) with two runs scored in five games during his freshman campaign of 2016. As a sophomore, he recorded a sacrifice fly and scored a run in five appearances. After not seeing any game action his junior season, Pike played in six games this year with an RBI. He earned his degree from Winthrop this spring with honors.
Sahm (Marion, Iowa) was voted the Big South Volleyball Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the 2018 season. She played all 111 sets last fall and ranked seventh in the conference with 6.31 assists per set. Overall, she led GWU with 700 assists and 23 services aces, in addition to ranking second on the squad with 255 digs. Sahm concluded her collegiate career with 2,140 assists and 979 digs, and is one of two student-athletes to be awarded the Big South’s annual Graduate Fellowship.
Spradlin (Blue Ridge, Va.) is Longwood’s first-ever Christenberry Award recipient. She played 29 games this past season as a redshirt-junior with four starts, averaged 3.2 points and 1.0 rebounds, and scored in double figures in three games. A 2017-18 Big South All-Academic Team member, Spradlin was named to Longwood’s President’s list in all seven semesters and was a three-time member of the Big South Presidential Honor Roll.
Turlington (Spindale, N.C.) was a mid-distance runner for the track & field squad while a member of the cross country team. She competed in three Big South Cross Country Championships, with her best finish being 59th as a senior in a time of 21.26.4. On the track, she set personal-best times in the 800-meter run at 2:19.97 and the 5,000-meter run at 21:40.05 earlier this month at the Big South Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
Wallert (Clover, S.C.) was voted the 2019 Softball Scholar-Athlete of the Year, and helped the Eagles to a runner-up finish in the Big South Softball Championship. She batted a career-high .309 this season (second on the squad) with a career-best 32 runs scored and 20 RBI, and led the squad with 15 runs batted in during the Big South campaign. Wallert received The President’s Award for Academic Excellence during Winthrop’s May 4 commencement ceremony. She ended her playing career with 76 runs, 119 hits, 23 doubles, nine home runs, and 58 RBI in 167 career games (152 starts).
Werner (Reutlingen, Germany) was voted Big South Men’s Tennis Scholar-Athlete of the Year as a junior and senior, and he also earned First-Team All-Conference honors this past season in singles and doubles. A 2018 CoSIDA Academic All-American selection, he posted a 21-13 record in singles play and 19-11 mark in doubles action in 2019. Werner was 14-7 at No. 1 singles and 14-6 at No. 1 doubles this season, and concluded his career with 67 singles victories and 46 doubles triumphs.
Wollmann (Blacksburg, Va.) was the Big South Women’s Soccer Scholar-Athlete of the Year and also earned CoSIDA Academic All-America honors. She was also named the 2019 Virginia Collegiate Honors Council (VCHC) Scholar of the Year, which is presented to a student from a member institution that successfully embodies the scholarship, character, and ambition associated historically with honors students and VCHC. Wollmann, who helped lead the Highlanders to the 2018 Big South Championship, was also named a Senior CLASS Award Top 10 Finalist. She tallied a career-high eight goals, while logging 1,451 minutes in 19 starts this past season. Wollmann also ranked third in the Big South in shots and game-winning goals, fourth in points and points per game and seventh in goals per game.
Below are the 2018-19 Big South Conference Christenberry Award candidates, as nominated by their institutions. Each individual receives a personalized medallion for this achievement.
Campbell
Madison Linxwiler (volleyball)
Dustin Werner (tennis)
Charleston Southern
Bethany Thornhill (cross country)
James Allen (football)
Gardner-Webb
Callista Eckert (soccer)
Amy Turlington (track/cross country)
Emily Nordberg (swimming)
Amanda Sahm (volleyball)
Joshua Carter (football)
Hampton
Jakari Harris (golf)
Trevond Barnes (basketball)
High Point
Keaton Case (track/cross country)
Andrew Gottfried (baseball)
Longwood
Kate Spradlin (basketball)
Carlos Garrido (baseball)
Presbyterian College
Sydney Patton (tennis)
Duncan Gotfredson (cross country)
Radford
Jessica Wollmann (soccer)
Alexandros Caldwell (tennis)
UNC Asheville
Maura Coolbaugh (soccer)
Blanton Gillespie (track/cross country)
USC Upstate
Valeria Zarama Duque (tennis)
Cameron Philpot (soccer)
Winthrop
Blake Wallert (softball)
Mattison Pike (baseball)