The Christenberry awards are given to the male and female student-athletes who attained
the highest GPA during their undergraduate collegiate careers. Winthrop has its first recipient since 2013-14. Sparrow, a cross-country runner who
graduated in December 2017, maintained a 4.0 GPA while majoring in English and minoring
in mathematics and geography. 
ROCK HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA - The Big South Conference awarded a league record nine George A. Christenberry awards for academic excellence
to student-athletes, including Emily Sparrow of Winthrop University.
The Christenberry awards are given to the male and female student-athletes who attained the highest GPA during
their undergraduate collegiate careers. It is the sixth consecutive year with a record
total, and the eighth straight year at least four student-athletes have been honored.
Winthrop has its first recipient since 2013-14. Sparrow, a cross-country runner who
graduated in December 2017, maintained a 4.0 GPA while majoring in English and minoring
in mathematics and geography. The Clover, South Carolina, resident, who was accepted
into the Peace Corps to teach English in Mongolia, was a three-time Big South Presidential
Honor Roll member and was voted Winthrop's Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year for
2017-18. Sparrow ran in the Big South Cross Country Championships all four years and
posted a personal-best 22nd-place finish as a junior in 2016.
Named for George A. Christenberry, the former president of Augusta College (now Augusta University), the award honors
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 conference will formally present the Christenberry awards on May 31 at The Marriott
Resort in Hilton Head, South Carolina, as part of the league's annual spring meetings
and Hall of Fame dinner.
For more information, contact Brittany Lane, Winthrop assistant athletic director for marketing and communications, at laneb@winthrop.edu.
