University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Blanton Gillespie Chosen 2018-19 Big South Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year
07.09.2019 | Track and Field
Big South Official Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – For the second consecutive year a UNC Asheville student-athlete has been chosen as the Big South Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year with Blanton Gillespie taking home the prestigious honor for the 2018-19 athletic year.
The Big South Conference league office made the official announcement on Tuesday, July 9, 2019.
The league Scholar-Athletes of the Year are voted on by the Big South Sports Information Directors from a pool of each sport's Scholar-Athlete winner. Jessica Wollmann of Radford women's soccer was chosen as the Big South Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Gillespie is UNC Asheville's third-ever Big South Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year, joining UNC Asheville men's soccer legend Mike Roach (2001-02) and men's basketball standout Kevin Vannatta (2017-18). It also marks the second straight year that UNC Asheville track & field/cross country has been honored with a Big South annual award with Kayli Nichols chosen last year as the 2017-18 Big South Woman of the Year.
The honor is the latest for Gillespie, who recently also closed out his prolific career by being named a first team Google Cloud NCAA Division I Academic All-American®.
Gillespie became just the fifth Bulldog in any sport to receive the extremely prestigious CoSIDA Academic All-America honors. He joins Roach as the only first team Academic All-Americans.
Gillespie recently earned the 2019 Manly E. Wright Award for Scholarship in the Class of 2019, which is presented to the graduate who ranks first in scholarship at the May commencement ceremony. A chemistry major and neuroscience minor, Gillespie graduated from UNC Asheville in May of 2019 with a 3.996 GPA.
A native of Shelby, N.C., Gillespie closed out his impressive career as a Bulldog as a four-time Big South Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Most recently Gillespie was selected as the 2019 Big South Outdoor Track & Field Men's Scholar-Athlete of the Year at the conclusion of the championship at Winthrop on Friday, May 10, 2019. He was selected as the 2019 Big South Indoor Track & Field Men's Scholar-Athlete of the Year at the conclusion of the championship inside the Liberty Indoor Track Complex on Saturday, Feb. 16, 2019.
Gillespie was also chosen as the 2018 Big South Men's Cross Country Scholar-Athlete of the Year at the Big South Cross Country Championship presented by Musco Sports Lighting and UCS at the Ivey M. Redmon Sports Complex on Friday, Oct. 26. In addition, Gillespie was named the 2018 Big South Outdoor Track and Field Scholar-Athlete of the Year in May of 2018.
Gillespie was also selected to the 2018 Big South Men's Indoor Track and Field All-Academic Team following the conclusion of the Indoor Conference Championships on Saturday, Feb. 24, 2018.
Gillespie was a two-time Google Cloud Academic All-District® Men's Track & Field/Cross Country District 3 Team selection (2018 and 2019).
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – For the second consecutive year a UNC Asheville student-athlete has been chosen as the Big South Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year with Blanton Gillespie taking home the prestigious honor for the 2018-19 athletic year.
The Big South Conference league office made the official announcement on Tuesday, July 9, 2019.
The league Scholar-Athletes of the Year are voted on by the Big South Sports Information Directors from a pool of each sport's Scholar-Athlete winner. Jessica Wollmann of Radford women's soccer was chosen as the Big South Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Gillespie is UNC Asheville's third-ever Big South Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year, joining UNC Asheville men's soccer legend Mike Roach (2001-02) and men's basketball standout Kevin Vannatta (2017-18). It also marks the second straight year that UNC Asheville track & field/cross country has been honored with a Big South annual award with Kayli Nichols chosen last year as the 2017-18 Big South Woman of the Year.
The honor is the latest for Gillespie, who recently also closed out his prolific career by being named a first team Google Cloud NCAA Division I Academic All-American®.
Gillespie became just the fifth Bulldog in any sport to receive the extremely prestigious CoSIDA Academic All-America honors. He joins Roach as the only first team Academic All-Americans.
Gillespie recently earned the 2019 Manly E. Wright Award for Scholarship in the Class of 2019, which is presented to the graduate who ranks first in scholarship at the May commencement ceremony. A chemistry major and neuroscience minor, Gillespie graduated from UNC Asheville in May of 2019 with a 3.996 GPA.
A native of Shelby, N.C., Gillespie closed out his impressive career as a Bulldog as a four-time Big South Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Most recently Gillespie was selected as the 2019 Big South Outdoor Track & Field Men's Scholar-Athlete of the Year at the conclusion of the championship at Winthrop on Friday, May 10, 2019. He was selected as the 2019 Big South Indoor Track & Field Men's Scholar-Athlete of the Year at the conclusion of the championship inside the Liberty Indoor Track Complex on Saturday, Feb. 16, 2019.
Gillespie was also chosen as the 2018 Big South Men's Cross Country Scholar-Athlete of the Year at the Big South Cross Country Championship presented by Musco Sports Lighting and UCS at the Ivey M. Redmon Sports Complex on Friday, Oct. 26. In addition, Gillespie was named the 2018 Big South Outdoor Track and Field Scholar-Athlete of the Year in May of 2018.
Gillespie was also selected to the 2018 Big South Men's Indoor Track and Field All-Academic Team following the conclusion of the Indoor Conference Championships on Saturday, Feb. 24, 2018.
Gillespie was a two-time Google Cloud Academic All-District® Men's Track & Field/Cross Country District 3 Team selection (2018 and 2019).
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