University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Four Bulldogs earn Big South Christenberry Award
05.18.2022 | Track and Field, Women's Soccer, Women's Volleyball, Athletics News
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The Big South Conference announced Wednesday the 11 student-athletes who have been awarded the Conference's prestigious George A. Christenberry Award for Academic Excellence, with four UNC Asheville student-athletes earning the honor in India Appleton, Gillian Oyos, Grace Volk and Alice Walker. The quartet gives Asheville its first Christenberry recognition since 2020 and represents just the second time since 2005-06 that a Bulldog has achieved the honor.
The award is given to the male and female student-athletes who attain the highest GPA during their undergraduate collegiate careers. It is the second-most honorees in league history and sixth consecutive year at least EIGHT student-athletes have been honored. Below are this year's recipients.
- UNC Asheville women's track/cross country runner India Appleton (4.00 in environmental science)
- Radford volleyball player Hailey Flowers (4.00 in criminal justice)
- Gardner-Webb men's swimmer Jonathan Frye (4.00 in biology/biomedical sciences)
- UNC Asheville women's soccer player Gillian Oyos (4.00 in health & wellness/psychology)
- Gardner-Webb women's track/cross country runner Faith Parandhamaia (4.00 in business management)
- Hampton women's soccer player Camille Pereira (4.0)
- Charleston Southern baseball player Krishna Raj (4.00 in financial management)
- Gardner-Webb women's track athlete Louise Schmidtgen (4.00 in international business/computer science)
- UNC Asheville volleyball player Grace Volk (4.00 in chemistry)
- UNC Asheville women's soccer player Alice Walker (4.00 in business management)
- USC Upstate volleyball player Kelly Wiedemann (4.00 in exercise & sport science)
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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.Â
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Appelton (Vinton, La.) was a three-time Big South Women's Cross Country All-Academic Team selection. She holds the scool record in the 5000m outdoor, owning the third-fastest 5K time in program history (17:48) and the 18th-fastest 6K time at 23:03. During her time at Asheville, Appleton earned Undergraduate Research Scholar Distinction, the McCullough Fellowship, and an Interdisciplinary Certificate in Sustainability. Additionally, Appleton was a Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) member, an AVID Tutor and a member of both the Office of Sustainability and Climate Action Plan Committee. Appleton is currently working at solar power company in Austin, Texas.
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Oyos (Abingdon, Va.) started 59 of 61 games in her career, including her last 27 games as a junior/senior. She finished her time at Asheville with 7 goals, 4 assists, 93 shots and 47 shots on goal, netting four game-winners. This past season, Oyos scored a goal in a 3-2 win over Presbyterian and dished out an assist in a 2-1 win over Longwood. Off the field, she was involved with the YMCA, Faith in Action Food Pantry, Member of the Bulldog Ambassadors, Chi Alpha Sigma, North Carolina Area Health Education Centers Scholars Program, International Honor Society in Psychology (Psi Chi) and National Art Honors Society. Receiving the Seal of Biliteracy in Spanish, Oyos is trained and certified in Motivational Interviewing.
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Volk (Arlington, Neb.) was two-time CoSIDA Academic All-District honoree in addition to being voted the Big South Volleyball Scholar-Athlete of the Year twice. By virtue of a 4.0 grade-point average in chemistry, Volk earned the prestigious Goldwater Scholarship in 2021 and was the 2022 Manly E. Wright Award winner, which is a valedictory award presented to the graduate who ranks first in scholarship at the May commencement ceremony. On the court, Volk finished her career among the leaders in program history with 1,579 assists, and also tallied 92 kills, 45 aces, 508 digs and 63 total blocks for the Bulldogs.
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Walker (Gaithersburg, Md.) appeared in 55 games in her four years at Asheville, starting 36 -- including 10 of 16 this past season. She set career-highs in goals (2), shots (21) and shots on goal (9) this past season, as her two goals came in a 4-0 victory at Hampton as the senior opened up the scoring in the win. Walker finished with three goals, three assists, 44 shots and 20 shots on goal in her four seasons. She was also a member of the Chi Alpha Sigma and Beta Gamma honors society and won the Dr. Robert D. Williams Award for Outstanding Leadership and Scholarship.
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Below are the 2021-22 Big South Conference Christenberry Award candidates, as nominated by their institutions. Each individual receives a personalized medallion for this achievement. To view the full release from the Big South, click here.
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School                      Female Nominee (sport)        Male Nominee (sport)
Campbell                 Megan Matthews (lacrosse)                 Dylan Earney (football)
Charleston Southern   Tiffany Pyrtiz (tennis)                   Krishna Raj (baseball)
Gardner-Webb           Louise Schmidtgen (track & field)                             Jonathan Frye (swimming)
                             Faith Parandhamaia (track & field)
Hampton                  Camille Pereira (soccer)                   Cliff Dwyer (tennis)
High Point                Brantley Rhodes (volleyball)               Ricardo Ceballos (soccer)
Longwood                Nicole Fordyce (lacrosse)                 Jonas Kilchner (soccer)
North Carolina A&TÂ Â Â Â Christyn Carr (golf)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Justin O'Neal (baseball)
Presbyterian College   Jessica Leeman (tennis)                   Grayson Horton (soccer)
Radford                   Hailey Flowers (volleyball)               Andres Silva (tennis)
UNC Asheville           India Appleton (cross country/track)  Taylor Durall (soccer)
                             Gillian Oyos (soccer)
                             Grace Volk (volleyball)
                             Alice Walker (soccer)
USC Upstate             Kelly Wiedemann (volleyball)                             Justin Hynes (soccer)
Winthrop                 Sarah Funderburg (golf)       Jonathan Strauss (baseball)
