 |
| Anne Marie Moutsinga tallied 20 points for Coastal Carolina with wins in the 3,000 and 5,000 events.(Coastal Carolina Sports Information Photo). |
Winthrop University placed third and Charleston Southern placed fifth in the women's competition, while Charleston Southern placed fifth and Winthrop placed seventh on the men's side.
Coastal Carolina dethroned six-time defending champion Liberty by 50 points to give the Lady Chanticleers their first-ever Big South Indoor title.
Anne Marie Moutsinga captured wins in the 3,000 and 5,000 events. Moutsinga crossed the line in 9:56.23 for the 3,000 distance and finished with a 17:41.42 in the 5,000 to give Coastal 20 points. Coastal's Chasity Johnson sealed the triple jump title with a league and championship record of 40-04.25. Amber Campbell set a career best in the weight throw with a new league and championship record of 72-00.75. Campbell's weight throw was the fourth best mark in the United States this year and she has already qualified for the Olympic Trials.
The women's distance medley team crossed the line first with a 12:18.91. Marilyn Testa added 10 points for the Chanticleers after clearing 11-05.75 in the women's pole vault.
The Big South named Moutsinga Outstanding Track Performer and teammate Amber Campbell was named Outstanding Field Performer. Coastal's Head Track and Field Coach Alan Connie was named Coach of the Year and Testa was named Scholar-Athlete of the Year by the Big South Conference.
The Big South Conference headquarters is located in Charlotte, N.C. The conference is in its 20th year of existence and consists of Birmingham-Southern College, Charleston Southern University, Coastal Carolina University, High Point University, Liberty University, UNC Asheville, Radford University, Virginia Military Institute and Winthrop University. The conference was founded in 1983.
This season, Big South champions in the sports of men's and women's basketball, men's and women's soccer, volleyball, men's and women's golf, baseball, softball, men's and women's tennis and men's and women's track and field will receive automatic bids to NCAA Championships.
The Conference was formed on August 21, 1983, when Charleston Southern (then Baptist College) Athletic Director Howard Bagwell, and Augusta President George Christenberry initially began recruiting members into the Big South. One month later, Dr. Edward M. Singleton was selected as the league's first Commissioner and continued to solicit new members. By 1984, the League's charter members included: Armstrong State, Augusta, Campbell, Charleston Southern, Coastal Carolina, Radford and Winthrop.