CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Campbell softball senior Tori Griffin has been named a recipient of the Big South Christenberry Award. She is the first softball player since Shaela Churchill to receive this honor and second-ever female recipient from Campbell.
"It is exciting to have Tori receive this award for her hard work in the classroom," head coach Todd Bradley said. "She is a student-athlete through and through and I'm glad she will be recognized for the hard work and dedication as a student."
Liberty women's swimmer Natalie Beale (4.00 in exercise science), High Point women's soccer player Amy Burch (4.00 in exercise science), Campbell softball player Tori Griffin (4.00 in English), Gardner-Webb men's swimmer Nathan Lile (4.00 in computer science and philosophy), Liberty women's diver Madi Long (4.00 in business administration), High Point men's soccer player Brandon Sloan (4.00 in accounting) and Presbyterian College men's soccer player Thomas Valente (4.00 in mathematics) are this year's recipients.
The conference will formally present the awards on June 2 at The Marriott Resort in Hilton Head, S.C., as part of the League's Spring Meetings and Hall of Fame Dinner.
"The Christenberry Award is the highest academic honor awarded to undergraduate Big South student-athletes," said Big South Conference Commissioner Kyle B. Kallander. "It is incredible to think that a record-tying seven individuals completed their undergraduate academic career with perfect GPAs, especially with the demands placed on them as student-athletes. We congratulate Natalie, Amy, Tori, Nathan, Madi, Brandon and Thomas for their accomplishments in the classroom and on the field of play. Their academic careers truly exemplify the highest ideals of the Big South Conference."
Griffin is in her second year at Campbell, after transferring in from Walters State. During her time at Campbell she had 11 plate appearances and had one home run in Campbell's 15-6 win against Radford (March 15, 2015). She finished the season with a .400 on-base percentage and a .455 slugging percentage. She was 4-for-5 in stolen bases and drew three walks during the 2015 season. Her 2016 season was halted due to an injury.
While at Campbell, Griffin earned the Clara Booth Byrd Award for Creative Writing in 2015, available to English majors at Campbell University. She finished in second place for in the Lyricist Student Prose Competition in 2015 and was award the Presidential Transfer Scholarship in 2015.
Previously at Walters State, she received the NJCAA Pinnacle Award for Academic Excellence in 2014. She was also named the 2014 TCCAA Distinguished Scholar Athlete and a TCCAA High Honors recipient. During the same year, she also earned the "Who's Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges" award, which recognizes students who positively enhance the image of American students with their work and service to the school and the surrounding community.
She has more than 30 fiction publications, has presented two academic papers at Campbell's Wiggins Memorial Library Academic Symposium and has had academic research published in Sonder Magazine. After graduating at Campbell with a Bachelor of Arts in English, Griffin will seek a career as a freelance writer and copy editor, as well as pursue her Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Creative Writing in the fall of 2017.
