BUIES CREEK, N.C. - Campbell graduate and nine-time All-American runner Athanas Kioko has been named the Big South Conference Male Athlete of the Year for the 2021-22 season. The candidates for the annual award consist of the player of the year from each sport and voting by league athletics directors, senior woman administrators and sports information directors determine the outcome.
This is the second time Kioko has earned the Howard Bagwell Male Athlete of the Year Award, and marks the fifth consecutive time a Campbell student-athlete has received the honor.
A native of Machakos, Kenya, Kioko finished the 2021 cross country season with a third-place finish at the NCAA Championships. His third-place finish in the 10K race marked the best ever for a Campbell runner at the NCAA Championships, setting a program-best time of 28:40.9 in the process. Kioko was part of the lead pack throughout the race, taking the lead on multiple splits -- including at the 9K split and into the final stretch before being overtaken by the eventual champion and runner-up. The first team All-American won four races this past season. He earned All-Region honors after winning the NCAA Southeast Regional with a time of 28:58.1 in the 10K race. Kioko won his second Big South individual title in late October with a 23:16.8 effort in the 8K run. He also captured the Chanticleer Challenge with a course-record 23:28.5 in the 8K race, and claimed the season-opening Elon Opener with a time of 17:55.2 to earn Big South Runner of the Week honors.
Kioko was named Most Valuable Athlete at Big South Indoor Championships after winning the mile, 3000m and 5000m events, leading Campbell to its first Big South team championship. Kioko earned second team All-American status at the NCAA Indoor Championships in the 3000m.
During the outdoor season, he set the second-fastest 10,000m time in Big South history at the Raleigh Relays, finishing in 28:16.11. He was the Most Valuable Athlete of the Big South Outdoor Championships after winning the 800m, 1500m and 5000m, and later finished first in the 10,000m at the NCAA East Prelims, setting a facility record. Kioko finished fifth in the 10,000m at the NCAA Championships, earning first team All-American honors, and was an honorable mention All-American in the 5000m at the NCAA meet after finishing 19th overall.
Kioko finished his collegiate career as one of the most decorated student-athletes in Campbell history, totaling six All-American honors and six school records.
Abby Hormes of High Point earned conference's Wanda Watkins Female Athlete of the Year Award becoming the first lacrosse player to be honored. In June 2022, the Executive Committee named the female award in honor of former Campbell women's basketball coach and Big South Hall of Famer Wanda Watkins.
In March 2000, the Big South Conference Executive Committee voted to create an annual Male and Female Student-Athlete of the Year award, and named the male award in honor of former Charleston Southern Athletic Director Howard Bagwell, who was one of the founders of the Big South Conference and an inaugural inductee into the league's Hall of Fame. The Athlete of the Year awards have been presented annually since 1999-00, with the exception of the 2019-20 due to the season being incomplete and eventually canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. The annual honorees are listed below.
HOWARD BAGWELL MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
2021-22 - Athanas Kioko Campbell (cross country/track & field)
2020-21 - Athanas Kioko Campbell (track & field)
2018-19 - Chris Clemons, Campbell (basketball)
2017-18 - Amon Kemboi, Campbell (cross country/track & field)
2016-17 - Amon Terer, Campbell (cross country/track & field)
2015-16 - Andrew Beckwith, Coastal Carolina (baseball)
2014-15 - Quinn Backus, Coastal Carolina (football)
2013-14 - Lorenzo Taliaferro, Coastal Carolina (football)
2012-13 - Miguel Maysonet, Stony Brook (football)
2011-12 - Ashton Bennett, Coastal Carolina (soccer)
2010-11 - Sam Chelanga, Liberty (cross country/track & field)
2009-10 - Sam Chelanga, Liberty (cross country/track & field)
2008-09 - Sam Chelanga, Liberty (cross country/track & field)
2007-08 - Josh McDougal, Liberty (cross country/track & field)
2006-07 - Josh McDougal, Liberty (cross country/track & field)
2005-06 - Josh McDougal, Liberty (cross country/track & field)
2004-05 - Mike Costanzo, Coastal Carolina (baseball)
2003-04 - Joseph Ngwenya, Coastal Carolina (soccer)
2002-03 - Joseph Ngwenya, Coastal Carolina (soccer)
2001-02 - Justin Owens, Coastal Carolina (baseball)
2000-01 - Jason Colson, Winthrop (baseball)
1999-00 - Keith Butler, Liberty (baseball)
