CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The Big South Conference today honored five student-athletes with the prestigious George A. Christenberry Award for Academic Excellence. Laura Terebey of Radford, Keith Garramone of Coastal Carolina, Liberty’s Jeremy Graves and Mats Persson and Jeff Kolhagen of Charleston Southern all earned the annual award.

The award is given to one male student-athlete and one female student-athlete who attain the highest GPA during their college careers and are graduates of a member institution during the past year. There was a four-way tie on the men’s side from the 2003-04 academic year.

"I am continually impressed with the quality of the individuals that are student-athletes in the Big South Conference," stated Big South Commissioner Kyle B. Kallander. "But to have this many receive our highest academic award is an unbelievable achievement! We are extremely proud of their accomplishments."

The League honor is named for George A. Christenberry, the former President of Augusta College (now Augusta State University). A member of the Big South Hall of Fame, Christenberry helped found the Big South and served as its first President.

Kolhagen graduated summa cum laude with a 4.0 cumulative GPA and a degree BS in Business Administration with emphasis in accounting and a minor in economics. He also completed the Honors Program. During his senior season with the Buccaneers, Kolhagen batted a .247, while starting 20 of 28 games. He tallied 77 at-bats, 18 hits and 12 runs. He was also credited with four home runs in 2004.

Terebey, who completed a brilliant four-year career at Radford this spring,
was named the Big South Women's Golf Scholar-Athlete in 2003 and 2004. She
earned her way onto the Big South All-Academic Team the last two years, made Dean's List every semester at Radford and graduated with a 4.0 GPA. A three-time Big South Presidential Honor Roll honoree, Terebey has also been named Radford's Female Scholar-Athlete last three years. A native of Greensboro, Md., she took medalist honors at Wofford's Lady Terrier Intercollegiate Golf Tournament with a five-over 149, including a tournament low round of 73. She shot a school record and final-round five-under 67 to capture the 2003 Unlimited Potential/Bay Tree Classic in the fall. Terebey also took second place in the Hoya Women's Invitational, shooting a 157 (77-80) to help RU claim its first-ever women's tournament crown.

Garramone, a Second Team Academic All-American in 2004, ended his career ranked third on Coastal’s all-time 110-meter hurdles (16.12) and decathlon (6,153 pts) lists. The accounting major recently earned the 2003-04 CCU Faculty Distinguished Excellence Award. This year Garramone was named Men’s Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year for all sports at Coastal, and won the National Collegiate Business Award last fall and the Financial Executives International Academic Award in the spring of 2003. Last season, Garramone was named the 2003 Big South Outdoor Track & Field Scholar-Athlete of the Year. He graduated with a 4.0 cumulative GPA.

A three-year letterwinner on the Liberty Track and Field Team, Graves graduated in the spring of 2004 with a 4.0 GPA and a degree in interdisciplinary studies. He will be attending the University of Virginia Law School this fall. During the 2004 indoor and outdoor season, Graves placed fifth at the Big South Championships in the 110-meter hurdles, fifth at the Penn Relays in the shuttle hurdles relays and sixth at the Big South Championships in the 60-meter hurdles. In 2003, Graves placed seventh in the high hurdles at the Big South Championships, as he was hampered with a foot injury for most of the year. Graves became a Big South champion in the 60-meter hurdles during the 2002 season, while also placing seventh in the 110-meter hurdles at the Big South Championships.

Mats Persson is a two-year reserve member of the men’s basketball team as he joined the Flames during the 2001-02 season after transferring from San Diego City College. The native of Bankeryd, Sweden, is a five-time member of the dean’s list and has twice been named to the Big South Presidential Honor Roll. Persson graduated this past spring with a bachelor’s degree in government and a cumulative 4.0 GPA. He saw playing time in 13 games this past season on Liberty’s Big South men’s basketball championship squad. During the 2001-02 campaign, Persson averaged 1.4 points per game and 1.2 rebounds per contest, while maintaining a 57.1 field goal shooting percentage in 17 contests.

Courtesy Big South Conference