Winthrop roundup: Rock Hill’s Paxton named Big South women’s cross country freshman of year

Winthrop cross country runner Olivia Paxton was named Big South women’s freshman of the year after finishing seventh in the championship meet held Friday at Asheville Christian Academy in Asheville, N.C.

Her finish helped the Eagles’ women to a fourth place finish in the team standings.

In the men’s 8K race, Winthrop finished fifth. Liberty captured the women’s team championship while Campbell was the men’s champion. The Camels swept the runner of the year awards as Joan Martin had the fastest women’s finish at 17:18.03 and Amon Terer claimed the men’s title with a time of 24:48.16.

Paxton, a product of Rock Hill’s South Pointe High School and the daughter of Winthrop cross country and track coach Ben Paxton, covered the 5K distance in a time of 18:57.33, the best among all freshmen in the meet. Paxton’s finish also earned her a spot on the 12-woman All-Big South Conference team.

The Winthrop men’s team was led by redshirt sophomore Kevin Mills (Suwanee, GA) with a 17th place finish and a time of 26:36.02.

Emily Sparrow (Clover) and Blake White (Lexington) were named to the Big South women’s and men’s All-Academic Teams.

Winthrop women’s finishes:

7th----Olivia Paxton, Fr. (18:57.33)

14th—Janelle Jones, So. (19:26.72)

22nd—Emily Sparrow, Jr. (19:45.13)

23rd---JaNae Jones, So. (19:45.38)

35th---Harper Henson, Fr. (20:10.47)

39th---Francesca Schoning, So. (20:21.46)

61st---Ashley Graham, So. (21:33.35)

65th---Kelsey Ballou, So. (21:43.35)

72nd—Jazmyne Jones, So. (22:19.88)

Winthrop men’s finishes:

17th---Kevin Mills, R-So. (26:36.02)

23rd---Jarvis Hunter, Fr. (27:00.56)

28th---Theo Kahler, Fr. (27:15.33)

30th---Cameron Ruppe, Jr. (27:19.74)

Blake White, Sr. (27:25.89)

57th---Eladio Wilkinson, So. (29:06.45)

70th---John Oliver, So. (30:19.45)

73rd---Matthew Garcia-Lynn, Sr. (31:01.93)

Jersey of the Bennett to be retired: A jersey retirement ceremony honoring the late Bennie Bennett, who died last April in a fatal automobile accident, will be held during the Eagles’ basketball homecoming day game against Ferrum at 4 p.m. on Nov. 12.

Bennett’s wife, Frankie, members of his family, and former Eagles teammates will take part in the ceremony.

Bennett, who was serving as superintendent of the Newberry County School District at the time of his death, was a member of Winthrop’s first men’s basketball team. He played from 1978 through 1981 and was the first Winthrop player to score 1,000 points in a career.

He still ranks ninth on the all-time scoring list with 1,298 points, and is also ranked in the Winthrop career top 10 lists in field goals made, free throws made, and assists. During Bennett’s three-years, Winthrop compiled a record of 73-31, and during his senior season the Eagles finished with a 31-8 record, still the most wins in school history.

He was inducted into the Winthrop Athletics Hall of Fame and the York County Sports Hall of Fame in 2006, and was a member of the Winthrop Varsity Club.

Following an outstanding playing career, he had a very successful 15-year coaching career at Fort Mill High School and Clover High School. He served as athletic director and assistant principal at Clover High School from 1993 to 1998. He became principal at Clover Middle School in 1998, and later became the first minority to be appointed as an assistant superintendent in the Clover School District in 2002. He had served as superintendent of the Newberry County School District for 10 years.

Duo named Big South golfers of week: Teammates Ashley Sloup and Chelsea Dantonio were named the Big South co-golfers of the week for their performances during last weekend’s Winthrop Intercollegiate.

Sloup and Dantonio tied for medalist honors at the Winthrop Intercollegiate, which was played at the par 72, 5,993-yard Rock Hill Country Club course, with identical scores of 5-over 149. Sloup had rounds of 76-73 while Dantonio shot 73-76, and their scores of 73 were the low individual rounds in the 36-hole event.

The duo helped Winthrop win the team title, which was the Eagles’ second consecutive tournament victory of the fall season.

This story was originally published October 28, 2016 at 5:33 PM with the headline "Winthrop roundup: Rock Hill’s Paxton named Big South women’s cross country freshman of year."