General | 8/15/2014 3:41:00 PM
ABILENE – One of the greatest women's basketball players in ACU history and the first ACU student to reach the Olympics in a sport other than track and field highlight a group of seven alumni who will be inducted into the ACU Sports Hall of Fame during ceremonies Friday evening at the Hunter Welcome Center.
Inductees into the hall will be women's basketball letterwinner Melanie Carter, men's track and field great Mark Witherspoon, women's pole vault national champion Jane (McNeill) Clayton, men's basketball standout Charles Cleek and one of the greatest offensive linemen in ACU football history, Don Harrison, will be inducted into the hall for their athletic exploits.
Lt. Col (ret.) Tom Smith III and Dr. David Merrell will enter the hall as Lifetime Achievement Award winners. Smith reached the 1964 Olympics as a member of the U.S. pistol shooting team, while Dr. Merrell served in several capacities on campus, including as the ACU Faculty Athletic Representative.
The Class of 2014 will be officially inducted into the Hall of Fame during the annual festivities on Friday, Oct. 10, at 6 p.m. in the McCaleb Conference Center at the Hunter Welcome Center. Tickets to the event are $25 apiece and can be purchased by calling 325-674-2353.
With the addition of the seven members of this year's class, the ACU Sports Hall of Fame now includes 165 men and women. With the addition of Carter and Clayton, the hall now has 23 former ACU female student-athletes among its membership, along with two other women as Lifetime Achievement Award recipients.
Here are bios for each of the inductees:
Melanie CarterA native of Lubbock, Melanie Carter finished her four-year career in 2004 as the third-leading scorer in both ACU and LSC history with 1,962 points. She is also the sixth-leading rebounder in ACU women's basketball history (949 career rebounds), and in February 2013 – in conjunction with ACU's final season in the Lone Star Conference – she was voted in as one of the starters on ACU's "Starting Five," a team voted on by fans to determine the greatest basketball players during ACU's 40 years in the LSC.
A three-time WBCA/Kodak honorable mention all-America, Carter was ACU's leading scorer in each of her four years and still holds the school and conference career record for best field-goal percentage (63.9, 715-1120) and their single-game record for most consecutive field goals made with 14 vs. St. Edward's. Carter finished with 32 points vs. the Hilltoppers, but her best single-game effort came two years later as she poured in 37 points on 16-of-23 shooting against Texas Woman's.
A four-time first team NCAA all-South Central Region player, Carter set the NCAA D-II record for field goal percentage by a sophomore (67.9), and her 68 percent shooting performance as a freshman in 2000-01 is the second-best performance by a freshman in D-II history. Carter also recorded 949 career rebounds, which is good for sixth-place on the all-time ACU list.
Carter holds the proud distinction of being one of only three Wildcats – male or female – to be named first team all-conference four times along with Claudia Schleyer and Jennifer Clarkson. Her list of career honors also includes three academic all-conference and district citations, a LSC MVP trophy in 2001-02, and a spot on the 2004 all-LSC Tournament team. In May 2002, she was named the winner of the Paul Goad Award as the top female athlete at ACU for the 2001-02 athletic year. In September 2004 – a few months after she graduated from ACU – Carter was named as Texas' NCAA Woman of the Year. The award honored outstanding female student-athletes who had completed their collegiate eligibility and excelled not only athletics but academically and in the community as well.
Jane (McNeill) ClaytonJane (McNeill) Clayton made NCAA history in March 1999 when she became the first female student-athlete to ever win a national championship in the pole vault, regardless of division. She cleared 12 feet, 3.50 inches to win the NCAA Division II indoor championship at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, Ind. Later that spring she won the first Lone Star Conference title in the women's pole vault, clearing 11-0.25 for her only career LSC championship.
McNeill – who teamed with Meredith Garner to form one of the top women's pole vaulting duos in the country from 2000-02 – was a six-time NCAA Division II all-America who was on three NCAA Division II national championship teams at ACU (1999 and 2000 indoor and 1999 outdoor). In May 2001, on a cool, damp and windy night in Edwardsville, Ill., McNeill cleared 12-5.50 to win the outdoor national championship to give her a pair of career national titles. Aside from the three team national championships, McNeill was also part of four LSC championship teams (1999-2002).
As a freshman in 1999, she finished in the top three in eight of nine meets in which she entered in the pole vault, including her first win at Oklahoma, clearing 10-10.75. She also finished second at the Texas Relays (11-9.75) and won her only individual conference title that season (11-0.25) before finishing third at the NCAA Division II outdoor championship meet (12-3.50).
She suffered through an injury-plagued sophomore season, but did manage to finish fourth at the NCAA Division II indoor championships (11-11.75) before missing the outdoor season. As a junior in 2001 she finished fifth at the indoor championship meet (11-11.75) and then won the outdoor championship meet (12-5.50). A few weeks prior to the outdoor championship meet, she turned in a spectacular effort at the LSC championship meet where she placed fifth in the high jump (5-2.00), second in the pole vault (11-6.00) and seventh in the long jump (17-3.00) to help the Wildcats to the team title. As a senior in 2002, she was third at the LSC championship meet (11-6.00) before a fourth-place finish at the NCAA outdoor championship meet (12-2.00).
Charles CleekA four-year starter for the Wildcats (1962-66), Cleek is one of the best big men in ACU history. He led the Wildcats to back-to-back Southland Conference championships (1964-65 and 1965-66), earning first team all-conference honors both seasons after earning second team honors as a sophomore in 1963-64.
As a senior in 1965-66, Cleek was the leader of one of the great teams in ACU history, a squad that won the Southland Conference title and won the NCAA regional championship before losing to North Dakota, 63-62, in the national tournament. That North Dakota team was led by all-America forward Phil Jackson, who went on to win 11 NBA titles as the coach of the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers. Cleek was selected third team all-America by both the Associated Press and United Press International after averaging 17.3 points and 9.3 rebounds for a team that finished 21-7.
Among those 21 wins was a 67-52 win at Oklahoma State (then Oklahoma A&M). Cleek still ranks ninth on ACU's all-time scoring list with 1,504 points and fifth on the all-time rebounding list with 899 career rebounds. In 2013, he was selected to the Southland Conference all-Decade Team for the 1960s.
He was a first team all-region selection in both 1963-64 and 1965-66 and was a third team all-America selection by both the Associated Press (AP) and United Press International (UPI) in 1965-55. Over his last three seasons, Cleek led the Wildcats to a 56-25 record, averaging 19.7 points and 9.5 rebounds per game as a junior and 17.3 points and 9.3 rebounds per game as a senior.
Don HarrisonDon Harrison was a three-time academic all-America who started all 44 games he played in during his time at ACU. When he left ACU after the 1975 season, that was a record that stood for more than 30 years until it was broken by another Wildcat offensive lineman, Sam Collins, who started all 46 games he played in from 2005-08.
One of the top offensive linemen in program history, Harrison twice won the school's Best Blocker Award (1973 and 1974) and helped lead the Wildcats to the 1973 NAIA Division I national championship. In his four seasons as a starter (1972-75), Harrison helped the Wildcats to a combined record of 27-16-1.
Harrison was a three-time honorable mention all-Lone Star Conference selection on the offensive line (2973-75), a three-time academic all-LSC selection (1973-75), and was a second team college division academic all-America selection. Harrison was later a first team offensive line selection on ACU's 1970s all-Decade Team.
After graduation in 1976 with a bachelor's in secondary education, Harrison earned his master's in school administration in 1977 with a perfect 4.0 grade point average. He then spent two years at Killeen High School where he coached football and track and field and taught biology and physical education. He returned to ACU as an assistant coach where he coached the offensive line. During his tenure as the offensive line coach, he mentored two Wildcats to first team all-America honors: Grant Feasel (1982) and Dan Remsberg (1984).
He left ACU after the 1985 season and returned to public education with the Abilene Wylie Independent School District where he would spend the rest of his career. He was the assistant principal at Wylie High School before becoming the assistant superintendent for technology and curriculum. In May 2000 he was named the district's superintendent, a job he held through the 2007-08 school year.
Mark Witherspoon (1980s)Mark Witherspoon was a key member of head coach Don Hood's NCAA Division II national championship teams in 1983, 1984 and 1985. Witherspoon won six national championships in his career (100 in 1985, 200 in 1984, 400 in 1984, 4x100 relay in 1984 and 4x400 relay in 1984 and 1985). He earned all-America honors at both the NCAA Division I and II levels at ACU.
He was primarily a quartermiler and relay runner in college, but found new success in the 60 meters indoors and the 100 and 200 outdoors after leaving ACU. He qualified for the 1992 U.S. Olympic team and also competed in the 1984 and 1988 U.S. Olympic Trials. He won the U.S. outdoor national championship in the 100 meters in 1987 with a personal record of 10.04 to make the U.S. national team for the Pan American Games and IAAF World Championships.
He won the bronze medal in the 60 meters at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in 1987. He was ranked No. 4 in the nation and No. 7 in the world in the 100 meters in 1987. He won a silver medal in the 60 meters (6.54) at the 1987 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Indianapolis, and in 1990 he won the bronze medal in the 100 meters (10.17) at the Goodwill Games in Seattle, Wash.
As a part of the famed Santa Monica Track Club, Witherspoon qualified for the 1992 U.S. Olympic Team that competed at the Summer games in Barcelona. Witherspoon finished second in his first-round heat (10.27) and then won his quarterfinal heat (10.19) before failing to finish his heat in the semifinals after suffering a ruptured Achilles' tendon. That injury likely cost him at least one gold medal (he was part of the United States' 4x100 relay team) and perhaps another medal in the 100 meters. He was inducted into the NCAA Division II Track and Field Hall of Fame in 2004.
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD WINNERS
Dr. David B. MerrellA member of the ACU faculty from 1966-2012, Dr. David Merrell devoted his life to ACU, serving in several capacities from 1966-2012. Dr. Merrell received a BA in English from Abilene Christian in 1964 and an MA in English from Arkansas in 1966. He went on to earn his PhD in English from Texas A&M.
Dr. Merrell spent four years as chairman of the ACU Department of English before becoming dean of the College of Liberal and Fine Arts in 1985. In 1984, Dr. Merrell was honored as Outstanding Teacher of the Year for the college. In addition to his teaching duties, Dr. Merrell also served as the head coach of the men's golf program from 1976-78. He also served as the director of curriculum and advising at ACU.
Dr. Merrell was selected in 1988 to serve as ACU's Faculty Athletic Representative to the NCAA and the LSC, and he faithfully served in that role until his retirement at the conclusion of the 2011-12 athletic year. He later served as vice president of the Lone Star Conference before being elected as president of the league in May 1995. He served a two-year term (1995-96 and 1996-97) representing the league's interests at NCAA meetings.
Lt. Col. (ret.) Tom D. Smith IIILt. Col. (ret.) Tom D. Smith III is the only former ACU student to earn a place on the United States Olympic team in a sport other than track and field. Smith competed in the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo as a member of the United States pistol shooting team.
However, one year earlier at the 1963 Pan American Games in Brazil, then-Capt. Smith set a world shooting record that will never be broken.Competing for the United States in the two-day pistol match, Smith was shooting on a course at targets the size of silver dollars and the second day at moving targets from a distance of 25 meters. He won the gold medal with a score a 597 out of a possible 600, besting the world record of 591 held at the time by a Russian. It was the first world shooting record set by a member of the United States Air Force and the first centerfire pistol world record set by an American.
In 1988, the size of the shooting targets were changed and Smith's world record set in the 1963 Pan American Games is now considered retired, never to be broken. The Colt 1911 semi-automatic pistol that Smith used in the Pan American Games to set the world record is now on display at the NRA's National Firearms Museum in Fairfax, Va.
From 1961-65, Smith won 36 individual state, regional, national and international pistol championships, breaking 79 National Rifle Association and world shooting records. He was a member of eight United States shooting teams in international competitions, including the 1963 Pan American Games where he won an individual and team gold medal and the 1964 Olympic Games, where he finished eighth in free pistol. He won five individual national shooting championships.
After leaving the Air Force in 1975, Smith began training Olympic shooters in 1986 and moved to Oklahoma City to be under the care of the late Dr. William Grana, an orthopedic surgeon.
In 1966, he was awarded the Airman's Medal for extraordinary heroism when he survived a 5,000-feet freefall from a plane into the snow then cared for the wounded in the plane wreckage for two days until they were found. Lt. Col. Smith was medically retired from the Air Force in 1975, but not before serving in the Vietnam War where he flew 128 combat missions as a fighter pilot. He is a member of the Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Association, nicknamed the River Rats, one of the most famous combat fighter pilot groups.
