PITTSBURG — Pittsburg State University is pleased to announce its 2016 induction class into the Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame. The group – comprised of seven former stand-out athletes and one team – will be formally inducted during ceremonies on campus in October.
PSU's Class of 2016 is headlined by a cast of decorated athletes:
Jermaine Carpenter (2003-06), a nine-time All-American in track & field as well as an All-American wide receiver on Pitt State's 2004 NCAA Division II National Runner-Up squad;
Andy Poling (1996-99), a two-time All-American defensive back for the Gorillas;
Germaine Race (2003-06), the two-time MIAA Offensive Player of the Year and the NCAA rushing (6985 yards) and touchdowns (107) record holder; and
Walter Smith (1965-68), a two-time All-American half miler who still holds the school record in the discipline.
David Kendall, Jr., who spent more than 30 years as an athletic trainer in the Kansas City Chiefs organization, also has been inducted for Meritorious Achievement.
Additionally, the
1955-56 Pitt State men's basketball team, which posted a school record 27-2 record and finished third in the 32-team NAIA National Tournament at Kansas City, Mo., will be enshrined in the PSU Athletics Hall of Fame.
Larry Basky (1963-65), who became just the second football player in school history to earn All-America honors on two occasions, and
Chuck Sturdevant (1961-62), a All-American member of the 1961 NAIA National Champion football team and a member of Pitt State's first baseball team, will be inducted in the Hall of Fame's "Legacy" category.
The Legacy category, created in 2005, focuses solely on individuals who completed their athletic eligibility 50 years from the current calendar year in an attempt to bolster the school's rich heritage from earlier years.
"Once again PSU Athletics is blessed with the opportunity to pay tribute to a handful of elite individuals representing the proud history and tradition of Gorilla intercollegiate athletics," said Dan Wilkes, associate athletic director and chair of the PSU Athletics Hall of Fame Committee. "We are tremendously proud of this group that comprises the Class of 2016 and eager to appropriately honor them next fall.
"Last spring, the Hall of Fame Committee recommended changes to the Team category expanding its criteria beyond national champion status; and the PSU administration embraced those changes. There have been many outstanding teams from all our sports over the years that may not have captured a national championship but otherwise received elite acclaim worthy of being enshrined in the Hall of Fame. On the 60
th anniversary of the 1955-56 men's basketball team's historic national semifinal run it's very fitting that the Hall of Fame welcomes and embraces that fantastic Gorilla team."
2016 Hall of Fame Inductee Profiles
Jermaine Carpenter, Football/Track & Field Athlete, 2003-06 (BS, 2006)
~ Nine-time NCAA-II All-American: long jump, 2004-05 (4th, 24-0.75, '04; 6th, 24-4.5, '05); 60m (6th, '05, 6.83); 100m, 2006 (2nd, 10.25, 06); 200m, 2005-06 (4th, 21.69, '05-indoors; 2nd, 21.14, '05-outdoors; 4th, 21.01, '06-outdoors); 400m Relay (5th, 40.33, '06)
~ Nine-Time MIAA Champion: 60m, '04-05; long jump (indoors), '04; long jump (outdoors), '03-04, '06; 100m, '04-06;
~ 21-time All-MIAA performer in sprints/relays
~ Set the PSU records in the 60m (6.77) & 100m (10.25)
~ Also a 3rd-Team All-American Wide Receiver in football as a senior in 2004; two-time All-MIAA (HM, WR, '03-04)
~ Caught 69 passes for 1,671 yards and 23 TDs (2003-04), ranking 3rd in career yards
Andy Poling, Football Athlete, 1996-99 (BS, 2001)
~ NCAA-II All-American, 1998-99 (1st, DB, A.P./AFCA/Daktronics/ FB Gazette, 1999; H.M., FB Gazette, 1998)
~ MIAA All-Conference, 1996-99 (1st, DB, 1997-99; H.M., DB, 1996)
~ MIAA Freshman of the Year, 1996
~ Recorded 359 career tackles – fourth on all-time tackle chart at time
~ Voted to the Pitt State 100th Anniversary Football Team in 2003
Germaine Race, Football Athlete, 2003-06 (BA, 2011)
~ NCAA-II All-American, 2004-06 (1st, RB, '04-06)
~ MIAA All-Conference, 2003-06 (1st, RB, '04-06; 2nd, RB, '03)
~ MIAA Offensive Player of the Year, '05-06
~ Finished 3rd in balloting for the 2006 Harlon Hill Trophy
~ Rushed for NCAA Division II record 6985 yards and scored an NCAA all-division record 107 TDs
~ Ranks 2nd (2213 yds, '04), 3rd (1944 yds, '06) & 4th (1846 yds, '05) on PSU single-season rushing chart
Walter Smith, Track & Field Athlete, 1965-68 (BS, 1969)
~ NAIA All-American: 880 yards, indoors (5th, 1:58.7, 1968)
~ CSIC All-Conference: 880 yards (3rd, '66; 1st, '68)
~ His converted 800 meter time (1:50.64) stands today still as the Pitt State record
~ Also a member of PSU's school record holding sprint medley relay team (3:22.19)
David Kendall, Jr., Meritorious Achievement (BSED, 1977)
~ Served as a student trainer at PSU under Al Ortolani
~ Spent more than 30 years as a trainer in the K.C. Chiefs organization
~ Appointed Chiefs' Head Athletic Trainer in 1984
~ Named to Missouri Sports Medicine Hall of Fame (2005)
1955-56 Pitt State Men's Basketball Team
~ Posted a school record 27 victories and finished third in the 32-team NAIA National Tournament at Kansas City, Mo.
~ Captured the CIC title and won its first 20 games during a 27-2 campaign
~ Defeated Wheaton (Ill.) in national consolation game on 3-17-56, a day after falling to eventual national champion McNeese State, 78-72
Legacy Category
Larry Basky, Football Athlete, 1963-65 (BFA, 1966)
~ NAIA All-American, 1963, '65 (H.M., DG, '63; H.M., OC, '65)
~ CIC All-Conference, 1963-65 (1st, OC, '64-65; 2nd, DG, '63)
~ 2nd Player in PSU History to earn All-America Honors Twice
Chuck Sturdevant, Football Athlete, 1961-62 (BA, 1964)
~ NAIA All-American, 1961 (H.M., DB)
~ Recorded eight tackles & one INT in Camellia Bowl in '61
~ Baseball squad member, 1962-63
2016 Hall of Fame Ceremonies
Pittsburg State's 29
th class of inductees will be honored at a special Hall of Fame Induction Banquet at 6 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 21, in the Crimson & Gold Ballroom of the Overman Student Center on campus.
The group also will be honored at halftime of the Gorillas' football game against Emporia State the next day (Oct. 22).
