BASKETBALL, TRACK & FIELD ALL-AMERICANS HEAD DUCKS’ HALL-OF-FAME INDUCTEES
05/29/17 | General
A former wrestling coach, women’s soccer standout and football defensive back round out school’s 2017 class.
EUGENE – One of the Ducks' top point guards of all time, a five-time NCAA pole vault champion, and a women's distance phenom who claimed All-America acclaim in three separate events headline a group of six standouts to be inducted into the University of Oregon's Athletics Hall of Fame as part of ceremonies surrounding the school's Sept. 30 home football game vs. California.
Adding to the list of honorees as part of the University's 26th Hall of Fame class is the most successful wrestling coach in school history and former Olympics head coach, Oregon's lone women's soccer conference player of the year, as well as a former NFL first-round draft choice.
Aaron Brooks (men's basketball, 2003-07), Mario Clark (football, 1972-75), Melody Fairchild (women track/cross country, 1991-96), Ron Finley (wrestling coach, 1970-98), Nicole Garbin Toeaina (women's soccer, 2001-06), and Tommy Skipper (track and field, 2003-07) will join the 197 elite individuals and 26 teams who previously have been selected as part of the Ducks' athletics showcase that originated in 1992.
To be eligible for induction into the Oregon Athletics Hall of Fame, which originated in 1992, former athletes, coaches, administrators and teams associated with the school's intercollegiate athletics success must have departed the University a minimum of 10 years.
The honorees will formally join the elite collection of 197 athletes and 26 teams previously selected as part of the school's athletics showcase at a Friday night (Sept. 29) dinner before being introduced during the next day's football game against the Golden Bears.
Brooks, a two-time team MVP and first-team all-conference selection, was the Ducks' only finalist for the John R. Wooden Award as the nation's top men's college basketball player within a 39-year span. The four-year starter was the first Oregon player to lead the conference in scoring in 16 years (17.7 avg.) his final season and graduated as one of only five players in school history to rank among the top-10 in career scoring (1,511 points), assists (471), and steals (127). The Seattle standout helped lead teams to NCAA Tournament berths in 2003 and 2007, with the Ducks falling to eventual national champion Florida in the regional finals as a senior. The collegiate All-American and first-round NBA draft pick just completed his 10th professional basketball season and his first with the Indiana Pacers.
Clark proved to be a beacon of light for teams that accumulated an 11-33 record in his four seasons as a collegian, becoming Oregon's first defensive back to start the season opener as a true freshman as well as the first newcomer to earn conference player-of-the-week accolades. By the time he was finished, the Pasadena, Calif., cornerback had accumulated 13 career interceptions en route to claiming first-team all-conference, all-coast, and honorable mention All-America acclaim. The 1976 Senior Bowl defensive player of the game and first-round NFL draft pick completed his nine-year professional football career by aiding San Francisco to the 1984 Super Bowl title.
One of the nation's premier prep distance runners of all time, Fairchild overcame an assortment of obstacles to claim the 1996 NCAA indoor 3,000-meter crown her final year. The Boulder, Colo., standout added All-America honors by finishing ninth in both the NCAA cross country championships and outdoor NCAA 10,000 meet as a senior, and remained sixth on the Ducks' all-time outdoor 10,000-meter chart two decades later. She completed her Oregon tenure ranked among the school's all-time top-six at 3,000 (9:07.25), 5,000 (15:53.56), and 10,000 meters (33:18.19).
Finley completed his Oregon coaching career tops in all-time wins (311), single-season victories (22, 1980-81) and dual-meet winning percentage (.923, 1989-90) during a tenure than spanned longer than all but two coaches (Bill Hayward and Bill Dellinger) in school history. The two-time conference coach of the year helped shape the careers of 22 Oregon All-Americans, 44 conference champions, and a trio of Olympians while being inducted into the state of Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 1982. A 1961 NCAA wrestling runner-up at Oregon State and 1964 Olympian, the Newberg native succumbed to a battle with cancer in July 2016.
Few individuals have played a more dominating role at Oregon than Garbin Toeaina, with the 2006 Pac-10 Conference women's soccer player of the year and three-time all-league honoree shattering the school record in career game-winning goals (22) while posting three of the top six marks in single-season game-winning goals (including the school-record nine game-winning shots in 2006). The Ducks' three-time offensive MVP and Wailuku, Hawaii native also set single-game school records in assists (8, 2003), as well as all-time goals (34) and shots (257).
Remaining as the Ducks' pole vault school record-holder (19-0.25), Skipper's five NCAA track & field championships ties him for second for most individual collegiate crowns in one sport in school history. The six-time All-American and conference outdoor record-holder captured four league titles, including the Pac-10 decathlon championship as a freshman in 2004. The Sandy, Ore., standout first set the Oregon pole vault school record in his initial indoor season (18-8.75) while posting his best national showing by tying for third in the USA Outdoor Championships (18-4.5) in 2006.
For information regarding the purchase of tickets to the induction ceremonies, please inquire at hohensee@uoregon.edu.
-- www.GoDucks.com --
Adding to the list of honorees as part of the University's 26th Hall of Fame class is the most successful wrestling coach in school history and former Olympics head coach, Oregon's lone women's soccer conference player of the year, as well as a former NFL first-round draft choice.
Aaron Brooks (men's basketball, 2003-07), Mario Clark (football, 1972-75), Melody Fairchild (women track/cross country, 1991-96), Ron Finley (wrestling coach, 1970-98), Nicole Garbin Toeaina (women's soccer, 2001-06), and Tommy Skipper (track and field, 2003-07) will join the 197 elite individuals and 26 teams who previously have been selected as part of the Ducks' athletics showcase that originated in 1992.
To be eligible for induction into the Oregon Athletics Hall of Fame, which originated in 1992, former athletes, coaches, administrators and teams associated with the school's intercollegiate athletics success must have departed the University a minimum of 10 years.
The honorees will formally join the elite collection of 197 athletes and 26 teams previously selected as part of the school's athletics showcase at a Friday night (Sept. 29) dinner before being introduced during the next day's football game against the Golden Bears.
Brooks, a two-time team MVP and first-team all-conference selection, was the Ducks' only finalist for the John R. Wooden Award as the nation's top men's college basketball player within a 39-year span. The four-year starter was the first Oregon player to lead the conference in scoring in 16 years (17.7 avg.) his final season and graduated as one of only five players in school history to rank among the top-10 in career scoring (1,511 points), assists (471), and steals (127). The Seattle standout helped lead teams to NCAA Tournament berths in 2003 and 2007, with the Ducks falling to eventual national champion Florida in the regional finals as a senior. The collegiate All-American and first-round NBA draft pick just completed his 10th professional basketball season and his first with the Indiana Pacers.
Clark proved to be a beacon of light for teams that accumulated an 11-33 record in his four seasons as a collegian, becoming Oregon's first defensive back to start the season opener as a true freshman as well as the first newcomer to earn conference player-of-the-week accolades. By the time he was finished, the Pasadena, Calif., cornerback had accumulated 13 career interceptions en route to claiming first-team all-conference, all-coast, and honorable mention All-America acclaim. The 1976 Senior Bowl defensive player of the game and first-round NFL draft pick completed his nine-year professional football career by aiding San Francisco to the 1984 Super Bowl title.
One of the nation's premier prep distance runners of all time, Fairchild overcame an assortment of obstacles to claim the 1996 NCAA indoor 3,000-meter crown her final year. The Boulder, Colo., standout added All-America honors by finishing ninth in both the NCAA cross country championships and outdoor NCAA 10,000 meet as a senior, and remained sixth on the Ducks' all-time outdoor 10,000-meter chart two decades later. She completed her Oregon tenure ranked among the school's all-time top-six at 3,000 (9:07.25), 5,000 (15:53.56), and 10,000 meters (33:18.19).
Finley completed his Oregon coaching career tops in all-time wins (311), single-season victories (22, 1980-81) and dual-meet winning percentage (.923, 1989-90) during a tenure than spanned longer than all but two coaches (Bill Hayward and Bill Dellinger) in school history. The two-time conference coach of the year helped shape the careers of 22 Oregon All-Americans, 44 conference champions, and a trio of Olympians while being inducted into the state of Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 1982. A 1961 NCAA wrestling runner-up at Oregon State and 1964 Olympian, the Newberg native succumbed to a battle with cancer in July 2016.
Few individuals have played a more dominating role at Oregon than Garbin Toeaina, with the 2006 Pac-10 Conference women's soccer player of the year and three-time all-league honoree shattering the school record in career game-winning goals (22) while posting three of the top six marks in single-season game-winning goals (including the school-record nine game-winning shots in 2006). The Ducks' three-time offensive MVP and Wailuku, Hawaii native also set single-game school records in assists (8, 2003), as well as all-time goals (34) and shots (257).
Remaining as the Ducks' pole vault school record-holder (19-0.25), Skipper's five NCAA track & field championships ties him for second for most individual collegiate crowns in one sport in school history. The six-time All-American and conference outdoor record-holder captured four league titles, including the Pac-10 decathlon championship as a freshman in 2004. The Sandy, Ore., standout first set the Oregon pole vault school record in his initial indoor season (18-8.75) while posting his best national showing by tying for third in the USA Outdoor Championships (18-4.5) in 2006.
For information regarding the purchase of tickets to the induction ceremonies, please inquire at hohensee@uoregon.edu.
-- www.GoDucks.com --
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