|
September 25, 2009
MSSU To Induct Five
Into 2009
Athletics Hall of Fame Class The newest class will be present at an alumni reception on Friday night before speaking at the alumni brunch and participating in the Homecoming parade on Saturday. Then they will be introduced, honored and officially inducted into the Hall of Fame at halftime of the Homecoming football game during the afternoon.
Stephen Crane
(Baseball), Jennifer Jimerson (Softball), Cedric Florence (Football),
Sonia (Blacketer) Eudy (Cross Country/Track and Field), and Marvin (Red)
O'Dell (Baseball) will become the 26th class to be inducted into the
MSSU Athletics Hall of Fame.
Stephen Crane He ranks second all-time in career hits (247), at bats (733) and doubles (52), while ranking fifth in runs (198), sixth in stolen bases (49), and seventh in both RBIs (149) and sacrifice hits (15). He has a career batting average of .337, with an on base percentage of .436. His freshman season was one of the best on record for a first-year Lion as he hit .314 with 59 runs, 41 RBIs, 14 doubles a triple and went 26-30 on the basepaths. The 26 stolen bases rank seventh all-time in a single season at Southern. Crane graduated from Southern in 1998 with a degree in Marketing and is employed by Boyd Metals in Joplin. He has a wife, Stephanie, and the couple have three daughters, Sage, Sophia and Savannah. .
Jennifer Jimerson She is arguably one of the best hitters to ever wear a Missouri Southern uniform. Jimerson ranks in the top three of seven different career hitting categories at Southern including first in triples (31), second in runs (130), hits (218), RBI's (131) and walks (56), while ranking third in both doubles (49) and career batting average (.390). Her walks total was a school record until this past season when Angie Turner pushed past with 58 career free-passes. She is the single-season leader in triples with 15 in 1998, while ranking second in runs scored, triples and batting average. She is also tied for the record for triples in a game with two. A four-time, first-team All-MIAA selection, Jimerson was the 1995 MIAA Freshman of the Year and led the MIAA in hitting (.451), slugging (.831), triples (15) and on-base percentage (.509) during her senior season of 1998. She was a third team All-American, as well as a third team Academic All-American in 1998. Jimerson was not only a player for the Lions, but was also a head coach, guiding the Lions from 2003-05. A 1999 graduate of Southern with a degree in physical education, Jimerson earned a masters degree from Pittsburg State. A native of Gardner, Kansas, she currently works as a field training instructor with the Olathe (Kan.) Police Department.
Sonia (Blacketer)
Eudy The MIAA cross country runner-up as a sophomore in 1996, Eudy was the MIAA Champion in 1997 and 1998, helping the Lions to their first-ever team title in 1998. She was an All-Region selection in 1996-98, and earned All-American status in 1996-98 with a second-place individual finish at the NCAA Championships in 1998. She went on to be an All-American in the outdoor 10k in 1998, and was named the Missouri Southern Female Athlete of the Year in that same year. The current MSSU record holder in the women's 5k for cross country, Eudy was the indoor and outdoor 5k, as well as the outdoor 10k record holder up until this past season. After graduating from Southern in 2000 with a degree in general studies, Eudy went on to teach and coach cross country in the Mesquite, Texas school district. She has been an elementary school teacher in the Forney, Texas school system since 2004. She is married to Robert Eudy, a former Southern football player. The couple have three children, Hailey, Donavan and Lexus and reside in Forney, Texas.
Cedric Florence His 11 career interceptions rank in the top ten all-time at Southern, and his seven interceptions in the Lions' championship season of 1993 rank sixth all-time. Florence served-double duty in 1992 when he was the Lions' leading receiver as well, stepping up when Rod Smith went down with a knee injury. He led the team with 23 receptions for 355 yards and five touchdowns. He averaged 15.4 yards per catch. That season he was sixth on the team in tackles with 44, including 31 unassisted. He had three interceptions and four pass break ups. Florence graduated with a degree in economics and finance in 1996 and works with AT&T in Arlington, Texas.
Marvin (Red)
O'Dell O'Dell holds the record for most walks in a season with 83 free passes in 1979 and his on base percentage of .557 that season is fourth all-time. He twice stole three bases in a game which is third all time and led the team with 30 stolen bases in 1979 which is third all-time. He ranks fifth all-time in career stolen bases with 53 and led the team with 52 runs scored in 1979. A defensive standout, O'Dell made only three errors in three years in center field for the Lions. Red graduated from Southern in 1980 with a degree in Physical Education and was later selected to play on an NAIA All-Star team that toured the Far East and played US Army baseball teams. He went on to teach in both the Carthage and Kansas City school districts, as well as Cotulla, Texas. O'Dell has also worked in parks and recreation, as well as serving as a course superintendent and greens keeper at Center Creek Golf Course near Sarcoxie.
O'Dell is currently
self-employed and resides in Carthage. The Missouri Southern Athletics Hall of Fame was established to pay tribute, to give deserved recognition and to enhance school tradition by honoring former athletic letter winners and/or coaches who have shown distinctive, unique or exceptional ability while on campus of the school or since graduation. The honorees must be graduates of Missouri Southern and there must have been a lapse of at least 10 years since the individual last participated in athletics at Southern. With the addition of the 2009 class, the MSSU Athletics Hall of Fame now includes 90 members and two teams. |
|