The Mid-American Conference will honor the 50th anniversary of the passage of Title IX with various programming throughout the 2022 calendar year. The year-long commemoration will highlight the passage of Title IX and what it has meant on a national scale, while celebrating and highlighting the success of women’s athletics within the MAC.
Throughout the year, the Conference will honor the top 50 female student-athletes in MAC history via its social media platforms and website.
Tami Johnston-Summers, Toledo, Softball (1984-87)
Tami Johnston was a dominating force on the mound throughout her career and was the main reason for Toledo’s emergence as a MAC softball power. She was a first-team All-MAC selection in 1985, 1986 and 1987, and was named Mideast All-Region in 1985. She played in an era before the league had individual awards but she would have been a strong candidate for Pitcher of the Year in all three of those seasons. Johnston led the Rockets to a MAC regular-season title in 1985, and second-place finishes in 1986 and 1987. Johnston set the then-MAC record for strikeouts with 279 in 1985, while shutting out 20 teams, MAC record that still stands to this day. Her ERA of 0.21 in 1985 is the third-best in league history. In 1986, she chalked up 239 strikeouts with an ERA of 0.62, the ninth-lowest in MAC history. Johnston holds the MAC record for lowest career ERA (0.57) and ranks second in career shutouts with 43. Her 71 career wins ranks No. 9 on the all-time MAC list while her 842 strikeouts ranks sixth and her won-lost percentage of .703 is fourth.
Paula Portugal, Miami, Field Hockey (2015-18)
Paula Portugal was a force to be reckoned with during her time in Oxford for the RedHawks. She had a monstrous senior year that showed her being named All-American First Team, Regional Player of the Year, and All-Region First Team by the NFHCA, as well as National Offensive Player of the Year and All-American First Team by Synapse Sports. On top of that, she earned MAC Offensive Player of the Year and All-MAC First Team honors and was a Honda Award finalist. Additionally, she ended the season tied for seventh in the nation in goals per game (1.04) and ranked 11
th in the nation in points per game (2.30). She finished her career as a two-time MAC Champion, two-time NFHCA All-American, two-time MAC Offensive Player of the Year, four-time First Team All-MAC member. She was also named MAC Freshman of the Year in 2015 and finished her Miami career ranked second in program history in goals (73) and points (171) and tied for fourth in assists (25).
Ashley Tutt, Northern Illinois, Cross Country/Track & Field (2017-21)
Ashley Tutt is the most decorated runner in NIU history, having rewritten the school record book in distance events. The school record holder in the indoor 3,000 and 5,000 meters, as well as the outdoor 5,000 and 10,000 meters, Tutt earned All-America honors at the 2021 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in the 5,000 meters. An eight-time MAC Champion, Tutt won her first conference crown in the 2019 cross country championship, becoming the first Huskie to win the event. That same season, the Channahon, Ill., native also won the 3,000 and 5,000 meters at the 2020 MAC Indoor Track and Field Championships.
During the 2020-21 campaign, Tutt helped the Huskies to a pair of team titles as NIU won the 2020 MAC Cross Country title and the 2021 MAC Indoor Track and Field championship, both were firsts in program history. Individually, Tutt also won the mile, 3,000 and 5,000 meters at the 2021 MAC IndoorChampionship and then added the 5,000-and 10,000-metercrowns at the 2021 MAC Outdoor Championship. Tutt was a two-time NCAA Cross Country Championship qualifier (2019 and 2020-21) and also qualified for the 5,000 meters at the 2021 NCAA Indoor Championship, where she earned All-America honors, as well as the 10,000 meters at the 2021 NCAA Outdoor Championship.
Danniel Thomas-Dodd, Kent State, Track & Field (2013-2017)
Danniel Thomas-Dodd is one of the most successful student-athletes in Kent State history. In 2016, she became the eighth Golden Flash to compete in the Olympics, as she represented Jamaica in the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics. Thomas competed in the shot put, finishing 25th with a mark of 16.99m (55' 9").
She owns the Jamaican National record for the indoor women's shot put at 18.32m (2017), as well as the best mark in Kent State history in the indoor shot put (60’ 1.25”), outdoor shot put (58’ 3.25”), and outdoor discus (194’ 10”). She finished as the 2017 NCAA indoor shot put runner-up, as well as a First Team All-American, MAC Shot Put champion, and USTFCCCA Great Lakes Region Women's Field Athlete of the Year on top of MAC Women's Field Athlete of the Year honors.
For her career, Thomas-Dodd finished as a nine-time MAC Champion, two-time MAC's Women's Most Valuable Field Performer, two-time USTFCCCA Great Lakes Region Women's Field Athlete of the Year, four-time All-American, and three-time First Team All-MAC selection.
Laurie Byrd, Eastern Michigan, Basketball (1981-84)
Prolific scorer while at EMU remained the program's all-time leading scorer for 29 seasons (1,899) before being passed by Tavelyn James (2008-12). She is the only player in the program's history to lead her team in scoring and assists in each season in which she competed. Additionally, Byrd still holds the EMU career record for scoring average (19.2 ppg) and is second in field goals made (854). She went on to play professional basketball in Switzerland, Sweden, Italy, and Spain as well as one year in the WNBA in the United States. Additionally, she was named the Most Valuable Player of the Suisse Cup as a member of the championship team in Switzerland in 1985-86, selected Most Valuable Player in Sweden in1987-88, and inducted into the AAU Hall of Fame in 1993.She played in the WBL, WBA and ABL U.S. professional women's basketball leagues, and was Inducted into the Greater Flint Afro-American Hall of Fame.
Carol Owens, Northern Illinois, Basketball (1985-90)
Carol Owens is the first NIU basketball player, male or female, to have 2,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds. Owens earned three First-Team All-Northern Star Conference selection and was named the Player of the Year in 1990. As a senior, Owens averaged 21.7 points and 9.2 rebounds per game in leading NIU to its first NCAA Tournament and a #17 ranking in the final AP poll and #21 in the USA Today poll. The Huskies were the highest-scoring offense in the country that season, averaging over 94 points per game. She was a two-time Kodak All-American and was named a USBWA All-American in 1990. Owens is in the top-five all-time at NIU in points (2,102), rebounds (1,028), steals (256), and blocks (244). She is also one of only three players in NIU women’s basketball to have a triple-double in a game.
Shelly Hamilton, Buffalo, Track & Field (1995-99)
UB high jumper Shelly Hamilton was one of the top eight American finishers at the 1998 NCAA Track & Field National Championships, thus earning All-American honors and becoming the first UB student-athlete named an All-American, in any sport, at the Division I level.
After clearing the opening height of 5'8" (1.73m) on her third attempt, Hamilton advanced to the second round of the competition with the bar set at 5'9' ¾" (1.77m). In front of a crowd of UB coaches, athletes and fans, Hamilton successfully cleared that height again on her third try to resounding applause. The next round saw the bar set at 5'11 ¾" (1.81m). Despite the support of fans and friends, Hamilton was unable to clear the height in her third and final attempt. However, her performance was good enough to earn All-American honors.
Hamilton entered the meet as the first female athlete from the University at Buffalo invited to compete in a NCAA Division I Championship of any kind after qualifying at the Kent Open with a then school- and Mid-Continent Conference-record jump of 5'10 ¾" (1.80m).
Presley Hudson, Central Michigan, Basketball (2015-19)
Presley Hudson is the Chippewas' all-time leading scorer and the leader of some of the best teams in program history. Hudson was a four-time All-Mid-American Conference selection who scored a CMU-record 2,309 career points. A point guard, she led the Chippewas to four-consecutive MAC regular-season titles from 2016-20 and the MAC Tournament title in 2018. Hudson and the Chippewas advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament in 2018.
Hudson was named Freshman of the Year, as well as Second Team All-MAC, following the 2015-16 season, and earned First Team All-MAC honors each of the three following seasons. She won the NCAA statistical championship for free throw percentage in 2018-19, sinking 92.5 percent of her attempts from the line. Hudson was the 2019 State Farm College Slam Three-Point Contest Champion, and sits as one of just six individuals in NCAA Division I history with 400+ career made three-pointers. She played one year professionally in Europe and spent the 2020-21 season as an assistant under coach Shane Clipfell at Western Michigan before returning to her alma mater as an assistant coach in 2021.
Lauren Prochaska, Bowling Green, Basketball (2007-11)
Lauren Prochaska set the BGSU career scoring record, with 2,290 points for the women's basketball Falcons. The MAC Freshman of the Year in 2007-08, she was named to the All-MAC Second Team that season before earning All-MAC First-Team honors in each of the last three years.
Prochaska was twice named the MAC Player of the Year, and also was named the MAC Tournament MVP on two occasions as well. In addition to scoring, she finished her career as the BGSU leader in free throws made and attempts, free-throw percentage (90.6%), three-point field goals made (310), games started (135) and consecutive games started (also 135). She ended her career ranked second in MAC history in three-pointers made and third on the conference career scoring list.
Prochaska was named to the All-Anderson Team while she was still a student-athlete at BGSU. She led the nation in free-throw pct. (93.3%) as a sophomore, and set an NCAA record by sinking 70 consecutive free throws during her senior season.
During her four years at BGSU, she helped the Falcons to an overall record of 110-25, including a 55-9 MAC ledger. BGSU won four MAC East Division titles (with the MAC's best overall record in three of those years) and two league tournament titles, with two NCAA Tournament and two WNIT appearances in that time.
In January of 2022, it was announced that Prochaska will be inducted into the BGSU Athletics Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2022.
LaTasha Jenkins, Track, Ball State (1996-99)
LaTasha Jenkins won the 1999 NCAA National Championship in the 200-meter dash after posting a time of 22.29 seconds – the fourth fastest 200 time ever by a collegiate student-athlete in track and field history. She won four straight MAC titles in the 200 in her career, and finished runner up in the event at the 1998 NCAA National Championships. A four-time All-American in the 200, Jenkins was only the second female student-athlete in MAC history to win a single event four straight times. After completing her collegiate career, Jenkins was the silver medalist at the 2001 World Indoor in the 200 and won the 2001 U.S. Indoor 200 Championship. She placed second at the 1999 and 2001 U.S. Outdoor Championships in the 200. Jenkins was the leadoff runner for the 4x200 U.S. Relay Team at the USA vs. The World event at the 2000 Penn Relays, and helped the U.S. Team set a world record with a time of 1:27.46.
Kay Piper, Akron, Volleyball/Softball (1981-85)
A three-time All-Ohio Valley Conference selection in the fall and a three-time All-American shortstop in the spring, Piper had her work cut out for her during some of the most successful seasons in the history of both programs. Her No. 23 jersey is only the second to be retired by the Akron softball program, alongside former teammate and the No. 10 Female Athlete of all time, Dani Vance Crookston. Piper led the softball team to back-to-back NCAA Division II National Championship berths in 1984 and '85, just four years after the Zips began to compete in fastpitch.
Over the course of that journey, Piper earned NCAA Division II Mid-Atlantic First Team All-Region honors three times, and set records that still hold strong in the program's books today. She holds the top spot in five different categories: career batting average (.398), career runs scored (140), career hits (236), career doubles (48) and career triples (35). Piper also maintains the school record for most RBI in a single game with seven.
As a volleyball player, she ranks in the top-10 in kills per set for a single season. During her four years, the team compiled 113 wins, including the program's second-highest win total in a season when the Zips went 47-18 in 1983. In 1982, Piper received the Caroline J. Pardee Award, which recognizes the UA Female Athlete of the Year, and in 1994 she was inducted into the Varsity "A" Hall of Fame.
Carrie Moore, Basketball, Western Michigan (2003-2007)
Carrie Moore is undeniably one of, if not the, best women's basketball players in school, and conference, history. She still holds the program record for career points, scoring 2,224 points in 120 games. Along with that, Moore was the 2006-07 MAC Co-Player of the Year, a 2007 Kodak All-American, and three-time First Team All-MAC selection. She also led all Division 1 players in scoring during the 2006-07 season, averaging 25.4 points per game. Additionally, Moore was a member of the All-MAC Freshman Team in 2003, helping to lead the Broncos to a MAC Tournament Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance.
Juli Accurso, Track & XC, Ohio (2010-14)
A four-time All-American, Accurso is the first three-time Mid-American Cross Country Champion in league history. USTFCCCA named her the 2013 Great Lakes Region Cross Country Runner of the Year and set the school record at the 2013 NCAA Great Lakes Regional, winning the event in 20:00. At the 2013 NCAA Cross Country Championships she placed 19th with a time of 20:14.40.
During the 2014 outdoor season, Accurso won the 5000m and 10000m runs at the MAC Outdoor Championships. Her time in the 10K (34:32.56) set a new meet record and helped the senior earn the Most Outstanding Track Performer honor at the annual league meet. During the 2014 outdoor campaign, Accurso set a new school record in the 5K (15:59.12) while qualifying for NCAA East Regional action at the Payton Jordan Invitational.
Accurso was a seven-time, First Team All-MAC honoree. A six-time Academic All-MAC pick, Accurso was named to the USTFCCCA Cross Country All-Academic Team in 2012. She was also a 2014 Academic All-American.
Kim Knuth-Klaer, Toledo, Basketball (1995-99)
Kim Knuth is considered by many observers to be the greatest women's basketball player in UT history and one of the best ever in the Mid-American Conference. Knuth was a two-time MAC Player of the Year (1997-98 and 1998-99), a three-time first-team All-MAC selection and the MAC Tournament MVP in 1999. She is the MAC's all-time leading scorer with 2,509 points, and helped lead the Rockets to three NCAA Tournament appearances (1996, 1997 and 1999) and three MAC titles, as well as one WNIT appearance in 1998.
Knuth was named honorable mention All-America by AP as a senior in 1998-99. Knuth was also named Academic All-America in 1997-98 and was a three-time Academic All-MAC selection. She is Toledo's all-time leading scorer (2,509 points), and led the team in scoring as a sophomore (20.4), junior (22.0) and senior (25.4). She is the MAC’s career leader in steals with 368, and ranks third in MAC history in three-point field goal percentage (42.6%). In the Toledo record books she still ranks first in three-point field goal percentage (42.6%), first in steals (368), third in free throw percentage (82.3%), fifth in field goal percentage (54.6%), seventh in assists (484), 10
th in three-pointers (163) and 11th in rebounds (779).
Tish Bucher, Miami, Swimming & Diving (1981-84)
Patricia ‘Tish’ Bucher is regarded as one of the greatest female athletes to ever compete for Miami University. Bucher is the only MAC female swimmer to ever win the MAC Most Outstanding Swimmer for four consecutive years from 1981-84. Bucher holds the all-time MAC record for most individual titles in one championship meet with five during the 1982 MAC Championship.
Throughout her career she secured 17 individual MAC Championships and including relays for a total of 21 MAC Championships. Bucher collected 24 titles between the MAC and the Ohio Association of Intercollegiate Sports for Women (OAISW) Championships. She was also a three-time qualifier for either the NCAA or Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) Championships.
A native of Potomac, Md., Bucher was recognized as the Miami Athlete of the Decade during the 1992 Mid-American Conference Women’s 10th Anniversary Awards. Bucher was also recognized as the Miami Athlete of the Year in 1984.
Bucher competed at Miami University from 1981-84 and graduated in 1984.
Rachel Miller, Kent State, Field Hockey (2006-10)
Rachel Miller is the only the only three-time All-American in Kent State field hockey history, including first team honors in 2010. A two-time MAC Player of the Year, she was a four-time all-conference first team selection and earned all-region first team honors in all four seasons. Miller led the Flashes to three MAC regular season titles and two NCAA appearances.
Natalie Hashimoto, Eastern Michigan, Gymnastics (2000-03)
Natalie Hashimoto finished her career very well-decorated, winning MAC Freshman of the Year (2000), MAC Gymnast of the Year twice (2001 and 2002), and MAC Senior Gymnast of the Year (2003). She was also a member of the 2000-2002 MAC All-Tournament Teams, 2002 Co-MAC Floor Champion (9.900), 2003 Academic All - MAC, and a 4x NCA A Regional Individual Qualifier (2000-2003) in all-around.
She currently holds the EMU record on beam and vault, having scored the only two perfect 10’s in program history. Additionally, she is tied for the highest floor and bars scores in program history, scoring 9.95 0 on both, and broke the record for best all - around score in program history in 2000, earning 39.725. Hashimoto also owns the top seven scores in program history for vault.
Jackie Hall, Buffalo, Soccer (2011-15)
Jackie Hall had a fantastic career at Buffalo, highlighted by a historic junior campaign in which she was named the Mid-American Conference Defensive Player of the Year and first team All-MAC after leading a UB back line that recorded a program-record 14 shutouts. Hall scored a pair of goals in the MAC Tournament, including the game-winner in the 82nd minute in the MAC Championship game against Western Michigan, to send UB to its first-ever NCAA Tournament. Following the season, Hall became the program’s first All-American, earning third team honors by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. In 2015 she was selected as a candidate for the Senior Class Award, given to an NCAA Division I senior and who has notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. She also earned All-MAC First Team honors for the second straight season and was named to the NSCAA All-Region Team.
Linda Popovich-Nicastro, Bowling Green, Volleyball (1986-89)
Linda Popovich-Nicastro is one of the best student-athletes to ever attend BGSU.
On the court, as a setter, she was a three time All-MAC selection, one of only three players in school history to earn league honors three times; the MAC Freshman of the Year in 1986, the MAC Player of the Year in 1989, and along with Tammy Schiller, the first Falcon player ever to earn All-Mideast honors (second team, 1989).
Nicastro, a Battle Creek, Mich. native, also established BG career records for assists (4406, also a MAC record at the time), digs (1246, also a MAC record at the time), and aces (190, still stands).
Nicastro never missed a match in her four year career at BGSU. She was awarded the prestigious NCAA Walter Byers Postgraduate Scholarship in 1990 -- the second year that it was awarded.
Linda (Popovich) Nicastro was inducted to the BGSU Athletic Hall of Fame in 1995.
Jen Brown Mascari, Ball State, Field Hockey, 1994-97
Jen Brown Mascari capped off her Ball State field hockey career by receiving the 1997-98 Woody Hayes National Female Scholar-Athlete Award, which is selected from all female NCAA Division I student-athletes in all sports. She was part of a class which helped Ball State to a four-year 70-19-2 overall mark, a 45-0 record against Mid-American Conference opponents, four MAC Championships, and three berths in the NCAA Tournament, including two Final Eight appearances. Brown Mascari was a 1997 All-American and a 1996 and 1997 Academic All-American. In addition, she was named to the All-America Second Team in 1995 and 1996. The1996 MAC Player of the Year, she finished her career first all time in scoring at BSU
Caroline Mullen-Kearny, Western Michigan, Track/XC (1986-89)
Caroline Mullen-Kearney competed in both women’s track and field and cross country at Western Michigan from 1986 to 1990 and she was named an All-American in both track & field in 1987 and cross country in 1986. Mullen-Kearney graduated from Western Michigan in 1990 with a degree in social work. She was named Western Michigan’s top female Senior Scholarship Athlete in 1987 and 1990 and was named to the All-MAC Academic Teams in 1988 and 1990.
Mullen-Kearney placed third (17:09) at the 1986 NCAA Cross Country Championships and fourth in the 5,000 meter (15:56.30) at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. She also took fourth at the 1987 NCAA Outdoor Championships, posting the fastest time ever by a MAC runner.
Mullen-Kearney won Conference Championships in the 3,000 meter (1987) and 5,000 meter (1987, 1989), and is the only Western Michigan female to have captured three MAC Cross Country titles. She was the 1987 Penn Relays 5,000-meter champion and holds the school indoor records in the 3,000 meter (9:26.35) and two-mile (10:13.20). She holds school outdoor records in the 1,500 meter (4:24.06), 3,000 meter (9:20.39) and 5,000 meter (15:56.30). Her 5,000-meter outdoor time is also a MAC record.
She placed eighth at the USA National Cross Country Championships in November of 1986. Mullen-Kearney traveled back to Ireland and placed second in the Irish National Cross Country Championships in February of 1987 and subsequently competed for Ireland in the World Cross Country Championships in Warsaw, Poland in March of 1987.
Caroline Mast, Ohio, Women's Basketball (1982-86)
Caroline (Mast) Daugherty put together one of the most prolific careers in not only Ohio women’s basketball history, but in the history of the Mid-American Conference. She finished her storied collegiate career that spanned from 1982-86 as both the program and conference record holder in points (2,449), points per game (23.0), field goals made (898), rebounds (1,223) and rebounds per game (10.9). After being named MAC Freshman of the Year in 1983, Mast was named MAC Player of the Year each of the next three seasons and finished her career as a four-time All-MAC First Team selection. Mast led the Bobcats to their first MAC Tournament title and NCAA Tournament appearance in 1986, garnering conference tournament most valuable player honors. Mast also excelled in the classroom, earning CoSIDA First Team Academic All-American honors in 1986 after being named to the Second Team in ’85. She was inducted into the Kermit Blosser Ohio Athletics Hall of Fame in 1991, the MAC Hall of Fame in ’94 and the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame in ’08. Mast had her No. 40 jersey retired by Ohio in 2016.
Kate McCullagh, Northern Illinois, Volleyball (2003-2006)
Kate McCullagh is NIU Volleyball’s all-time leader in kills with 1,936 in her four seasons in DeKalb. She is also fourth all-time at NIU with 496 career blocks. McCullagh notched 163 kills as a rookie in 2003, earning All-MAC Freshman Team honors. She was an Honorable Mention All-MAC pick as a sophomore and an All-MAC Second Team selection as a junior. In 2005, McCullagh had 690 kills and averaged 5.39 kills per set. The 690 kills are the second-most in a single season in program history. She was seventh in the nation in kills per set.
McCullagh keyed NIU to the MAC West division title as a senior in 2006, as she collected 632 kills and was fourth in the nation with 5.74 kills per set. She was named the MAC Player of the Year that year, becoming just the second Huskie to earn that honor. That season McCullagh also became the first NIU volleyball player to earn All-American honors from the AVCA.
Dana Drew-Shaw, Toledo, Basketball (1990-95)
Dana Drew-Shaw was a two-time MAC Player of the Year and led Toledo to three NCAA Tournament appearances and one WNIT berth. She also guided the Rockets to three regular season MAC Championships and three MAC Tournament Titles. Drew was twice first-team Academic All-American (1994 and 1995) and was a three-time Academic All-MAC selection.
Drew was named MAC Player of The Year and first-team All-MAC in her sophomore and junior years, and was a second-team All-MAC selection as a senior in 1994-95. She was named to the MAC All-Freshman team in 1990-91 when she averaged 11.7 ppg as a freshman. She came back and averaged 15.0 ppg as a sophomore, 20.1 ppg as a junior and 19.0 ppg as a senior. She sat out the 1992-93 season due to knee surgery, playing just three games that season. Drew was named to the MAC All-Tournament team on four occasions and was the MAC Tournament Most Valuable Player three times. Drew ranks second on Toledo’s career assist list with 659, a total that puts her seventh all-time among MAC players. Her 1,919 career points places her at Toledo and 20
th in the MAC. As a sophomore, Drew played on the United States Olympic Festival team. She is married to former Toledo Academic All-America basketball player Casey Shaw.
Delaney Duncan, Eastern Michigan, Swimming (2015-19)
Duncan is Eastern Michigan’s first four-time NCAA Championships qualifier and was also 2019 NCAA Runner-Up. During her time at EMU, she was a six-time CSCAA All-American and five-time MAC Champion, including four consecutive seasons winning the 100m breaststroke, becoming the first swimmer in MAC history to accomplish that feat. She was also 2019 200m Breaststroke MAC Champion, as well as 2019 MAC Most Outstanding Swimmer.
While in Ypsilanti, Duncan was a four-time All-MAC First Team selection, and remains the MAC Season and Championship record holder in the 100m breaststroke. Furthermore, she holds the Eastern Michigan program record in the 100m and 200m breaststroke, as well as the 200m individual medley and the program’s eighth-fastest time in the 100m breaststroke. Finally, Duncan earned CoSIDA Google Cloud All-District honors in 2018 and NSCA All-American honors in 2019.
Kourtney Brown, Buffalo, Women's Basketball (1999-02)
Kourtney Brown played for the Bulls from 2006-11 and is Buffalo's all-time leader in scoring (1,995), rebounding (1,124) and blocked shots (260). In 2011, she became the first, and to this date the program's only, Mid-American Conference Player of the Year. She is a two-time MAC Defensive Player of the Year and a 2011 honorable mention All-American. Brown holds the single-season MAC record for field goals made and is the MAC's career record holder for blocked shots.
Marny Oestreng, Bowling Green, Gymnastics (1999-02)
Marny Oestreng, a native of Trogsted, Norway, became an NCAA champion while at Bowling Green, and still holds the BGSU records in every individual event. Oestreng's school- and career-best score in the all-around while at BG was 39.600, and she also posted the program's best-ever scores in the floor exercise (9.975), uneven bars (9.950), vault (9.950) and balance beam (9.925).
Prior to coming to BGSU, Oestreng won four Norwegian junior all-around titles and then captured three Norwegian all-around titles. She competed in the European Championships in each of the five years before coming to BG.
As a freshman in 1999, Oestreng won the NCAA title in the floor exercise. She was the final competitor of the NCAA meet, and posted a score of 9.925 to win the title and earn All-American honors. Oestreng, the first-ever BGSU gymnast to even qualify for the national meet, had earned that trip to the NCAA meet by virtue of winning the floor at the NCAA Region 4 meet hosted by LSU. She posted a score of 9.950 to win that event at the regional meet, and finished 11th in the all-around at that meet with a score of 38.600. Oestreng also tied for third on the bars at the regional meet.
Oestreng was the dominant gymnast in the conference that year, winning the all-around title at the MAC Championships with a meet-record score of 39.600. She also won the league titles in vault (9.875), bars (9.900, tied the meet record) and beam (9.850, tied the meet record). No gymnast in MAC history had ever won more than three individual titles in a single league meet. Ironically, the only event she did not win at the 1999 MAC Championships was the floor exercise, where her score of 9.900 placed her second. She was named the MAC Gymnast of the Year as well as the MAC Freshman of the Year.
In that epic freshman season, Oestreng won the vault event in 10 of the 14 meets during the season, while winning the bars and the floor exercise nine times each, the beam on seven occasions and the all-around in 11 of 14 meets. Oestreng qualified for the World Gymnastics Championships in October of 1999 in China after capturing the all-around title at the Norwegian Championships in June.
As a sophomore in 2000, Oestreng finished fifth at the NCAA Regionals in the floor, eighth in the all-around and 10th in the bars. She captured the MAC all-around (39.450) and vault (9.875) titles, and finished second in the conference in the floor exercise (9.900). Oestreng's junior year saw her finish 12th in the NCAA Regionals in the all-around with a score of 38.275. She tied for top honors in the all-around at the MAC Championships (39.150) that year, and tied for first on bars (9.875).
As a senior in 2002, Oestreng helped the Falcons to one of the most successful regular seasons in school history with a 17-1 mark (a school record for wins in a season). At that season's MAC Championships, she tied for first in both the all-around (39.175) and the floor (9.900), and deadlocked for second on the vault (9.875). She was named the MAC Senior Gymnast of the Year.
Oestreng was inducted into the BGSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2013.
Patricia Bergman, Ball State, Swimming (1969-72)
Bergman was a member of the women’s swimming team from 1969 through 1972 and was a three-time national champion for the Cardinals. The first female national champion in any sport in the history of Ball State athletics and one of only a small number in school history, Bergman set national records in the 100-yard backstroke and the 100-yard individual medley. Bergman helped Ball State to a ninth-place finish at the 1971 National Intercollegiate Swimming and Diving Championships as the Cardinals placed ahead of Syracuse, Indiana, UCLA, Miami (Fla.), Utah, Northwestern, Oklahoma, Washington State, and several other schools. At the 1971 national meet, Bergman won the national title in the 100 individual medley with a time of 1:03.2, which was just behind her national championship time of 1:03.0 set in 1970. She won the national title in 1970 in the 100 backstroke with a time of 1:02.3, and finished second in 1971 with a time of 1:03.0. At the 1971 national meet, Bergman also placed fourth in the 50 backstroke with a time of 29.6 plus helped the Cardinals to a seventh place finish in the 200 medley relay.
Jill Justin, Northern Illinois, Softball (1986-1989)
One of the most prolific sluggers in NCAA history, NIU’s Jill Justin was a three-time first team All-American from 1987 to1989 who went on to play on the United States National Team. She set eight NCAA records during a prolific career including batting average (.467), slugging percentage (.789), total bases (422), doubles (56) and doubles per game (0.31) in a career, as well as the single season record for total bases (123 in 1987).
She won two NCAA batting titles, hitting .503 in 1987 and .484 in 1988, and led the NCAA in slugging percentage (.725) in 1989. She won the MAC batting crown and ranked third in the NCAA in batting average as a freshman in 1986. During her career, Justin led the Huskies to a 120-62 record (1986-89) and was an integral member of the 1988 NIU team that played in the NCAA Women’s College World Series. The Huskies played in the NIT in 1987 and 1989. Justin was twice nominated for the Honda-Broderick Award as the Collegiate Woman Athlete of Year (1988, 1989). She set 22 school records during her career, and still holds many of those records today.
Following her NIU softball career, Justin went on to represent the U.S. squads in World Games (1990), Pan American Games (1991, 1995), Haarlem Cup (1993), and South Pacific Classic (1994). She was honored five times as an ASA Major Fast-Pitch first team All-American (1989-93).
Pauline Maurice, Kent State, Softball (1988-91)
Kent State’s Pauline Maurice (1988-91) remains as the Golden Flashes’ career leader in batting average (.396) and hits (219) and led Kent State to the 1990 College World Series, the last appearance by a MAC softball program.
Maurice also set the Kent State career record in on-base percentage (.448), runs (107), stolen bases (64) and triples (16). While leading Kent State to the 1990 MAC Championship, Maurice and the Flashes finished with a 43-9 record and was named All-America Second Team in 1990.
Maurice was a four-year letter winner, two-time captain and was named MAC Freshman of the Year in 1988. She was also named a two-time All-MAC First Team selection (1990-91) and a two-time All-Mideast Region First Team selection (1990-91). She was also a two-time Academic All-MAC First Team selection.
Following Kent State, Maurice played for the Saronno Softball Club (semi-pro) in Italy in 1992. She was also a four-year member of the Canada Cup Team in 1993-96. Maurice was a member of Canada’s 1996 Olympic Softball Team, which placed fifth and also helped Canada to a Silver Medal in the 1991 Pan-Am Games, leading the games with six stolen bases.
Maurice was inducted into the Kent State Hall of Fame in 1998 and was chosen as the MAC Female Athlete of the Decade and was honored at the MAC’s 50th Anniversary celebration.
Briana Shook, Toledo, Track & Field, 2000-04
Briana Shook is one of the most decorated student-athletes on the track in the University of Toledo and MAC history. Shook was a three-time All-American in both cross country and track & field. Over the course of her career, Shook (2000-04) won 11 MAC titles and added three runner-up finishes, as well.
Shook helped lead the Rockets to back-to-back MAC Cross Country Championships in 2001 and 2002, winning the individual race both seasons. In 2002 she was named the NCAA Great Lakes Region Cross Country Runner of the Year. Shook was a three-time MAC champion in the indoor 3,000, and twice each in the indoor 5,000, the outdoor 5000 and the 3000-meer steeplechase. She still holds the MAC record in the indoor 3000 meters (9:25.91) and the steeplechase (9:49.44).
At the 2002 MAC Outdoor Championship Meet, Shook earned the Most Valuable Performance award for her victory in the steeplechase and 5,000 meters. She went on to finish in fifth place in the steeplechase at the NCAA Championship Meet that year. Shook also earned Most Valuable Performance honors at the 2003 MAC Indoor Championship Meet for her first-place finishes in the 3,000 and 5,000 meters.
In 2004, she was named the MAC Outdoor Championship Meet Most Valuable Performer award and was named NCAA Mideast Track and Field Athlete of the Year. She won the steeplechase (9:59.22) and the 5,000 meters (16:22.46) at the 2004 MAC Meet and finished second at the NCAA Championship meet in the steeplechase.
During the summer of 2004, Shook made history by setting the American record in the 3000-meter steeplechase with her 9:29.32 clocking in Belgium, a time that was fourth-best in the world that year. She was ranked No. 1 in the U.S. in the steeplechase by Track & Field News in both 2003 and 2004, winning the USA Outdoor title in 2003. In 2004 she won the U.S. Olympic Trials but was disqualified for missing a jump, even though she actually ended up running a longer race than her competitors.
Shook graduated from Toledo in 2004 with a degree in communications and photography, earning Academic All-MAC honors as a senior. She went to join the Toledo coaching staff, serving as an assistant from 2004-08. Shook was instrumental in helping to guide the women's cross country program to a MAC runner-up finish in 2005 and an eighth-place finish at the 2006 NCAA Regional Championships, the highest of any MAC program that season. She also helped to guide Ebba Stenback to an eighth-place finish and All America status at the 2006 NCAA Championships in the 3000-meter steeplechase. Under Shook's guidance, Stenback was also the NCAA Mideast Regional Champion and No. 2 all-time steeplechaser in MAC history behind Shook.
Shook later served as head women's track and cross country coach at Heidelberg University from 2010-13. She coached 13 All-Americans, two national champions and was named Ohio Athletic Conference Women's Track & Field Coach of the Year in 2010 and 2013. She retired from coaching in 2013 to help raise her three children with her husband.
Shook was named Academic All-MAC in 2004 and was inducted into the University of Toledo Varsity T Hall of Fame in 2010 and the Ohio Track and Cross Country Hall of Fame in 2020. She currently resides in Mexico, Missouri with her husband, Robert, and the couple have three daughters -- Haleigh (13), Atley (7) and Georgia (5).
Pei Lin, Miami, Swimming & Diving, 2015-18
Pei Lin, a three-time NCAA runner-up and a Chinese national champion, has been named head diving coach at California, men's and women's swimming & diving head coaches David Durden and Teri McKeever announced Thursday.
Lin was named MAC Diver of the Year four times while at Miami and Most Outstanding Senior in 2018. She set a MAC Championship record in the 1-mtr dive in 2015 (334.00) and broke her own record in 2016 (338.90). Lin set a MAC Championship record in the 3-mtr dive in 2017 (401.00) after setting the record season record in 2015 (409.70).
Lin is a four-time MAC Champion in the 3-mtr dive and a three-time MAC Champion in the 1-mtr dive, earning All-MAC First Team selection four times. She was the Division I runner-up in the 3-mtr dive at the NCAA Championships three times. In the 1-mtr dive, Lin finished third in 2016 and seventh in 2017 at the NCAA Championships. She is a three-time All-American.
Lin is currently serving as the head diving coach at California. Prior to being hired at Cal, Lin served as head diving coach at the University of South Dakota for the 2021-22 season, which followed two years as a graduate assistant diving coach at Ohio State. White at OSU, she coached three Big Ten champions with six divers qualifying for the NCAA Championships. During her one season at South Dakota, she coached Stella Fairbanks to a Summit League title on 1-meter. Lin also served as an assistant coach at the California Diving Academy, managing a team of 40 divers, from 2018-19, and was a volunteer coach in Guangzhou, China from 2015-17.
Lin earned her bachelor's degree in public health from Miami in 2018 and a master of sport coaching from Ohio State in 2021.
Stevi Large Gruber, Akron, Track & Field, 2006-09
Stevi Large Gruber became just the third individual national champion in Akron athletics history. As a senior, Gruber shattered her own school and Mid-American Conference record twice in the hammer throw on June 12, 2009, en route to national champion honors at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championship. A four-time first-team All-American, Gruber held school records in the hammer, indoor and outdoor shot put, discus, and weight throw. She had also held the MAC’s all-time and championship records in weight throw and hammer at the time of her graduation. As a junior, Gruber was the 2008 NCAA runner-up in weight throw. In her collegiate career (2006-09), Gruber captured nine MAC championships as an individual and became the first female in league history to complete a career sweep in a field event, winning the hammer throw all four times. Gruber was a two-time team captain and three-time Most Valuable Performer on a team that achieved perfection; sweeping the conference’s indoor and outdoor championships each season from 2006-09. Her team was the first in MAC history to win four straight indoor titles or had a run of six consecutive championships (indoor and outdoor). Gruber was Akron’s Female Athlete of the Year in three consecutive seasons from 2007-09. She was also a two-time Academic All-MAC honoree. Gruber earned her bachelor’s degree in child and family development in December 2008. She attended Sheridan High School where she sets records in shot and discus and placed second at the state meet her senior year in the shot put. Gruber and her husband Christian, an Akron football alumnus (2006-09), reside in Lancaster, Ohio, with their three children–Landon (4), Emmarie (2) and Knox (4 months). Gruber was inducted into Akron’s Sports Hall of Fame in 2019.
Karen Karner, Central Michigan, Multi-Sport Athlete, 1975-78
Superb three-sport standout who is the first woman ever to be inducted into CMU's Athletic Hall of Fame. A product of Bay City Handy, Karner earned three letters in basketball, averaging 10.3 and 11.7 points per game her final two seasons. She earned three letters in field hockey, played in three national tournaments, and finished with 32 career goals and 17 assists. Karen was also a member of the 1978 U.S. Field Hockey team and earned three letters in track, reaching the nationals one year. Karner held the 400-meter hurdle record and once placed in five events in one meet and coached boys' and girls' cross country at Caro High as well as volleyball and girls' track.
Bonnie Beachy, Kent State, Basketball, 1978-82
Bonnie Beachy shined for the Golden Flashes from 1978-82, earning seven varsity letters in her career, four in basketball and three more in tennis. She is the all-time scoring leader (men's or women's) in Kent State history with 2,071 points and the only female student-athlete whose jersey has been retired, as her number 13 hangs in the M.A.C. Center rafters. She holds the Mid-American Conference record for field goals in a game with 20 against Cincinnati on December 16th, 1981. Her 41 points in that contest are the third-most in Kent State history. Beachy was the program's first All-American, earning honorable mention recognition from Basketball Weekly in 1981. She led the Flashes to their first NCAA Tournament appearance the following season and was named Kodak All-Region during her junior and senior seasons. In the fall of 2013, Beachy was the keynote speaker at the Starner Distinguished Speaker Series. Her keynote address, "The Fight," conveyed a message that the lessons learned in all successes and defeats early in life can help overcome the many obstacles one might face in the future. Beachy was inducted into the Varsity "K" Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 1988.
Christi Smith-Ryan, Akron, Track & Field, 1997-00
Christi Smith is one of the most decorated student athletes from the University of Akron while lettering four years in track. As an undergraduate from 1997-2000, Smith was the first NCAA I national champion in school history and the first multiple All-American in Akron track and field history. Smith made an impact early on the Akron program under the guidance of Head Coach Dennis Mitchell by setting six school records as a freshman, which included a 20’ 4 ½” effort in the long jump that provisionally qualified her for the NCAA Championships. Smith established five more school records in 1998 and, in addition, scored 29 points to earn the Most Valuable Performer at the Mid-American Conference Indoor Championships. As a senior in 2000, Smith captured the heptathlon (100 meter hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200 meter dash, long jump, javelin and 800 meter run) with a school and MAC record-breaking 5,797 points at the NCAA I National Championship in Durham, N.C. This achievement was rewarded by being named an All-American for the fourth time in her collegiate career. Smith also earned All-America accolades by finishing ninth in the NCAA I heptathlon as a sophomore in 1998, by finishing second in the event at the 1999 national championship and with a ninth place finish in the long jump at the 1999 NCAA I Indoor Championship. In addition, Smith, who had 11 wins in the long jump, triple jump, pentathlon, and heptathlon events at the MAC Indoor and Outdoor Track Championships between 1998-2000, earned first-team All-MAC honors seven times. As a result, the Columbus, Ohio native became the first female athlete in school history to be voted the Caroline Pardee Female Athlete of the Year three times from 1998-2000. In 2000 Smith, who carried a 3.36 GPA in physical education, earning first team Academic All-MAC honors, was the first Akron female athlete to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Trials and was a finalist for the NCAA’s James E. Sullivan Leadership Award. Smith currenly lives in Portland, Oregon and has served as Central Catholic’s Track and Field Head Coach since 2017. Prior to Central Catholic, she was an Assistant track and field Coach at Ohio University, Kent State University, and University of Iowa. Smith also spent time in Eugene as a Strength and Conditioning Intern at the University of Oregon and as an Assistant Track & Field Coach at South Eugene High School.
Stephanie Smiley, Eastern Michigan, Basketball, 1999-02Eastern Michigan's Stephanie Smiley was a standout women's basketball player at Eastern Michigan, where she was a three-time All-Mid-American Conference selection and a Kodak All-American Honorable Mention as a senior in 2002. She was twice named First Team All-MAC and was MAC Freshman of the Year in 1999. Smiley is the only player in MAC history – man or woman – to record 1,400 career points, 700 career rebounds and 500 career assists. She also added career marks of more than 200 steals and 100 blocked shots to that MAC standard. Smiley holds the EMU career record for games played (114), games started (114), minutes played (4,288), assists (577) and rebounds (784). She also ranks in the top 10 on EMU’s career charts in scoring (5th), scoring average (9th), field goals made (6th), three-pointers made (2nd), three-pointers attempted (2nd), three-point field goal percentage (3rd), free throws made (5th), free throws attempted (6th), free throw percentage (8th), steals (2nd) and blocked shots (2nd). Smiley is the only player in EMU history to start every possible game of her career & the Eagles had a winning record each of her four seasons.
Bowie was the first women’s basketball player in Mid-American Conference history to be drafted in the Women’s National Basketball Association Collegiate Draft. Bowie, who was the 2001 and 2003 MAC Player of the Year, was a three - time All-MAC First-Team choice and a two-time All-MAC Tournament selection. Bowie completed her career as Ball State’s all-time leading scorer with 2,091 points. She also completed her career ranked No.1 in school history in blocked shots and games played plus No. 2 in rebounds. Bow ie helped Ball State to an 80-40 all-time record, including a 44-20 MAC mark in her career. She guided the Cardinals to the school’s first-ever postseason appearance with two straight berths in the WNIT.
