Emporia State athletics names hall of fame inductees for 2007
By The Emporia Gazette (Contact)
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Five individuals and a football team have been chosen for induction into the Emporia State athletics Hall of Fame on Oct. 20 during Homecoming festivities.
Dianna Beebe, Noel Certain, Jim Hayes, Joe Rich, Hank Thompson and the 1989 football team will be enshrined as part of the Hall Class of 2007.
The inductees will join a group of 144 former student-athletes, coaches and administrators who have already been honored.
Beebe played field hockey, volleyball and softball for the Hornets from 1967-71. She was instrumental in the beginning of competitive women’s athletics both at ESU and in the state of Kansas.
Beebe was twice named to the all-state tournament team in field hockey and volleyball and later served as track and field coach at Northwest Missouri (1976) and field hockey coach at the University of Kansas (1976-79).
Certain competed for the ESU track and field team from 1956-60. He still is the school record holder in the indoor long jump — keeping the school’s best mark for 45 years. He also is second in the outdoor long jump.
Certain currently is a national competitor in the USATF Masters competition, ranking 10th in the nation in the over-60 triple jump in 2003.
Hayes played basketball for the Hornets from 1953-57, earning CIC Player of the Year as a senior after leading KSTC to a conference championship. He retired as a Lt. Colonel of the Marines Corps in 1984, earning a Meritorious Service Medal, a Bronze Star, Combat Action Ribbon and 39 Air Medals.
Rich participated in football for ESU from 1928-32. He was an All-State end and two-year team captain for the Hornets. After his playing days, he worked 37 years as a football official. He later became athletic director at McPherson High School and was inducted into the Kansas State High School Activities Association Hall of Fame in 1976.
Thompson ran track for the Hornets in the early 1950s. After coming to ESU as a freshman, he had his college career halted when he served two years in the military. While in the Army, he won the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes at the 1952 European Army Championships. He also won the 200-meter championship at the CISM track meet attended by all NATO countries.
He returned to ESU in 1954 and won the national championship in the 440-yard dash. He ended his career as a three-time All-American.
The 1989 football team won 11 games on its way to an appearance in the NAIA national championship game. The Hornets had a school-record eight-game winning streak, and during that time they outscored their opponents 277-123.
Seven players earned All-American honors, including first-team linebacker Matt Koehler, second-team running back Alvester Bobby and second-team defensive lineman Monte Boots.
The new inductees will be honored at the annual Hall of Honor breakfast at 8 a.m. on Oct. 20 in the Memorial Union’s Webb Lecture Hall. Cost of the breakfast is $12, and the public is invited to attend.
Reservations are required and can be made by calling the ESU Athletic Development Office at 341-5873.