MVNU Inducts Six into Cougar Wall of Fame on Saturday
written by Dave Parsons, Sports Information Director

MOUNT VERNON, Ohio (11-12-2011) - Six former standout athletes were inducted into the Cougar Wall of Fame at Mount Vernon Nazarene University on Saturday evening as part of the 2011 MVNU Homecoming festivities at a banquet to honor the history of women's athletics.

Kim Jones Forseth, Tennis, Track, Volleyball, and Basketball, 1974-1978
Kim Jones Forseth was one of the very first female student-athletes to ever play for the Lady Cougars when she participated in four different sports during her time at MVNU from 1974-1978. She was on the inaugural teams for women's volleyball, women's basketball, women's tennis, and track and field.

In tennis, Forseth was with the program from the inception in 1975 and went undefeated as the No. 1 singles player on the team during the regular season from 1975-1978. In track, she was a part of the inaugural team in 1977 and participated in both field and running events. She played on the first two women's volleyball teams as well in 1976 and 1977 and helped the Lady Cougars improve from 1-8 in the first season to 12-11 in the second campaign.

As a senior, Forseth played on the very first MVNU women's basketball team in 1977-1978 and averaged 5.0 points and 2.9 rebounds, while helping the Lady Cougars post an impressive 14-2 overall record that included winning one game at the OAISW State Basketball Championship. She would later return to the sidelines as an assistant coach for the team from 1982-1984.

Tara Seiter Gist, Volleyball and Basketball, 1995-1999
Tara Seiter Gist was a four-year member of both the women's volleyball and women's basketball teams during her time at MVNU from 1995-1999.

As a member of the women's volleyball team, Gist led the Lady Cougars to incredible 183-43 record and two conference titles. She finished her career as the program's all-time leader in kills (2,728), blocks (1,003), aces (210), serve attempts (2,656), and serve reception attempts (2,745) and still ranks first in blocks, second in kills, aces, and hitting percentage (.331), third in serve reception attempts, sixth in digs (2,195), and seventh in serve attempts.

Among her many honors in volleyball, Gist was named to the National Christian College Athletic Association All-American First Team three times as well as being the conference Player of the Year three times. She was an NAIA Honorable Mention All-American as a junior and an NAIA Second Team All-American as a senior. She was also featured in Sports Illustrated's "Faces in the Crowd" in the November 2, 1998 issue.

On the basketball court, Gist played in 103 games and averaged 16.7 points and 9.2 rebounds despite missing 23 games due to the success of the MVNU volleyball team each season. She finished her hoops career as the program's all-time leader in points (1,718), rebounds (952), field goals made (616), and free throws made (484) and still ranks first in free throws made, second in rebounds and field goals made, and third in points.

Gist was a three-time NAIA Division II Honorable Mention All-American in basketball as well as being a two-time NCCAA First Team All-American and a two-time NCCAA Second Team All-American. She was also a three-time All-Conference First Team selection and was an NAIA All-America Scholar-Athlete.

Rachel Widener Nicholas, Volleyball, 1996-1999
Rachel Widener Nicholas was a four-year member of the MVNU women's volleyball team from 1996-1999.

During her four years on the team, Nicholas helped lead the Lady Cougars to a 176-38 overall record that included two American Mideast Conference titles and four trips to the National Christian College Athletic Association National Tournament. As a junior, she was part of the team that won 54 matches - the most in school history. Then, as a senior, MVNU went 44-5 to post the best winning percentage in the program's history (.898).

At the time of her graduation, Nicholas ranked first in school history in digs (2,452), second in kills (1,766), and fourth in serve reception attempts (2,681). She is still third in digs, fourth in serve reception attempts, and seventh in kills.

Among her many honors, Nicholas was named to the AMC First Team twice and the AMC Second Team twice as well as being a two-time NCCAA First Team All-American and a two-time All-NCCAA National Tournament Team pick. She capped off her career by being selected as the NAIA National Player of the Week once during her senior year as well as being the NCCAA East Region Player of the Year and an NAIA Honorable Mention All-American.

Shelly Aldrich Radtke, Basketball, Softball, Soccer, 1996-2001
Shelly Aldrich Radtke was a four-year member of both the women's basketball and fastpitch softball teams as well as playing on the inaugural varsity women's soccer team during her time at MVNU from 1996-2001.

In basketball, Radtke averaged 10.5 points over 112 games. She still ranks fifth in program history in assists (320), eighth in points (1,179), ninth in steals (204), tenth in free throws made (262), and eleventh in 3-pointers made (123). For her efforts, she was named to the All-Conference Honorable Mention list in 1998 and 2000.

On the softball diamond, Radke posted a .308 career batting average in 145 games. She still ranks fourth in career doubles with 39. She was a three-time All-Conference Honorable Mention selection and a two-time National Christian College Athletic Association East Region honoree. She was also named to the NCCAA All-National Tournament Team and the NCCAA All-American First Team in 1998.

Radtke finished out her career with one season of soccer when the Lady Cougars played their first varsity season in 2000. She helped MVNU to an 11-8 record as she scored 16 goals and tallied 10 assists. Those single-season numbers are still good enough to rank her eighth in school history in career goals and tenth in career points (42). She also earned a mention in Sports Illustrated's "Faces in the Crowd" in the October 9, 2000 issue and was named to the AMC Second Team and the NCCAA All-American First Team.

Darcee Hoberg Claxon, Volleyball, 1998-2001
Darcee Hoberg Claxon was a four-year member of the MVNU women's volleyball team from 1998-2001.

During Claxon's four years on the team, the Lady Cougars posted a 175-32 overall record and won four straight conference titles and advanced to the National Christian College Athletic Association National Tournament four times. The team posted the most wins in program history with 54 in 1998 and set the program's record for best winning percentage (.898) in 1999.

Claxon finished her career ranked third in school history in kills (1,875), aces (189), and serve reception percentage (.934), fourth in serve reception attempts (2,392) and digs (1,910), and sixth in serve attempts (2,192). She still ranks sixth in kills and aces and eighth in digs and serve reception attempts.

Among Claxon's many honors, she was named to the American Mideast Conference All-Freshmen Team in 1998 as well as being a three-time AMC First Team selection. After being named to the NCCAA All-American Second Team in 1999, she was named to the NCCAA All-American First Team in 2000 and 2001. She was also selected as the NCCAA East Region Player of the Year and an NAIA Honorable Mention All-American in 2001.

Amanda Schumm Triplett, Volleyball and Softball, 1998-2002
Amanda Schumm Triplett was a four-year member of both the women's volleyball and fastpitch softball teams during her time at MVNU from 1998-2002.

During Triplett's four years on the volleyball team, the Lady Cougars posted a 175-32 overall record and won four straight conference titles and advanced to the National Christian College Athletic Association National Tournament four times. The team posted the most wins in program history with 54 in 1998 and set the program's record for best winning percentage (.898) in 1999.

Triplett finished her career ranked second in school history in kills (1,881) and serve reception percentage (.939), fifth in hitting percentage (.320), sixth in digs (1,520), seventh in aces (168), and tenth in serve reception attempts (1,800). She still ranks fifth in both kills and hitting percentage.

Triplett was named to the American Mideast Conference Second Team twice and the AMC First Team twice as well as earning a spot on the AMC All-Freshmen Team in 1998. She was named to the NCCAA All-National Tournament Team and the NCCAA All-American Second Team in 2000 and then the NCCAA All-American First Team in 2001.

In softball, Triplett posted a .400 batting average in 154 games while setting the school records for most home runs in a season (11) and in a career (24). She still ranks third in career batting average, doubles (40), and runs batted in (129) as well as fourth in hits (196).

Triplett received numerous honors for her performance on the softball diamond including being a three-time AMC First Team selection and a four-time NCCAA All-American as she earned a spot on the NCCAA All-American First Team three times. She was also named to the NCCAA All-National Tournament Team in 2002.



With the addition of the six new inductees, the Cougar Wall of Fame has now grown to include 57 members. In conjunction with the Wall of Fame induction on Saturday night, former MVNU athletic director Dr. Lora Donoho was also recognized for her efforts in starting the women's sports programs at MVNU.