General 9/24/2020 11:00:00 AM Chris Brannick

UCO Announces 2020 Hall of Fame Class

EDMOND – The University of Central Oklahoma athletic department announced Thursday its Hall of Fame Class of 2020, with eight individuals and two teams set to be inducted this fall.

UCO will not have its annual Hall of Fame banquet this year unfortunately, however, a virtual banquet will be planned and released later this year.

Dee Dee Carter, Todd Dayton, Reggie Donner, Kyle Evans, Mark Herrin, Pam Podolec, Todd Steidley, and Jana Vnouckova make up the Class of 2020, which is the largest induction class in Central's 30-year history of the Hall of Fame. The 1986 and 1987 national championship wrestling teams will also be inducted.

"Our hall of fame always shows how many great student-athletes and coaches have been at UCO and this year's class once again does that," Central Oklahoma athletic director Stan Wagnon said. "In a wide range of sports, both men and women, there have been some great accomplishments by each of these inductees. And the two teams were incredible as well. I think this is a great class. I do wish we could honor them at our annual banquet, but we'll find a way to make this special in a unique way for each of them."

Here's a glimpse at each of the inductees.

Carter played football at Central from 2000-03 and the wide receiver not only left his mark on the program, but could be considered the best receiver to play for the Bronchos. He was an All-American in 2001, earning the honor from four different outlets after earning All-Lone Star Conference and All-Region honors. He grabbed a school record 73 receptions in 2001 and also posted a school record 1,469 yards that season. His receptions are now fourth-most for one season and his yards that year still rank second. Carter also earned All-LSC and All-Region again in 2002. Carter finished his career with 173 receptions for 3,357 yards and 21 touchdowns. His receptions set a school record and is now third all-time. His career yardage mark set and still is a school record and is 1,029 yards more than the second-place mark. Carter's 21 TD receptions is tied for the school record. He also owns the Central record for the longest touchdown reception in school history after the 95-yard score he made in a 58-48 win over Northeastern State in 2002.

Dayton played golf for the Bronchos from 2001-06 and is one of the best to ever represent Central on the links. He has a school record eight tournament victories and finished in the top 20 in 42 of 49 career tournaments, including 33 top 10s and 18 top-five finishes. Dayton was a four-time First Team All-LSC selection and was named Player of the Year in 2005, a two-time All-Region selection, and he was named All-American three times. His finish at the 2004-05 NCAA Division II national championship, a third-place performance, stands among the best in school history.

Donner played football at UCO from 1997-99 and in a shorter career than some, put up bigger numbers than most. Donner ran for 2,608 yards on 424 carries and scored 31 rushing touchdowns in his time at Central. He earned All-LSC, All-Region, and All-American honors in 1998, posting one of the best seasons for a running back in school history. Donner led the Lone Star Conference in rushing yards, scampering for 1,546 yards, which is also still the second-most in UCO history for a single season. He scored 19 touchdowns that season – all rushing. He posted a school-record eight 100-yard rushing games that season as well.

Evans, a wrestler from 2004-07, is among the greatest and most decorated in UCO's rich history. He's one of only 10 four-time All-Americans at UCO and one of just 12 three-time national finalists (all of which he'll join in the Hall of Fame). He finished his fantastic career with a 125-20 record, ranking 10th in all-time wins and fourth in all-time winning percentage (.862) while also ranking first in career technical falls (25). Evans is also one of just two four-time regional champions for UCO and was a two-time Midwest Regional Wrestler of the Year selection. He finished sixth nationally as a redshirt freshman in 2005 and then put together an amazing three-year run, going 101-7 during that stretch. He went 30-5 as a sophomore, losing a 4-2 decision in the national finals. He came back the following season with a perfect 39-0 campaign that included 18 bonus-point wins in winning the national title and leading UCO to its 15th national team championship. Evans capped his career with another national title as a senior in 2008, finishing 32-2 with a single-season school record 11 technical falls.

Herrin coached the Central volleyball program from 1990-2002 and is the winningest coach in school history, compiling a 302-155 record during his tenure leading the Bronchos. Herrin coached the Bronchos in the early days of the program, which started competing officially in 1987 but wasted no time leaving his stamp in the history books. There are four UCO Hall of Fame members that played volleyball and Herrin coached all four of them. He led Central to its first ever NCAA Division II national tournament appearance in 1994 when the Bronchos went 32-5 and again in 2002 with a 30-7 record. Herrin coaches 15 all-conference players to a combined 35 selections.

Podolec played softball at Central from 1980-83 and kick-started UCOs softball tradition with a dominating career. She came in as a true freshman in 1980 and was sensational, pitching all but three innings for the entire team during the season in going 23-14. She threw four no-hitters and four one-hitters in leading the Bronchos to their first-ever national tournament appearance, the AIAW Championship. In 1982 she again guided the Bronchos to the AIAW national tournament, putting together an 18-8 record with an 0.70 earned run average in 190 innings pitched while throwing two perfect games. In 1983, she went 19-11 with an 0.57 ERA in 208 innings with four one-hitters as UCO transitioned into the NAIA. Podolec was a Second Team NAIA All-American as a senior and certainly would have received similar honors in 1980 and 1982 if the AIAW selected All-America teams. She finished with a 60-33 career record and posted 24 shutouts. She ranks fourth in career wins and is third in both career shutouts and innings pitched (642) at UCO.

Steidley, who currently is the head coach of the UCO wrestling program and boasts a 55-11 dual record in four seasons, spent two seasons as a student-athlete at UCO after first competing at Division I Utah State and then Claremore Junior College. Steidley put together one of the best seasons in UCO's rich wrestling history as a junior in 1986-87, winning a school-record 43 matches that still stands and capturing the 142-pound NAIA national championship. He finished 43-6-1, winning his last 30 matches, and had 26 bonus-point wins. He went 5-0 with three bonus wins at the national tournament in helping lead UCO to their fourth straight team title. Steidley came back as a senior in 1987-88 and battled through a season-long shoulder injury to finish as national runner-up at 142, ending with a 21-5-1 record. He went 4-1 at the national tournament as the Bronchos finished second in the team race. He completed his two-year UCO career with a 64-11-2 career record for a stellar 84.4 winning percentage, earning All-American twice and winning one national title.

Vnouckova played tennis for the Bronchos from 1995-99 and is the most highly decorated women's tennis player in school history. She was an NCAA Division II singles All-American in 1996 and 1997 while earning All-America honors in both singles and doubles in 1998 in leading the Bronchos to the national tournament. Vnouckova was the Midwest ITA Regional champion and finished fourth nationally as a freshman in 1995-96. As a sophomore, she posted a 20-5 singles record, won the ITA Midwest Regional singles and doubles titles, and finished fourth nationally in singles again and fifth nationally in doubles. In 1997-98, she won yet another ITA Midwest Regional singles championship and went on to finish sixth nationally. Vnouckova was a singles and doubles All-American in the spring, finishing 26-9 in singles and 21-3 in doubles. She also Led UCO to the Lone Star Conference title and first-ever NCAA Tournament as a junior. She capped off her career in 1998-99, once again earning singles and doubles All-American honors.

Central Oklahoma won four consecutive wrestling national championships from 1984-87. The first two squads in that streak were inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2019 and the second two will join them in 2020.

The 1985-86 wrestling squad edged out second-place Southern Oregon to claim the national title with 98 team points behind six All-Americans and one individual national champion. Joe Starzenski won it all at 134 pounds to redeem a runner-up finish the previous season. The Bronchos also got second-place showings from Billy Reid (126 pounds) and Stoney Wright (150), Kevin Freeman took third at 142 pounds, Howard Seay took fifth at 167 pounds, and Jack O'Connor took sixth at 158 pounds. The Bronchos went 12-7 in duals that season and had a combined 23 placers at four open events to go with placing second at the Stetson Invitational and eighth at the Missouri State Invite before heading to nationals and claiming the school's sixth national championship in eight years.

In 1986-87, the Bronchos beat out second-place Alaska Pacific by 21 team points and all other competitors behind seven All-Americans and two individual national champions. Steidley won his national title at 142 pounds and freshman Johnny Nimmo won the first of his four national championships at 150 pounds. Brett Beams was also a finalist and took second at 167 pounds. Jerry Goss (134) and Darren Peaster (158) both took fifth, Bill Ogilvie (190) took sixth, and Shawn Fleming (118) took seventh. The Bronchos were just 2-5 on the season following a Jan. 10 setback at Southern Illinois – Edwardsville but a 10-match win streak followed and Central carried that momentum into the national tournament where it won its seventh national title. UCO went 12-5 in dual meets, posted 22 placers in four open events, and took third in Missouri State's annual event.

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