General 8/2/2021 10:00:00 AM Chris Brannick

Athletics Hall of Fame Class Announced

Central Set To Welcome Five Former Student-Athletes To Prestigious Post

EDMOND – The University of Central Oklahoma athletic department announced Monday its 2021 Hall of Fame Class, with five individuals and one national championship team set to be inducted this fall.

Lacie Allen (volleyball), Sam Belt (basketball), Robin Freeman (golf), Mike Keim (wrestling) and Dustin McNeal (football), as well as the 1989 wrestling national championship team will inducted at a banquet this fall.

The 2021 UCO Athletics Hall of Fame Banquet is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 1 in the Nigh University Center. Central Oklahoma will also honor the 2020 hall of fame group that missed their own banquet due to the pandemic a year ago. More details about the banquet will be announced closer to the time of the ceremony this fall.

Allen will be the fifth volleyball player inducted into the UCO athletics Hall of Fame. She played for Central from 2004-07 and also joined the basketball team during her time as a Broncho. Most notably, her hall of fame career includes the honor of being the first All-American in program history.

Allen helped the Bronchos reach the national tournament twice in her four-year career and led the team to a 101-34 record during that time. She still has her name in the NCAA record book too over a dozen years after she played her last match. Allen's 996 digs during the 2007 season remains the most ever in DII history for a single season in the 30-point scoring format with unlimited libero substitutions. Her 2,765 career digs still rank eighth in DII history.

Allen earned All-Lone Star Conference honors in 2006 and 2007 and also took All-Region honors in both of those seasons. She was named All-American in 2007.

Belt is one of the most decorated players in Central Oklahoma's long basketball history. An inside-outside scoring threat with great court savvy, he led the Bronchos to 87 wins, three Lone Star Conference North Division titles, three NCAA Division II national tournament berths and one Elite Eight appearance during his brilliant career from 2004-08.

Belt was a four-time All-LSC North Division selection, earning Freshman of the Year honors in 2004-05 and Player of the Year accolades as a senior in 2007-08 when he was a consensus All-American.

Belt is UCO's all-time leader in 3-pointers made (263), 3-pointers attempted (698), free throws made (511) and free throws attempted (652). He also ranks second in career points (1,918), field goals made (577) and field goals attempted (1,332) while ranking third in rebounds (845). Belt averaged 15.7 points and 6.9 rebounds during his illustrious 122-game career.

Freeman golfed at Central from 1980-82 and helped the Bronchos to arguably the most successful season ever. He also followed his time in the Bronze & Blue with a fruitful professional career. Freeman won at Central on more than one occasion and did so professionally too.

During the 1980-81 season, his junior year at Central, Freeman led the Bronchos to a third-place finish at the NAIA National Championships. He finished third himself in the individual standings, posting a 72-hole 219 (76-71-72), just three strokes off the national title. The fourth round of that tournament was canceled due to rain.

Freeman earned a spot on the PGA Tour in 1988 and tied for second at the 1995 Byron Nelson Classic. He also played on the Nationwide Tour, where he won two tournaments, and the Champions Tour. He posted a pair of eighth place finishes at the 2009 U.S. Senior Open and the 2010 Senior PGA Championship.

Freeman was an All-District 9 selection in both the 1980-81 & 1981-82 seasons as well as his All-American selection in 1981.

Keim wrestled his way to an amazing career at UCO in finishing as a two-time national finalist with one title while helping lead the Bronchos to a pair of team titles.

A native of Owasso, Okla., Keim spent two years in junior college before coming to UCO and stepped in as a junior at 134 pounds in 1992-93. He captured the Midwest Regional title and advanced to the national finals before suffering his only Division II loss in setting for runner-up honors while helping the Bronchos win their second straight team title.

Keim redshirted at his own request the following year as Ryan Martin took over the starting role at 134 and went on to win the national championship. Keim still took Outstanding Wrestler honors at both the Central Missouri and Nebraska-Omaha opens while competing unattached.

Keim returned to the mat with a vengeance in 1994-95 in putting together one of the best seasons in school history and leading UCO to its fourth consecutive team championship. He won six tournament tiles and set a single-season school record that still exists with 47 wins in going 47-3 with 24 bonus-point wins, capping it by winning a second Midwest Regional crown and the national championship.

Keim ended his career with a 33-match winning streak. He went 35-1 against Division II opponents during his career, including a 21-0 mark with 16 bonus-point wins as a senior, and had a 72-11 career record at UCO for an 86.7 winning percentage that is sixth-best in school history.

Legendary head football coach Gary Howard called McNeal the best center he'd ever coached. He is one of the more highly decorated football players in the history of UCO's storied program.

A three-year starter at center during his four-year career with the Bronchos from 1994-97, McNeal was a First team All-Lone Star Conference selection in 1996 and 1997. He anchored the offensive line that took UCO to the quarterfinals of the DII playoffs in 1996.

In 1997, the accolades rolled in as McNeal was named LSC North Division and NCAA Division II Offensive Linemen of the Year. He was named to virtually every All-American team that season. Following his playing career, McNeal was also named to the Lone Star Conference 75th Anniversary Team and was listed on The Oklahoman's State College All-Century Team.

McNeal helped lead the Bronchos to a 32-11-1 record in four seasons, including a 1-1 record in the postseason.

The 1988-89 Central wrestling squad posted the eighth and final NAIA national team championship for the Bronchos, with the team posting a combined 296 wins during the season.

Shawn Fleming and Johnny Nimmo both won national titles individually while Jeff Gowens and Marc Hull both registered national runner-up performances. Tony Pacheco, Greg Oplotnik and Howard Moore also earned All-American honors to give Central seven total and enough points to claim the national title.

CSU scored 105 team points at the national championships in Jamestown, N.D., outpacing the runners-up by 13 points.

Central finished fourth at the Southern California Invitational earlier in the season, with Fleming earning an individual trophy there, and the Bronchos took first at the Southwest Missouri Invitational with Fleming, Gowens, Hull, Nimmo and Oplotnik all earning titles there. The Bronchos also competed in four other non-team scoring tournaments and compiled an impressive 22 top-five finishes at those events.

The 2021 UCO Athletics Hall of Fame Class
Lacie Allen, Volleyball, 2004-07
Sam Belt, Basketball, 2004-08
Robin Freeman, Golf, 1980-81
Mike Keim, Wrestling, 1992-95
Dustin McNeal, Football, 1994-97
The 1989 National Championship Wrestling Team

The 2020 UCO Athletics Hall of Fame Class
Dee Dee Carter, Football
Todd Dayton, Golf
Reggie Donner, Football
Kyle Evans, Wrestling
Mark Herrin, Volleyball
Pam Podolec, Softball
Todd Steidley, Wrestling
Jana Vnouckova, Tennis
The 1985-86 National Championship Wrestling Team
The 1986-87 National Championship Wrestling Team

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