General 8/4/2023 9:00:00 AM Chris Brannick

UCO Announces Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2023

Seven Individuals and Two National Championship Teams Heading Into Hall of Fame This Fall

EDMOND – The University of Central Oklahoma announced its Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2023 Friday with seven new individuals and two championship teams set to enter the hall this September.

The 1993-94 and 1994-95 national championship wrestling teams are both being inducted into the hall of fame. The two teams are the backend of four consecutive NCAA Division II national titles won by the Bronchos in the mid 1990s. Amy Douglas, Valerie Gutierrez, Shane Kelly, Ryan Martin, John Preston, Randy Preston, and Max Tuepker will all enter the hall of fame as well for their contribution to Broncho athletics.

The 2023 UCO Athletics Hall of Fame Banquet is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 15 at 6 p.m. in the George & Donna Nigh Center on campus. The inductees will also be recognized at halftime of the UCO Hall of Fame Game Saturday, Sept. 16 against Missouri Southern.

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Douglas played softball at Central from 1990-93. She earned First Team All-Region and Second Team All-American in 1992. Douglas finished her career No. 1 in batting average (.322), No. 1 in hits (120), and No. 1 in RBIs (79). Played in 125 of 152 games during her career, when Central State/UCO went 92-59-1. The Bronchos were not part of a conference at the time when moving into Division II and the Lone Star Conference, which did not sponsor softball at the time.

Gutierrez played soccer from 2000-03 and helped the Bronchos through a dominating stretch, winning 71 games in four seasons. Gutierrez was a four-time All Lone Star Conference performer and a two-time All-Region selection. She helped the Bronchos to their first ever NCAA Division II national tournament appearance and led UCO to the Sweet 16 in 2000. The Bronchos made the national tournament three times in her four-year career. Gutierrez finished her career with 37 goals scored, 38 assists, and 112 career points, all marks that each still rank in the top five in school history.

Kelly, who golfed for the Bronchos from 1977-81, died March 27, 2022. He was an All-American golfer at Central. Kelly helped the Bronchos to a pair of NAIA national championship appearances during his time at Central, with the third-place finish in 1981 still the best finish in school history. Kelly won his first career tournament as a sophomore at Southwestern and helped Central win the team title too. He tied for first at the CSU Invite at KickingBird Golf Club during his senior season before losing a playoff. Kelly shot three rounds in the 60s during his senior season including back-to-back rounds at the Fort Worth Recreational Tournament. He led the Bronchos to an 11th-place finish at the 1981 NAIA national championship to close out his career at Central.

Martin wrestled for the Bronchos from 1989-94 and was a national champion and two-time All-American. He won 91 matches in his four-year career, including 30 bonus-point victories. Martin qualified for nationals three times (1990, 1992, 1994) and was a two-time regional champion (92, 94). In 1993-94, Martin finished his career with a 32-12 season that ended with a 5-0 run at the national tournament to claim the 134-pound national title.

John Preston played football at Central from 1982-83, helping the Bronchos win an NAIA national championship during his first season with the program. He made First Team All-District 9 both seasons he was with the Bronchos. In two years, the Texas native compiled 181 tackles and eight interceptions. John also had two interceptions returned for touchdowns and two fumble recoveries in his career.

Randy Preston played all four years with the Bronchos from 1981-84 and helped the Bronchos win the 1982 NAIA national championship. He made Second Team All-District 9 as a junior and was a First Team All-District 9 as a senior before he earned NAIA All-American honors. Randy set a school with 16 career interceptions and is still in second place all time 40 years later. He owns the Broncho career record for interception return yards (423) and is tied for the longest return in school history of 100 yards.

Tuepker played football at Central from 1972-75 and that started what became a lifelong support for the Bronchos. His family lived in Edmond for years and Max knew all about UCO and its rich tradition. Coming to UCO as a student athlete, he would eventually excel both on the field and in the classroom. He was asked to fill in at several different positions during his tenure under Coach Ball, and not only was he very efficient but never shirked from doing what was asked of him. Max has continued to support UCO and UCO Football since his time here as a student-athlete. He has contributed financially as well as serving as a resource many times in other areas (Football fundraisers, UCO Foundation, hiring committees, former UCO Athletic Association, Stampede Club, etc.). There are few home football games that Max is not in attendance as well as many times away football games.

The 1993-94 and 1994-95 national championship wrestling teams will both enter the hall of fame this fall. The back-to-back national titles completed a run of four consecutive championships for the Bronchos in the early-to-mid 90s. UCO won its first four Division II championships in four straight years from 1992-95.

The 1993-94 team scored 127.2 points at the national championship, nearly double the runners-up from Minnesota State (65.5 points). The Bronchos crowned four national champions and had what was then a school-record eight All-Americans. Brian Melchiori (126), Ryan Martin (134), Jerry Best (142), and Wes White (158) won titles while Randy Zellner (118) and Keith Cunningham (167) both earned runner-up finishes. Chad Humphrey (190) and Mark Cunningham (150) finished fifth and sixth at nationals.

The 1994-95 squad scored 148 points at nationals, which is still today the second-most by a Broncho team. UCO had eight All-Americans for the second year in a row and crowned three individual national champions. Melchiori (126) and Best (142) both won titles for the second year in a row themselves, with Mike Keim (134) joining them as a champion. Shawn Bateman (150), Mark Cunningham (158) and Jeff Pease (285) each earned national runner-up finishes. Keith Kizarr (118) and Chad Humphrey (190) both finished third.

The UCO Athletics Hall of Fame was established in 1991 and honors the best of the best from Central's 100-plus year history of athletics. With the induction of the Class of 2023, there are 172 individuals and 14 teams in the UCO Athletics Hall of Fame.

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