Athletics Announces 2012 Hall of Fame Class

STATESBORO, Ga. - Seven new members will be inducted into the Georgia Southern Athletics Hall of Fame on September 28th as announced by Athletics Director Sam Baker today.

The class, which will be introduced to the Eagle faithful during halftime of the September 29th Samford football game, is headlined by FCS' leading career rusher, Adrian Peterson. Joining Peterson in the 2012 class is Blake Adams (golf), Julian Deal (supporter), Ray Mims (baseball), Sharon Mitchell (women's basketball), Tracy Rivers (baseball) and Robin Thirsk (women's soccer).

The 2012 class will be officially inducted at the Hall of Fame dinner the night before the Georgia Southern-Samford football game. The group will then join 126 former coaches, student-athletes, supporters and administrators.

2012 Hall of Fame Class Bios

BLAKE ADAMS        Golf, 1997-1999
Three-year letterman…two time All-SoCon Selection…tied for 6th all-time for lowest two-round tournament score (141)…finished with the 10th best individual score at the 1999 Schenkel E-Z-GO Invitational…joined professional golf in 2001 after graduating…as of July 1, 2012 was in his third season on the PGA Tour…his best finish was second at the Byron Nelson Championship in 2010…has one third place finish and seven top-10 finishes in his career… also ranked 78th in the FedExCup and 160th in the Offical World Golf Rankings.

JULIAN DEAL        Supporter
Long-time and passionate supporter of athletics programs and University…served as a member of the Georgia Southern Athletic Foundation (Southern Boosters) Board of Directors and Chairman (1995-97)…member of the executive committee 1989-1997...also a member of several other Foundation committees…member of Founding Group of the Men’s Basketball Tip-Off Club (1997) and chaired group from 1997-98…council member, vice chairman  and chairman of the Business Advisory Council for College of Business Administration…served as a member of the Georgia Southern University Foundation from 1973-2009 and was a member of the Executive Committee from 1987-2009…also served on various University Foundation committees…service to the University includes multiple assignments on University committees, including the Athletic Study Committee and for the NCAA I-AA National Football Championship event. (1989-91)…1960 graduate of Georgia Southern…selected as the Outstanding Alumnus of the Year…Georgia Southern College of Business Administration Hall of Fame…first recipient of the School of Business Annual Alumni Award…first recipient of the Beta Alpha Psi, Zeta Delta Chapter Alumnus of the Year.

RAY MIMS        Baseball, 1957-60
Holds the single-game record for strikeouts in a game, fanning 18 Davidson batters in 1959…helped the Eagles advance to the NCAA District 3 Regional…paced the 1959 team with 46 strikeouts in 41.2 innings pitched…3-3, 3.87 ERA that season…threw five complete games in 1960, logging 84.2 innings…3.54 ERA and 5-3 record…struck out a staff-high 99 batters…started a team-leading 13 times in 1960…helped Eagles to 65-44 record over that four-year span.

SHARON MITCHELL    Women’s Basketball, 1996-2001
A four-year letter winner and three year starter...redshirted during the 1999-2000 season to recover from a torn ACL...three-time SoCon Player of the Week…1st Team All-SoCon Coaches Selection and 2nd Team Media Selection in 2001...1st Team All-Tournament Selection in 2001 …team’s leading scorer in junior and senior season…ranked 6th in scoring, 7th in field goal percentage, 8th in free throw percentage, 8th in rebounds, and 9th in steals in the SoCon during 2000-2001 season…member of the 1,000 points club…ranks in the GSU top ten in career rebounds (762), free throw percentage (71.6), career blocks (64), and steals (176).

ADRIAN PETERSON        FOOTBALL, 1998-2001
Perhaps the greatest football player in the history of Georgia Southern Athletics…led Eagles to two national championships and three consecutive title game appearances…Holds the FCS career records in sixteen different categories including career TDs (84), most games with 100 or more rushing yards (40), most yards gained by a freshman in a season in 1998 (1,932), TDs scored by a freshman (1998), and is the NCAA Division I all-time leading rusher with 6,559 yards in regular season contests…holds 30 school and playoff records…recipient of the 1999 Walter Payton Award…inducted as a member of the inaugural Southern Conference Hall of Fame class in 2009…broke or tied 45 records (16 GSU, 14 NCAA, 15 SoCon) in 1998…Four-time All-American... Played eight seasons in the NFL with the Chicago Bears... Member of the 2006 NFC Champions.

TRACY RIVERS       Baseball, 1960-63
NAIA All-America in 1960 and NAIA All-Tournament Team selection in 1960…Pitched 18 innings without giving up an earned run… lost 1-0 decision to Whitworth in second round of College World Series despite giving up only one hit and striking out 10 batters... defeated defending champion Southern 3-1 to send Georgia Southern to the finals after allowing just one unearned run on four hits… selected to the East All-Star All-American team after not allowing an earned run over 18 innings in the NAIA College World Series… in 1963, he compiled a pitching record of 6-3, an ERA of 3.10 while hitting .306… Signed a contract to play with the New York Mets… Played three years in the minor leagues… Threw a no-hitter and compiled a 20-9 record before his career ended due to injury.

ROBIN THIRSK        Women’s Soccer, 1997-2000
Finished her career second all-time in points (112), third in goals (37) and second in assists (38)...stands second (45) and 10th (32) among the season ‘Top 10’ leaders in points… tied with former teammate Tara Chaisson for most goals in a season (17)… also tied for third (12) and sixth (11) in season assists… one of two players in Georgia Southern history named All-Southern Conference all four seasons… named to the 1997 All-Southern Conference Tournament team…1997 Soccer Buzz Freshman All-America Southeast. Second Team NSCAA Academic All-America (2000)… NSCAA Scholar All-South Region (1999)…Georgia Southern Student-Athlete of the Year (2000).

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Category: Athletics

Published on Thursday, 09 August 2012 09:14