Three selected for MSSU Athletics Hall of Fame

(From MSSU Lions Athletic News)

The Missouri Southern athletics department will induct the 2014 Athletics Hall of Fame Class as four individuals will be enshrined as part of Hall of Fame Weekend this Friday and Saturday. The list includes four former student-athletes from the sports of football, baseball and men's and women’s track and field.

Tim Doss (Baseball – 1972-74), Brad Cornelsen (Football – 1995-98), Brian Lyons (Men’s Track and Field/Cross Country – 1999-2004), and Margaret (Miklovic) Lyons (Women’s Track and Field/Cross Country – 1998-2002) will all be enshrined into the 2014 class of the Hall of Fame. The group also features the first married couple to be inducted in the same class (Margaret and Brian Lyons).

The newest class will be present at a social at 7 pm tonight and will be inducted at a lunch at noon on Saturday, Sept. 27. The group will be introduced as new Hall of Fame members at halftime of the Lions’ football game vs. Washburn on Saturday.

Below are short biographies on each of the four Lions to be inducted into the Hall of Fame:

Tim Doss (Baseball – 1972-74) – Doss played for the very first baseball team at Missouri Southern and is one of the best pitchers to put on an MSSU uniform. Doss was a three-year starter and finished his career with a record of 16-3, while putting up a 2.13 career ERA in 23 games. He started 20 games and finished with 13 complete-games and four shutouts. He struck out 65 batters and allowed just 33 earned runs in 139.2 innings pitched.

Doss is the single-season record holder in complete games (9), while holding the career record in both ERA (2.13) and winning percentage (.842). He is fourth in career shutouts (4), sixth in career complete games (13), seventh in wins (16), while ranking tenth in single-season ERA (1.78).

Doss graduated from Missouri Southern in 1974 with a degree in education. He is a collegiate softball umpire in the MIAA, while also umpiring at the high school level and officiating high school basketball. He currently works in purchasing and receiving at Freeman Hospital in Joplin and has two grown children. He and his wife Debbie reside in Joplin.

Brad Cornelsen (Football – 1995-98) – Cornelsen was a three-year starter and four-year letter winner at quarterback for the Lions. He was the first quarterback in NCAA Division II history to pass for 4,000 yards and rush for 2,000 yards in a career.

He was an Academic All-Conference selection in both 1997-98 and was a Harlon Hill Regional Finalist in 1997. He finished his career fourth all-time on the total offense list with 6,671 yards. He had the highest passing efficiency mark in MSSU history in 1996 when he put up a mark of 162.5. He completed 102 passes in 189 attempts for 1,625 yards and ten touchdowns. He also ranks seventh all-time in career rushing yards (second amongst quarterbacks) with 2,273 yards and ranks fourth in career scoring (210). He is fifth in both passing yards (5,334) and completions (261).

Cornelsen started his coaching career at Northeast Oklahoma A&M, and served stints at Northwest Missouri, Oklahoma State, Illinois State, Northeastern State and has served as a quarterbacks coach at the University of Memphis for the past three seasons. This past year, Cornelsen coached freshman Paxton Lynch to become just the second Tiger to throw for over 2,000 yards in his rookie campaign. It was also just the tenth 2,000 yard passing campaign in Memphis program history and Lynch ranked in the top ten in single-season pass attempts, completions and completion percentage.

Cornelsen graduated from Southern in 2000 with a degree in physical education and he and his wife Jaimi were married in 2011.

Brian Lyons (Men’s Track and Field/Cross Country – 1999-2004) – Lyons was a five-year member of the cross country and track and field teams at Missouri Southern. He was a seven-time All-Conference selection in cross country and track and field, helping the Lions to five different team MIAA titles (cross country – 2000-2003, indoor – 2004).

He was named the 2002 MSSU Outstanding Athlete and still holds the Missouri Southern record in the outdoor 5k. He was a three-time MIAA Athlete of the Week, while winning four individual MIAA titles in 2002 alone (cross country, indoor 3k and 5k and outdoor 5k). He was the 2004 MIAA Indoor Track Championships High Point Scorer, while being named the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Regional Indoor Athlete of the Year that season.

Lyons was a two-time cross country All-Region selection and earned two All-American honors.

Lyons graduated from Missouri Southern in 2004 with a degree in environmental health and micro biology. He and his wife, Margaret, have three children, Lillian, Lukas and Lincoln and reside in Glendale, Mo. He is currently the Director of Race Management for GO! St. Louis, where he directs running events, including the GO! St. Louis Marathon and Family Fitness Weekend that hosts over 20,000 runners every April.

Margaret (Miklovic) Lyons (Women’s Track and Field/Cross Country – 1998-2002) – Lyons is one of the most decorated female distance runners in Missouri Southern history. She is one of just two women in Southern history to qualify for the NCAA Championship in each sport in the same season (Cross Country, Indoor and Outdoor Track), doing so in 2001-02.

A two-time All-American, she placed third in the indoor mile in 2002, while placing fifth in the 3k in the 2002 outdoor championships. She was the MIAA Champion in the 1,500m run, while holding the MSSU school record in the indoor mile, 3k and 1k, as well as the outdoor 1,500m.

She was a three-time MIAA Champion in the mile, 3k and 1,500m, while earning the cross country Lionbacker Award of Excellence in 2001 and the track and field MVP in 2002. She was named the MSSU Female Athlete of the Year in 2002.

A three-time MIAA Academic Honor Roll member, she was named the Missouri Southern Outstanding Graduate in 2002, earning a degree in accounting and graduating Magna Cum Laude.

An accountant living in suburban St. Louis, Lyons is married to fellow Hall of Fame inductee Brian Lyons. The couple has three children, Lillian, Lukas and Lincoln.

The Missouri Southern Athletics Hall of Fame was established to pay tribute and give deserved recognition while enhancing school tradition by honoring former athletic letter winners and/or coaches who have shown distinctive, unique or exceptional ability while at Missouri Southern or since graduation. The honorees must be graduates of Missouri Southern and there must have been a lapse of at least 10 years since the individual last participated in athletics at Southern.

With the addition of the 2014 class, the MSSU Athletics Hall of Fame now includes 109 members and two teams.