Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Four to be inducted into MSSU Athletics Hall of Fame

(From MSSU Lions Athletic News)

The Missouri Southern athletics department will induct the 2015 Athletics Hall of Fame Class as four individuals will be enshrined as part of Hall of Fame Weekend on September 18-19. The list includes four former student-athletes from the sports of football, men's soccer, men's basketball and women’s track and field.

Mary (Garrett) Still (Women's Track and Field 2000-04), Terry Shumpert (Men's Basketball 1998-02), Michael Bryson (Men's Soccer 1980-83), and Josh Chapman (Football 1999-02) will all be enshrined into the 2015 class of the Hall of Fame

The newest class will be present at a social on September 18 and will be inducted at a lunch on Saturday, Sept. 19. The group will be introduced as new Hall of Fame members at halftime of the Lions’ football game vs. Nebraska-Kearney on that Saturday.

Below are short biographies of each of the newest inductees.

Mary (Garrett) Still (Women's Track and Field – 2000-04) – Mary was a four-year letter winner for the Missouri Southern Women's Track and Field team from 2000-04 under coach Patty Vavra. Mary earned All-American honors five times in her career at Southern taking second place in the 400m hurdles in 2001, 03, and 04 and placing fourth in 2000. She earned NCAA D-2 Regional Female Athlete of the Year honors for her performance during the indoor season in 2004. Mary also was a three time MIAA champion winning the 400m and 600yd indoor titles and the outdoor 400m hurdle titles during her senior campaign.

Mary holds the school indoor records in the 400m dash and the 600yd run and the outdoor 400m hurdles. She holds all top 10 times in the 400m hurdles and holds eight of the top 10 times in the indoor 400m dash. She also has the second best time in the indoor 220m dash and the outdoor 400m dash. In 2004, Mary earned MIAA Athlete of the Week nine times and was the MSSU Female Athlete of the Year in 2003 and the E.O. & Virginia Humphrey Award winner in 2004. Mary was also a success in the classroom as she earned Verizon Academic All-American honors including first team honors in 2003 and 2004. She was also a finalist for the Ken B. Jones award which is the highest award the MIAA gives out to student athletes.

After graduating from Missouri Southern, Mary went on to earn her masters and doctorate's degrees in psychology from Iowa State University. She is married to Jeremiah Still and they live in San Jose, California where Mary is a psychology professor at San Jose State University.

Terry Shumpert (Men's Basketball 1998-02) – Shumpert was a four-year letter winner for MSSU Athletics Hall of Famer Robert Corn and was part of the best men's basketball team in school history. During his four-year career in the Green & Gold, Shumpert helped the team to an 82-37 record, including a 30-3 season in 1999-2000 as they opened The Leggett & Platt Athletic Center and made the school's only trip to the NCAA D-2 Elite Eight in Louisville, Kentucky.

Terry finished his career ninth (Currently 10th) on the all-time scoring list with 1,379 points and averaged 11.8 points per contest. In the 1999-00 MIAA Tournament Championship game against Northwest Missouri Terry was a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe as he put the Lions up for good at the 15:47 mark in the first half. Shumpert's free throw with 2:51 left in the first half of the South Central Regional game against Midwestern (Texas) State gave the Lions a 30-29 lead and Southern never looked back in route to the regional title.

A native of Paducah, Kentucky Terry graduated from Missouri Southern in 2002 with a bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice. He is currently employed by the State of Kentucky and is an assistant basketball coach at McCracken County HS. Terry is engaged to Miranda Calendar and he resides in Paducah with his three kids Alexis, Kaden, and Kingston.

Michael Bryson (Men's Soccer 1980-83) – Bryson is a 1984 graduate of Missouri Southern where he played both soccer and baseball for the Lions. During his two sport career at Southern Bryson earned four letters in soccer and two in baseball. In 1980 Bryson earned Rookie of the Year honors in the Central States Intercollegiate Conference (CSIC) before sitting out the 1981 season due to a broken foot. In 1982 his teammates elected him as a captain, while he earned Goal of the Year and Offensive MVP honors.

His junior season he was again elected captain and earned Offensive MVP, All-District, and All-Midwest honors as he led the Lions to a 12-6-1 record and a 5-3-0 record in district play. During his senior campaign Bryson earned NSCAA All-American honors was well as being named co-captain, earning his third Offensive MVP honor and his second All-District and All-Midwest honors. During his time in the Green & Gold, Bryson set the school's all-time scoring record with 59 goals.

In high school at Sedalia Smith-Cotton, Bryson was a three sport standout where he lettered in soccer, baseball, and basketball. He set the state record his senior year for goals scored in a season at 42, it has since been broken and currently sits at 72.

Bryson was a native of Sedalia, Missouri and graduated from MSSU with a bachelor's degree in Marketing. He had two sons Evan and Tyler before passing away in 2008 following a battle with cancer. Bryson was also inducted into the Sedalia Smith-Cotton HS Hall of Fame in February of 2015.

Josh Chapman (Football 1999-02) – Chapman's success at Missouri Southern is evident all over the record books as he either holds or is in the top 10 in career marks in 26 different offensive categories. But his success did not stop on the field as Chapman was a four-time member of the MIAA Academic Honor Roll during his time in the Green & Gold.

Chapman is one of only 23 players in the history of NCAA D-2 to have ever rushed and passed for over 1,000 yards in the same season and he did it twice. In 2001 he rushed for 1,025 yards and passed for 1,623, while in 2002 he rushed for 1,010 and passed for 2,398 yards. His performance in 2002 led to multiple awards and honors as he earned first team All-MIAA honors, MIAA Offensive Player of the Year, first team All-Region, and All-American honors. He was also invited to play in the Cactus Bowl, the D-2 All-Star game and earned national player of the week honors for his 593-yard performance in the 52-28 win over Washburn. The 593 yards gained against Washburn is a school record for most yards gained in a game, he also holds records in most games with 200 yards or more at 20, 300 yards or more in a game with 9, and most consecutive games with 300 yards or more with four. Chapman also holds every quarterback rushing record with 246 in a game against Missouri S&T in 2002, 1,025 yards in a season in 2001, and 3,233 yards for his career. In the game against Missouri S&T in 2002 Chapman also set the record for most touchdowns responsible for in a game with six against the Miners.

Josh is a 2003 graduate of Missouri Southern and has two bachelor's degree in business management and marketing. He is currently employed by Schreiber Foods and is a plant manager in Smithfield, Utah. Chapman is married to Katie and they have two children, Kelsey and Addie.

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 2015 class, the MSSU Athletics Hall of Fame now includes 113 members and two teams.

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