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Athletic Hall of Fame honors, hoops action headline Pikeville College’s
Winterfest celebration
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Pikeville College’s Mountain Laurel queen candidates and their escorts. |
Athletic Hall of Fame honors,
hoops action, and a crowning ceremony will be the centerpiece of Pikeville
College’s Winterfest Saturday, Jan. 26.
The community is invited to join the celebration, which begins with a
reception and brunch in Booth Auditorium at 11 a.m., followed by the
Athletic Hall of Fame induction ceremony at noon. William J. Baird III, John
Kitchen, and former Lady Bear Allyson Preece, will be added to the elite
list of Hall of Fame inductees. Members of the 1950-51 men’s basketball team
and cheerleading squad will be recognized for their accomplishments, and
Pikeville College will pay tribute to some of its most supportive fans,
naming Bryan Crager, Jeanette Elder and the late Ed Elder, and Walter E. May
as honorary Hall of Fame members.
Winterfest continues with exciting hoops action as the Lady Bears take on
Southern Virginia College at 2 p.m. at the gymnasium. At 4 p.m., the men’s
basketball team will play Knoxville College. Athletic Hall of Fame inductees
and honorary members will be introduced between games. Candidates for the
Mountain Laurel Festival queen will be announced during halftime of the
men’s game, followed by a crowning ceremony for the College’s Mountain
Laurel representative. All events, including the games, are free and open to
the public.
Hall of Fame Inductees
Bill Baird, class of ‘66, became interim softball coach during the 1994
season, and then was the head coach from 1995-2000. During his tenure, he
accumulated a record of 157-168, coaching 12 all-conference players and 11
academic all-conference members. Baird has overseen the construction of Paul
Butcher Field, home of the Lady Bears, and the Pikeville College baseball
field. After stepping down as head coach, Baird has continued in the role of
assistant coach. A local attorney, Baird says of all his accomplishments he
is most proud of his position as co-huddle coach of the Fellowship of
Christian Athletes, a position he has held since 1995.
After a dazzling career at Phelps High School where she helped the school to
two 15th Region championships, Allyson
Preece, class of ‘96, had a brilliant four years at Pikeville College. She
left the school third on the all-time scoring list for women’s basketball
with 1,791 points. She is the school’s career leader in three-point shooting
percentage, having hit 38.1 percent, and is second in career free throw
shooting hitting 79.8 percent. Preece’s best game was on Feb. 1, 1996, when
she set an NAIA Div. I record by hitting 12 three-point shots in a game
against Spalding University. The feat has been tied once, but as of her
induction, still stands as the national record.
A gifted two-sport athlete, John Kitchen, class of ‘96, helped Knott County
Central High School to two 14th Region basketball championships and chalked
up one regional singles title and one runner-up finish in tennis, sending
him to two state tournaments in each sport. At Pikeville College, Kitchen’s
teams won 80 games in four seasons, including a 23-11 season during his
senior year that saw the team finish one game from the national tournament.
He finished with 983 points and 456 rebounds, and is the career leader in
assists with 756. He also holds the single-season record for assists with
300. He was a two-time all-conference performer in men’s tennis, reaching
the semifinals of the KIAC tournament as both a junior and senior.
The 1950-51 Pikeville College Bears will also be honored for their
outstanding season. The team, coached by Robert Houchin, finished 19-9 and
took the regular-season championship of the KJCAC. The Bears were runners-up
in the KJCAC tournament, and also finished second in the Southeastern
Conference of Junior Colleges tournament, held in Americus, Ga. Coaching
staff and team manager, players, and cheerleaders being honored include,
Robert Houchin, George Bailey, George Kirk, James Duff (posthumously),
Carson Coleman, Douglas Lafferty (posthumously), Roma Lou Clark McClannahan,
Doris Worthington Braunworth, John Welch, Dorothy Dale Walker Hylton, Ellen
Spaur Henry, Tom Davis, Vesper Singleton, Joseph M. Hall, Arnold Harmon,
James Tyler and Calvin Grace.
Honorary Hall of Fame Members
During his 15-year career as sports director at East Kentucky Broadcasting,
Brian Crager showed tireless dedication to Pikeville College athletics,
working to ensure that College basketball games would be broadcast, and by
promoting events and contests during his sportscasts.
Jeanette Elder, class of ‘60, and her husband the late Ed Elder, have shown a
tremendous commitment to Pikeville College athletics, particularly the
cheerleading program, and are known statewide for their efforts to promote
cheerleading. An avid photographer, Ed Elder captured many of the College’s
landmarks and buildings in a collection of photographs.
As the owner of the East Kentucky Broadcasting Network, Walter May, Academy
class of ‘55, has shown his dedication and commitment by providing a home
for Pikeville College basketball and baseball games for nearly half a
century.
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Mark your
Calendars!
February 4
Alumni
Association Board Meeting
February 5
"Think Fast" Game Show
(Chrisman Auditorium)
February 12
KET Basketball Preview
Film: "Great Balls of Fire"
(Mountain Arts Center)
February 26
Men's and Women's Basketball Mid-South Conference Tournament
Contacts:
Editor: Lucy Holman, lholman@pc.edu
Webmaster: Rob Foster,
rfoster@pc.edu |
For
author Linda Scott DeRosier, neither time nor distance has dimmed her
childhood memories of growing up on Two-Mile Creek in Johnson County.
Calling it her “postcard from Appalachia,” DeRosier shares her genuine story
of home and family in her book, Creeker: A Woman’s Journey.