Nine new members to be inducted into Thomas More University Athletic Hall of Fame

By Dan Weber
NKyTribune sports reporter

Nine new members, including the first-ever women’s track and field athlete, will be inducted into the Thomas More University Athletic Hall of Fame at a Sept. 25 ceremony at the school’s new Academic Center.

The Class of 2024 will honor: women’s track and field national qualifier Christina Cook ’18 , women’s soccer NSCAA First Team All-American Laura Felix ’17 , men’s basketball 1,000 point scorer Jim Fox ’82 , D3 Baseball Second-Team All-American David Kennett ’13 , men’s soccer NCSAA All-Great Lakes Region Tim Knauer ’18 , women’s volleyball career solo blocks leader Amanda (Matracia) Williams ’06 , softball four-time First- Team All-PAC Mamee Salzer ’16 , football three-time All-PAC selection Trevor Stellman ’09 and DIII Women’s Basketball National Player of the Year Madison Temple ’19 .

Also honored with a special recognition as a Team of Distinction will be the 1983-87 men’s tennis team.

Here are the honorees:

Christina Cook ’18: Cook becomes the first women’s track and field athlete to be inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame for a career highlighted by a third-place finish at nationals in the 400-meter dash in 2018. The four-time NCAA National Qualifier was the 2015 Presidents Athletic Conference (PAC) Indoor Co-Track Athlete of the Year as a freshman. During her sophomore year she was named First-Team All-PAC both for indoor and outdoor track for the 200 and 400 meters, along with being named the PAC Indoor Women’s Track MVP. In her junior year, she was named PAC Indoor Track MVP again along with setting a PAC record time of 25.74 in the 200-meter dash. In her final season she again claimed the PAC Championships in the 200- and 400-meter dash, finishing her career with eight total program records.

Laura Felix ’17: Felix is a four-time All-PAC selection in soccer, including two First-Team selections and two Second-Team. She was named the PAC Player of the Year during her senior season. Felix was named First Team NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region three times during her career. She is a two-time All-American selection by NSCAA, Second-Team as a junior and First-Team as a senior. Academically she earned NSCAA Scholar All-East Region and DIII Scholar All-American as a senior. She played in 89 games in her career, recording 17 goals and 10 assists for 44 career points.

Jim Fox ’82: Fox appeared in 110 basketball games for the Saints over his four-year career and helped TMU reach the KIAC Semifinals twice. He recorded 1,171 career points, 21st all-time, in program history. He recorded more than 500 rebounds and 200 assists in his career highlighted by a senior season where he averaged 15.9 points a game while totaling 224 rebounds and 70 assists that season.

David Kennett ’13: Kennett appeared in 174 baseball games for the Saints and is a four-time All-PAC selection including three First-Team selections. He earned Third Team ABCA All-Mideast Region honors as a sophomore and again as a junior. D3 Baseball.com named him Second-Team All-American his sophomore season. On his graduation, he held the TMU career hits record with 256 and is in the top five for games played (fourth with 174), at-bats (second with 672), runs (second with 192), walks (third with 90), SACs (third with 27) and stolen bases (fifth with 57).

Tim Knauer ’18: Knauer played in 83 soccer matches for TMU, starting in 81, while earning All-PAC honors three times with a First-Team selection as a senior. He was named NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region twice in his career. For his career, Knauer recorded nine goals, nine assists, 27 points, and two game winning goals as a defender.

Amanda Matracia Williams ’06: Matracia Williams is the solo career blocks record holder in volleyball at Thomas More with 126, totaling 437 total blocks —  the second most in program history. She is No. 2 in assisted blocks with 311 while playing in the second-most sets in program history with 528, recording more than 1,000 kills in her career.

Mamee Salzer ’16: Salzer is a four-time First Team All-PAC softball selection earning multiple NFCA All-Central Region honors. As a junior, she was named MVP of the PAC Championships. She started 164 career games at TMU. Salzer finished with a career batting average of .330 and a .454 slugging percentage with 96 RBIs, 95 runs scored, three triples and 34 doubles. She pitched a total of 556.2 innings with a record of 55-24 with three saves and 368 strikeouts while setting the TMU career record for innings pitched. She is second in wins, fifth in strikeouts and sixth in ERA with a 2.12 for her TMU career.

Trevor Stellman ’09: Stellman is a three-time All-PAC football selection with First Team All-PAC honors as a senior. As a quarterback, he passed for 5,328 yards — the fourth most in Thomas More program history. He recorded 399 completions and is 24th in career scoring with 104 points. Stellman holds the single-season record at Thomas More for passing touchdowns with 26 as a senior.

Madison Temple ’19: Temple earned all three Division III National Player of the Year honors (WBCA, D3hoops.com , D3News) as a senior. She also was named the Jostens Trophy winner. Temple is a two-time First-Team All-PAC selection, PAC Player of the Year and PAC Freshman of the Year. During her freshman season she earned DIII News All-Freshman Team recognition. She earned D3Hoops.com Great Lakes Player of the Year, First-Team All-Region, and First-Team All-American honors as a junior before her senior season when she was a First-Team All-American, DIII Honda Athlete of the Year Finalist, and COSIDA’s Google Cloud Academic All-America. She played in 127 career games at Thomas More, recording 2,184 career points, the most in program history. She is No. 1 at Thomas More in career field goals (812), and career assists (585) and third for career rebounds (818).

Team of Distinction: The men’s tennis teams from 1983 to 1987 is recognized for an impressive run of success. During that time the men’s tennis program won three conference champions in 1983, 1986, and 1987. They also qualified for three national tournament appearances in 1983, 1984, and 1986.

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