Aug. 14, 2012
Photo Gallery of the 2012 Sun Devil Hall of Fame/Distinction Class
TEMPE, Ariz. - The Arizona State University Sports Hall of Fame will welcome eight former Sun Devil greats to its ranks Saturday, Sept. 22, at halftime of the ASU vs. Utah football game.
Six former student-athletes from six different varsity sports, along with two former football coaches, comprise the 2012 induction class. Erica Beach (Softball), Steve Blackford (Wrestling), Marcus Brunson (Track and Field), Shante Carver (Football), Larry Kentera (Football), Amanda Levens (Women's Basketball), Jeff Quinney (Men's Golf) and Darryl Rogers (Football) will be honored at the Hall of Fame football game on Sept. 22 vs. Utah at Sun Devil Stadium/Frank Kush Field. Kentera and Rogers will be inducted into the Hall of Distinction for coaches and administrators.
Erica Beach - Softball / Pitcher / 1999-2002
(B.A., Broadcasting, May 2003)
Beach played at Arizona State from 1999-2002, and as a pitcher and designated player, she led the Sun Devils to the NCAA Tournament all four seasons with two Women's College World Series appearances in 1999 and 2002. She was named to the 2002 WCWS All-TournamentTeam as a pitcher and was a three-time All-Pac-10 honoree. Also strong in the classroom, Beach was a First Team Verizon Academic All-American in 2001. She was named a First-Team All-American as a freshman in 1999. In the fall of 2003, Beach began her professional career in Europe playing for the Sparks Haarlem in The Netherlands. She led the team to the 2003 European Cup championship and was named the European Cup Most Outstanding Pitcher. In 2004 and 2005, she played for the Arizona Heat in the National Pro Fastpitch League and was an All-Star in 2004. From 2006-08, Beach helped lead the New England Riptide to the NPF championship. Beach was named the fourth New Mexico head softball coach in school history on June 17, 2010. Beach came to UNM from Ohio State where she was a successful assistant for four seasons (2006-10).
-- Erica Beach (@EricaBeach) August 15, 2012
@asusoftball@dougtammaro@sparkyarizonast@pac12 thank you so much!Such an honor to be inducted into the ASU Athletics hall of fame!
Steve Blackford - Wrestling / 1998-2001 / Deceased
(BIS, Business/Philosophy, August 2001)
Blackford is just the eighth wrestler in ASU history to be a three time all-American. He was also a two-time Pac-10 champion in 2000 and 2001, and his 138 victories rank second on ASU's all-time list. In 1999, Blackford finished in fourth place at the NCAA Championships in the 165 pound weight class, and in 2000, he went one better, finishing in third place. He finished in fifth place in 2001 as a senior. During the 1999-2000 season, Blackford had one of the best seasons ever as a Sun Devil wrestler with a record of 43-4, which tied him for the second-most victories in a single season by an ASU wrestler. He finished as the Pac-10 runner-up his first two years at ASU before being the Pac-10 champion in his junior and senior years, and ended his ASU career with a record of 138-30. Blackford died in a tragic automobile accident on Sept. 3, 2004.
Blackford...thank you "
-- Aaron Simpson (@aaronsimpson) August 15, 2012@dougtammaro: Great list@asu Hall of Famers for this year! thesundevils.com/genrel/081412a...@aaronsimpson proud of 1 pick for sure
Marcus Brunson - Track and Field / Sprinter / 1997-01
(BIS, Business/Mass Communication, August 2000)
Brunson can stake a claim as the greatest sprinter in school history as he set school records in the outdoor 100m and indoor 55m and 60m. He earned All-America status in 60m, 100m, 200m, 4x100mand 4x400m relays, and was the Pac-10 Champion in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay. He broke the collegiate record in the 60m in 1999 and was the 1999 NCAA runner-up in the event. He received 2000 All-America honors as a member of the 4x100 relay team which placed fourth (39.16) at the NCAA championships, and was the NCAA runner-up in the indoor 60m after breaking the collegiate record in his first race as a Sun Devil in 1999. He broke Ron Brown's 18-year-old school record in the 100m with a 10.10 at the 1999 Wildcat Qualifier. In his only 200m outdoor race in three years, he ran the fifth-best time in ASU history with a 20.42 at the 1999 UA/NAU Double Dual. In his first race as a Sun Devil at the 1999 Flagstaff Invitational, Brunson broke the collegiate record in the 60mwith a time of 6.46. He placed sixth in his preliminary heat of the 100m (10.39) at the 2000 Olympic Trials in Sacramento.
Shante Carver - Football / Defensive End / 1990-93
Carver was a four-year starter for the Sun Devils at defensive end and a two-time All-American honoree, as well as a team captain in 1993. He was the team leader in sacks in all four seasons as he recorded at least 10 every year. Carver recorded 41 sacks at ASU and was the Sun Devils' career sacks leader when he left school. His 248 yards lost on sacks was also tops in school history (prior to 2002). He finished his Sun Devil career fourth on the school's single-season sacks list with 11 and second in career tackles for loss with 57. He led the team in sacks and tackles for loss as a freshman in 1990, as well as a sophomore in 1991. He completed the rare defensive Triple Crown as a senior in 1993, pacing the team in tackles, sacks and tackles for loss, en route to collecting First Team All-America honors from the Football Writers Association of America, as well as second team recognition for NEA and third team status from Football News. He was also a1993 Playboy Magazine All-American and appeared in the East-West Shrine Game following the season. Carver took home First-Team NEA All-America honors and was a third-team selection by the Associated Press in 1992. The Dallas Cowboys drafted him with the 23rd overall pick in the 1994 National Football LeagueDraft.
Larry Kentera - Football / Assistant Coach / 1966-78
Kentera coached the ASU football team under head coach Frank Kush from 1966-78. He was the defensive coordinator for his final five seasons in Tempe, and handled a combination of the defensiveline, linebackers and defensive backs in 12 of his seasons. Many top players under Kentera's stewardship were drafted by the National or American Football Leagues, including Bob Bruenig, Curly Culp, Michael Haynes, Al Harris, and Ron Pritchard, all of whom were All-America selections or made Pro Bowl appearances. Kentera coached the wide receivers in his first season before switching to the defensive side of the ball for the remainder of his time. The Sun Devils went a combined 113-33 in his 13 seasons, including 11-0 in 1970 and 12-0 in 1975. His defenses posted eight shutouts in his time at ASU and he went 12-1 against Arizona.
Amanda Levens - Women's Basketball / Guard / 2000-02
(B.A., History, May 2002)
Levens transferred to ASU from Old Dominion andplayed two seasons for the Sun Devils from 2000-2002. A starter in all 64 games she played in, Levens earned First-Team All-Pac-10 honors during each of her two seasons and was named an AP Honorable Mention All-America in 2002. She played a central role in building the foundation for what would eventually become the most successful decade in ASU's women's basketball history, and helped lead the Sun Devils to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances, including the teams first since 1992. In addition, she guided the Sun Devils to a share of the 2001 Pac-10 title. The Sun Devils tied the then-single-season school record for wins (25) in 2002 en route to the inaugural Pac-10 Tournament title in 2002. When ASU returned to NCAAs in 2002, it represented only the second time in school history that the Sun Devils made back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances. She led the team in scoring in both 2001 (15.2 ppg) and 2002 (16.7 ppg), and was also the team leader in assists in 2002 (4.4 apg).Among ASU's all-time leading scorers, only Kym Hampton (19.7 ppg) and Olivia Jones (16.7) had a better career scoring average than Levens' 15.9 points per game. She concluded her Sun Devil career as the No. 2 all time in three-point field goals with 117 and in 2001 she set the then-single-season school record with 60 3-point field goals. She still holds the top two spots on ASU's all-time list for most free throws made in a season (167 in 2002 and 146 in2001), and became only the third player in school history to score 1,000 points in two seasons. Levens was named ASU women's basketball associate head coach this April after she was named the 2012 Ohio Valley Conference Coach of theYear as head coach for Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
Jeff Quinney - Men's Golf / 1997-2001
(B.S., Finance, May 2002)
The 2000 U.S. Amateur Champion, Quinney played in the 2000 Masters, 2001 U.S. Open and 2001 British Open as an amateur at ASU. He was a second-team All-American in 1999 and 2001, and earned honorable mention All-America honors in his freshman season (1998) after tying for 11th at the 1998 NCAA Championships in Albuquerque. He earned first team All-Pac-10 recognition three times (1999-2001) and played on three Pac-10 championship teams (1998, 1999 and 2000). Quinney set an ASU Karsten Golf Course record with a 62 on April 18, 1999, in the final round of the ASU Thunderbird/SAVANE Invitational as he took home medalist honors. He became the first Sun Devil to win the Pacific Northwest Golf Association Amateur sinceTodd Kernaghan when he won the 1998 title and then he won it again in the summer of 2000. He also won the 2001 UNLV Rebel Classic and was a medalist at the 1999 NCAA West Regional in Tucson.
Jeff Quinney, 2000
-- Ryan Herrington (@GWcampusinsider) August 15, 2012#USAm champ, selected for induction into Arizona State Sun Devil Hall of Fame.
Darryl Rogers - Football / Head Coach / 1980-84
Rogers went 37-18-1 (.670 win percentage) as head coach of the football team from 1980-84. He had four winning seasons in his five years at ASU and his best season came in 1982, when he led the Sun Devils to a 10-2 record and a victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1, 1983.
Click here for a complete list of ASU Athletics Hall of Fame inductees.