Men's track and field coach Greg Kraft will enter the Hall of Distinction on Hall of Fame weekend (Oct. 6-7), and will be joined by thrower Jordan Clarke (four-time NCAA champion), baseball's Jason Kipnis, football wide receiver and local star Shaun McDonald, water polo's Addison McGrath and volleyball's Regina (Stahl) Mannix, who has become a local coaching legend.
The 2007 women's track and field team, who won the NCAA indoor title, the Pac-10 title, the NCAA West Regional and the NCAA Championship in a four-month period, will become the second full team to enter the Hall of Fame, following the 1995 NCAA women's golf team that went undefeated en route to its NCAA title. The 1995 women's golf team was inducted in 2019.
The SDA Hall of Fame was established in 1975 to honor the school's most distinguished student-athletes in all sports. Student-athletes become eligible for induction into the Hall of Fame 10 years after their senior class has graduated. The Hall of Distinction, recognizing outstanding contributions from coaches and administrators, was inaugurated in 1982.
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JORDAN CLARKE -- MEN'S TRACK AND FIELD/2008-13
Jordan Clarke arrived from Anchorage and became one of the greatest throwers in Sun Devil history. He won four NCAA titles, five conference titles and earned All-America honors eight times, including notching first-team honors six times. He helped the Sun Devils to two NCAA team trophies and high conference finishes and collected three golds and a bronze in ASU's 2012 and 2013 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) titles. He earned his NCAA titles in the 2011 outdoor shot, 2012 indoor and outdoor shot, and 2013 outdoor shot. His conference titles were earned in the 2011 outdoor shot, 2012 indoor and outdoor shot, 2013 indoor shot, and the 2013 weight throw. His best collegiate marks in both versions of the shot, weight throw, and hammer all remain top-five in ASU's records a decade after his graduation. Clarke continued to compete post-collegiately too and collected 11 gold medals across three years of professional competitions and had five of the top-15 marks in the world between the 2013-14 indoor season and his final outdoor season in 2016.
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JASON KIPNIS, OF -- BASEBALL/2008-09
In two short years at ASU, Jason Kipnis left his mark on Sun Devil baseball, taking over the starting center field spot from the day he arrived on campus as a transfer from Kentucky. He hit .378 in his two seasons, earning Pac-10 Newcomer of the Year honors in 2008 and Pac-10 Player of the Year honors in 2009. He bashed 30 homers in his two seasons, recorded a .996 fielding percentage and stole 51 bases. His .688 career slugging percentage is good for fourth best in school history. He was a second-team All-America pick by ABCA in 2008 and a unanimous first-team All-American in 2009, earning All-Pac-10 first-team honors both years, and was an honorable mention Academic All-Pac-10 pick in 2009. Cleveland made his a second-round pick in 2009, and he was the organization's Minor League Player of the Year in 2010, called up in July of 2011 and became the starting second basemen in 2012. The Northbrook (IL) native and Glenbrook North 2005 graduate also played soccer and football in high school. His Sun Devils teams won back-to-back Pac-10 titles going 51-14 overall and 21-6 in 2009 and 49-13 and 16-8 in 2008.
5/27/09 – #ASU made history as Mike Leake was named the PAC-10 Pitcher of the Year for the 2nd straight season, the first back-to-back winner in Conference history, and Jason Kipnis also won the PAC-10 Player of the Year Award, the 3rd straight year a Sun Devil has won. #ForksUp pic.twitter.com/y7lm8ovoJw
— Arizona Sports History (@AZSportsHistory) May 27, 2023
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GREG KRAFT -- TRACK AND FIELD HEAD COACH/1996-2019 (HALL OF DISTINCTION)
Greg Kraft is a four-time USTFCCCA Coach of the Year and three-time Pac-12 Coach of the Year who led ASU to four NCAA team titles across the 2007 and 2008 indoor and outdoor seasons in his 23-year career (1996-2019). Kraft's career culminated in the veteran coach being inducted into the USTFCCCA Hall of Fame in December 2022. He took over the Sun Devil Track and Field programs in 1996 and led ASU toward its first NCAA appearance in 1998, which started an era of the men's and women's teams constantly being among the nation's elites. His teams won four NCAA titles and recorded 12 top-four finishes at national championships. At least one Sun Devil won an NCAA individual title in 13 of his final 16 years, and overall Kraft saw his student-athletes win 38 national titles, earn 21 Olympic berths and take home more than 300 All-America honors. ASU was an unstoppable force in 2007 and 2008, winning three women's titles and one men's title. The Sun Devils were just the third program in NCAA history to sweep the men's and women's indoor crowns at the same championship event in 2008. The team won 13 individual national titles in those two years and included future Olympians in 2022 USTFCCCA HOF inductee Jackie Johnson, six-time national champion Ryan Whiting, Grenada sprinter Joel Phillip, American jumper Trevell Quinley and Ghanaian sprinter Seth Amoo. Throughout his 23 years at Arizona State, Kraft's athletes excelled in competition along with their studies, earning countless all-academic honors from the Pac-10/12 and MPSF, as well as fielding more than 20 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans. The program was recognized six times as the top academic team in the country by the USTFCCCA, with six student-athletes earning the title of National Scholar-Athlete of the Year and another nine receiving Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors from the conference. Six of Kraft's student-athletes are enshrined in Sun Devil history as members of the Arizona State Sports Hall of Fame, including seven-time NCAA champion Jacquelyn Johnson, Boston Marathon champion Desiree Linden, NCAA champions Aaron Aguayo and Marcus Brunson, World bronze-medalist Amy Hastings and Olympic gold-medalist Dwight Phillips, with more likely on the way.
Want to see our @ASU_Alumni say thanks to @CoachGregKraft ? Pretty cool messages in this video from many https://t.co/gpr9w956ut
— Sun Devil Track and Field/XC (@SunDevilTFXC) July 16, 2020
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SHAUN McDONALD, WR -- FOOTBALL (2000-02)
Phoenix and Shadow Mountain High School product Shaun McDonald played soccer, football and ran track in high school before arriving at ASU, and he just kept running when he got to Tempe as he ended his career with seven 150-yard receiving games. One of the top wide receivers in Sun Devil history as his 2002 season was legendary, when he caught a school-record 87 passes for a school-record 1,405 yards and 13 touchdowns (second-best in school history). He averaged more than 18 yards on 156 career catches with 24 touchdowns, and in 2001 averaged 23.5 yards per catch on 47 catches. He was a finalist for the 2002 Biletnikoff Award, and is the only Sun Devil with two four-touchdown receiving games. He earned first-team All-Pac-10 in 2001 and 2002 and was a third-team Associated Press and Sporting News All-American in 2002 and honorable mention by Football News in 2001. He earned his bachelor's degree in interdisciplinary studies (education and family studies) from ASU in 2005. A fourth round pick in the 2003 NFL Drat by by the St. Louis Rams (106th overall), he played seven seasons in the NFL that included a 79-catch season with the Detroit Lions in 2007.
RECENT SUN DEVIL HALL OF FAME FOOTBALL INDUCTEES FROM ARIZONA HIGH SCHOOLS
2023—Shaun McDonald, 2000-02 (Shadow Mountain)
2022--Terrell Suggs, 2000-02 (Hamilton)
2016--Levi Jones, 1998-2001 (Santa Cruz Valley Union)
2016--Zach Miller, 2004-2006 (Desert Vista)
2013--Todd Heap, 1998-2000 (Mountain View)
2011--Adam Archuleta, 1997-2000 (Chandler)
SHAUN McDONALD TOP RECEIVING GAMES AT ASU
--10 receptions/221 yards, 1 touchdown vs. Stanford (Sept. 18, 2002)
--12 catches/204 yards, 1 touchdown at Oregon (Oct. 19, 2002)
--9 catches/194 yards, 1 touchdown vs. Washington (Oct. 17, 2001)
--8 catches/175 yards, 4 touchdowns at San Diego State (Sept. 14, 2002)
--5 catches/169 yards, 1 touchdown vs. Washington State (Nov. 10, 2001)
--8 catches/156 yards, 0 touchdowns vs. North Carolina (Oct. 5, 2002)
--5 catches/154 yards, 4 touchdowns vs. Louisiana-Lafayette (Oct. 6, 2001)
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ADDISON McGRATH -- WATER POLO/2006-09
Addison McGrath posted Sun Devil records throughout her Sun Devil tenure. The California native currently holds records for career goals (237), career points (348) and is the only Sun Devil to surpass the 300-point mark and holds the single season record with most points recorded with 123 set in 2008. McGrath is one of two Sun Devils to score 80 goals in a season with 81 set in 2008 which was a program record at the time for five seasons until 2013. She ranks second for career assists with 111 in her four years in Tempe, while having 66 multi-goal games. She was a three-time All-American selection, earning honorable mention in 2007 and became the first Sun Devil to earn ACWPC First-Team All-America honors after her record-setting junior season in 2008. Her senior season she followed it up with earning a second-team All-America nod by the ACWPC by posting 63 goals and 26 assists. McGrath was a two-time All-MPSF first-team pick in her final two years and was a three-time selection on the MPSF All-Academic honors list. Her junior year she led the Sun Devils to 20 wins for the second time in program history, and set a then-single game record with seven goals against No. 4 Hawaii on Feb. 8, 2008, which was held for 14 years. McGrath also was a multi-sport athlete, as she competed in three track meets while playing water polo, regionally qualifying in the javelin by placing in eighth with a toss of 153-05 (46.77m), which ranked second in program history at the time (eighth current).
McGrath's Career Statistics | ||||
Year | Goals | Assists | Points | Steals |
2006 | 39 | 9 | 48 | 18 |
2007 | 54 | 34 | 88 | 41 |
2008 | 81 | 42 | 123 | 46 |
2009 | 63 | 26 | 89 | 30 |
TOTALS | 237 | 111 | 348 | 135 |
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REGINA (STAHL) MANNIX -- VOLLEYBALL/1984-87
Regina Mannix, formerly Stahl, made her mark on Sun Devil Volleyball with a legacy that holds today. The Southern California native still holds the record for career assists (5,180) and aces (178). She was an AVCA second team All-American in 1986, one of just seven in program history. In her final two seasons, she was a member of the all-region squad. She was also a three-time all-conference selection, including making All-Pac-10 in the first two inaugural seasons. In her last three seasons, she led the team to three-straight NCAA Tournament appearances. In 1986, ASU advanced to the second round and to 27 wins, the second-highest win total in program history. Wearing the number seven throughout her career, Stahl set individual match records as well. In a single match in 1987, she recorded an astounding 90 assists, an ASU record and the third-highest in conference history. She also holds the single-match record for aces with nine, which she set as a freshman in 1984. In single season records, she is third, fifth and eighth for assists, as well as first and third in aces. She graduated with a bachelor of science in justice administration and earned a master's degree in personal counseling and has thrived in the head coaching role at Scottsdale Community College.
REGINAL STAHL'S YEAR-BY-YEAR TEAM RECORDS
1987: 16-15/9-9 (7)/NCAA first round
1986: 27-7/13-5 (3)/NCAA second round
1985: 22-13/2-6/NCAA first round
1984: 15-18/3-11
Dynasty in the desert: How Regina Mannix built SCC Volleyball to last @NJCAAVolleyball @accac_sports #GoChokes https://t.co/CpT0wM3Aj5
— SCC Athletics (@SCCArtichokes) October 26, 2022
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2007 SUN DEVIL WOMEN'S TRACK TEAM -- NCAA OUTDOOR, WEST REGION, PAC-10 AND NCAA INDOOR CHAMPION
On a picture perfect day, the 2007 Arizona State University women's track and field team captured its first outdoor national title and its second national team crown of the year as the Sun Devils accumulated 60 points to beat out runner-up LSU (53) at the 2007 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships at the Alex G. Spanos Athletic Complex on the Sacramento State campus. On the day, six women earned All-America accolades, with Jessica Pressley capturing the shot put competition to put the team over the top in the points race. The Sun Devils became just the third women's program in NCAA history (13th time overall) in NCAA women's history that a team has won both the indoor and outdoor team titles in the same year. The first team to do so since 2003, ASU joined LSU and Texas as the programs to hold the distinction. Heading into the day with a slight lead over LSU, the Sun Devils opened with Latosha Wallace clocking a personal-best and second-best in school history time of 56.35 to finish fourth and give the team five points. From there, all eyes turned to the shot put ring with both Pressley and Sarah Stevens in the competition. With both advancing to the finals, Pressley hit a mark of 18.00m (59-00.75) to move into first place after five throws while Stevens moved up to third with her toss of 17.40m (57-01.00). Both women earned All-America honors while their combined 16 team points all but sealed the victory for the team. In the final event of the day and the team title secured, the 4x400m relay of Bridgette Williams, Shauntel Elcock, Jordan Durham and Wallace took to the track and ran 3:35.96 to finish in eighth place and earn All-America honors. The accolade was the second of the day for Wallace and the first for the other three women in the event. All told, the Sun Devil women had three NCAA champions in the meet with Pressley taking the shot put on Saturday after both Jacquelyn Johnson (heptathlon) and April Kubishta (pole vault) won their events Friday. For the women, 10 student-athletes attained All-America honors, including Johnson, Stevens, Pressley, Kubishta, Stevens (twice), Wallace (twice), Durham, Elcock, Williams and Amy Hastings (10,000m run). The crown gave them a clean sweep of all championships in the year, which included the 2007 MPSF Indoor Championship, the 2007 NCAA Indoor Championship, the 2007 Pac-10 Championship, the 2007 NCAA West Region Championship and the 2007 NCAA Outdoor Championship. All told during that span, five individual national titles were won on the year with Johnson (pentathlon) and Stevens (shot put) claiming titles indoors.