Five new members inducted into Hall of Fame

The Georgia College Athletics Hall of Fame welcomed five new members into its ranks on Feb. 19 in Magnolia Ballroom in front of family, friends and various members of the Department of Atheltics staff.

After recognizing the current Hall of Fame members in attendance, Athletic Director Wendell Staton told the crowd that the night’s ceremony was about celebrating people.

“Tonight’s focus is on the people who make the campus special,” Staton said.

Bobbi Otis

From left to right: Yeini Gutierrez Thompson, Scott MacLeod and Keith Slocumb were inducted into the Georgia College Athletics Hall of Fame Feb. 19. Other inductees included Lars Lindblom and Nancy Groesch.

Groesch, who played tennis at Georgia College from 1994 to 1997, was a success on the court as well as in the classroom. Groesch was named an NCAA All-American for three years, was a three-time All-Peach Belt Conference choice and recognized as the senior female athlete of the year in her final year at Georgia College.

Academically, Groesch was selected for honors too. Among the many awards she was honored with, she was named twice to the NCAA/ITA Scholar Athlete list and was on the PBC Presidential Honor Roll. Groesch is the fourth woman to be inducted into the Georgia College Athletics Hall of Fame from the women’s tennis program.

Lindblom was a member of the Georgia College men’s tennis team from 1990 to 1993. He was named an All-American in 1991, and in 1993, Lindblom was the PBC outstanding student athlete. Like Groesch, Lindblom was a two-time NAIA/ITA Scholar Athlete and was on the PBC Presidential Honor Roll. Lindblom is the second man to be inducted into the Hall of Fame from the men’s tennis program.

Thompson was a gymnast at Georgia College from 1983 to 1986. As a four-time NAIA All-American and Summa Cum Laude graduate in pre-medicine, Thompson was an excellent athlete and student.

Though Thompson earned many accolades as a student athlete, she never thought of her career as being exemplary.   In her speech, Thompson cited two main things that she learned from gymnastics.

“Gymnastics is tough and requires dedication,” Thompson said. “Whatever you do, if you do it well, good things will come. Secondly, in gymnastics you have to do tricks on a four inch beam, so you fall a lot. In life, if you fall you do not give up after the first time you fall. You get back up.”

Thompson was the second woman to be inducted into Georgia College Athletics Hall of Fame from the gymnastics program.

Slocumb played for Georgia College’s baseball program from 1982 to 1985. He was a First Team All-American in his last year playing for Georgia College and has top- 10 marks in multiple offensive categories that have held for over 25 years, including third in RBIs with 253 and fourth in career home runs with 41.

“It didn’t take me long to decide where to go to college,” Slocumb said. “Georgia College felt like home the first day I visited and felt like home for the next four years.”

Slocumb’s daughter, Abby Slocumb, is following in her father’s footsteps as she is a current Bobcat basketball player. Keith Slocumb is the sixth inductee from the baseball program.

MacLeod has been a contributor for the Bobcats since his 1978 debut broadcasting for the baseball team. He is known as the “Voice of the Bobcats”, and he loves what he gets to do for a living.

“What a great job it has been, I get paid to watch kids play games,” MacLeod said at the ceremony. “I get to do what I love, with people I love and for a school I love.”

MacLeod is a three-time winner of the Georgia Association of Broadcasters Award and is a member of the Bobcat Club. He is the first person from outside the Department of Athletics to be inducted to the Georgia College Athletics Hall of Fame.

Posted by Bobbi Otis on Feb 28 2011. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.