Connors State College inducted its fifth Athletic Hall of Fame Class on. Saturday, Oct. 15th, at the A.D. Stone Student Union in Warner with former Major League and New York Yankee pitcher George Frazier serving as emcee of the event.
Connors State College Athletic Director and mens head basketball coach Bill Muse said over 150 people attended the event.
We had an outstanding night and George did a great job sharing stories with the audience about his days with the Yankees, said Muse. Our fifth class is an outstanding group and we appreciated everything they did and accomplished while at Connors State.
The event kicked off with a reception at the Ken Ogdon Family Connors State College Museum, located inside Russell Hall, with dinner and inductions afterward.
The 2016 Class Inductees included Kyle Roat and Humberto Sanchez (baseball), Lloyd Jernigan and Dr. Michael McGee (mens basketball), Athena McCoy and Kenya Robinson (womens basketball), Nick Ditolla and Jack Gilbreath (football), Amber Grider Purtell (softball), and A.D. Stone (outstanding leadership).
Jernigan attended Connor State College on a basketball scholarship, where he earned his associate degree in 1948.
He then attended the University of Tulsa on a basketball scholarship, before transferring to Panhandle State College where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in history and science, earning an Oklahoma teaching certificate.
Following graduation, Jernigan taught high school science and history. He coached both boys and girls sports in the Oklahoma Panhandle.
Dr. McGee, who graduated from Harrisburg High School in 1966, accepted a scholarship to Connors State College, where he was an All-Conference and All-Region player for the Cowboys.
The Athletic Training Room in the Melvin Self Field House at Connors State College is named in his honor
After graduation from Connors in 1968, McGee moved on to Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, where he was an All-Conference performer. While at Southwestern, he was second in the nation for free throw shooting percentage. McGee graduated Magna Cum Laude in 1971 with a Bachelor of Science in biology.
In his post-graduate career, McGee attended the University Of Oklahoma School Of Medicine, followed by an internship at the University of Mississippi, and a residency in Otolaryngology and an Otologic fellowship at the Hough Ear Institute.
McGee has since taught as a clinical assistant professor at OU; a course instructor for the World Congress of Otolaryngology in Istanbul, Turkey; a visiting professor and instructor to the King Hussein Hospital, and Arab Centre for Heart and Special Surgery in Amman, Jordan; and a visiting professor and surgeon at the Nguyen Tri Phuong Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Baptist Medical Center; is President of the Hough Ear Institute; and is the co-director of the International Fellowship Program at the Hough Ear Institute.
Roat earned All-Conference honors at Connors in 2001 and was named the NJCAA Defensive player of the year, first team All-American before signing as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves.
He played professional baseball from 2001 to 2004 before leaving the game due to an elbow injury.
Sanchez was named the 2002 Region II Pitcher of the Year for the Cowboys, signing with the Detroit Tigers following graduation.
He made his major league debut with the New York Yankees in Sept. 2008.
McCoy was named the Region II womens basketball team and was named to the Kodak All-American team as an honorable mention selection.
Following Connors graduation she played at the University of Tulsa.
Robinson played two seasons at Connors State before playing at the University of Georgia and the University of New Orleans.
She then went on to play professionally with the WBAs Los Angeles Sparks, Finland, and WBAs Indiana Fever.
Ditolla played two seasons of football at Connors State and was named the top player to ever play for the Cowboys by fellow teammates.
Following his career at Connors he played at the University of Tulsa.
Gilbreath played two seasons for the Aggies (Cowboys) as running back and punter.
After graduation he played at Northeastern State later coaching at several Oklahoma High Schools.
Grider (Purtell) was named All-Conference, All-Region and All-American under former softball coach Rick Carbone in 1998.
She went on to play at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tenn. Grider now teaches s and coaches in Frisco Texas.
Stone graduated from Connors and later earned degrees at Northeastern State, Southeastern State, Oklahoma State and Indiana University.
He was instrumental in the growth and development in all aspects of the college. Stone served as registrar, Academic Dean, Director of Student Services & Auxiliary Enterprises, Assistant to the President and Executive to the President and Executive Vice Presidents.
The student union was named after him in 1994.
