FEATURE: Latest class set for induction into UMO Athletics Hall of Fame

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on November 18, 2016 9:57 AM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

MOUNT OLIVE -- Macon Jones shared some great times with his baseball teammates during University of Mount Olive's early years in the Division II ranks.

But his most memorable moment occurred last year.

Jones returned to Scarborough Field for the annual alumni game with his two sons and other family members. Dad swatted a home run that afternoon in the first game his two boys had ever seen him play.

"That was pretty cool," Jones recalled.

Well, Jones is coming back to campus this weekend -- not to play baseball, however.

The Clayton resident is slated for enshrinement into the UMO Athletics Hall of Fame along with Heidi Busch, Lucia Henkle, Dr. Mac Cassell and Jimmy Williams on Saturday afternoon. The ceremony begins at 2:30 p.m. inside the Lois K. Murphy Regional Center.

The induction is part of the 51st annual Pickle Classic weekend.

"We are very excited about this year's Hall of Fame class," said Jeff Eisen, vice president for athletics at UMO. "It is a diverse and accomplished group that reflects the outstanding tradition and development of our athletics program."

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A shortstop, Jones earned all-Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Conference honors in 1999 and was tabbed the league's player-of-the-year one season later. The Trojans reached the NCAA tournament in 1999 and 2000.

Jones ranks sixth all-time in program history with a .396 career batting average.

"It's a blessing, one that I didn't ever expect," Jones said. "I just played baseball and never thought that anything like this would happen. You don't play and think, 'Oh, I'm going get accolades.' You do it for your teammates and to win ballgames."

And learn life lessons from one of the best coaches in the business -- Carl Lancaster.

"He always said that you're going to have your bumps and bruises," Jones said. "But you keep on and everything is going to turn out OK no matter if you win or lose or draw as long you trust in the Lord and keep Him first because everything is going to turn out all right.

"That's what he taught me mostly."

Jones is the 11th baseball player to receive the honor.

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Busch's retired jersey hangs inside Kornegay Arena.

The prolific outside hitter earned All-America honors as a sophomore, junior and senior in volleyball. She still holds five school records -- kills in a match (34), kills in a season (701), kills in a career (2,456), kills per game for a season (5.56) and kills per game for a career (4.6).

The Fort Wayne, Ind., native helped lead the Trojans to the NCAA Division II South Atlantic Regional in 2004 and 2005.

"My jersey was retired and I thought that was so cool, and thought that was the bookend to my college career," Busch said. "I'm honored to be able to go back to the school that I had such a great time at for four years. I haven't been back to Mount Olive since I graduated.

"It will be cool to see all the changes and some familiar faces, and get to reconnect with some old teammates, so I'm excited about that."

Busch is the fifth volleyball player to get inducted.

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Henkle is the first former student-athlete to be inducted on the basis of her tennis career at UMO. She was named the CVAC Freshman-of-the-Year in 2002 and CVAC Woman- and Player-of-the-Year in 2005.

A native of Guatemala, Henkle holds the following records -- wins in a season (17), career wins (63), individual doubles wins in a season (20) and career (56), conference doubles wins in a career (29) and career conference wins (33).

Henkle played for Guatemala in the Federation Cup.

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Dr. Cassell and Williams were instrumental during the school's transition from NAIA to Division II. The university, then a two-year college at the time, faced numerous challenges that included expansion of the athletic program to compete on a four-year level -- mainly financially.

Cassell served as athletics director from 1994-2005 and also participated on the Board of Directors for the Division II Athletics Director Association. The Trojans won eight conference titles, eight conference tournament crowns and made eight trips to the NCAA tournament.

As Vice President of College Affairs at the time, Williams said the school lacked endowed scholarship money. Income was needed and the first step began with the Trojan Club that grew under the watchful eye of former head men's basketball coach Bill Clingan.

Dwayne McKay, who is director of external affairs for athletics, directs the Trojan Club today.

Two endowment scholarship golf tournaments were created -- the Mike Martin Memorial in honor of the UMO graduate who was tragically shot while on the job, and the Handy Mart/UMO Scholarship Fund event. The two fund raisers rank as the second- and fourth-largest endowed scholarships at the university.

"We helped to get the machinery in motion to help it become a viable source in funding," Williams said.

Williams said the additional funding helped start the track and lacrosse programs that have gained recognition on the regional and national level in four years. The men's lacrosse team advanced to the NCAA Division II South Regional last spring.

A $2 million on-campus facility currently under construction will be used by the track and lacrosse teams in 2017.

"It's going to be a tremendous facility for this entire region, the community, the local high schools," Williams said. "It's state of the art with artificial turf. We've still got some work to do. We don't have any lighting.

"I'm proud of the community and what the UMO Foundation has displayed in resource development, and getting the funds to do the project."