By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Former Hayden basketball star Mark Turgeon and current Hummer Sports Park director Annette Wiles are part of the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame's 12-member 2024 induction class, which will be inducted on Sunday, Oct. 13, in Topeka.
Kansas Sports Hall of Fame chairman Jim Dunning, Jr. announced the selection of the 2024 inductees on Sunday.
The class includes seven individuals who have ties to Olympic competition, including a gold medalist, paralympic medalist and the only American to be named a head track and field starter for two Olympic Games.
The group also includes national champion coaches, collegiate champions, All-Americans and American-record holders.
“This is an accomplished group and one the Hall of Fame is extremely proud to recognize,” Dunning said in a release. “They bring a considerable diversity of backgrounds and talents to the Hall. In this an Olympic year, I believe it is wonderful to shine a light on seven inductees with Olympic connections.”
Former Hayden and Kansas basketball standout and longtime college coach Mark Turgeon is part of the 2024 Kansas Sports Hall of Fame induction class. [Maryland Athletics]
Turgeon helped lead Hayden to a pair of state championships, including a perfect 25-0 record in 1983.
Turgeon was an All-Stater for the Wildcats before going to play on four NCAA Tournament qualifiying teams at Kansas and carving out a successful coaching coaching career, including stints at Wichita State and Maryland.
Current Hummer Sports Park director Annette Wiles will be inducted into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame on Oct. 13. [Fort Hays State Athletics]
Wiles was a two-time NAIA Basketball All-American and NAIA Tournament MVP for Fort Hays State before embarking on a successful coaching career.
The HOF Class of 2024 also includes former University of Kansas football coach Mark Mangino, former Emporia State and Kansas baseball coach Dave Bingham, former Kansas City Chiefs star and NFL Hall of Famer Will Shields, Kansas State star and Olympic high jump gold medalist Erik Kynard, national long jump champ Melvin Lister, American swimming record-holder Ron Neugent, two-time Olympic Games head starter Kelly Rankin, NCAA and Olympic javelin qualifier Scott Russell, Paralympic Games bronze medalist Kevin Saunders and All-America punter and longtime Kansas State assistant coach Sean Snyder.
The 2024 class brings the total number of inductees to 340, with the first class in 1961 including such legends as Dr. James Naismith, Mike Ahearn, Glenn Cunningham, Walter Johnson and Jess Willard.
Created by the Kansas State legislature in 1961, the hall has operated for 63 years and is located at the Wichita Boathouse.
The 2024 induction ceremonies on Oct. 13 will be held in the Sunflower Ballroom at the Hotel Topeka City Center (1717 Southwest Topeka Blvd.), beginning with a 5 p.m. reception followed by the 6 p.m. induction ceremony.
“Topeka as the location for the induction makes sense for several reasons, but the fact that all of our inductees are either from, live or competed collegiately in the Manhattan-Topeka-Lawrence-Kansas City corridor creates an opportunity for more of their family and friends to attend,” Dunning said. “This event is about the honorees, and we want to do as much as we can to make it special for them.”
Tickets for the reception and induction ceremony are $100 and will go on sale Monday, July 15, at www.kshof.org. For ticket packages and sponsorship opportunities, contact Dunning at 316-641-0162.
Hall of Fame capsules:
DAVE BINGHAM -- Played two seasons of baseball at Emporia State (1969-70) and returned as head coach in 1973. Led the Hornets to a 557-270-2 record from 1973 to 1987 and the 1978 NAIA National Championship. Selected District 10 Coach of the Year 11 times and was named NAIA Coach of the Year three times. Posted a 249-225 record at KU from 1988 to 1995, including two NCAA tournaments and an NCAA College World Series appearance in 1993. Served as head coach for the U.S. in the 1984 World Cup in Havana, and as an assistant coach for the 1984 and 1988 Olympics and 1988 Baseball World Cup. Inducted into the Emporia State Athletics Hall of Fame, the NAIA Hall of Fame, the University of Kansas Athletics Hall of Fame and the Kansas Baseball Hall of Fame.
ERIK KYNARD -- The former Kansas State star was the 2012 London Olympics Gold Medalist at 7 feet, 7¾ inches and finished sixth at the 2016 Olympics. Kynard was the bronze medalist at the World Indoor Championships 2014 and 2016 and had a career best jump of 7-9 ⅓ inches. Kynard won back-to-back NCAA Outdoor high jump championships in 2012 and 2013 for the Wildcats. A two-time Ohio state high school high jump champion.
MELVIN LISTER -- A Leavenworth native, Lister went on to star at Butler County Community College and Arkansas, winning national championships in the triple jump on the high school, junior college, collegiate and elite levels. A four-time Kansas sate high school triple jump champ, Lister also won long jump, 200 and 400 meters titles for the Pioneers. He won national junior college championships in the long jump and the triple jump and was a five-time NCAA Champion and a 2000 and 2004 Olympian in the triple jump.
MARK MANGINO -- Mangino began his coaching career at Youngstown State before moving to the high school ranks where he was offensive coordinator at Geneva (Pa.) and head coach at Lincoln (Pa.) high schools. Returned to college football as an assistant coach under KSHOF inductee Bill Snyder in 1991 at Kansas State and served as an assistant coach under Bob Stoops at Oklahoma from 1999 to 2001, where he won the Frank Broyles Award as the nation’s top assistant in 2000. Served as head coach at Kansas from 2002 to 2009, leading KU to a 50-48 overall record and four bowl games, including a win in the 2007 Orange Bowl over Virginia Tech.
RON NEUGENT -- Neugent swam for the Wichita Swim Club in high school and was one of the top-ranked youth swimmers nationally. Club was founded by KSHOF inductee and former Kansas track coach Bob Timmons. Over the course of two years at Kansas, Neugent set five school and two Big Eight records and won two Big Eight individual titles. His mark in the 1,650 freestyle still ranks as one of the best at KU and in Big Eight history. A member of the 1980 U.S. Olympic team and the 1981 U.S. National team that traveled to Moscow. On Sept. 5, 1982, he set an American record for a 25-meter pool in the 1500-meter freestyle (15:01.77)
KELLY RANKIN – A Clay Center native, Rankin competed in baseball and track and field at Kansas. Rankin began his officiating career in 1968 in gymnastics and track and field. He officiated five Big Eight Championships in gymnastics from 1968 to 1972. Served as head track and field starter for two Olympic Games in 1984 and 1996, three U.S. Olympic Trials in 1976, 1980, and 1996; two NCAA Indoor Championships, eight NCAA Outdoor Championships, 37 NAIA Indoor Championships and 34 NAIA Outdoor Championships. Only American to be selected as head starter for two Olympic Games.
SCOTT RUSSELL -- A two-time NCAA track and field national champion for Kansas, winning the 2002 outdoor javelin and 2002 indoor weight throw. Russell was a six-time All-American selection, won three indoor conference titles in the hammer throw, six outdoor conference titles in the javelin and hammer throw. Russell set a KU school record in javelin in 2001 and was named the 2002 Big 12 Conference Outdoor Performer of the Year. Russell set the Kansas Relays javelin record in 2011 with a throw of 268-11 and finished 10th in the 2008 Olympics in the javelin representing Canada.
KEVIN SAUNDERS -- Saunders, a Kansas State graduate, began competing in paralympic style events following injuries suffered in an explosion in 1981. A two-time paralympic bronze medalist. Won the bronze medal in the men’s pentathlon in the 1988 Seoul Paralympic Games and also competed in the discus and javelin in 1988. Won the bronze medal in the men’s pentathlon in the 1992 Barcelona Paralympic Games and also competed in the discus, javelin and shot put in 1992. Also competed in the USA Games and the Pan American Games. Named to the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition in 1989 by George H.W. Bush and re-appointed to Council by Bill Clinton
WILL SHIELDS -- Born in Fort Riley, Kansas, Shields was a consensus first-team All-American and Outland Trophy winner during his final year at Nebraska. In 1999, Shields was selected to the Nebraska All-Century Team via fan poll and elected as offensive guard to the Walter Camp Football Foundation College Football All Century Team. Drafted in the third round of the 1993 NFL Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs Shields never missed a game during his 14-season career and his 224 games played and 223 starts were franchise records when he retired in 2006. Earned first Pro Bowl berth following the 1995 season and embarked on a string of 12 straight AFC-NFC Pro Bowl berths. He is a member of the College Football and NFL halls of Fame. Was named NFL’s Walter Payton Man of the Year in 2003
SEAN SNYDER -- Snyder played one collegiate football season at Iowa before transferring to Kansas State where he played for KSHOF inductee and father Bill Snyder. Sean was named the 1991 Big Eight Defensive Newcomer of the Year as a punter. Snyder was a consensus first-team All-America selection in 1992 and a wo-time All-Conference selection in 1991 and 1992. The Snyders become the first father-son combo to be selected for the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame. Spent 26 seasons as coach and administrator at Kansas State. Also coached at Southern California, Illinois and Kansas. Named to the K-State football Ring of Honor in 2002. Inducted to the K-State Athletic Hall of Fame in 2016.
MARK TURGEON – A 1983 graduate of Hayden and 1987 graduate of Kansas, Turgeon was part of Class 4A state championship teams as a junior and senior as the Wildcats went 47-3 and was a two-time All-State selection. At Kansas Turgeon was the first basketball player to compete in four NCAA Tournaments, including the 1986 Final Four. Was selected to Big Eight All-Freshman team in 1984. Turgeon posted a career coaching record of 479-275 at Jacksonville State, Wichita State University, Texas A&M and Maryland. Turgeon was an assistant coach for Kansas' 1988 NCAA Championship team 1988 and the Jayhawks' Final Four team in 1991.
ANNETTE WILES – A Sylvan Grove native, Wiles helped lead Fort Hays State to the 1991 NAIA National Championship with a 34-2 record. Wiles was a two-time All-America selection and named the Most Valuable Player of the 1991 NAIA National Tournament. , averaging 20.4 points per game during her career. A member of the Fort Hays State and Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference halls of fame. Wiles posted a 409-227 coaching record at Bethany, Fort Hays State and Minnesota-Duluth. After leaving coaching Wiles served as Topeka High athletic director and is the director of Hummer Sports Park.
