Carwin, Rhodes, '54 FB Tabbed for RMAC Hall
12/17/2009 6:09:40 PM
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Two national champions with numerous combined All-America titles and the first RMAC championship team in any sport are the Western State representatives in the eighth induction class of the RMAC Hall of Fame. The ceremony is scheduled for June 26 at the Colorado Springs Marriott.
Wrestler and football player Shane Carwin, track and women’s basketball standout Regina Rhodes and the 1954 Mountaineer football team will join six other Mountaineer individuals and two teams who were members of previous RMAC induction classes.
Carwin was a two-time football and three-time wrestling All-American during his years at Western State from 1993-99. He was the second-ranked defensive player on the RMAC All-Century team after he set the program record for tackles in 1996 with 161 and was named the conference player of the year. Carwin led the Mountaineers to the national playoffs in 1994 and 1997 and earned a Senior Bowl invitation in 1998.
On the wrestling mat, Carwin was a three-time national heavyweight finalist and the 1999 Division II champion. He was a three-time regional, conference and Colorado College champion and holds program records for season falls (20), career falls (60) and the fastest fall (12 seconds). He led Western State to a conference championship in 1997, a fourth-place finish at the Las Vegas Invitational in 1999, two Colorado Collegiate championships and a sixth-place finish at the 1997 national tournament.
Carwin was a 2004 inductee into the Mountaineer Sports Hall of Fame and is currently undefeated in mixed martial arts competition. His heavyweight title match with Brock Lesnar has been indefinitely postponed due to illness by Lesnar.
Rhodes was a two-time national champion long jumper for the Mountaineers from 1988-93. She was a 13-time All-American, swept the RMAC indoor and outdoor long jump titles all four seasons and won six titles in the triple jump between the indoor and outdoor seasons. She also collected three conference championships in the outdoor 100-meter dash.
A RMAC All-Century selection for her track performances, Rhodes also spent three seasons with the Mountaineer women’s basketball teams. Her 210 career steals is still second all-time in program records, along with her 898 career points. She was a part of the third induction class into the Mountaineer Sports Hall of Fame in 1998.
The 1954 Western State football team won the school’s first RMAC championship in any sport after finishing with a 10-0 overall record. The team is the only undefeated team in program history under the direction of Mountaineer Sports Hall of Fame inductee Willard “Pete” Pederson. The team also featured RMAC Hall of Fame athlete Bill Rhodes and Mountaineer Hall of Fame inductee Sam Boyd. The team was inducted into the Mountaineer Sports Hall of Fame in 2003.
The 1954 Mountaineers featured four All-RMAC players in Rhodes, Jim Richard, Theron Bradford and Frank Oyster. Western State led the conference that season in total offense (3,428 yards) and rushing offense (3,004 yards) while Rhodes finished second in the nation with 1,125 rushing yards.
The 2010 induction ceremony will begin at 5 p.m. with a social hour, followed by dinner at 6 p.m. and the banquet at 7 p.m. Pricing will be finalized by the conference office in the near future.