OU inducts three former athletes into Kermit Blosser Hall of Fame
September 29, 2008
The Kermit Blosser Ohio Athletics Hall of Fame will add three names to its list of honorees this fall, according to a press release. The 2008 class of Jackie Visscher (Conrad), Geno Ford and Jen Thornton (Morris) were honored during homecoming weekend at the Ohio University Alumni Awards Gala and also were recognized at the Bobcats’ football game Saturday.
“These student-athletes brought great pride to the department and university during their career at Ohio,” said Ohio Director of Athletics Jim Schaus in the release. “We’re honored to welcome them to our Hall of Fame.”
The 43rd Kermit Blosser Ohio Athletics Hall of Fame class includes cross-country/track athlete Visscher, basketball player Ford and softball player Thornton.
Visscher was a three-time All-American for the Bobcats in both cross-country and track from 1996-1999. She won the MAC Cross-Country Championship and was also the All-Ohio Champion.
On the track team, Visscher was a two-time All-American in the 10,000 meters in 1997 and 1998. She placed fifth at the NCAA National Championship meet in 1998 and was named 1997 MAC Track Athlete of the Year by the Mid-American Conference. The Ohio Cross Country Coaches Association named Visscher the Division I Women’s Runner of the Year after her 1998 season.
Ford ranks fifth in school history in career points, third in career three-point field-goal attempts, fourth in career three-point field goals, and fifth in career free throws made and attempted. He was a National Association of Basketball Coaches second-team all-district selection in 1995-96 and a two-time All-Mid-American Conference selection. He was also selected to the Academic All-MAC squad as a senior in 1996-97 and received votes for MAC Player of the Year during his final collegiate campaign.
Thornton competed from 1996-1999 and was the team’s Offensive Player of the Year each of her four years. She was a three-time All-MAC First Team selection from 1997 to 1999 and was tabbed Second-Team All-MAC in 1996. She is also the school’s single-season hits leader with 73 in 1998 and was named second-team all-region performer in 1998.
The Ohio Athletics Hall of Fame was renamed in the fall of 2006 in honor of Blosser, the legendary Bobcat figure who won a national championship as a wrestler in 1932 and returned to his alma mater to successfully coach various sports for 42 years.
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