ECU Athletics Inducts Five Into Class of 2023 Hall of Fame
ADA, Okla. – Tiger Athletics inducted four individuals and one team into the East Central University Athletics Hall of Fame Friday, Feb. 9 at the Chickasaw Business and Conference Center. The Hall of Fame class of 2023 is comprised of the 2011 Men's Cross Country Team, Emily Kennemer-Nine (softball), Skip Griese (men's tennis coach), John O'Dell (distinguished football alumni), and Gerald Williamson (distinguished service).
Photo Gallery
2011 Men's Cross Country Team
The 2011 Men's Cross Country Team won the first Great American Conference Championship in GAC history with 17 points and had the second-largest margin of victory of 30 points. The team had seven All-GAC First team selections, including Ezekiel Kissorio claiming GAC runner of the year, and six All-GAC Academic team members. After its conference championship, the team went on to compete at the 2011 NCAA D2 South Central Region meet, where they claimed the runner-up title. The team advanced to the 2011 NCAA D2 National Championships in Spokane, WA, and finished 11
th as a team. Cale Eidson, Daniel Kiptoo, and Ezekiel were named to the USTFCCA All-Academic team, Armando Saldivar was named the only ever male GAC All-American in cross country, and head coach
Steve Sawyer earned his first GAC Coach of the Year accolade.
Cross Country Team Members: Head Coach
Steve Sawyer, Assistant Coach Josh Stewart, Assistant Coach John Sutrick, Will Baldwin, Austin Christian, Joel Dutton, Cale Eidson, Mitchell Haun, Hunter Henrie, Brandon Hess, Daniel Kiptoo, Ezekeil Kissorio, Chase McMichael, Armando Saldivar, Jimmy Sutrick, Taylor Nasu, and Carl Williams.
Emily Kennemer – Nine – Student-Athlete - Softball
Emily Kennemer - Nine was a member of the ECU softball team from 2008 to 2012. She left her mark on the program earning nine spots in eight categories on the ECU Single-Season Top-10 list as well as twelve ECU Career Top-10 marks, including No. 1 in doubles with 53. In her senior season, she earned the first-ever Great American Conference Player of the Year and led the GAC in seven categories. She was also a standout in the classroom, claiming the first-ever Great American Conference Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year (the first ECU athlete to be awarded this honor), 2011-12 ECU Female Scholar-Athlete the Year, and 2010-11 Lone Star Conference All-Academic Team selections.
After graduating from ECU in 2012, she eventually moved to Willis Point, Texas where she has been teaching at Willis Point Junior High for the last ten years. In 2019, she earned Teacher of the Year at Willis Point Junior High and Secondary Teacher of the Year for her district.
Skip Griese – Coach / Administrator – Men's Tennis
Skip Griese took the men's tennis team to new heights in his four seasons as head coach from 1980 to 1984. After graduating from ECU as a four-year tennis student-athlete, he decided to come back to his Alma Mater in 1980 to become the men's tennis head coach. He made a tremendous impact on the team as he led the Tigers to three Conference Championships in four seasons at the helm. After his success at ECU in 1984, Griese began his 35-year coaching and teaching career at Ada High School as the boy's and girls' head tennis coach. During that time, the girl's team won five state championships and seven runner-up titles, while the boy's team won nine state championships and ten runner-up titles.
He has been honored by the National Federation of High Schools (NFHS) by receiving the 2013 National Boy's Tennis Coach of the Year, the 2014 NFHS Southwest Sectional Girl's Tennis Coach of the Year, and was an inaugural inductee into the Oklahoma Tennis Coaches Hall of Fame in 2016.
John O'Dell – Distinguished Alumni - Football
John O'Dell has been an impactful leader throughout his professional and personal life. O'Dell was a member of the ECU football team for four years and was part of the "O" Club, which was an organization for ECU athletes to further school spirit and unite athletes in all sports. After graduating in 1977, he would eventually combined his two passions of athletics and serving God as he began his career representing the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA). He was the State Director of Oklahoma FCA for 27 years and retired as the head of FCA Regional Director for Oklahoma in May of 2022 after 45 years.
According to his friend and former teammate, Jerry Compton, "his awards are numerous, but those are pale shadows of the light that he has shined on tens of thousands of Oklahoma athletes all over his decade of serving through FCA."
Dr. Gerald Williamson – Distinguished Service
Dr. Gerald Williamson has been a well-known presence at ECU since settling in Ada in 1978. After graduating with a BBA and MBA from Eastern New Mexico University and earning a Ph. D. from the University of Oklahoma, he completed a postdoctoral program at the Institute of Educational Management at Harvard University. He obtained employment at Ohio Northern University before eventually finding his way to ECU for good.
Williamson began as an assistant professor in marketing while acting as a volunteer assistant coach for the men's basketball team under legendary head coach Wayne Cobb for seven years. In 1985, he stepped into a new role as the Vice-President of Student Services and later became the Senior Advancement Officer in charge of developing a campus master plan and securing funding. He now works with the ECU Foundation and continues to be an impactful mentor and friend to all of those around him.
