Greenville College Hosts 2012 Athletic Hall of Fame Banquet
Published: April 13, 2021
GREENVILLE, Ill. - The Greenville College Athletic Department hosted its Hall of Fame Banquet on Saturday, April, 21 2012. Three teams and five individuals were inducted into the class of 2012. The inductees included the 2001, 2002, and 2003 track and field teams, team category; Tom Young, athletic category; Dan Cunningham, athletic category; Mark Theiss, athletic category, Sharon Alger, meritorious achievement category, and Robert Johnson, coaching category.
Matt Reeb was also recognized as the recipient of the Order of the Orange and Black.
Hall of Fame Inductees
2001 Track and Field Team, Team Category
The 2001 Track and Field team brought home the first national championship in Greenville College Athletics history and started a long championship streak for the track and field program at GC.
The team won the NCCAA indoor national invitational and went on to become the NCCAA outdoor national champions. The team went on to the NCAA Division III championships and finished 29th at the outdoor national meet. In addition to these team victories, there were many individual victories as well, including Coach Brian Patton's "Coach of the Year" Award and both Nate Johns and Justin Snider being deemed NCAA All-Americans.
2002 Track and Field Team, Team Category
The 2002 Greenville College Track and Field team continued with the NCCAA indoor and outdoor national championships and proved that GC track and field deserved their new celebrity status.
Not only did the team win the NCCAA outdoor championship, they set two new national records for most points scored with 179 and largest margin of victory. Individually, Carlos Leonard was recognized as an NCAA All-American and Nate Johns was honored again as team MVP. The coaching staff was awarded as well and brought home the new "Coaching-Staff-of-the-Year" title. Overall, the team set six GC records, 28 season best performances, and 21 lifetime bests.
2003 Track and Field Team, Team Category
Known for their outstanding sprinting, the 2003 team defended both their indoor and outdoor NCCAA championships. This team still has the record for best NCAA placement by any Greenville College team in any sport, with their seventh place finish in the championships.
The team set the GC record for most individual champions at one meet, with four athletes bringing home a total of six championships. The coaches were once again named indoor and outdoor staff of the year for the third year in a row. The team had six NCAA All-Americans, including Nate Johns, Bryson Taylor, Danny Donaldson, Brandon Tripp, Kenneth Woodhouse, and Terry Cantley. The 2003 team will always be remembered as one of the most successful and competitive groups in team and school history.
Thomas W. Young, Athlete Category
Tom Young, a class of 1960 graduate excelled in basketball during his time at Greenville College.
Currently a resident of Springfield, Ill., and formerly of Jacksonville, Ill., Tom transferred to Greenville in 1960 and immediately made an impact on the GC basketball program. He led the team in scoring in each of the three years he was on the GC varsity team and had a career total of 1,241 points. Tom received numerous awards for his basketball skills, highlighted by an NAIA District 20 all-state award in 1963.
He married his wife, Barbara, in 1961 and they have five children and six grandchildren. Tom has worked as a teacher, a principal, and an athletic director and has served as a president for the Rotary and a Lions clubs. His athletic success, impact on many public school students, and his contributions to his community make Tom a deserving member of the GC Athletic Hall of Fame.
Dan C. Cunningham, Athlete Category
Dan Cunningham graduated from Greenville College in 1971 and is known as one of the best tennis players in GC history. His four year career started in 1968 and he and his team improved a great deal over those four years.
He won numerous awards for his tennis performance including team MVP in 1970, NAIA District 20 Doubles Champion in 1971, and All-Conference honors. Dan's senior year the team had a 12-0 record, Greenville College's first team to finish the season with a perfect record. That 1971 team was inducted into the GC Hall of Fame in 2002. He had a life-time record of 71-9 and was known as a leader on and off the court.
Since graduating from Greenville, Dan has started a career as an independent insurance agent and is now a partner of Alliance Insurance Agency of Dallas. He also has served the Lions Club, the YMCA, and the Chamber of Commerce. He and his wife, Doris, have two children, Adrian and Ashley. His outstanding personal records and character make Greenville College proud to call Dan a member of the GC Athletic Hall of Fame.
Mark A. Theiss, Athlete Category
Mark Theiss is a 1999 Greenville College graduate who became GC's most prolific runner. He won multiple awards and participated in both Cross Country and Track and Field while at Greenville College.
Mark was GC's first NCCAA individual national champion in track and was an NCAA Division III All-American twice for his outstanding Cross Country performance. Mark was voted MVP of the GC Cross Country team in 1996 and won the SLIAC Conference Championship in 1995 and 1996.
After graduating from GC, Mark worked as an electrician and is now the owner of Theiss Construction Company. He and his wife, Meghan, have three daughters and live in Colorado. Mark's outstanding athleticism coupled with his exceptional character make him an appreciated and admired member of the Greenville College Athletic Hall of Fame.
Sharon K. Alger, Meritorious Achievement Category
Sharon Alger, a graduate of the Greenville College class of 1961, has been a part of many facets of her alma mater. She has been a professor, coach, athletic director, counselor, research specialist, faculty athletic representative, and a dean in her two decades of service to GC.
Sharon was a basketball star during her time at GC and was an active member of many service clubs and religious ministries. She came back to Greenville in 1966 as the Dean of Women and taught Physical Education. She retuned once again after earning her Ph.D. and served as the Chair of the Psychology Department. In 1998, Sharon became the Director of Athletics and followed that with a position as the Dean of College Planning and Assessment. She also coached women's basketball, softball, volleyball, and tennis, in her stints at Greenville.
Clearly, Sharon was a huge part of the Greenville College community in her years attending and working at GC. She is known for her ability to inspire, organize, and truly care for students. It is these skills, along with her many contributions to GC and notable athletic ability as a player and a coach, that make her a deserving member of the meritorious achievement category in the Greenville College Athletic Hall of Fame.
Robert W. Johnson, Coach Category
Bob Johnson, a class of 1968 graduate of Greenville College, has distinguished himself as an award-winning head and assistant coach of six sports at GC. He was awarded the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Lee McKinney Distinguished Service Award in 2011 for the leadership, dedication, service, and perseverance he has displayed at Greenville College and throughout his career.
Bob was a member of the GC Men's Soccer Team, who won two Prairie College Conference championships in his time on the team. As a GC athlete, Bob also won an NAIA All-District Award in 1967. After graduation, he served in the U.S. Army as a medic in Vietnam and was awarded the U.S. Army Commendation Medal for Heroism for disregarding his own injury to tend to others in need during an attack. He returned to Greenville in 1987 as a professor and a coach of the cross country and track and field teams. His teams were successful and he continued that coaching success in 1994, when he became the first coach of the new women's soccer team. The cross country, soccer, and track and field teams have flourished under his guidance.
Bob and his wife Carol are residents of Greenville. They have two children and five grandchildren.
Order of the Orange and Black Recipient
Matt Reeb
Matt Reeb, a class of 2010 Greenville graduate, was an athletic and academic standout at GC. He had an impressive soccer career at Greenville College and collected numerous awards and honors over the four years he played there.
Matt, a resident of Belleville, Ill., was awarded the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Newcomer of the Year and was part of the NCAA All-Region First Team in 2007. He was awarded SLIAC All-Conference honors his sophomore, junior, and seniors years as well. He went on to win a spot in the NCCAA Division I All-American Team his senior year to wrap up his impressive reign at Greenville.
Matt's Christian character and academic performance also were impressive to his coaches, professors, and teammates at GC. He was known as a natural leader and a great role model. These traits serve him well, as he is currently the head boy's and girl's soccer coach as well as a physical education teacher at Gibault High School in Waterloo, Ill.
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