Five inductees comprise the Class of 2011 at this year’s
Mount Olive College Athletics Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony,
which took place during the annual Pickle Classic Weekend. Greg
Grantham (men’s basketball), Dawn Johnson (women’s
basketball, softball), George Kornegay (friend of the college),
Michelle Matthews (softball) and Chris McDonald (men’s
basketball) make up the sixth Athletics Hall of Fame Class and
bring the total number of honorees to 24.
“We are very pleased to be able to induct this group of
five individuals into the Mount Olive College Athletics Hall of
Fame,” said Director of Athletics Jeff Eisen. “Each of
them made outstanding contributions to the success of our athletics
program and are extremely worthy of this honor.”
Greg Grantham ’82 was an all-conference selection on the
court while posting a 3.4 grade point average in the classroom and
earning an associate’s degree. Grantham went on to enjoy a
successful high school basketball coaching career, the last 18
years at White Oak High School in Jacksonville, N.C. In 1996,
Associated Press named Grantham the North Carolina High School
Boys’ Basketball Coach of the Year. He also served as head
coach of the North Carolina squad in the 2003 North Carolina/South
Carolina All-Star Boys’ Basketball Classic. Grantham recently
retired as boys’ basketball coach, but continues to serve as
athletics director and boys’ and girls’ golf coach at
White Oak High School.
Dawn Johnson ’87 is being inducted into a Hall of Fame for
the second time in just a little over a year. Johnson was part of
the 2010 class in the North Carolina USSSA (United States Specialty
Sports Association) Hall of Fame for slow-pitch softball. At Mount
Olive, she was a two-time Female Athlete of the Year winner, in
1985-86 and 1986-87. Johnson was the Trojans’ top hitter
during the 1986 season. Johnson enrolled when Mount Olive was still
a two-year college and was among the school’s earliest
four-year graduates.
George Kornegay has been a presence in the community, on the
Mount Olive College campus and at MOC athletics events. Kornegay is
chair of the Mount Olive College Foundation Board, a fund-raising
arm of the college. He has also served as president of the MOC
Foundation Board. In 2005, Kornegay presented a $1 million gift to
the college. George and Annie Dail Kornegay Arena, which hosts
Trojan basketball and volleyball contests, as well as commencement
ceremonies, the Original Free Will Baptist Church annual convention
and other events, is named for George Kornegay’s parents.
Kornegay is married to Dr. Barbara Kornegay, vice-president of
enrollment at Mount Olive College. The Kornegays and their children
own several businesses in Mount Olive, including the Sleep Inn and
Southern Belle hotels.
Michelle Matthews ’00 was a four-time
All-Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference selection, earning CVAC
Softball Player of the Year and All-America honors in her senior
year. Matthews led Mount Olive to its first-ever regular season
conference title in her freshman year and its first-ever conference
tournament championship in her senior year. Matthews still holds
numerous Trojan hitting and pitching records, including the top
single-season (.456) and career (.407) batting average in school
history. On the mound, Matthews’ 72 career wins are a school
record, as are her 19 career shutouts and 560 career strikeouts.
Matthews was teammates with 2009 Hall of Fame inductee Heather
Parker (Collier).
Chris McDonald ’00 was the 1998-99 Carolinas-Virginia
Athletics Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Year and
was selected to the 1999-2000 Division II Bulletin Preseason
All-America “Super 16.” A three-time All-CVAC
selection, McDonald was the 1996-97 CVAC Men’s Basketball
Freshman of the Year. McDonald still holds the school career
rebounding record with 890 rebounds. His 1,725 career points are
the fourth-highest in school history. McDonald was teammates with
current Trojan head coach Joey Higginbotham. McDonald has coached
in the high school ranks and is currently head boys’
basketball coach at Central Cabarrus High School near Charlotte,
N.C.
This year’s Hall of Fame Induction is slated for November
19 at 3 p.m. in the Lois K. Murphy Regional Center on the Mount
Olive College Campus. The ceremony takes place after the Trojan
women’s basketball game against Chowan and prior to day two
of the 46th Pickle Classic, which features Mount Olive, Barton,
Brevard and Virginia State.
Below is the list of Mount Olive College Athletics Hall of Fame
classes:
Class of 2010
Wells Gulledge (Men’s Basketball)
Steve Hudson (Baseball)
Brad Mitchell (Coach/Administrator)
Class of 2009
Heather Parker Collier (Softball)
Matt Dudley (Men’s Soccer)
Billy Lee (Men’s Soccer)
Patrick Riley (Baseball)
Class of 2008
Darwin Carr (Men’s Basketball)
Bill Clingan (Coach)
Candy Tefertiller (Women’s Basketball/Women’s
Volleyball/Women’s Tennis)
Class of 2007
Jimmy Adams (Director of Athletics/Coach)
Charles Davis (Baseball)
Larry Dean (Director of Athletics/Coach)
Sarah Leonard Richardson (Women’s Basketball)
Class of 2006 (Inaugural Class)
Kenney Moore (Baseball)
Larry Nance (Director of Athletics/Coach)
Clarence Rose (Men’s Golf)
Ray Scarborough (Friend of the College/Baseball)
Russell Stephens (Men’s Basketball)
