Thomas More University announces 2024 Athletic Hall of Fame class

Thomas More University has announced its nine-member 2024 Athletic Hall of Fame class. 

The nine-member class will be inducted Sept. 25 at the Thomas More University campus inside the newly built academic building. 

The class includes women’s track and field national qualifier Christina Cook (’18), women’s soccer NSCAA First Team All-American Laura Felix (’17), men’s basketball 1,000 point scorer and baseball three time All-Conference Jim Fox (’82), D3 Baseball Second Team All-American David Kennett (’13), men’s soccer three time NCSAA All-Great Lakes Region Tim Knauer (’18), women’s volleyball career solo blocks leader Amanda (Matracia) Williams (’06), softball four time First Team All-PAC Mamee Salzer (’16), football three time All-PAC selection Trevor Stellman (’09) and DIII Women’s Basketball National Player of the Year Madison Temple (’19). 

The university will have a special recognition for the 1983-87 men’s tennis teams, which will be honored as the Teams of Distinction.

From Thomas More University:

Christina Cook (’18) – Women’s Track and Field

Cook becomes the first women’s track and field athlete to be inducted into the Thomas More Hall of Fame. Her decorated career is highlighted by a 3rd place finish at nationals in the 400-meter dash in 2018. The four time NCAA National Qualifier was the 2015 PAC Indoor Co-Track Athlete of the Year as a freshman. During her sophomore year she was named First Team All-PAC both for indoor and outdoor track for the 200 and 400 meters along with being named the PAC Indoor Women’s Track MVP. During her junior year she was again named PAC Indoor Track MVP, along with setting a PAC record time of 25.74 in the 200 meter dash. In her final season she again claimed the PAC Championships in the 200 and 400 meter dash and finished her career with 8 total program records.

Laura Felix (’17) – Women’s Soccer

Felix is a four time All-PAC selection, including two First Team and two Second Team. She was named the PAC Player of the Year during her senior season. Felix was named First Team NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region three times during her career. She is a two time All-American selection by NSCAA as she earned second team honors as a junior and named first team All-American as a senior. Academically she earned NSCAA Scholar All-East Region and DIII Scholar All-American as a senior. During her career she played in 89 games and recorded 17 goals and 10 assists for 44 career points.

Jim Fox (’82) – Men’s Basketball and Baseball

Fox appeared in over 110 games for the Saints over his four year career and helped Thomas More reach the KIAC Semifinals twice. He recorded 1,171 career points which puts him at 21st in program history among scoring leaders. He also recorded over 500 rebounds and 200 assists in his career. During his senior season he tallied 15.9 points per game along with 224 rebounds and 70 assists on the season. In baseball, Fox earned the highest single season batting average in program history when he slashed a .505 his sophomore season. He was a three time KAIC All-Conference selection and three time NAIA District 32 Team selection.

David Kennett (’13) – Baseball

Kennett appeared in 174 career games for the Saints and is a four time All-PAC selection which includes three First Team selections and one Second Team. He earned Third Team ABCA All-MidEast Region honors as a sophomore and again earned the honors during his junior season. During the sophomore season Kennett also received Second Team All-American honors by D3baseball.com. At the conclusion of his career he held the career hits record at Thomas More with 256. He also sits in the top five for games played (4th with 174), at-bats (2nd with 672), runs (2nd with 192), walks (3rd with 90), SACs (3rd with 27), and stolen bases (5th with 57).

Tim Knauer (’18) – Men’s Soccer

Knauer played in 83 games at Thomas More and started in 81. He earned All-PAC honors three times, as he was named All-PAC Second Team as a sophomore and First Team as a junior and senior. He was named NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region three times in his career. Over his career Knauer recorded nine goals, nine assists, 27 points, and two game winning goals as a defender.

Amanda (Matracia) Williams (’06) – Women’s Volleyball

(Matracia) Williams is the solo career blocks record holder at Thomas More with 126. During her career she tallied 437 total blocks which is the second most in program history. She also has the second most assisted blocks with 311 and played in the second most sets in program history with 528. She tallied over 1,000 kills in her career.

Mamee Salzer (’16) – Softball

Salzer is a four time First Team All-PAC selection that also received multiple NFCA All-Central Region honors. During her junior season she was named MVP of the PAC Championship. She started 164 over her career at Thomas More. At the plate she recorded a batting average of .330 and a slugging percentage of .454. She tallied 96 RBIs, 95 runs scored, three triples and 34 doubles. In the circle she pitched a total of 556.2 innings and posted a record of 55 and 24 with 3 saves and 368 strikeouts. She holds the Thomas More program career record for innings pitched, and sits 2nd in wins, 5th in strikeouts, and 6th in ERA with a 2.12.

Trevor Stellman (’09) – Football

Stellman is a three time All-PAC selection. He earned All-PAC Honorable Mention, Second Team All-PAC and finally First Team All-PAC as a senior. During his career the quarterback passed for 5,328 yards which is the 4th most in Thomas More program history. He also tallied 399 completions and is 24th in the career scoring list with 104 points. Stellman holds the single season record at Thomas More for passing touchdowns with 26 in his senior season. 

Madison Temple (’19) – Women’s Basketball

Temple earned all three Division III National Player of the Year honors (WBCA, D3hoops.com, D3News) during her senior season. She also was named the Jostens Trophy winner. Temple is a two time First Team All-PAC selection, PAC Player of the Year, and earned PAC Freshman of the Year honors. During her freshman season she earned DIII News All-Freshman Team recognition. She earned D3Hoops.com Great Lakes Player of the Year, First Team All-Region, and First Team All-American honors as a junior. Finally in her senior senior season she was a First Team All-American, DIII Honda Athlete of the Year Finalist, and Google Cloud Academic All-America by CoSIDA. During her career she played in 127 games at Thomas More. She recorded 2,184 career points which is the most in program history. She also sits first at Thomas More in career field goals (812), and career assists (585) and is third for career rebounds with 818. 

Teams of Distinction: Men’s Tennis 1983-1987

The men’s tennis teams from 1983 to 1987 are recognized for an impressive run of success. During that time the men’s tennis program won four conference champions in 1983, 1984, 1986 and 1987. They also qualified for three national tournament appearances in 1983, 1984 and 1987.