Ohio State University Athletic Hall of Fame: 2011 Class

As Buckeye fans we all know we have had some fantastic athletes come through our university over the years.  If you were to ask any fan who their favorite athlete from THE Ohio State University is you will likely garner a wide range of responses.  From Archie, Jesse Owens, Eddie George, and Havlicek, to Katie Smith, Chris Speilman, Jack Nicklaus, Blaine Wilson and Evan Turner.  Our experiences as fans are personal, unique and in some cases play a part in shaping our lives as fans if not more.  On September 9^th there will be eleven more names inducted to The Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame and be forever etched into Buckeye lore.

In Alphabetical Order

• Didi Albrecht (Rowing)
  • One of the lesser known sports on campus from 2002-05 Diana “Didi” lead OSU to their best finish; 4^th in the NCAA championships in 2005, until she took over as assistant coach and helped push the 2008 squad to 2^nd.  She has represented the university in the water and in the classroom meeting the highest of standards and breaking new ground.
• Raj Bhavsar (Men’s Gymnastics)
  • You may not think of gymnastics when you think of OSU but when you look at the high quality talent that has come from the university over the last 10-15 years it is impressive to say the least.  Raj was no exception.  In 2002 he was OSU’s male athlete of the year helping the university to national and conference titles during his time.  Upon graduation he has gone on to represent the school and his country as part of the US National Team earning a Bronze Medal in the 2008 Beijing Games.
• Mitch Clark (Wrestling)
  • In 1998 Mitch was able to bring a National Championship to OSU.  That alone would be enough to get most people elected to the schools Hall of Fame.  However that was not enough for Mitch.  He was also a two time Big Ten Champion as well as posting a career 119-27 record for the scarlet and grey.
• Kathy Craig (Women’s Track and Field)
  • As an academic and athletic all American multiple times over for the Ohio State Buckeyes Kathy personified what a student athlete should be.  She has set records that still stand at the top of OSU record books to this day.
• Mike Doss (Football)
  • A co-captain of the 2002 National Championship team Mike Doss was everything Buckeye football fans wanted.  A tough, smart and strong safety capable of taking an interception to the house as well as laying out unsuspecting wide receivers over the middle.  With accolades ranging from 1^st team All Big Ten to the Walter Camp award Mike Doss left OSU’s campus as one of the most decorated defensive backs the university has ever seen.
• Jessica Marshall (Pistol)
  • When your sport has to do with the pistol you probably don’t go into your collegiate career imagining a day that you will be elected to a hall of fame. That didn’t stop Jessica from acquiring just about every award both on and off the field of play humanly possible in her years at the Ohio State University.  Along with her school work (bachelors in psychology and masters in public policy) she helped pioneer the sport of shooting by being a part of the USA Shooting Development team in 2003 and 2004, and then joining the 2004 USA National Team.  While you may not necessarily look to this sport for your hall of famers, it’s hard to ignore her accomplishments.
• Orlando Pace (Football)
  • The man invented an offensive linemen statistic.  Much like guys such as Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain eventually forced the NBA to come up with a statistic for blocked shots and how Deacon Jones forced the NFL to come up with the statistic for sacks.  Orlando Pace was so dominate as an offensive linemen that officials for the NCAA were forced to come up with a statistic to account for the amount of times in a game that Pace would simply flatten his opponent.  The “Pancake Block” was born.  Today the term and stat is as common as a touchdown.  That in and of itself should be enough to have this man elected to every sports related hall of fame that there is, but his resume also includes a enough trophies to fill a two car garage top to bottom and then he found room to slip a Super Bowl ring on his finger in 1999.  This is the definition of no-brainer.
• Leo Raskowski (Football)
  • One of the pioneers of OSU football.  A time when teams were lucky to play 7 or 8 games a season he was front and just off center (playing tackle) as he helped to establish the Ohio State University as the football powerhouse it has been for nearly a century.
• Stacy Roth (Softball)
  • She holds the single season record for RBI’s and is ranked second in total RBI’s for the OSU softball team all time.  When you start talking about stats like that it becomes easy to see why she would be part of this class.  When you couple that with her three time academic all-American honors, I mean come on, what else would someone have to do to be elected? 
• Bobby Watkins (Football)
  • As one of the first African-Americans to play at The Ohio State University, and one of the first recruits of famed OSU coach Woody Hayes, Bobby did not disappoint.  He blazed a trail in Columbus and was a key part in bringing Ohio State a National Championship in 1954.  After his career at OSU he was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the second round only to be derailed by a knee injury.  The only real question here, is what took so long?
• Kristen White (Women’s Golf)
  • Big Ten player of the year in 2003 and 2005, and holds the course record at the Scarlet Course (66). Those are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Kristen’s accomplishments at Ohio State.  Numerous awards on the course and in the class room make Kristen an easy choice to join this prestigious class.

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Who are you favorite athletes from this class and who are you favorites from OSU History?  Hit the comment section and find me on twitter @hewls.