National Champs, All-Americans, Multi-Sport Stars Highlight Hall of Fame Class
04/26/18 | Football, Men's Basketball, Softball, Track and Field
EUGENE, Ore. – One of the nation's most dominant running backs, a softball pitcher who led the Ducks to their first Women's College World Series appearance, a remarkable three-sport star and three track and field national champions – including the first in school history – are among the six luminaries to be inducted into the University of Oregon's Athletics Hall of Fame.
The University's 27th Hall of Fame includes three-sport letterman Jordan Kent (men's basketball/football/men's track and field, 2002-07), Santiago Lorenzo (men's track and field, 1999-03), Robert Parke (men's track and field/football, 1931-35), Jill Smith (women's track and field, 1987-90), Jonathan Stewart (football, 2005-07) and Katie Wiese (softball, 1989-91).
To be eligible for induction into the Oregon Athletics Hall of Fame, which originated in 1992, former athletes, coaches, administrators and teams associated with the school's intercollegiate athletics success must have departed the University a minimum of 10 years.
The 2018 honorees will formally join the elite collection of 203 athletes and 26 teams previously selected as part of the school's athletics showcase at the Hall of Fame banquet on Friday, Sept. 21, before being introduced publicly during the next day's football game against Stanford.
Jordan Kent
Kent became the first men's three-sport athlete at Oregon since World War II when he earned letters in football, basketball and track and field. Originally signing with the Ducks in basketball, Kent was a four-time selection for the team's Harry Ritchie Award, which recognizes academic achievement, and was a three-time winner of the Rear Admiral John Dick Award as the team's top defender. On the track, Kent earned four all-America honors. He ran the lead leg of the 4x400-meter relay squad that finished third at the 2005 NCAA Championships. The Ducks' time of 3:00.81 still stands as the school's 4x400 relay record. Kent also anchored the 4x100-meter relay that set the school record (39.20) in a sixth-place finish at the 2005 NCAA meet. In conference competition, Kent took the baton for the lead leg of the 4x100 relay at the 2006 Pac-10 Championships, helping the Ducks win that event for the first time in school history. A year earlier, he was fifth in both the 100 meters and the long jump, and ran on the Ducks' runner-up 4x100 relay squad to help Oregon capture the 2005 Pac-10 championship. His top time of 20.82 in the 200 meters still ranks eighth in UO history. Kent joined the football team in 2005 and a year later had a breakout season as a senior with 44 receptions for 491 yards and four touchdowns. Kent was a sixth-round selection of Seattle in the 2007 NFL Draft and played in the NFL with the Seahawks and St. Louis Rams.
Santiago Lorenzo
Lorenzo was the 2001 NCAA decathlon champion and went on to compete in the 2004 Olympics for his home country of Argentina. After finishing fifth in the decathlon as a freshman at the 2000 NCAA Championships, Lorenzo won the national title by scoring 7,889 points in 2001. In the process, he became the first decathlon champion at Oregon. His mark remains sixth all-time at UO. Lorenzo was a two-time Pac-10 decathlon champion, winning first in 2001, and then again in 2003, when he helped the Ducks capture their first conference team title in 13 years. Lorenzo also set the school record in the indoor heptathlon with a score of 5,608 in 2002; that mark is still fifth in UO history. After college, Lorenzo competed in the decathlon for Argentina at the 2004 Summer Olympics. He finished 24th overall, but did win the decathlon 1,500 meters. Lorenzo was also a two-time CoSIDA academic all-American in 2001, and 2003, and was awarded a postgraduate scholarship from the Pac-10 in 2003.
Robert Parke
A two-sport letterman, Parke became the first national champion in the University of Oregon's history when he won the national javelin title in 1934. His winning throw of 220-11.625 set the American record at the time. Parke also won the 1934 Pacific Coast Conference javelin title (220-7.625) to help Oregon win the conference title with 38 points, two better than Washington State. Parke earned all-America honors for his only season in track and field for the Ducks. In football, Parke was a three-year letterman from 1932-34, playing quarterback his first two seasons and halfback as a senior, when he was co-captain of the squad. The 1933 team went 9-1 overall and shared the league championship with Stanford after going 4-1 in the PCC. The Webfoots defeated Columbia, Washington, UCLA and Oregon State that season, losing only to USC. For 66 years, Parke was the only Duck to win a league championship in both football and track in the same academic year until Kenjon Barner and LaMichael James were Pac-10 football champions in 2009, and ran for the Pac-10 track and field champions in 2010.
Jill Smith
Smith was one of Oregon's earliest women's NCAA track and field champions and was Oregon's first NCAA women's javelin champion when she captured that title in 1988 with a throw of 180-8. That mark is the fifth-best in program history using the old javelin implement. Smith was eighth in the javelin at the NCAA meet the year before as a freshman in 1987, as she garnered all-America status for both seasons. She had three top-five finishes at the Pac-10 Championships during her career, including a runner-up showing in 1988. As a team, Oregon posted three straight second-place finishes at the conference meet over her final three seasons as a Duck. Smith also competed in the 1988 U.S. Olympic Trails where she finished 11th.
Jonathan Stewart
Few players in school history have ever combined speed and power as Stewart, a 2007 first-team All-American by the American Football Coaches Association. That fall, he set the UO single-season rushing record (1,722 yards) as well as the all-purpose yards record of 2,481 yards, which still stands as the Ducks' all-time standard. He was a unanimous first-team Pac-10 all-conference selection as a junior before opting to enter the NFL Draft. The 2007 Maxwell Award and Doak Walker Award semifinalist ended his collegiate playing days with a career-best and Sun Bowl record 253 rushing yards in Oregon's 56-27 defeat of South Florida. Stewart ran for more than 100 yards 14 times during his career. He finished his career as the second-leading rusher in school history with 2,891 yards and third all-time with 4,889 all-purpose yards. One of the more Stewart's more amazing statistics is that of 623 career touches (516 rushes, 49 receptions, 58 kickoff returns), he fumbled just five times, losing only three. Stewart was selected as the 13th overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft by Carolina and became a mainstay in the Panthers' backfield for the next 10 seasons. With 7,318 yards, Stewart is the leading rusher in Carolina franchise history. Stewart signed with the New York Giants following the 2017 season.
Katie Wiese
Wiese was the starting pitcher behind Oregon's run to the 1989 Women's College World Series, which was the first NCAA WCWS appearance in the softball program's history. In being named the 1989 Pac-10 player of the year and a first team all-American, Wiese set school records in wins (42, which led the NCAA), shutouts (16), complete games (38), appearances (61), starts (53) and innings pitched (361.2), all of which still stand as UO records some 29 years after that season. She also threw three no-hitters as a freshman in 1989. The Ducks won a school-record 54 games that spring in going 54-18 overall and 13-7 in the Pac-10 (second). For her career, Wiese ranks second in ERA (0.82), third in wins (73), second in shutouts (31) and fourth in complete games (80). Wiese was an all-Pac-10 first-team selection in 1989 and a second-team honoree in 1990. She was also an all-region selection in both 1989 and 1990. Wiese and Oregon parted ways midway through her junior season in 1991. After finishing her career at Oklahoma City College, Wiese returned to Oregon as an assistant coach for the 1995 season. She was named to the UO's all-decade team in 1996.
For information regarding the purchase of tickets to the induction ceremonies, please inquire at lcrocket@uoregon.edu.
- www.GoDucks.com -
The University's 27th Hall of Fame includes three-sport letterman Jordan Kent (men's basketball/football/men's track and field, 2002-07), Santiago Lorenzo (men's track and field, 1999-03), Robert Parke (men's track and field/football, 1931-35), Jill Smith (women's track and field, 1987-90), Jonathan Stewart (football, 2005-07) and Katie Wiese (softball, 1989-91).
To be eligible for induction into the Oregon Athletics Hall of Fame, which originated in 1992, former athletes, coaches, administrators and teams associated with the school's intercollegiate athletics success must have departed the University a minimum of 10 years.
The 2018 honorees will formally join the elite collection of 203 athletes and 26 teams previously selected as part of the school's athletics showcase at the Hall of Fame banquet on Friday, Sept. 21, before being introduced publicly during the next day's football game against Stanford.
Jordan Kent
Kent became the first men's three-sport athlete at Oregon since World War II when he earned letters in football, basketball and track and field. Originally signing with the Ducks in basketball, Kent was a four-time selection for the team's Harry Ritchie Award, which recognizes academic achievement, and was a three-time winner of the Rear Admiral John Dick Award as the team's top defender. On the track, Kent earned four all-America honors. He ran the lead leg of the 4x400-meter relay squad that finished third at the 2005 NCAA Championships. The Ducks' time of 3:00.81 still stands as the school's 4x400 relay record. Kent also anchored the 4x100-meter relay that set the school record (39.20) in a sixth-place finish at the 2005 NCAA meet. In conference competition, Kent took the baton for the lead leg of the 4x100 relay at the 2006 Pac-10 Championships, helping the Ducks win that event for the first time in school history. A year earlier, he was fifth in both the 100 meters and the long jump, and ran on the Ducks' runner-up 4x100 relay squad to help Oregon capture the 2005 Pac-10 championship. His top time of 20.82 in the 200 meters still ranks eighth in UO history. Kent joined the football team in 2005 and a year later had a breakout season as a senior with 44 receptions for 491 yards and four touchdowns. Kent was a sixth-round selection of Seattle in the 2007 NFL Draft and played in the NFL with the Seahawks and St. Louis Rams.
Santiago Lorenzo
Lorenzo was the 2001 NCAA decathlon champion and went on to compete in the 2004 Olympics for his home country of Argentina. After finishing fifth in the decathlon as a freshman at the 2000 NCAA Championships, Lorenzo won the national title by scoring 7,889 points in 2001. In the process, he became the first decathlon champion at Oregon. His mark remains sixth all-time at UO. Lorenzo was a two-time Pac-10 decathlon champion, winning first in 2001, and then again in 2003, when he helped the Ducks capture their first conference team title in 13 years. Lorenzo also set the school record in the indoor heptathlon with a score of 5,608 in 2002; that mark is still fifth in UO history. After college, Lorenzo competed in the decathlon for Argentina at the 2004 Summer Olympics. He finished 24th overall, but did win the decathlon 1,500 meters. Lorenzo was also a two-time CoSIDA academic all-American in 2001, and 2003, and was awarded a postgraduate scholarship from the Pac-10 in 2003.
Robert Parke
A two-sport letterman, Parke became the first national champion in the University of Oregon's history when he won the national javelin title in 1934. His winning throw of 220-11.625 set the American record at the time. Parke also won the 1934 Pacific Coast Conference javelin title (220-7.625) to help Oregon win the conference title with 38 points, two better than Washington State. Parke earned all-America honors for his only season in track and field for the Ducks. In football, Parke was a three-year letterman from 1932-34, playing quarterback his first two seasons and halfback as a senior, when he was co-captain of the squad. The 1933 team went 9-1 overall and shared the league championship with Stanford after going 4-1 in the PCC. The Webfoots defeated Columbia, Washington, UCLA and Oregon State that season, losing only to USC. For 66 years, Parke was the only Duck to win a league championship in both football and track in the same academic year until Kenjon Barner and LaMichael James were Pac-10 football champions in 2009, and ran for the Pac-10 track and field champions in 2010.
Jill Smith
Smith was one of Oregon's earliest women's NCAA track and field champions and was Oregon's first NCAA women's javelin champion when she captured that title in 1988 with a throw of 180-8. That mark is the fifth-best in program history using the old javelin implement. Smith was eighth in the javelin at the NCAA meet the year before as a freshman in 1987, as she garnered all-America status for both seasons. She had three top-five finishes at the Pac-10 Championships during her career, including a runner-up showing in 1988. As a team, Oregon posted three straight second-place finishes at the conference meet over her final three seasons as a Duck. Smith also competed in the 1988 U.S. Olympic Trails where she finished 11th.
Jonathan Stewart
Few players in school history have ever combined speed and power as Stewart, a 2007 first-team All-American by the American Football Coaches Association. That fall, he set the UO single-season rushing record (1,722 yards) as well as the all-purpose yards record of 2,481 yards, which still stands as the Ducks' all-time standard. He was a unanimous first-team Pac-10 all-conference selection as a junior before opting to enter the NFL Draft. The 2007 Maxwell Award and Doak Walker Award semifinalist ended his collegiate playing days with a career-best and Sun Bowl record 253 rushing yards in Oregon's 56-27 defeat of South Florida. Stewart ran for more than 100 yards 14 times during his career. He finished his career as the second-leading rusher in school history with 2,891 yards and third all-time with 4,889 all-purpose yards. One of the more Stewart's more amazing statistics is that of 623 career touches (516 rushes, 49 receptions, 58 kickoff returns), he fumbled just five times, losing only three. Stewart was selected as the 13th overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft by Carolina and became a mainstay in the Panthers' backfield for the next 10 seasons. With 7,318 yards, Stewart is the leading rusher in Carolina franchise history. Stewart signed with the New York Giants following the 2017 season.
Katie Wiese
Wiese was the starting pitcher behind Oregon's run to the 1989 Women's College World Series, which was the first NCAA WCWS appearance in the softball program's history. In being named the 1989 Pac-10 player of the year and a first team all-American, Wiese set school records in wins (42, which led the NCAA), shutouts (16), complete games (38), appearances (61), starts (53) and innings pitched (361.2), all of which still stand as UO records some 29 years after that season. She also threw three no-hitters as a freshman in 1989. The Ducks won a school-record 54 games that spring in going 54-18 overall and 13-7 in the Pac-10 (second). For her career, Wiese ranks second in ERA (0.82), third in wins (73), second in shutouts (31) and fourth in complete games (80). Wiese was an all-Pac-10 first-team selection in 1989 and a second-team honoree in 1990. She was also an all-region selection in both 1989 and 1990. Wiese and Oregon parted ways midway through her junior season in 1991. After finishing her career at Oklahoma City College, Wiese returned to Oregon as an assistant coach for the 1995 season. She was named to the UO's all-decade team in 1996.
For information regarding the purchase of tickets to the induction ceremonies, please inquire at lcrocket@uoregon.edu.
- www.GoDucks.com -
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