ST. JOSEPH – Seven individuals and one team will be inducted into the Missouri Western State University Athletics Hall of Fame Oct. 20.
Rogers Pharmacy Hall of Fame weekend begins Friday, Oct. 20 with a reception and induction ceremony and continues Saturday, Oct. 21 with the annual Hall of Fame game against Fort Hays State. The class of 2017 will be recognized and presented with their Hall of Fame rings at halftime of the game.
The 2017 induction class includes:
1981-82 Men’s Basketball Team
The team went 25-7 under Hall of Fame coach head coach Gary Filbert who was assisted by Skip Shear and Bob Burchard. The Griffons won the CSIC with an 11-3 conference record and went on to win the NAIA District 16 championship. That season, the team went 16-1 at home as the first Griffon team to call the current MWSU Fieldhouse home. The team featured three NAIA All-District selections and Filbert was named NAIA District 16 Coach of the Year.
Chris Ball (Football: 1982-85)
Ball was an All-American defensive back for the Griffons in 1985. In his All-American season, Ball recorded 95 total tackles with two sacks, seven tackles for loss, three interceptions and five pass break ups. He recorded 12 career interceptions and was named All-CSIC three times in his Griffon career. Since graduating from Missouri Western, Ball has become a highly regarded defensive coach and has been the defensive coordinator at the University of Memphis since 2016. Ball has also had coaching stops at Arizona State, Washington State, Pittsburgh, Alabama and Missouri Western.
Clint Gilliland (Baseball: 2003-06)
Gilliland posted a career record of 25-19 with a 3.79 ERA in four seasons as a pitcher on the Griffon baseball team. He was named All-MIAA three times, including first team honors in 2005. Gilliland was also named second team CoSIDA All-District following the 2005 season. He posted nine-win seasons in 2004 and 2005 and never appeared in less than 13 games. Gilliland was named to the MIAA Academic Honor Roll four times and has been a Missouri State Trooper since 2007.
Nick Jenkins (Men’s Basketball: 1997-99)
Jenkins was twice named first team All-MIAA and following the 1998-99 season he was named first team All-South Region and honorable mention All-America. Jenkins averaged 15.5 points to go with 3.4 assists and 2.4 steals per game in his senior season. He was part of two MIAA regular season championships and one MIAA tournament championship while helping the team advance to the NCAA regional both seasons.
Gijon Robinson (Football: 2003-06)
Robinson was a three-time All-MIAA selection as a tight end for the Griffons, also earning honorable mention All-American honors in 2005. Robinson was a four-year starter, totaling 83 receptions for 1,057 yards and seven touchdowns. He was named first team All-MIAA in 2005 after recording 28 catches for 428 yards. Robinson was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Indianapolis Colts in 2007 and spent six seasons in the NFL, playing in Super Bowl XLIV for the Colts.
Lindsey (Palaia) Seyller (Volleyball: 1999-2002)
One of the most decorated volleyball athletes in Missouri Western history, Lindsey (Palaia) Seyller was named MIAA Most Valuable Player in 2002. She was a first team All-MIAA selection in both 2000 and 2002 and was named first team AVCA and Daktronics All-South Central region in 2002. Lindsey led the Griffons with 379 kills in 2002 and her 3.79 kills per set average that season ranks first all-time at MWSU. Her 1,426 blocks are the most in Griffon history. She ranks fifth all-time with 1,256.5 career points.
Patsy Smith (Administrator: 1998-2014)
At the time of her retirement in 2014, Smith served as senior associate director of athletics and senior woman administrator, a role she held since 2012. She continued to serve part-time as athletic business manager until March of 2017 before returning as interim director of athletics in July of 2017. Smith began her career at Missouri Western in the fall of 1990 as a tennis student-athlete and graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in accounting in 1995. In 1994, Smith became the head women’s tennis coach and led the team to its first-ever NCAA Tournament in 1998. That same year, she became the first athletics business manager at Missouri Western. She served in the roles of compliance and academics, director of finance, assistant athletics director and finally senior associate director of athletics and senior woman administrator.
Lamont Turner (Men’s Basketball: 2000-02)
Note: Turner was elected as part of the 2013 induction class, but was unable to attend ceremonies in prior years.
Turner was a leader on one of the best men’s basketball teams in Missouri Western history. He was named MIAA Most Valuable Player for the 2001-02 season after leading the MIAA in scoring with a 21.6 point per game average. He also led that Griffon team with 7.5 rebounds per game. That season the Griffons claimed the MIAA regular season championship and played in the NCAA South Central Regional. Turner is one of four Griffons all-time to score 1,000 points in a two-year career, totaling 1,138 in his two seasons.
— MWSU Athletics —