CMS Athletics Names Five to Hall of Fame Class of 2013

Since the inception of the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Athletics Hall of Fame in 1991, each class of inductees has been filled with a group of extremely talented, dedicated and successful student-athletes. The 2013 inductees are no different. Director of Athletics Mike Sutton is proud to announce that five former student athletes - at least one representative from each college - will be inducted into the Hall of Fame Class of 2013 at the Hall of Fame Banquet on Saturday, Nov. 16.

“The Class of 2013 is another good representation of the breadth, talents, and history of CMS Athletics. The fact that we are inducting our first nominees from the 2000’s will catch the eye of some alumni and current Hall of Famers,” said Sutton. “I had the pleasure of coaching Nick and watching Eric, Kristine, and Indira compete and John Poer’s induction is so appropriate.”

The banquet is scheduled to be held at 6 p.m. in the Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum on Claremont McKenna College’s campus on Nov. 16. The Hall of Fame Banquet is held on the same Saturday as the department’s annual Homecoming festivities. This year’s group of inductees includes four repeat All-Americans, a two-time national champion and five All-SCIAC selections to name a handful of their accomplishments.

Inductees are in alphabetical order by last name Nick Bagatelos ’86 (CMC-Swimming): A versatile swimmer during his career, Bagatelos made his greatest mark in the breaststroke and freestyle sprints, winning the NCAA Division III National Championship in the 200-yard breaststroke in 1985 to go along with a national championship in the 400-yard free relay in 1983. Over his four years, he earned 20 (8 indiv./11 relay) All-America selections and registered eight CMS/SCIAC records to go along with an NCAA relay record. A four-time All-American and All-SCIAC selection, Bagatelos participated on Stag swimming & diving teams that finished second at the NCAA Championships to Kenyon College in each of his four seasons. In addition to a pair of national championships, Bagatelos won six SCIAC championships during his career.

Eric Jones ’97 (HMC-Track & Field): A key member of four SCIAC men’s track & field championship teams as a high jumper and triple jumper, Jones became a four-time All-American and three-time SCIAC champion during his career. An established high jumper in high school, Jones learned how to triple jump as a sophomore at CMS and saw great success by winning SCIAC titles in 1994 and 1997 in the event, in addition to his 1993 SCIAC title in the high jump. As a sophomore in 1994, Harvey Mudd College selected Jones as its Athlete of the Year. During that year, Jones scored the fifth highest number of points in SCIAC Championship competition (59) by any CMS track and field athlete.

Indira Odamtten ’00 (SCR-Track & Field and Soccer): The two-sport athlete excelled both on the soccer field and in track & field competition as Scripps twice (1999 and 2000) chose her as their Athlete of the Year for her efforts. In track & field, Odamtten became a two-time All-American in the long jump (7th in 1998 and 5th in 2000) and in relays (5th in 1997 and 1998) as the Athenas won three-straight SCIAC team championships from 1998-2000. In SCIAC competition she earned seven individual championships to go along with five first place relay finishes from 1998-2000. Odamtten once scored 142 points in SCIAC Championship competition, the most ever by a CMS woman. A three-year member of the women’s soccer team, Odamtten earned first team All-SCIAC recognition as a sophomore.

John Poer ’58 (CMC-Golf and Basketball): During his three years as a member of the Pomona-Claremont varsity golf teams, Poer won SCIAC individual championships in 1956 and 1957 to go along with a second place finish at the SCIAC Championships as a senior in 1958. Throughout his three years on the varsity golf team –freshman didn’t participate in varsity competition- he played in the No.1-3 positions. On the hardwood, Poer played two seasons of varsity ball (sophomore and senior years) and was a key member of the team as a senior in 1958 which tied for the SCIAC Championship. On the freshman team, he started as forward and helped lead the team to a 16-4 record and a first place tie in conference with Whittier. As a senior, CMC named Poer its Outstanding Athlete for the 1958 school year. Over the years, Poer has stayed involved with CMC as a CMC Alumni Association board member, president of the CMCAA (1974-75), CMCAA Sports Committee and chairman of the Hall of Fame nominating committee. In his spare time, Poer has completed 45 marathons.

Kristine Zoch ’00 (CMC-Softball): In her four seasons as a pitcher for the Athenas, Zoch twice made the All-America team (1998 and 1999) to go along with three All-Region (1998-2000), three National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Academic All-America and three first team All-SCIAC selections. In 1999 and 2000, Zoch was named SCIAC Player of the Year after posting a 0.68 ERA and 1.41 ERA in those seasons, respectively. In 2000 she set a school record with 18 strikeouts in one game. During her four seasons, she broke every school pitching record. As a senior in 2000, CMC selected Zoch as its Female Athlete of the Year. After playing for the Athenas, Zoch pitched during the summer of 2000 for the U.S. Athletic International Softball Team in Australia and Holland. For more information on the 2013 Hall of Fame banquet, please contact Mike Sutton at michael.sutton@cms.claremont.edu.

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