The University of Akron Athletics
Three Former Zips Inducted into Summit County Sports Hall of Fame
Complete 2014 Summit County Sports Hall of Fame Class
AKRON, Ohio – At an event held on Tuesday night at the Tangier Restaurant in Akron, three former Akron Zips student-athletes were elected to the Summit County Sports Hall of Fame.
Jim Beck (men's basketball, 1953-55), Cheryl Bowles (women's basketball, 1998-2001) and Christi Smith-Ryan (women's track and field, 1997-2000) became the latest Zips to be inducted into the hall of fame.
Beck, a three-year member of The University of Akron basketball team, set the initial single game scoring record at Memorial Hall dropping in 42 points. He was a member of the 1952-53 Ohio Conference championship team, which had a 17-7 record.
Bowles became The University of Akron's first ever women's basketball player to be named first-team All-Conference in the 1999-2000 season. She graduated as the program's all-time leading scorer and now ranks third on the program's all-time scoring list, racking up 1,712 points in 115 games.
Smith-Ryan became the University of Akron's first national NCAA Division I champion and first multiple All-American in track. As a senior in 2000, she won the NCAA I heptathlon in Durham, N.C., with a school and MAC record-setting total of 5,797 points. The three-time All-American was voted UA's Female Athlete of the Year in 1998, 1999 and 2000.
Founded in 1957, the Summit County Sports Hall of Fame recognizes Summit County residents who have been outstanding in one or more organized sports beyond the high school level.
