COLUMBIA, Mo. — The University of Missouri has selected five former athletes for induction into the school's Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame. It will be the 30th Hall of Fame class in Mizzou history.
Kearsten Peoples and Don Smith, both in the sport of track & field, are two former area athletes who will be inducted.
Baseball and women's basketball also are represented in the class.
The 2020 class will be formally inducted Friday, Sept. 25, in Columbia and honored the next day on the field during Mizzou's football game against Eastern Michigan.
Below is a biography of each inductee, provided by the University of Missouri.
Mizzou Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2020
Chidi Imoh – Lagos, Nigeria - Men’s Track & Field (1983-86)
Arguably the most accomplished sprinter in Mizzou history, Imoh earned seven NCAA All-American honors and won 11 different conference championship gold medals … Claimed three indoor/outdoor All-American accolades in both 1985 and 1986 … Also enjoyed a storied international career, as he competed in three different Olympic Games (1984, ’88, ’92) … Including 1992 in Barcelona where he was part of Nigeria’s silver medal-winning 4x100m relay team … Won the 100m dash silver medal in the 1986 Goodwill Games, finishing behind only Ben Johnson, while finishing ahead of Carl Lewis … School record holder in 50m dash (5.32), 55m dash (6.10), 300yd dash (30.07) and outdoor 100m dash (10.00) … Recipient of 1983 Bill Rawson Award and 1986 Tom Botts Award.
Kearsten Peoples – Ottawa, Kan. – Women’s Track & Field (2012-15)
One of the most decorated performers in Mizzou Track’s storied history of premier-level throwers, Peoples won the NCAA Indoor championship in the weight throw as a senior in 2015 … Was a 10-time career indoor/outdoor All-American in weight throw, shot put, discus and hammer throw … Claimed multiple All-American honors in each season at Mizzou (two – 2012, two – 2013, three – 2014, three – 2015) … Produced five conference championships, highlighted by two titles in 2015 senior season … School record holder in indoor shot put (17.81m/58-5.50), indoor weight throw (22.84m/74-11.25), outdoor shot put (18.22m/59-9.50) and outdoor hammer throw (66.17m/217-1).
Mike Rogers – St. Louis, Mo. – Baseball (1984-87)
Rogers owned a career batting average of .385, which ranks second-best in program history … Broke the Mizzou career home runs record, with 45, and that mark stood for some 21 years, when it was later broken by Jacob Priday (2008) … School record holder with outstanding .695 career slugging percentage … Also ranks top 10 at Mizzou all-time in career on-base percentage (third - .490), total bases (fifth – 410), extra-base hits (seventh – 89), runs batted in (tied for seventh – 171), walks drawn (tied for ninth – 122) and runs scored (10th – 166) … Paced Tigers in batting average two straight years (1986-87), hitting .400-plus each season … Launched 17 home runs in 1986, which broke the program single-season record at the time … Selected in the 20th round of the 1987 MLB Draft by the Texas Rangers.
Nancy Rutter – Hannibal, Mo. – Women’s Basketball (1975-78)
Highly-decorated founding member of Mizzou Women’s Basketball program, Rutter was a member of the first-ever recruiting class in 1974-75 … Key player that helped the program improve from a 9-8 record in its freshman season to a 26-6 record in senior campaign … The 1977-78 Tigers won the Big Eight championship and finished ranked No. 13 in the final Associated Press poll … Ranks second all-time in free throws made (481), third in rebounds per game (8.8), sixth in total points scored (1,641) and eighth in career points per game (15.3) … Her 40-point performance at Graceland (Jan. 5, 1977) still stands as the most points recorded on an opposing court … Single-season record holder with 211 made free throws in 1976-77 … 1970s Big Eight All-Decade Team honorable mention selection.
Don Smith – Liberty, Mo. – Track & Field (1959-62)
Acclaimed shot putter who took No. 2 spot at the 1961 NCAA Outdoor Championships … Also placed No. 8 overall at both 1960 and 1962 NCAA Outdoor Championships … During 1962 campaign, won shot put title at nation’s three premier relay events (Texas, Drake and KU Relays) … Established new record at Drake to complete the prestigious Triple Crown … Overtook legendary Gold and Silver Olympics medalist Bill Nieder’s shot put record at KU’s Allen Fieldhouse in 1962 dual meet … After graduation, worked as a chemical engineer for the Bayer Corporation, where he climbed the ladder and became manger over several of the company’s chemical plants … Currently retired and resides in Liberty, where he still holds the Liberty High School shot put record.
