Group Of Seven Inducted Into NCAA DII Athlete Hall Of Fame

NEW ORLEANS – Seven former collegiate track & field standouts will be enshrined into the USTFCCCA NCAA Division II Athlete Hall of Fame Wednesday evening prior to the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Bradenton, Florida.

Jim Dilling (Minnesota State), Shannon Gagne (New Haven), Leford Green (Johnson C. Smith), Barbara Pierre (Saint Augustine’s), Sean Robbins (Ashland), Josh Scott (Saint Augustine’s) and Shermaine Williams(Johnson C. Smith) will all be included in the Class of 2017.

The size of the class is tied for the 2nd-largest with the Class of 2000. In 1996, which was the inaugural year of the NCAA Division II Athlete Hall of Fame, 8 were inducted.

Learn more about each inductee by clicking their name or scrolling below.

Here are those athletes already enshrined in the USTFCCCA NCAA Division II Track & Field Athlete Hall of Fame.

Jim Dilling, Minnesota State

A native of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, Dilling was a high jumping machine during his time in Mankato. Dilling captured 2 national championships during the indoor season (2006 and 2007) as well as another pair during the outdoor campaign (2005 and 2007). Additionally, Dilling owns the NCAA Division II collegiate indoor record in the event at 2.30m (7-6½) while ending his career with the top jump in history on the outdoor circuit (he is currently 2nd with a mark of 2.30m/7-6½).

A 6-time All-American in the event, Dilling dominated in the high jump at the North Central Conference level as well, winning 4 indoor titles and 3 outdoor titles in addition to claiming 2 outdoor long jump championships.

Following his collegiate career, Dilling became the 2007 USA Track & Field high jump champion, representing Team USA at the IAAF World Track & Field Championships in Osaka, Japan. He then returned to Mankato to serve as an assistant coach for the Mavericks before being named the head coach in 2013. He recently announced plans to step down at the end of this season.

Shannon Gagne, New Haven

Try and find someone who had a better year than Shannon Gagne did in 2011. Go ahead, we’ll wait.

Done looking? We thought so.

That season, Gagne became the 1st individual national champion in New Haven history. However, 1 title was not enough.

The product out of Meriden, Connecticut became just the 2nd woman to capture 3 individual NCAA Division II indoor titles in a single year, winning the 200 meter (23.66), 400 meter (54.03) and long jump (5.95m/19-6¼)  championships in 2011. Additionally, Gagne won the 200 and 400 meter titles during the outdoor season during the same calendar year, running 23.43 and 53.62, respectively. That feat made her just the 3rd NCAA Division II athlete – regardless of gender – to win 5 national titles in 1 year.

A 9-time All-American, Gagne was named the USTFCCCA National Track Athlete of the Year for both the indoor and outdoor seasons in 2011.

On top of getting it done on the track and in the field, Gagne was stellar in the classroom as well, earning the 2010-11 Capital One Academic All-America of the Year Award, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

Leford Green, Johnson C. Smith

A 2012 Olympian for Jamaica in the 400 hurdles, Leford Green first made a name for himself on the track for Johnson C. Smith.

In Charlotte, North Carolina, Green was a 6-time national champion across 3 different events. The product from St. Mary, Jamaica first tasted success in college when he won the 400-meter title in 2008 with a time of 47.79. He followed that up with another indoor title in the same event in 2011 (46.38) in addition to anchoring the Bulls 4×400 relay team to an NCAA Division II indoor championship record time of 3:09.17 that doubles as the 3rd-best performance in NCAA Division II indoor history.

During the outdoor season, Green was just as impressive. In 2010, Green won the 400-hurdle title with a time of 48.67 before running a 45.74 in the 400 meters the following season, as well as helping the Bulls win the 2011 4×400 relay (3:07.59). In 2011, he led all NCAA Division II athletes with 4 All-America certificates during the outdoor season for his work in the 400 meters, 400 hurdles, 4×400 relay and 4×100 relay.

His indoor time of 46.38 in the 400 meters ranks as the 5th-best performance in NCAA Division II indoor history, while his time of 48.67 during the 2010 outdoor 400 hurdles is tied for the 3rd-fastest time in NCAA Division II outdoor history.

Following his collegiate career, the 11-time All-American has racked up gold medals at the Central American and Caribbean Games in the 400 hurdles and the 4×400 relay.

Barbara Pierre – Saint Augustine’s

There aren’t many sprinters as dominate as Saint Augustine’s Barbara Pierre.

Pierre won an astounding 4 indoor national championships as well as 3 during the outdoor campaign, setting a slew of records along the way. She claimed 3-straight 60-meter indoor championships from 2007-2009, a feat that has not been accomplished by another in that event. Additionally, her time of 7.20 during the preliminary rounds in 2010 still stands as the fastest ever during the NCAA Division II indoor championships.

On the outdoor circuit, the sprinter out of Port-au-Prince, Haiti won back-to-back 100-meter titles in 2008-09 while helping the Falcons win the 2007 4×100 relay national championship, as well. Pierre’s prelim time of 11.18 in the 100 meters during the 2009 championships is tied for the fastest ever at the NCAA Division II outdoor championships.

In the middle of her collegiate career, Pierre competed for Haiti during the 2008 Summer Olympics. She has since won gold at the 2016 World Indoor Championships in the 60 meters as well as gold in the 4×100 relay during the 2015 Pan American Games.

Pierre sits atop the NCAA Division II indoor record books in the 60 meters with a time of 7.18 and has run 7 of the top-9 times in the history of the event. Her collegiate best of 11.18 in the 100 meters during the outdoor season is tied with Semoy Hackett for the best in history.

Sean Robbins, Ashland

Prior to enjoying tremendous success on the professional circuit, Sean Robbins was the pinnacle of long jumpers at the collegiate level.

The native of Akron, Ohio, was a 12-time All-American in the long jump, triple jump and 400 meters. Robbins was best known for his long jumping prowess where he collected 5 national championships. After winning long jump titles during the indoor campaign in 1993, 1994 and 1996, Robbins went on to post back-to-back outdoor championships in the long jump in 1995-96. His 3 indoor individual titles are tied for the 2nd-most in a single event over a career in NCAA Division II.

A United State Olympic Trials participant in 1996, 2000 and 2004, Robbins earned Team USA alternate status in 1996 and 2004. In 1998, he was ranked 10th in the world in the long jump, as well as 3rd in the United States.

In the history of the long jump at the NCAA Division II record, Robbins’ is tied as the 5th-best performer in the event during the indoor season, having jumped 7.91m (25-11½) back on March 11, 1994, in addition to ranking 9th in the outdoor record books with a leap of 8.09m (26-6½) set on May 25, 1995.

Josh Scott, Saint Augustine’s

Winning 1 national championship wasn’t good enough for Josh Scott. As a matter of fact, 10 wasn’t quite good enough, either.

Scott amassed an eye-popping 12 national championships during his time at Saint Augustine’s while picking up 16 All-American honors along the way. And he set records galore while doing so.

After helping the Falcons 2008 4×400 relay team capture a national title during the 2008 outdoor season, Scott won 2 individual titles during the 2009 indoor season when he ran a 21.52 in the 200 meters and a 47.33 in the 400 meters. He successfully defended both titles a year later, posting NCAA Division II indoor championship records in both events (20.91 in the 200 meters, 46.05 in the 400 meters). His 400 meter time still stands as the fastest ever in the event during the NCAA Division II indoor season, while his 200 meter time also served as the NCAA Division II indoor collegiate record until it was broken earlier this year.

The Winter Haven, Florida product also anchored the 2009 and 2010 indoor champion 4×400 relay teams.

Scott was just as menacing on the track during the outdoor campaign where he won the 2009 and 2010 400 meter races at 4541 and 45.11, respectively. Individually, he also took home the 2010 200 meter championship (20.53). He won another 2 relays with the Falcons, leading off the 2010 4×100 relay champions (39.75) while anchoring the 2010 4×400 relay champs (3:04.95).

Scott’s name is peppered throughout the NCAA Division II outdoor record book, as he owns the 5th-fastest time in the 400 meters (45.11) while his 4×400 relay team still owns the best 4×400 relay time of 3:02.10, set during the 2009 Penn Relays.

Shermaine Williams, Johnson C. Smith

No one has won more NCAA Division II track & field hurdling national championships than Johnson C. Smith’s Shermaine Williams.

Winning the 2008-09 60 hurdles during the indoor campaign in addition to claiming victories in 3-straight 100 hurdles during the outdoor season from 2009-11, Williams’ became just the 2nd performer ever to win 3-consecutive 100 hurdle national championships, joining Abilene Christian’s Delloreen Ennis-London, who won 4-straight from 1996-99.

The product from Saint Andrew Parish, Jamaica rewrote the NCAA Division II record books during her time as an amateur, as well. Williams wrapped up her illustrious career with the NCAA Division II collegiate records in the 60 hurdles (8.07) and the 100 hurdles (12.95), and is currently the 2nd-best performer in both events.

Williams competed for Jamaica during the 2012 Olympic Games, running in the 100 hurdles.