Warrensburg, Mo. (Dec. 2, 1998) -- Five individuals and three teams make up the eighth class of honorees for Central Missouri State University's Athletic Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 30, at a 10 a.m. brunch in the University Union Ballroom.

Chosen by the Hall of Fame selection committee for induction in the student-athlete category are Mark Burrell (wrestling, 1988-90), the late Charles Childress (basketball/track & field, 1929-33), Jackie Harris (women's basketball, 1982-86) and Sittichoke Huckuntod (baseball, 1988-90). Chosen in the special recognition category is the late James Kirkpatrick. The teams selected for induction are the 1950 Mules' football team, the 1989 Jennies' softball team and the 1990 Jennies' volleyball team.

Burrell is the first Mules' wrestler to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. He enjoyed a superb two-year career with the Mules, winning back-to-back individual NCAA Division II championships at 126 pounds in 1989 and 1990.

A graduate of West Des Moines (Iowa) Valley High School, he transferred to Central Missouri from Northwest Missouri State University. As a junior, he set the Mules' single-season record for wins, compiling a record of 44-6-2, en route to his national title. The following year he produced a record of 40-3-1 and successfully defended his national championship of the previous year. He became the first athlete in Central Missouri State history to win two individual national championships.

At that time, individual champions in Division II were allowed to advance to the Division I championship and Burrell became the first and only Mules' wrestler to win a match at the Division I Tournament, winning three and losing two. In addition to his single-season record for wins, Burrell still owns the Mules' records for best career winning percentage (.890), most points in a season (167), most technical falls in a season (8) and career (10) and most takedowns in a season (169). He ranks fourth in career wins for the Mules with a career mark of 84-9-3.

Childress was an outstanding performer for the Mules in basketball and track and field. A native of Archie, Mo., he was the Mules' second-leading scorer as a freshman on the basketball team in the 1929-30 season, then led the team in scoring each of the next three seasons and also earned all-MIAA recognition those three seasons.

In track and field, he competed in the pole vault, discus, shot put, javelin, hurdles and sprints. The high point of his track and field career came in 1933, when he won the decathlon at the Kansas Relays, scoring 7,432 points. What made that particular feat more impressive was the fact that he was competing with a pulled muscle in his right leg.

In addition to his athletic career at Central Missouri, Childress was named the school's most popular man in 1933 and was elected president of the Student Government Association even though his name was not on the ballot.

Following his collegiate career, he enjoyed a distinguished career in coaching, serving as the Mules' track and field coach, then coaching at Warrensburg, Mo., High School before going to Lee's Summit, Mo., in 1937, where he was coach, athletics director and administrator for a total of 32 years before his death in 1968. In 1945-46, he coached the school's football, basketball and track and field teams to an amazing year of success. The football team was undefeated, the basketball team lost only one game and the track and field team won the indoor and outdoor state titles. Upon his retirement, the Lee's Summit Board of Education established the Charles Childress Award to be awarded each year to the school's outstanding senior athlete.

Harris was a four-year player for the Jennies and a member of the 1984 national championship team. She came to Central Missouri from Sumner Academy in Kansas City, Kan. In addition to playing on the national championship team, she was a member of the 1982-83 team that lost in the Division II semifinals, the 1984-85 team that finished second and the 1985-86 team that reached the quarterfinals. The Jennies were 107-18 during her career and won or shared the MIAA title each of her four seasons.

After playing in the shadow of Division II players-of-the-year Carla Eades (1984) and Rosie Jones (1985), Harris earned first-team All-America honors as a senior when she averaged 21.8 points and became the first Jennies' player to average over 20 points per game. She also was co-MVP in the MIAA that season. Her 631 points rank as the third best single-season total in Jennies' history and her 21.8 scoring average is the second-best single-season mark in Jennies' history.

She set what was at the time the Jennies' single-game scoring record with 40 points against the University of Missouri-Rolla. That record has since been broken, but she still is one of only three players in Jennies' history to score 40 or more points in a game. Her career point total of 1,417 ranks ninth on the Jennies' career scoring list. She ranks ninth in career field goal percentage (49.1), is tied for seventh in career free throw percentage (69.1) and tied for eighth in career steals (194). Only five other Jennies' players have appeared in more games than Harris, who played in 120.

Huckuntod enjoyed a spectacular three-year career with the Mules, earning first-team All-America honors twice and helping lead the team to three MIAA titles and three NCAA tournament bids. Born in Thailand, he came to Central Missouri after graduating as class valedictorian at Oak Park High School in Kansas City, Mo. He was a three-year starter at second base and, despite standing only 5' 6" and weighing just 160 pounds, was one of the most feared hitters in Division II during his career.

He hit .314 as a freshman and earned the MIAA freshman of the year award. His sophomore season he hit .428 to earn a second straight first-team all-MIAA honor. As a junior, he led the Mules with a .475 batting average, was the MIAA MVP and set a Central Missouri and MIAA season record of 104 hits that still stands. That season he also established in just three years what were at the time the Central Missouri and MIAA career records for hits, runs scored and stolen bases. Although his career hits and runs scored records have since been broken (by four-year players), his career stolen base record of 121 still stands. His career batting average of .403 ranks second in Mules' history.

An excellent student as well as a standout athlete, Huckuntod culminated his Central Missouri career by being named the College Division Academic All-American of the Year for baseball in 1990. After completing Central Missouri's three-year pre-engineering program, he finished his collegiate career at Texas A&M University.

Kirkpatrick's service to Central Missouri State and the state of Missouri is well-documented. He served on the university's Board of Regents for 12 years, 10 of those as board president. During his tenure, he was instrumental in getting several improvements completed at Vernon Kennedy Field, including the first press box. As Missouri Secretary of State for 20 years, he was considered by many to be the most popular elected official in the history of the state.

Following his retirement from state office, he was named a Distinguished University Fellow at Central Missouri State and maintained an office at Ward Edwards Library. He received the school's Distinguished Alumni Award as well as an honorary doctorate of humane letters. He was a key figure in obtaining state funding for the university's new state-of-the art library, which has been named in his honor. A loyal supporter of Central Missouri athletics, he was an original member of the Hall of Fame selection committee and served as committee chairman until his death in 1997.

The 1950 football team is the only Mules' football team to win a bowl game and one of only four teams in school history to win eight games in a season. Coached by Tate Page, the Mules won their first four games, then lost three straight games that cost them a chance to win the MIAA title. However, they won their final three games to finish with a 7-3-0 regular season record and received an invitation to play in the Shrine Bowl in Pittsburg, Kan., against Pittsburg State University. The Mules overcame a 14-7 deficit in the fourth quarter to win 32-21. For the season, the Mules averaged 392.8 yards per game in total offense to rank among the top teams in the country in that category. Three members of the team, end Earl Thompson, tackle Hillard Wille and running back Ken Webster, were first-team all-MIAA selections.

The 1989 Jennies' softball team was the first from Central Missouri to reach the Division II semifinals, where they placed fourth. With a 36-12 overall record, coach Rhesa Sumrell's Jennies literally went coast-to-coast by the time their season concluded.

Although the Jennies did not win the MIAA title, they still received an NCAA tournament bid and were sent to Springfield, Mass., for the regional tournament. After losing their first game in the double-elimination tournament, the Jennies came all the way back through the loser's bracket to win the regional and earn a trip to Sacramento, Calif., for the Division II Championships. At Sacramento, the Jennies were joined by defending national champion California State University-Bakersfield and Division II powers California State University-Sacramento and Florida Southern College. Unable to produce any runs, the Jennies lost to Florida Southern 5-0 and to Cal State-Sacramento 1-0.

Shortstop Renay Ries was the team's offensive leader, hitting .390 with 32 runs scored, 60 hits, 12 doubles, four home runs and 26 runs batted in to lead the team in each of those categories. Pitchers Becky John and Roxzanne Abbott were 17-4 and 12-5, respectively, and both earned first-team all-MIAA honors. Joining them on the first-team all-MIAA squad were catcher Kim Smedley, outfielder Jana Moberly and designated hitter Cheryl Meng. Sumrell was voted MIAA Coach of the Year and Moberly also earned first-team Academic All-America honors.

The 1990 Jennies' volleyball team produced a 42-5 record, an MIAA championship, an NCAA tournament bid and career coaching win number 500 for Peggy Martin. Martin's 500th career win came on Sept. 29 at Division II powerhouse Portland State University, the same team that would end their season at the NCAA Division II finals in Bakersfield, Calif.

In addition to Martin's 500th victory, another historic moment for the Jennies came at the Division II finals where Becky Belland was named Division II Player of the Year. A three-time All-America selection, Belland finished her outstanding career at Central Missouri as the Division II career leader in kills and blocks. She also was named MIAA MVP and was joined on the first-team all-MIAA squad by Kristie Tompkins and Corrie Paul, while Martin was named MIAA Coach of the Year. The Jennies' winning percentage of .894 in 1990 is second only to that of the Jennies' 1987 NCAA runner-up team, which had a .913 winning percentage.

The Jan. 30 induction brunch is open to the public. Tickets are $12 and can be obtained by contacting the Central Missouri State Athletics Office at 543-4250 by Jan. 25. The 1999 inductees also will be introduced and recognized at halftime of the Jan. 30 Mules' basketball game against Southwest Baptist University.

To be eligible for selection to the Hall of Fame in the student-athlete or team categories, nominees must have completed their eligibility or competition at least five years prior to selection. Student-athlete nominees must have earned at least two varsity letters at Central Missouri. Qualifications and criteria are based primarily upon accomplishments at Central Missouri, but also may include accomplishments outside the university.