GUNNISON ---
A skier, a runner, a wrestler, a thrower and a basketball team will highlight the Western Colorado Athletic Department's 2021 Mountaineer Sports Hall of Fame class set to be inducted 7 p.m. Friday at the University Center on the campus of Western Colorado University. A pre-event social starts at 5:30 p.m.The 2021 class includes skier Amy Crawford (now Amy Purevsuren), distance runner Josh Eberly, wrestler Donovan McMahill, thrower Ashley Stephens and the 1986-87 men's basketball team.
Amy Crawford (now Amy Purevsuren) was a seven-time All-American from 1994-97 for Western Colorado, winning a national championship in the 15K freestyle in 1997 – becoming the first woman in Mountaineer history to win an individual skiing national title and Western's first ski national champion – male or female – in 31 years. She graduated with a Geology degree with a sparkling 3.82 GPA.
Josh Eberly was a nine-time All-American for the Mountaineers from 1998-2003, including winning the 10,000-meter national championship in 2003 to cap his illustrious collegiate career. Eberly was a three-time All-American in cross country from 2000-02 – playing a key role in Western's dominance as the program won four consecutive team national championships from 1999-2002. Eberly was a two-time All-American in indoor track – taking third in the 5,000 in 2002 and second in 2003. In outdoor, he was a four-time All-American – earning the honors in both the 5,000 and 10,000 in 2002 and 2003.
Donovan McMahill goes down as one of the most dominant student-athletes in Mountaineer wrestling history as he was a three-time All-American, a three-time national finalist, a two-time national champion and completed his career on a 51-match winning streak in a collegiate career that spanned from 2007-11. McMahill went 32-0 his senior season on his way to his second consecutive national championship at 197 pounds – joining Gene Williams (who did it three times from 1955-57) and Dale Stryker (1965) to finish a season undefeated. He was also named the Most Valuable Wrestler of the national championships in 2011. McMahill finished his career with a 137-20 record.
Only one person in the spectacular history of Western Colorado track and field history has ever won a national championship in a throwing event (indoor or outdoor) – Ashley Stephens. And she's done it twice. Stephens – a six-time All-American who is the most decorated thrower in Mountaineer history - won the discus national title in 2007 and 2009 while finishing runner up in 2008. She was also an All-American in the hammer throw in 2009 and in the weight throw in indoor in 2008 and 2009. Stephens still holds the Western Colorado record in the discus (176-10), hammer (185-05) and weight throw (62-10.75).
The 1986-87 men's basketball team led by coach Terry Gibbons set a record for most wins in a season, earned the program its first District 7 Championship and became the first Mountaineer men's basketball team to qualify for the national tournament. The team won 19 games – a school record at the time that is still tied for the second-most wins in program history. After starting the season 5-7, the Mountaineers went 14-6 the rest of the way – which included winning six of their final seven games to make it to the NAIA National Tournament. The team started five seniors and was arguably the most diverse team to ever put on a Western uniform up to that point.
"They had the wisdom and the class to handle every situation confronting them on and off the court the right way," Gibbons said. "This team was a working class team and one of the most physical and mentally tough teams I ever had the pleasure to coach."
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September 23, 2021 at 11:45PM
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Western Athletics set to induct four individuals, team into Mountaineer Sports Hall of Fame on Friday - Western Colorado University Athletics
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