Wabash will induct six alumni into the College’s Athletics Hall of Fame in a ceremony to be held Friday, November 11.
Slated for induction are Bill Boone ’60 in baseball as a special inductee, Kevin Chavous ’78 in basketball, Kebba Manneh ’94 in soccer, Dave Montieth ’67 in track and field, Bill Wheeler ’83 in football, and Ron Zimmerman ’93 in diving.
Boone earned team MVP honors as a catcher for the Little Giants in 1958. A two-year letter winner as a member of the baseball team, Boone went on to serve as a high school teacher and coach in the Crawfordsville and Fountain Central school districts for 41 years. He returned to the Little Giants as an assistant baseball coach for his son, Scott ’81, helping Wabash accumulate 212 wins from 1986-97. Boone took the reigns as head coach for the 1999 and 2000 baseball seasons.
Chavous led the Little Giant basketball team in scoring in the 1976-77 and 1977-78 seasons. He averaged 19 points per game as a senior after scoring 16 points a game his junior season. Chavous ranks 16th in career field goals made with 442 and 18th in career scoring by averaging 14.4 points over 71 games. He earned three varsity basketball letters during his career.
Manneh is one of the best to ever wear a soccer kit at Wabash. He earned All-Mideast Region honors twice during his career and was a three-time MVP selection for the Little Giants. He kicked 24 goals in 1990 to set the school record that still stands today. Manneh ranks third in career points (126) and goals (57) and is 16th in school history in assists. He played for the Bethesda Storm soccer club in the Washington D.C. area and for his native Gambian Selection after his Wabash career.
Montieth starred in track and field for Wabash, earning All-America honors in the high jump in 1965 and 1966 . He set the Wabash and Little State Meet high jump records at 6 feet, 8 inches. He broke the school mark seven different times and held the mark for an impressive 34 years. Montieth has continued his jumping exploits, competing in the USA Track and Field Master’s Program where he has been ranked as the world’s top high jumper five of the past 11 years. Montieth will compete in the World Championship meet in Perth, Australia five days prior to his Hall of Fame induction.
Wheeler earned four varsity letters as a member of the Wabash team and was elected a tri-captain his senior season. He set the single-season quarterback sacks record with 12 in 1980, a mark that is tied for fifth in the current record book. Wheeler’s 27 career sacks also set the school record and is currently tied for fifth-most in Wabash history. He was named a Second Team Academic All-American in 1982 and has served as a member of the Wabash Board of Trustees since 2002.
Zimmerman qualified three times for the NCAA Division III Championship meet, advancing to the finals each year. His efforts helped the Little Giants earn eighth-place finishes at the NCAA Championships in 1991 and 1993. Zimmerman won the Little State Diving Championship on the one-meter board in 1990 before capturing the three-meter crown in 1992, earning the high-point diver award as well. He set three of the four diving records for he Little Giants, and still holds the 11-dive marks for both one- and three-meter events. The Wabash teams he competed for finished with an unblemished 37-0 record in dual meets and won 17 invitational meet titles over four seasons,
The Athletics Hall of Fame induction ceremony begins at 8 p.m. in the Knowling Fieldhouse in the Allen Athletics and Recreation Center. The ceremony is preceded by a reception and cash bar beginning at 6 p.m. with dinner at 6:45 p.m.