2021 Oregon Hall Of Fame Class Announced
Three NCAA track & field champions will be joined by three women’s athletics standouts
EUGENE, Ore. – Some of the most well-known student-athletes and coaches in recent history have been selected for the Oregon Athletics Hall of Fame class of 2021. Among the six inductees are three national champions from track and field and three individuals who helped raise the profile of women’s athletics at the University of Oregon.
The University’s 30th Hall of Fame class features NCAA track and field medalists Matthew Centrowitz, Melissa Gergel and Scott McGee, forward Arianne Boyer and head coach Jody Runge from the one of the most successful eras in women’s basketball history and volleyball’s all-time leader in points, Sonja Newcombe.
“The 2021 Hall of Fame class really embodies the highest level of excellence in college athletics,” said director of athletics Rob Mullens. “These individuals won national acclaim and are also student-athletes and coaches who broke barriers while elevating their programs and Oregon Athletics.”
To be eligible for induction into the Oregon Athletics Hall of Fame, which originated in 1992, former athletes, coaches, administrators and teams associated with the school’s intercollegiate athletics success must have departed the University a minimum of 10 years earlier.
The 2021 honorees will officially join the exclusive club of 217 athletes and 29 teams previously selected at the Hall of Fame banquet, the date of which will be determined later this year.
Arianne Boyer, Women's Basketball, 1993-97
Arianne Boyer was just the fifth Duck in program history to score 1,500 career points and was just the third All-American at Oregon. The forward from Vancouver, Wash., helped Oregon advance to four straight NCAA Tournaments from 1994-97. She was a Pac-10 All-Freshman selection her first season in Eugene after averaging 7.6 points per game. As a sophomore, Boyer increased her production to 14.0 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. She earned her first All-Pac-10 first team honor as a junior in 1995-96 when she averaged 16.4 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. As a senior in 1996-97, Boyer was an Associated Press honorable mention All-American and earned her second-straight All-Pac-10 first team award after averaging 15.1 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. That season, she helped lead the Ducks to a second-place finish in the Pac-10 as the Ducks were 22-7 overall and 14-4 in league play. Boyer finished her career ranked fifth in both points (1,501) and rebounds (850) at Oregon. Her totals currently rank 10th in scoring and ninth in rebounds. Boyer also still stands among the school’s career top 10 in free throws made with 400 (fourth) and double-doubles with 28 (ninth). For her career, Boyer averaged 13.3 points and 7.5 rebounds per game and shot 51.7 percent from the field. She was honored with the University’s 1997 Jackson Award, which is given to the outstanding senior female student-athlete of the year.
Matthew Centrowitz, Men's Track & Field/Cross Country, 2007-11
Winning the 2011 NCAA championship in the 1,500 meters was just the beginning for Matthew Centrowitz, who went on to win Olympic gold in the event at the 2016 Rio games and is a five-time U.S. 1,500 meter champion. In his first full season of running for the Ducks, Centrowitz helped Oregon win a pair of national titles. He was the Ducks’ No. 4 runner and finished 45th overall as Oregon won its second-straight NCAA Cross Country championship in 2008. Centrowitz then helped the Ducks win their first ever NCAA Indoor Track and Field national championships with a sixth-place finish in the mile at the 2009 meet. Later that spring, he won the first of three consecutive Pac-10 1,500 meter titles. The 2010 outdoor season was the best yet for Centrowitz. Not only did he defend his conference 1,500 crown, but he joined teammates Andrew Wheating and A.J. Acosta in Oregon’s 1-2-3 sweep of the 1,500 at the NCAA Championships. His final season as a Duck established his place among track and field’s luminaries. He dominated the 1,500 not only at the college level, but among all U.S. runners in 2011. That season produced his third league crown at 1,500 meters before Centrowitz won his first individual NCAA title. His collegiate win in 3:42.54 spurred an unforgettable summer. Wearing his Oregon singlet at the U.S. Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Centrowitz executed a near-perfect race plan in the 1,500 meter final to become the first Duck undergraduate to win a USA title since Steve Prefontaine in 1971 (three miles). Later that summer, Centrowitz broke the school’s 1,500 meter record by running 3:34.46 in a Diamond League meet in Monaco. He finished the 2011 season with a bronze medal finish at the IAAF World Championships in Daegu, South Korea, in the process becoming the youngest American ever to medal in the 1,500 meters after running 3:36.08. Centrowitz turned pro later that fall. He finished his career as a seven-time All-American and still ranks second in school history at 1,500 meters.
Melissa Gergel, Women's Track & Field, 2008-11
Melissa Gergel persevered through rain, wind and thunder and lightning that caused lengthy weather delays late into an Iowa summer night to become just the second women’s pole vault national champion in school history. Competing in her final meet as a senior at the 2011 NCAA meet, Gergel had first attempt clearances at 13-feet, 1.5-inches and 13-5.25 before needing a clutch third attempt clearance at 14-1.25 to stay alive in the competition. She then made a first attempt bar at 14-3.25 and a second attempt at 14-5.25 before winning the national title in an NCAA Championship meet record 14-7.25. That mark still ranks second in Oregon history. The seven-time All-American is the school pole vault record holder indoors with a clearance at 14-7.25 that came in a runner-up finish at the 2010 NCAA Indoor Championships where Oregon won the Indoor national title for the first time in school history. Including her national title, Gergel had six top-10 finishes combined at the indoor and outdoor NCAA Championships. She also became just the second Pac-10 women’s pole vault champion in school history after winning as a sophomore in 2009, one of her three career top-three finishes at the conference meet. Gergel went on to compete in both the 2012 and 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials. She was also fourth in the pole vault at the 2011 USA Championships, matching her personal best clearance at 14-7.25.
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