Six individuals and a trailblazing pair of teams are included in the 2024 Class for the Michigan State Athletics Hall of Fame. Jessica (Beech) Bograkos (softball), Anson Carter (hockey), Darqueze Dennard (football), Laura (Kueny) Smith (women's golf), Beth (Rohl) Saylors (women's track & field), and Paul Terek (men's track & field) will be joined by the 1965-1966 football teams, who become the first teams inducted into the Hall of Fame.
"Congratulations to the Michigan State Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2024," said Michigan State Vice President and Director of Athletics Alan Haller. "The individuals in this year's class represent some of the very best Spartan athletes in each of their respective sports. Every individual earned All-American and all-conference honors, with four of the six being recognized by the Big Ten Conference as the very best in their sport or at their position. Beyond their record-setting performances at MSU, they would go on to enjoy success both at the professional level and in international competition.
"I'm thrilled to congratulate the 1965 and 1966 Spartan football teams on their induction. While the athletic accomplishments, including back-to-back Big Ten Championships and national titles, place them among the very best teams in Spartan history, it's the transcendent impact on their sport, our university and society that drives their inclusion as the first teams ever inducted into the Michigan State Athletics Hall of Fame. These were young men from different states and different races who came together to form a brotherhood around a singular goal. In doing so, they became trailblazers who would help break down racial barriers in college football, leading to a more diverse and inclusive sport nationally. They are the very fabric of who we are and who we strive to be as an institution."
The Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Celebration will take place on Friday, Sept. 13. There will also be a special recognition of the 2024 MSU Athletics Hall of Fame Class during the Michigan State-Prairie View A&M football game at Spartan Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 14.
The MSU Athletics Hall of Fame, located in the Clara Bell Smith Student-Athlete Academic Center, opened on Oct. 1, 1999, and displays plaques of the 180 previous inductees. The charter class of 30 former Spartan student-athletes, coaches and administrators was inducted in 1992.
Below are the bios for the 2024 Michigan State Athletics Hall of Fame Class:
Jessica (Beech) Bograkos, Softball 2001-04
An elite two-way athlete, Jessica (Beech) Bograkos becomes the eighth Spartan softball player to be inducted into the Michigan State Athletics Hall of Fame. Now 20 years removed from her graduation, Bograkos remains prominent in the Spartan record book with four career records, five single-season records and one single-game record.
"Whenever you get a call from the athletic director as an alum you never know what to expect," said Bograkos. "I certainly wasn't expecting him to tell me that I had been inducted into the Hall of Fame. It was a surreal moment and left me speechless. After I spoke with (Vice President and Director of Athletics) Alan (Haller) it sent me into a deep dive of reflection on my time as a student-athlete at Michigan State and how many people contributed to all of it. The amount of people that invested their time and effort into my teammates and me, I wish I could thank them all."
Bograkos is the all-time Spartan leader in career wins (72), shutouts (24), strikeouts (659) and no-hitters (4), while also leading in single-season marks of strikeouts (264), shutouts (13), appearances (53), innings pitched (283.1) and wins (29). Her first of four career no-hitters, Bograkos shut down East Carolina in a 1-0 MSU victory on February 14, 2003. The following year, Bograkos matched Gloria Becksford's record of three no-hitters in the same season, tossing one against UC Santa Barbara on March 5 and two against Oakland on March 20 and April 14.
Alongside Becky Gray, Bograkos helped combine for the first recorded perfect game in program history against Purdue Fort Wayne on April 6, 2002. Pitching in relief, Bograkos tossed three spotless innings while striking out four Mastodon batters.
On May 8, 2003, Bograkos set the program single-game strikeout record (16) against Northwestern. In doing so Bograkos broke her own record of 15 set against Virginia on February 28, 2003. Only one player in program history has more games of 12 or more strikeouts, with Bograkos posting four in her career.
Also talented at the plate, Bograkos ranks third in single-season runs scored (51), seventh in single-season hits (71) and seventh in single-season doubles (15). Her 42 career stolen bases rank sixth all-time. During her senior season, Bograkos hit .345 overall and a team-best .406 in Big Ten action over 20 games.
"I could not be happier for Jess and her family," said former Michigan State head softball coach Jacquie Joseph. "She elevated our program to new heights. Jess was an outstanding student who poured her heart and soul into the program. She epitomizes what it means to be a Spartan."
Joseph was a mentor for Bograkos during her years on the team and remains one to this day.
"I give Jacquie a lot of credit for how Michigan State helped shape me today," Bograkos said. "She was much more than a coach of softball for me. She took it very seriously to raise young women who were accountable and good teammates. She taught us how to be successful young women, mothers and friends. She cared about her athletes as more than just athletes."
A four-time team letterwinner, the personal accolades started to pour in for Bograkos during her junior campaign. At the time, Bograkos was just the second Spartan softball player ever to earn multiple Big Ten Player of the Week honors in the same season, picking up Pitcher of the Week nods on February 19 and April 1, 2003. Bograkos was named Second Team All-B1G and picked up an All-B1G Tournament team nod. On the national level Bograkos was a National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Great Lakes region first teamer and a Third Team NFCA All-American. Bograkos went 27-11 with a 1.25 earned run average as a junior alongside 30 complete games and 13 shutouts for a 40-19 MSU squad. Opposing batters hit just .197 against her.
Bograkos continued to roll as a senior, leading an underdog Spartan team to a 2004 B1G Tournament Championship. Behind Bograkos' three consecutive complete games, Michigan State knocked off No. 6-ranked Michigan, Northwestern and Illinois en route to the tournament title to advance to an NCAA Regional for the second consecutive season. Following a senior season that saw Bograkos post 29 victories in the circle and a conference leading .406 batting average, she was named First Team All-B1G, First Team All-Region and was a Second Team NFCA All-American, becoming the second two-time All-American in program history (Deanne Moore – 1983, 84).
Bringing home the 2004 B1G Tournament championship as the No. 8 seed is one of Bograkos' career highlights, along with defeating Michigan five out of six times from 2003-04. Bograkos was the winning pitcher in each of the five wins, the lone loss coming in a nine-inning complete game effort.
"We came in as a low seed and proved a lot of people wrong," said Bograkos. "I was not at my best in the championship game against Illinois, but my teammates kept me afloat on the mound with several home runs. Michigan had just defeated us in extra-innings a few weeks prior so taking them down in the first round was a big momentum boost for us that weekend and helped spark our run."
In the classroom, Bograkos was a three-time Academic All-B1G honoree and was named Second Team Academic All-District in 2003 before graduating with a degree in psychology in 2004.
Following the conclusion of her playing career, Bograkos served the Spartans as an assistant coach from 2007 to 2016 and later assisted the program in an operations role following the birth of her two children, Olivia and Tyler.
"It was always a dream of mine as a young girl to play at Michigan State, so to also have a 10-year coaching career there was really special to me," said Bograkos.
Bograkos was enshrined in the Greater Lansing Sports Hall of Fame in 2014.
Anson Carter, Hockey 1992-96
A prolific scorer. An All-American. A Hobey Baker Memorial Award finalist. A professional hockey player. A trailblazer and a role model, and now one of the faces of the National Hockey League.
And now, Anson Carter can add "Michigan State Athletics Hall-of-Fame" to his list of accolades.
"I certainly wasn't expecting it," noted Carter. "(Vice President and Director of Athletics) Alan Haller called to tell me that I was going to be a part of the 2024 Hall of Fame class, I was speechless. Thinking about it now, even - I am starting to get chills.
"Thinking back to my time in East Lansing, you don't go to college thinking about being in the Hall of Fame. You go to college to grow into a young man and try to become a better person. I remember how I would walk through the football facility, through Munn Ice Arena - I got to see all the history and the heritage, and all the proud Spartans who came before me. To think that I am going to be one of them, it is quite the honor. I'm thrilled."
Carter excelled on the ice for more than 15 years in the collegiate and professional game, spending his entire four-year career in Green and White before spending more than a decade in the National Hockey League.
"I played 11 years in the National Hockey League and you think that would be the best time in your life. But I tell my kids - my four years at MSU were actually the best years of my life," admits Carter. "Wearing that jersey is everything; It's a sense of pride. It's something that is hard to put into words."
The Scarborough, Ontario, native came to MSU as a 10th-round pick (No. 220 overall) of the Quebec Nordiques in the 1992 NHL entry draft. He still ranks among MSU's all-time scoring leaders; currently standing sixth in goals (106), fourth in power-play goals (40), and third in shorthanded tallies (11); his 178 career points finds him 22nd all-time.
He was the team's Outstanding Rookie in 1993, won the team's Outstanding Offensive Player Award in both 1995 and 1996, and in his senior season, was the recipient of the Bill Burgess Outstanding Senior Award as well as the Amo Bessone Award, which recognizes a player for academic and athletic achievement in addition to involvement in the community. In terms of league recognition, he was the CCHA Rookie of the Year in 1993, and was an All-CCHA pick from 1994-96, including first-team honors as both a sophomore and junior. He helped guide the Spartans to the CCHA Championship weekend all four seasons and the NCAA Tournament in three.
As a junior in 1995, Carter had a team-best 34 goals and finished with 51 points, and was named an All-American in addition to being a Hobey Baker finalist. Carter would go on to play 11 seasons in the NHL.
Carter has never been far from the game – he now serves as one of the studio analysts for the NHL on TNT, and is a charter member of the NHL's Player Inclusion Coalition, which takes action to accelerate the growing movement for inclusion across the hockey community to educate and engage at all levels of the game.
During consecutive March nights in the studio, while discussing the games of the day and how the NHL playoff picture was developing, Carter wore the iconic script Michigan State jersey to celebrate the 2024 Spartan squad winning the Big Ten Championship. Proudly, the #22 jersey featured the captain's "C".
As he said – wearing that jersey is everything.
Darqueze Dennard, Football 2010-13
All Darqueze Dennard needed was an opportunity. His recruiting profile on various national websites did not even have a headshot of him, let alone a national, state or position ranking.
Dennard found that opportunity at Michigan State and took full advantage of the scholarship offer he received from College Football Hall of Fame Coach Mark Dantonio, ascending to heights few Spartans have ever reached.
"I'm super excited and incredibly grateful," said Dennard. "It's going to be a long list of people to thank (at the induction ceremony). To have my name alongside the greats (in the MSU Athletics Hall of Fame) is something that you obviously think of when you're walking along the building as an 18-year-old, and now being able to be one of those people is definitely special."
Growing up in the small community of Dry Branch, Georgia, and attending Twiggs County High School, Dennard did not have any scholarship offers his senior year of high school until Michigan State recruited him at the end of the season. He made the leap from a small high school to the Big Ten Conference – and never looked back.
"It means the world," said Dennard of the opportunity that he had at Michigan State. "MSU gave me a chance when no one else was giving me a chance. I was a no-star recruit with no scholarship offers. (Former MSU offensive coordinator) Coach (Dave) Warner ended up seeing me (on a recruiting trip to Georgia to see future Spartan wide receiver Keith Mumphery), and had a conversation with Coach D.
"Coach D, that's my guy – I owe pretty much my career to him. It was just the process; I wasn't even supposed to be in that spot at Michigan State. So me being blessed with the opportunity to go to MSU with Keith (Mumphery), it was absolutely a dream come true. Definitely thankful of the opportunity."
Dennard blossomed into a three-year starter and earned first-team All-Big Ten honors at cornerback his final two seasons. As a senior in 2013, Dennard was co-captain of the nation's No. 1 defense as the Big Ten and Rose Bowl Champion Spartans won a school-record 13 games. He became the first Spartan to win the Jim Thorpe Award, given annually to the nation's best defensive back, and was a unanimous first-team All-American.
For his career, Dennard collected 167 tackles and 30 passes defended (20 pass break-ups, 10 interceptions) in 44 career games, including 40 starts (29 consecutive to close out career). He ranks tied for 12th in MSU history with 10 interceptions. During his four years on the Spartans from 2010-13, he was a member of two Big Ten Championship teams (2010, 2013), helped MSU to three bowl wins (2012 Outback, 2012 Buffalo Wild Wings, 2014 Rose) and two division titles (2011, 2013), and his senior class collected a 42-12 overall record. In 2020, Dennard was named to the Big Ten Network's All-Decade Team for the 2010s.
Dennard didn't redshirt as a true freshman in 2010 on Michigan State's Big Ten Championship team – he was thrown right into the mix, playing in six games before getting sidelined with a knee injury, but he did start twice at cornerback in league play to get a taste of Big Ten competition.
He emerged as a full-time starter as a sophomore in 2011, culminating with one of MSU's greatest bowl performances in the victory over No. 18 Georgia in the Outback Bowl. He picked off an Aaron Murray pass midway through the third quarter, leading to MSU's first TD of the game, then returned an interception 38 yards for a score at the 1:47 mark in the third quarter that cut the Bulldog lead to 16-14 in the eventual 33-30 triple-overtime Spartan win. Dennard was named to the Yahoo! Sports All-Bowl Team for his performance against his home state Bulldogs in which he tied a school record with two interceptions in a bowl game.
As a junior in 2012, Dennard earned first-team All-Big Ten honors and tied for the team lead with three interceptions and 10 passes defended. He was the recipient of the team's Jim Adams Award for being an unsung hero on defense.
But it was in 2013 that everything came together for Dennard and the Spartans in a record-breaking season.
Individually, Dennard became Michigan State's first cornerback to earn unanimous All-America honors and also the first to win the Jim Thorpe Award. Dennard also was selected recipient of the Jack Tatum Award, presented to college football's best defensive back by The Touchdown Club of Columbus. In addition, he was named one of five finalists for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy (presented to the nation's top defensive player by the Football Writers Association of America).
Dennard was chosen as the 2013 Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year and earned first-team All-Big Ten honors for the second year in a row. A unanimous first-team All-Big Ten pick by the coaches, he was named Big Ten Defensive MVP by ESPN.com and CollegeFootballNews.com. At the team's banquet in April, Dennard won the Governor's Award as MSU's most valuable player, and in June he was honored as the George Alderton Male Athlete of the Year at Michigan State.
Dennard finished the season ranked fourth on the team with a career-high 62 tackles, including 3.5 for loss (8 yards). He led the team and ranked sixth in the Big Ten with 14 passes defended, and also tied for the team lead with four interceptions and 10 pass break-ups.
More importantly to Dennard, the co-captain led Michigan State to one of its finest seasons in its storied history. MSU won a school-record 13 games, defeated No. 5 Stanford in the 100th Rose Bowl Game, beat No. 2 Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship Game for the school's eighth Big Ten title, and finished No. 3 in both national polls, the highest ranking for the Spartans since 1966. Michigan State (13-1) became just the third team in Big Ten history to win at least 13 games in a season (Minnesota, 1904; and Ohio State, 2002).
"It was amazing playing with my best friends and my brothers," said Dennard about playing on the nation's No. 1 defense in 2013 and being a part of the "No Fly Zone" in the secondary. "We still keep in touch and reminisce about that time.
"Coming into my senior year, I was super locked in, just trying to get everybody on the same page. Going into that season, we had spent four and five years together, and we just wanted to go out with a bang, play together, and we had all of our goals in front of us, and we just kept attacking it one week at a time. It was a great time. There was a lot of stuff we did as a team, the Rose Bowl, the Big Ten Championship; I feel like that team will go down as one of the best teams ever at Michigan State."
Dennard was one of the main reasons Michigan State finished No. 1 in the FBS in pass efficiency defense (92.3 rating), No. 2 in total defense (252.2 ypg.), No. 3 in pass defense (165.6 ypg.) and No. 3 in scoring defense (13.2 ppg.).
Dennard shined in MSU's biggest games of the season, including the 100th Rose Bowl Game, as he helped the Spartan defense limit No. 5 Stanford to its third-lowest offensive output of the season in the 24-20 victory over the Cardinal. Stanford also threw for just 143 yards, its second-lowest total of the season. He also produced a 2-yard tackle for loss and three stops overall, and was named to ESPN.com's Big Ten All-Bowl Team.
He recorded three tackles, two pass break-ups and forced a fumble in Michigan State's 34-24 win over No. 2 Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship Game. The Spartans limited the Buckeyes to 25 total yards in the fourth quarter, including zero passing yards, as MSU rallied from a 24-20 deficit to claim a BCS berth in the Rose Bowl.
On Senior Day against Minnesota in his last appearance at Spartan Stadium, Dennard tied his career high with nine tackles and also broke up a pass.
He recorded a career-best nine tackles and an interception in MSU's 30-6 victory at Northwestern, as the Spartans claimed the Big Ten Legends Division title for the second time in three seasons. It marked Dennard's personal-best fourth interception of the season and 10th of his career.
Dennard also had a pick against Michigan and was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week after tying his career high with two interceptions at Iowa.
All of Dennard's success added up to a first-round selection in the 2014 NFL Draft (No. 24 overall) by the Cincinnati Bengals, as he became the first Spartan taken in the first round since 2002 and the first Spartan defensive back drafted in the first round since 1961.
Following his All-America collegiate career and graduation from MSU with a degree in communication, Dennard went on to play eight seasons in the NFL (Bengals, 2014-19; Falcons, 2020; Giants and 49ers, 2021). He also established the Dennard Difference Foundation to help various community projects, including the Dennard Difference Youth Enrichment Center in Macon, Georgia, and remains a presence in the Spartan program.
"Michigan State changed my life and I'm forever grateful for it, because it opened up opportunities for me to dream, for me to hope, and for me to accomplish things that I was told I could never do," said Dennard. "So that's why Michigan State is near and dear to my heart. I'll always be grateful.
"And really, the legacy, that's the cool thing about it, where I can come back and have conversations with people I knew since I was 18, and as my kids get older, they can see the sacrifices and the hard work that I put in were not only on the football field, but also in the classroom and the community, with my teammates, my coaches, and the support staff as well. I think that's the biggest legacy for me, just to be able to pay it forward and continue to give hope to people who come from circumstances like me, where they didn't have opportunities to dream."
Laura (Kueny) Smith, Women's Golf 2006-10
When she was a sophomore on Michigan State's women's golf team, Laura (Kueny) Smith opened the 2007-08 season by winning the Mary Fossum Invitational.
As she walked off the 18th green at Forest Akers West Golf Course, head coach Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll hugged her and offered some prophetic encouragement.
"I remember when I won my first tournament, the Fossum, and Coach came up to me and said, 'You're going to be a Hall of Famer here.'" Smith recalled. "I was like, 'Yeah, okay,' I'm just a sophomore.' But you spend four years at Michigan State, you walk through those hallways (in the Smith Center), you see those plaques for the Hall of Fame and all of those names, but you don't think about that.
"Then you graduate, time goes by and you kind of forget about it. But to know that my name will be in that group, there's no words to describe it. To play at the collegiate level, it's just an honor itself. And to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, it's just hard to put into words."
Her coach was right about her pupil as Smith will become the seventh member of the women's golf program to become a member of the MSU Athletics Hall of Fame, joining names like Mary Fossum, Joan Garety, Sue Ertl and Emily Bastel.
"That's pretty good company," said Smith, who has lived in Asheville, N.C., for the last 10 years and works for FedEx Corporation while serving as an assistant women's golf coach at UNC-Asheville. "It definitely means a lot, given some of the names in the history of our program.
"Joan is one of them and I remember playing in an amateur event in Spring Lake. We came down to the end, it was the two of us in match play and I beat her. But it's truly humbling to know that my name will be in that group of women who built this program. You never think that you would be classified with names like Joan and the others. They've done a lot for Michigan State and for women's golf. I've got to thank them and thank all the women before me who made the program what it is."
Smith herself played a big part in helping to raise the level of the women's golf program. The Spartans made four NCAA Regional appearances during her career and advanced to the NCAA Championships twice. She was named the Big Ten Player of the Year as a senior in 2010, earned Second Team All-American honors in 2009 and 2010 and was a three-time First Team All-Big Ten selection.
After struggling to adjust to college as a freshman, Smith credits Slobodnik-Stoll and former assistant coach Lorne Don for their belief in her abilities, not just on the golf course, but as a student.
"In the greatest sense, Stacy would just be a tremendous used car salesman," Smith said. "She knows how to sell things. She works hard to get what she wants. She raises a lot of money. She knows what it takes to build a winning program. And what it takes to be successful on and off the course.
"I was probably the most difficult recruit that Coach has brought to the team. I think I took things for granted. I definitely appreciate the second chance that I got. If Coach Stacy and Lorne didn't give me a second chance, if they didn't believe me, I'm not sure I would have been able to make it through. I wish I just applied myself more. It's scary to think what I could have done if I had just applied myself early on. If I could take back my freshman year, I would jump at the chance."
Make it through she did. In addition to being just the second Spartan at the time to be named Big Ten Player of the Year, Smith finished her career as MSU's all-time scoring average leader (74.6) and had 16 career top-five finishes and 23 among the top-10.
"Capping off my career by winning Big Ten Player of the Year is probably the most memorable," she said. "That just solidified everything for me. To prove to the doubters was important to me.
"The experience I had at Michigan State was amazing. We had a great group, with Caroline (Powers), Sara (Brown) and Liz (Nagel). We were tight, we were strong. But I just have a great appreciation for all of the opportunities they gave me and for all they provided for me. Everyone up there is so welcoming. I knew the minute I stepped on campus that I was going there."
The next time she comes back, Smith will return to have her name added to a list of all-time greats in women's golf program history and become a member of the Hall of Fame.
"It's going to be a special moment," she admitted. "Stacy and I didn't always see eye-to-eye when I was playing but she made me grow up and I appreciate that. They believed in me and I'm glad that in some small way, I can repay her this way. My parents sacrificed a lot to allow me to play golf and they deserve this as much as I do and I can't wait to give them the recognition they deserve."
Beth (Rohl) Saylors, Women's Track & Field 2008-13
Beth (Rohl) Saylors graduated from Michigan State in 2013 as the most decorated female thrower in school history. Nevertheless, when Michigan State Vice President and Director of Athletics Alan Haller called her with the news of her induction into the Michigan State Athletics Hall of Fame, she was in complete shock.
"I knew he (Haller) was looking for me and I had no idea what it was in regard to," said Saylors. "And when he told me, I was just completely in shock at the time and I could not believe it. It's something I never expected. That is an amazing honor for anyone to achieve, and to find out that you're achieving that was a big shock. Very exciting, but definitely a big shock."
Saylors won the shot put state title as a senior at New Buffalo High School in 2008 and joined the MSU track & field team as a walk-on that fall. She credits her high school coach, Lisa Knoll, for getting her into the sport.
"She's the one who convinced me to try track," said Saylors, who didn't start track & field until her senior year at New Buffalo and won the shot put state title after only a few weeks of training. "She was the one who convinced me that, after I won state, I should contact the coaches at Michigan State since I was already accepted to MSU."
Still relatively new to throwing, it didn't take long for Saylors to leave her mark. At the 2009 Big Ten Indoor Championships, she won her first conference title as true freshman in the weight throw. To make it even more special, she won that title alongside freshman teammate and high jumper Rebecca Bucholtz and says it's one of her favorite memories from her time as a Spartan.
"Both events were happening at the exact same time," said Saylors. "And we both won at the same time. That was really neat to experience because she was also a freshman, so we were both able to do that."
Saylors was awarded Big Ten Indoor Freshman of the Year honors that season and became the first Spartan since 1991 to be named Big Ten Freshman of the Year. She was also named to the All-Big Ten First Team, becoming the first freshman in school history to earn All-Big Ten indoor honors. Later that year, Saylors competed at the 2009 Pan American Junior Championships and was the top American finisher with a third-place effort in the hammer throw.
Saylors qualified for her first NCAA Championships during the 2010 outdoor season and qualified for each remaining NCAA meet for the rest of her collegiate career. She earned seven First Team All-America honors, three in the weight throw and four in the discus. Her best finishes came during her senior year, where she earned silver in the weight throw during the 2013 indoor season and bronze in the discus during the outdoor season.
"Throwing on the national stage, when yopspan Along the way, Saylors went on to win four more Big Ten titles – one indoor, the 2013 weight throw, and three outdoor, the 2011 discus and hammer throw titles and the 2013 discus title. She was named the Big Ten Field Athlete of the Year twice, once during the 2011 outdoor season, where she was also named the Big Ten Outdoor Field Athlete of the Championships, and once during the 2013 indoor season. She also represented the Spartans at the 2012 Olympic Trials in the discus, placing seventh, and at the 2013 USA Outdoor Championships in the discus where she finished fourth to earn an alternate spot at the 2013 IAAF World Championships.
She finished her collegiate career with three school records - 59.78m in the discus, 62.87m in the hammer throw, and 22.31m in the weight throw. Her 59.78m mark in the discus was a then-Big Ten record, while her 22.31m weight throw mark still stands as the school record today.
Saylors says the people around her at MSU and at home helped her reach the level of success that she did.
"Coach (John) Newell taught me most of what I know about track, and I wouldn't have been able to accomplish what I did without him," said Saylors. "The throws group in itself, the athletes that we were all with. You traveled with them, you trained with them. They became like a family that you competed with. We always were pushing each other, especially in the weight room. The athletic training department and (athletic trainer) Lianna Hadden, she kept me together in order to compete and achieve everything I've done. (Academic advisor) David Williams made sure I was staying on the right track for academics as well. The whole Michigan State athletic department, they helped create the experiences. And of course, I'm incredibly grateful to my family for always supporting me no matter what happened."
After graduating from MSU in 2013, Saylors trained at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California, for a year before moving to Camp Verde, Arizona, where she currently lives with her husband and three young children. Now, she stays at home with her three children, Evan (8), Magnolia (3) and Hank (2).
Her family will watch her name become forever cemented in the Hall of Fame this fall.
"It is such an honor. It's just something that I never expected, and to hear that you're going into the Hall of Fame with all of these other athletes. I walked the actual Hall and looked at the names and looked at all the record books and everything that has been displayed. And to see that, and to know that I am going to be a part of that, of the people that we have idolized ahead of us, is an amazing experience."
Paul Terek, Men's Track & Field 1998-2002
As the world prepares for the Paris Olympics this summer, former Olympian and Big Ten Champion Paul Terek looks forward to his induction to the Michigan State Athletics Hall of Fame. He joins Beth Rohl as one of two track & field athletes to be inducted this year.
The former Spartan pole vaulter and multi-event athlete was at a loss of words when first told about being told by Vice President and Director of Athletics Alan Haller that he was being inducted into the MSU Athletics Hall of Fame.
"I felt a big sense of accomplishment," Terek said. "I've always wanted to be in the Michigan State Athletics Hall of Fame, and for me, it was such an honor. I think the best word to describe it for me, is humbling."
Terek, who represented the U.S. in the 2004 Athens Olympics, is acutely aware of the Spartan track & field legends that he is joining in the MSU Athletics Hall of Fame, including fellow Olympians Savatheda Fynes Coke and Judi Brown. He saw the banners for people like Herb Washington and Ken Popejoy hanging in Jenison Field House during his time as a student-athlete from 1998-2002.
"I remember being there as a freshman and walking through Jenison Field House, and they had all the pictures of all the All-Americans and school record holders," Terek said. "When you looked at the history of Michigan State, there was a lot of that there, and I always wanted to be one of those guys. When you walk into Jenison, they had all the Olympians from Michigan State. It was an inspiration to me to see those people. When I went there that was my goal, and I think just by the performances I had, maybe I raised the bar a little bit and gave other people something to shoot for."
"It took awhile after I left, but it was cool to see Tim Ehrhardt be the first one to break my decathlon and pole vault record and then see (2024 Olympian) Heath (Baldwin) break his record. It just keeps moving the bar up for future athletes."
Without question, Terek left his mark on the Michigan State track and field program. He closed out his phenomenal career as the MSU record holder in the decathlon, heptathlon, and pole vault (indoor and outdoor). In addition, he was the Big Ten record holder in all four events. Overall, he captured six Big Ten titles.
During the 2001 indoor season, he was selected to the All-Big Ten first team after taking home the Big Ten championship in the pole vault and heptathlon. He set the Big Ten and MSU record in the pole vault at 18'2-3/4" and also set the MSU record for the heptathlon with 5,685 points. Aside from the accolades, it was one of Terek's favorite meets as a Spartan.
"I think there's a lot of great meets and a lot of great teammates that I still keep in contact with. We reminisce all the time," Terek said. "For me, one of the one of the greatest meets I remember the most was my junior year. We had indoor Big Ten's at Penn State when I broke the indoor Big Ten pole vault record. It was a great meet, and I had a lot of family there. It was a was a great competition."
The success continued into the outdoor season, where once again Terek broke records and captured championships. At the 2001 Big Ten Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Terek set a school and Big Ten championship record with 7,695 points in the decathlon. He also won the conference crown in the pole vault, earning Big Ten Athlete of the Championship honors for his two-title performance. He would also be named Big Ten Outdoor Track & Field Athlete of the Year.
At the national level, Terek earned a pair of All-America honors as a junior, finishing eighth in the pole vault during the indoor season and fourth in the decathlon outdoors.
As a senior, Terek cemented his place as one of the great athletes in Big Ten history. During the 2002 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships, he placed second in the pole vault with a height of 17' 11-3/4", narrowly missing a national championship based on number of misses on earlier attempts.
That proved to be just the start of what was a great last few months as a Spartan. At the 2002 Big Ten Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Terek successfully defended his outdoor titles in both the decathlon and pole vault. His 7,829 points in the decathlon broke his own meet record. Once again, he was named Athlete of the Championship as well as Athlete of Year.
At the 2002 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Terek placed second nationally, becoming the first Big Ten athlete to top 8000 points with a record score of 8,041. He would finish his career as a four-time track & field All-American.
Terek knows that his journey at Michigan State and beyond would not be the same without his family. His parents (mother Cindy and late father Joe) and sister (Christy) made many road trips to watch him compete.
"If they had a free weekend and I had a track meet, they were in the car driving or flying in a plane," Terek said. "I wouldn't be here without their support. Without them, I wouldn't have had the success in high school, which led to the success in college. So first and foremost, I want to thank my parents."
Beyond his family, Terek knows he had a village of teammates and coaches to help along the way.
"I still keep in touch with a lot of my teammates and coaches from Michigan State," Terek said. "Coach Darroll Gatson was the head coach at the time, and Will Wabaunsee was my event coach and Jim Stintzi he was there too. He was the distance coach, but like all three of them had an impact in my training. Specifically, one 'come to Jesus' moment. Coach Gatson called me into the office before practice. I figured he just wanted to talk about practice. Then Coach Stintzi closed the door behind me, and I see Will sitting there. I thought, 'there's one of me and there's three of you. What's going on?'
"I think every athlete at some point needs to have that talk. That was a big eye opener. For me, that was assurance of these guys had faith in me to do great things, and that they were willing to work with me. For that I am grateful. It was really a cumulative effort from all the coaches and my teammates," Terek recalled of his talk with his coaches.
The words of wisdom paid off, as Terek would create a legacy matched by few. By winning the Men's Outdoor Track & Field Big Ten Athlete of the Year and the Big Ten Outdoor Track & Field Athlete of the Championships in both 2001 and 2002, he is part of elite company. He became just the second person in conference history to earn Athlete of the Year honors in back-to-back seasons, and still just one of four today. Similarly, he was just the third athlete at the time, and of just four ever, to earn back-to-back Athlete of the Championships accolades. He was the very first to win both awards in consecutive years. In fact, only Purdue's Chukwuebuka Enekwechi (2015-16) has ever equaled that accomplishment.
His hard work also earned him 2002 United States Track Coaches Association Great Lakes Region Men's Track & Field Athlete of the Year honors as well as the 2002 Michigan State Alderton Male Athlete of the Year accolades.
Now Terek can add the ultimate honor to his award collection - Michigan State Athletics Hall of Famer.
1965 & 1966 Football Teams
Nearly 60 years later, the 1960s decade is still considered one of the most divisive and influential decades in world and U.S. history. It was an era accentuated with social and civil rights movements, cultural and counter-cultural movements. Right in the middle of it all was the 1965 and 1966 Michigan State Football teams, who were trailblazers in their own right.
This version of the Spartan football team, which won both the 1965 and 1966 National and Big Ten Conference Championships, was led by head coach Duffy Daugherty.
They sparked national changes in not just college football, but also college athletics, especially in the south. Daugherty was one of the first college football coaches to compile a roster consisting of a racially integrated team, including many Black players from the south, changing the college football landscape forever.
The 1967 NFL Draft included four Michigan State players in the top eight selections, and all four of them Black. The 1966 Spartans had five All-Americans and were captured in an iconic photo with Daugherty: running back Clinton Jones, fullback Bob Apisa, defensive end Bubba Smith, wide receiver Gene Washington and linebacker George Webster. While Jones, Smith, Washington and Webster are Black, Apisa is of American Samoan descent.
Jones equates what Daugherty spearheaded for himself and his teammates, along with Michigan State University as comparable to other Civil Rights movement trailblazers.
"What was accomplished here at Michigan State with the 1965 and '66 teams was equivalent of Jackie Robinson, Rosa Parks, or any other paradigm shift that's happened in the civil rights movement and also American history. And this is American history, not just Black history, but American history, and it is also unprecedented, of what happened in the time period that it did," Jones said. "That's something that for the most part is kind of an urban legend within Spartan Nation that has been reveled throughout the United States, as it should be. Anytime you have a paradigm shift like that it needs to be known and widely spread to the public. It needs to be known so people have a model of hope, courage and confidence to look at what's been done and what needs to be continued, and so that'll never happen again. Because what happened was not just about going undefeated, it's about the human relationships that would evolve and maintain and grow after that period of time as a result."
Another result of that is another trail blazed, as the 1965 and 1966 Spartan football teams are the first teams to be inducted into the MSU Athletics Hall of Fame.
"On behalf of the team, I to want to personally thank (Vice President and Director of Athletics) Alan Haller, the MSU Athletics administration, and the Hall of Fame committee for having the vision and the leadership to admit our two teams into the MSU Athletics Hall of Fame this year, and for that, we are forever grateful for that honor," said Ernie Pasteur, an offensive lineman on those teams, and a driving force behind the efforts to see the teams inducted.
"Ernie and his wife, Micki, did a ton of work in making this happen, and all of us are greatly appreciative of all their hard work," Jones said. Along with Pasteur and Jones, other football team committee members who worked hard behind the scenes to make the honor a reality include: Steve Juday, Jimmy Raye, Jerry West and Don Weatherspoon.
Both Jones and the two quarterbacks from those teams, Raye and Juday, are already in the MSU Athletics Hall of Fame as individuals, but they are all humbled by the honor of the teams being inducted.
"It's very humbling and a tremendous honor," Raye said. "I'm thrilled and excited about the prospects of the team being inducted together, because it was a unified team effort, and because of the time that it took place in the country, in Division I football. To be recognized for the accomplishments and the deeds that were accomplished with a fully integrated team in the middle 60s, I'm very, very proud to have been a part of that, and very proud for all my teammates that they get their duly deserved recognition and the induction into the MSU Athletics Hall of Fame. I think it's just a tremendous, tremendous honor, and I'm quite thrilled for everyone involved."
In addition to their off-the-field impact and influence, the 1965 and '66 teams had a major impact on their field, as they went 19-1-1 in the two seasons, on the way to winning the back-to-back conference and national titles. Their game against Notre Dame in 1966 played to a 10-10 tie, and is often referred to as "The Game of the Century."
The impact and influence from that game alone was felt around the world.
"That was a game that was shown more than the Super Bowl at that time, showing worldwide on military television, places like Japan, Vietnam and Europe; in Hawaii, they practically shut the state down so that they could see that game, and everyone watched these two teams come to a tie," Jones said. "That game got inside people's imaginations thinking about the possibilities, with the potential you have with an integrated and non-racial relationship between human beings."
Not just the potential of that moment and movement, but the potential of those teams began in 1963, which was the freshman season of several of the team members. They started their paths to success at Michigan State after being recruited by Daugherty, being brought to East Lansing from all over the United States, particularly southern states.
"I think everything that Coach Duffy Daugherty did was unique," Raye said. "I think it's something that should definitely be recorded in history, and something that was on the precipice of integrating college football throughout the country and particularly the South where I came from, with the Jim Crow Laws in effect, and Black athletes didn't have an opportunity to play Division I level football at Southern schools. I think Coach Duffy Daugherty should be recognized for his color blindness and his willingness to play and deal with the consequences of playing a fully integrated team. There are a lot of firsts that took place in that era at Michigan State, and I think that everything they're doing now to recognize that will stand in the history of Michigan State Athletics for all time. I'm just very, very, very appreciative of that."
Back when they were student-athletes, Raye, Pasteur and Jones, along with their teammates were appreciative of their coaches, specifically Burt Smith, then the freshmen coach, who welcomed them to East Lansing.
They were taken under the guidance and leadership of Coach Smith, who played the role of father, mother, brother and friend to all these players that had uprooted their lives, moving thousands of miles to an unfamiliar place and completely different environment, including different football backgrounds as well.
Pasteur grew up in Beaufort, North Carolina, and was one of 12 children, attending Black schools all the way through high school. He had looked at and was planning on attending one of the HBCUs in the area, before Daugherty brought him to Michigan State.
Raye was from Fayetteville, North Carolina, and was also planning on attending a southern school before Daugherty brought him to East Lansing, where he went on to become the first African-American quarterback from the South to win a National Championship.
Jones' road to East Lansing was a lot shorter of a journey, growing up in Ohio, but he didn't want to go to Ohio State, and jumped at the chance to come to MSU.
In that time, freshmen could not play on varsity, so Daugherty had freshmen practice and scrimmage against the varsity, something that was not commonplace among other football programs.
"We knew coming in that we were going to be special," Pasteur said. "Duffy would bring the freshmen class up to the practice field, and we would scrimmage against all the varsity big guys. We held our own against them, and as a matter of fact, we had some moments in there where we were the dominant team. That's when we, as freshmen, came together to form a team identity, and in turn, we bonded with our teammates in the class ahead of us. We came together to form our unified identity. We had lots of great individual players who were willing to give up the individual identity to win games, and that's what Duffy was hoping we would do."
Under Daugherty, players had individual success both athletically and academically, as 20 players earned All-Big Ten accolades in 1965, only to be topped by 21 earning all-conference recognition in 1966. Numerous academic All-Conference, All-Region and All-American accolades were earned, including two Academic All-Americans in each of the 1965 and '66 seasons.
While their individual honor collection was extensive, it was their coming together as a team that led to the team success, to the impact that they had on everyone else from those days to present day.
"It's an inconspicuous benefit to be a part of making history. I guess we had no idea," Jones said. "It's just surreal, also the magnitude of it, the eye of the storm and the magnitude of it all. At the time, the one thing was, every time we stepped on the field, we were prepared, not just the starter, nor the second team, but everyone was prepared. We practiced and prepared so much during the week and practices were so intense, that once we played another team, it was more of a practice for us because it felt that we had played a tough game against our teammates. Whenever Duffy had an idea about something, he had no idea of what was going to materialize from that, nothing else can happen or could have happened from that time, unless everyone and everything came together, and that's what we did. We came together to make it happen, and we're all in it together. From everything that happened during our playing days, to everything that happens now and the future. It's just an extreme honor to go into the MSU Athletics Hall of Fame that same way, all together."
Jones also emphasized how important it was for everyone to not just buy into Daugherty's vision, but to work together to carry that out.
"Everyone from President Hannah to Ken Earley, our equipment manager, and everyone in between worked together for our team to succeed. We were nothing if we didn't work together," Jones said.
Raye also highlighted how everyone had a role, echoing what Coach Daugherty preached to his team.
"A perfect example of everyone having an important role was Eric Marshall," Raye said proudly. "He was an outstanding player and was the scout-team quarterback and he did such a great job of playing the quarterback of every opponent that we were going to face each week, and was one of the many team members that went above and beyond to help the overall success of those two teams, so for him to be going into the Hall of Fame as a member of these two teams is a further credit to everyone on the team having a role and everyone pulling in the same direction in order for the team to win."
The 1965 and '66 teams worked together in the same direction back then when they played, and now will be going in the same direction into the MSU Athletics Hall of Fame all together.
This story originally appeared on MSUSpartans.com.