Former William and Mary men's cross country and track and field champion John Averett '72 was recently named to the inaugural class of the E.C. Glass Athletic Boosters Hall of Fame in Lynchburg, Va.  The Hall of Fame honors E.C. Glass High School athletes and coaches who distinguished themselves in their individual sports and as exemplary citizens.  It was established in partnership with the E.C. Glass Athletic Boosters, the Bryan-Wade Trust Fund, and the Aubrey L. Mason, Sr. family.  Twenty alumni and one team were named in the first-ever class that was inducted on Saturday, Sept. 17.

Averett came to W&M in the fall of 1968, fresh off of winning the Virginia state title in the 880y run.  In his freshman year, he helped the Tribe freshman cross country team to win the state championship, and in later years helped W&M's varsity team to a dominating run of state championships, Southern Conference titles, and top showings at the IC4A, NCAA District III, and NCAA National Championships.  However, it was on the track where Averett made his strongest contributions.  He placed fifth or better at the state and conference championships nine times in his four years, including winning the state title in the 880y outdoors in 1970.  That spring as well, he helped his team claim both the Distance Medley Relay and 2-Mile Relay titles at the Colonial Relays.  Averett was the only distance or middle distance runner in his freshman class to persevere through four years of collegiate running, serving as a track co-captain in 1971-72.  His final race was his best, when he ran a career-best 1:52.6 to tie for fourth at the 1972 Southern Conference outdoor championships.

William and Mary also had two more former standouts named as part of the Hall of Fame class in women's tennis ace Kirsten Caister Elim '90, and men's basketball NCAA record-holder Bill Chambers '53.  Caister Elim led the women's tennis team to four CAA Championships and its first two NCAA Tournament appearances, and won 84 of her 107 singles matches in college.  Chambers set the NCAA single-game rebounds record with 51 against Virginia in his senior campaign, and was named All-American by the Helms Athletic Foundation.  Chambers later coached the Tribe from 1957-66, collecting 113 wins which is still the most for a men's coach in school history.

The inaugural E.C. Glass Hall of Fame includes: Donna Andrews (1985, golf); John Averett (1968, track); Ronnie Ballard (1957, football); Tommy Berry (1949, football, basketball); Andy Bowling (1963, football, track and field); Vince Bradford (football and track and field coach); Ruben Brown (1990, football, wrestling); Jimmie Bryan (basketball coach);Carl Crennell (1966, football); Mickey Fitzgerald (1976, football, wrestling, track and field); Billy Futrell (1959, football); Bobby Heald (1964, tennis); Horace "Bo" Henson (football coach); Johnny Palmer (1951 football, basketball, football coach); Wayne Proffitt (1959, basketball); Frances Simpson (girls tennis coach); Tommy Trice (1968, basketball and football); Jimmy Wade (1951, football); Bill Chambers (1949, basketball); Kristen Caister (1986, tennis).