Trio to enter Rio Grande Athletic Hall of Fame

Oct. 20—By RANDY PAYTON

Rio Grande Sports Information

RIO GRANDE, Ohio — A trio of recent female standouts make up the University of Rio Grande's Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2023.

Jenna Jones, Kasey (Crow) Milliken and Brooke Marcum will be formally inducted as part of the school's Hall of Fame Luncheon on Saturday, Nov. 11, at noon, in the Rio Alumni Heritage Room of Davis University Center.

The banquet coincides with the final day of the annual Bevo Francis Invitational Tournament, which is slated for Friday and Saturday, Nov. 10-11, at the Newt Oliver Arena.

The Class of 2023 — and all other Hall of Fame members in attendance — will be recognized immediately following the Rio Grande women's game on the 11th at approximately 4:30 p.m.

Tickets for the luncheon, which are $25 each, can be purchased at the door. Children 12 and under will be admitted free. Athletic Hall of Fame members and one guest will also be admitted free.

Those planning on attending need to RSVP by Oct. 31.

Jones, a native of Lancaster, Ohio, was a dual-sport performer for the RedStorm, serving as a member of the softball program and the women's soccer program from 2014-17.

As a pitcher in softball, Jones finished with a career record of 64-28 with four saves and a 1.98 earned run average over 91 starts and 106 overall appearances. Her totals also included 68 complete games, 18 shutouts, 448 strikeouts and just 17 home runs allowed over 612-2/3 innings.

Although essentially relegated to the role of pitcher-only over her final three seasons on the diamond, Jones batted .259 for her career with seven home runs, 14 doubles, one triple and 37 runs batted in over 189 at bats.

Jones was part of teams which twice set new single-season school records for wins and three times advanced to the NAIA National Tournament.

Jones was a first team all-conference in each of her four seasons in a Rio uniform, while also earning Mid-South Conference Freshman of the Year honors in 2014 and the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (now known as the River States Conference) Pitcher of the Year in 2016. She was also a 2016 honorable mention NAIA All-America selection and was named conference Pitcher of the Week 10 times over the course of her career.

On the soccer pitch, Jones was a first-team All-RSC honor as a senior after earning second team kudos as a junior. Despite playing on the RedStorm's defensive back line, she finished her career with nine goals — three of which were game-winning scores — and three assists.

Milliken, a native of Chillicothe, Ohio, starred for the RedStorm women's soccer team from 2012-15 and finished her career as the program's all-time leader in goals (34), assists (13) and points (81). She also finished with eight game-winning goals.

Milliken led Rio Grande to its first-ever conference title and NAIA National Tournament appearance as a junior in 2014. She was named a first team All-KIAC selection in both 2014 and 2015, earning KIAC Player of the Year and honorable mention All-American honors in 2014. Her All-American mention marked the first time that a player from the Rio Grande women's program had received national post-season recognition.

Milliken also garnered second team All-Mid-South Conference honors as a sophomore in 2013.

Marcum, who hails from Vinton, Ohio, was a member of the Rio women's basketball program from 2013-17 and was a three-time captain for head coach David Smalley's squad.

Marcum is one of only three players in program history to finish with 1,000 or more points (1,197) and 1,000 or more rebounds (1,091). She shot just over 63 percent from the field for her career and finished with career averages of 10.4 points and 10.2 rebounds per game.

Marcum also holds the single-game school record for rebounds (27) and the single-season school record for rebounds with 368 during the 2014-15 campaign. During her record-setting season, she ranked fourth nationally at 11.0 rebounds per contest.

Marcum was also a first team All-RSC honoree as a senior after earning 2nd Team All-KIAC recognition during her junior season, while also being a member of the RedStorm's national-qualifying team in 2015.

Marcum currently serves as the director of the Fitness Center inside the school's Lyne Center facility and is beginning her seventh season as an assistant coach with the women's basketball program.

The University of Rio Grande takes great pride in awarding outstanding alumni, athletes and former faculty members with various recognition awards. Nominations from alumni and former faculty and staff are encouraged.

Nomination forms for alumni awards, Athletic Hall of Fame and Educators Hall of Fame are available through the resources link on the Alumni Relations webpage at rio.edu/alumni.

Nominations are due by Feb. 1 of each year. For more information, or questions, please e-mail alumni@rio.edu