Rhodes Athletic Hall of Fame
Hall of Fame Coach Freeman Marr mentored the highly successful Southwestern Men’s Track and Field team from 1956 through 1967. To devote more time to his family and law practice, Coach Marr relinquished his men’s track coaching duties after the 1967 season. What would it take for Freeman Marr to come out of retirement to coach track again? A bunch of eager and talented women who longed for a varsity track and field experience just like the men. So at the beckoning of Dean Anne Marie Williford, Coach Marr dusted off his clipboard and stopwatch and became the first head coach for the Lynx Women’s Track and Field team.
In 1978 Southwestern sponsored its first Women’s Track and Field team. Very few of the these athletes had ever been on an organized track and field team before. It was a conglomeration of women who competed on another varsity team at Southwestern, women who played a varsity sport in high school, or women who had never competed in a varsity sport, but were seeking a new challenge. As Coach Marr so proudly states, “our first team was one of the hardest working group of athletes I’d ever coached. And we were talented too.” The Lynx beat Vanderbilt in a dual meet 75 to 34. Most of the team returned for the 1979 season and a few key, talented freshmen were added to the squad. The schedule was expanded and the Lynx defeated Washington University and Vanderbilt in dual meets, The first College Athletic Conference (CAC) Women’s Track and Field Championship was held in Danville, Kentucky, and Southwestern defeated Centre and Sewanee to capture the CAC title.
Members of the 1978 and 1979 Southwestern Track and Field teams were: Carol McCown, Molly McLemore, Andrea Gilliom, Meredith Watson, Clair Ringger, Flo Sights, Cathy Goetz, Margaret Bane, Lisa Gilchrist, Margaret Couch, Cynthia Said, Dedie Kelso, Honey Bond, Jane Terry, Carole Bailey, Gail Courtney, Jan Fountain, Mary Kelton, Bryn Wood, Mary Kay Loss and Liz Hart. Marshall Reed, Tom Mullady and Robert Shankman assisted Head Coach Freeman Marr.
We are grateful to the 1978 and 1979 Women’s Track and Field teams for opening the door to varsity athletics for future women athletes at Rhodes. In honor of their dedication and performance, we are proud to induct the 1978 and 1979 Southwestern Women's Track and Field teams into the Rhodes Athletic Hall of Fame this 19th day of October, 2012.
