Rhodes Athletic Hall of Fame
As a six-time NCAA National Qualifier and three-time All-American, Marie Brandewiede Schofer is among the most-decorated track & field and cross country athletes in Rhodes history. Due to her athleticism and leadership on the track, Rhodes was widely considered in the early 2000s as one of the top middle-distance programs in the country among Division III institutions.
Serving as team captain during her junior and senior years, Schofer was the role model that every young runner admired and looked to for guidance, according to head coach Robert Shankman. “Marie was the undisputed leader of our team during most of her career at Rhodes. Unassuming and soft spoken, Marie’s work ethic, maturity, and kind nature made her one of the most well-liked and respected individuals on campus. Our program’s current culture of commitment, respect, and integrity is a direct result of the environment created by Marie and her teammates.”
In cross country, Schofer was a three-time all-conference performer in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC), leading the team to conference titles in 2001 and 2002. She was named to the NCAA All-Region team each of her four years. During the 2003 season, Schofer led the team to the NCAA Southeast Region title, earning the Lynx their first NCAA Championship team appearance in school history. In addition, Schofer qualified individually for the 2004 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championship.
But it was on the track where Schofer made her mark. Specializing in the mile, she was an 11-time All-SCAC performer in track & field, claiming seven SCAC individual titles and leading the Lynx to team titles in 2002 and 2003. Only once in her four-year career did she lose to a non-Rhodes athlete in either the 800- or 1500-meter run in a SCAC Championship meet. As a sophomore, she finished fourth at the NCAA Championships in the 1500-meter run. During her junior year, Schofer again qualified for Nationals, where she advanced to the 1500-meter final. She finished her senior year on a strong note, earning All-American status in the indoor mile (fourth at National Championships) and 1500-run outdoors (seventh). Marie is only one of two track & field athletes in school history to earn three All-American titles. Her 1500-meter collegiate personal best of 4:29.65 stood for eight years among the top ten 1500-meter times in all of Division III. Schofer continues to run post-collegiately at a high level. In 2011, she posted a personal best of 4:20.69 in the 1500-meter run, just one second shy of the Olympic trials qualifying standard.
In addition, Schofer was an outstanding student, graduating cum laude with a degree in international studies. She was named to the SCAC Academic Honor Roll and was a member of the All-Academic Team of the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association each of her eight semesters at Rhodes. After graduation, she served as assistant director of admissions at Rhodes. She is currently the director of admissions at Cornell College.
For her accomplishments on the track and in the classroom, we are proud to induct Marie Brandewiede Schofer into the Rhodes Athletic Hall of Fame this 19th day of October, 2018.
