A class of five was inducted into the Kenyon Athletic Hall of Fame this weekend, the 29th group of inductees to be honored since 1988. The class was introduced during halftime at the Owl’s 1 p.m. Homecoming football game against Ohio Wesleyan on Saturday, and the induction ceremony took place in the Lowry Center later that night. As this was the first year the ceremony has been held since 2019 due to COVID-19 restrictions, the location and date of the event were modified to allow more people to attend.
This year’s class included Michael Greenberg ’10, Claire Howard Low ’86, Warren Martin ’78, Tony Mohammed ’97 and Katy Zeanah ’06. Two other awards were also presented at the ceremony; the Donald May Award, which recognizes athletic and career success, was presented to Rose Brintlinger Fealy ’84, and the Burchell H. Rowe Award, which recognizes those who have made significant contributions to Kenyon Athletics, was awarded to Duane Gomez. Before the football game, Kenyon recognized former player Mike Devine ’21, who passed away last year. Devine’s parents served as honorary captains and received Kenyon jerseys.
According to Associate Director of Athletics, Fitness and Recreation Justin Newell, coaches and alumni nominated potential inductees, who were then selected by a committee. Some of the members of this committee included Director of Athletics Communications Marty Fuller, Director of Athletics, Fitness and Recreation Jill McCartney, and various alumni, some of whom were student-athletes, and others who reached out to Alumni and Parent Engagement looking for ways to stay involved in the Kenyon community. While selecting potential inductees, the committee considered not only athletic accomplishments, but also other contributions the students made to the Kenyon community in other leadership positions or extracurricular activities. Newell also noted that there is a ten-year waiting period until athletes can be nominated to be inducted.
In the past, the ceremony has been a dinner served in the Alumni Dining Room on a Friday evening. This year, the event was more reception-style and took place in the Lowry Center on Saturday night. This enabled more people to attend the event and allowed the inductees time to enjoy the weekend’s Homecoming events.
Michael Greenberg ’10, who was recognized for his success as a member of the men’s tennis team, noted that the most meaningful part of the weekend was being able to return to campus with his wife. “It was the most magical trip I’ve had back to Kenyon; I’ve only been back two other times, and this time, I returned with my wife, who I met when I was a junior there, and we returned without our kids, which was amazing,” he said. “So we had this chance to be back on the Hill and wandering around with coffee, and sitting and having a beer at the VI, and sort of reminiscing about how far we’ve come and what life was like 14 years ago, and that was sort of the best part.”
Katy Zeanah ’06, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame for the contributions she made to the women’s basketball team, expressed gratitude for her time as a student-athlete at Kenyon. “It allowed me to, one, keep playing the sport that I love, but more importantly, to meet a really amazing group of people throughout my four years at Kenyon who helped shape the person that I grew into,” she said.
She also reflected on the lessons she learned being a part of a team, and how she has been able to carry them with her into her life after Kenyon. “I’m not quite an athlete anymore, but I think that, for me, while I physically can’t do the things that I used to be able to do in the same way, it’s really more about the lessons that I took from it, like the lessons of working hard, setting a goal, holding yourself accountable to that, and understanding that it’s not just you setting this goal and working toward it, but you have all these other people that you have to work with who are both relying on you and sort of holding you accountable,” she said.
Newell emphasized the value in celebrating the stories each of the inductees have to tell regarding how they have been shaped by their experiences at Kenyon. “I think it’s the same as hearing any alumni story; how has Kenyon impacted their lives moving forward, whether it’s through athletics or just their time on this hill, to be able to impact their life after Kenyon,” Newell said. “I think all students and all the community can learn and grow from those stories.”