WSU announces its 2017 athletics hall of fame class

The Washington State athletics 2017 athletics hall of fame class announced Tuesday will include one Olympic gold medal winner, two former U.S. track and field champions, a former Cincinnati Bengal, and a pioneer in Cougars’ women’s athletics.

This year’s class is heavy on track athletes and women.

Four women, two men, and the 1968 men’s track and field team will be inducted into the WSU athletics hall of fame this fall. The induction dinner will be held on Sept. 22 at the Davenport Grand Hotel in Spokane, and the inductees will be introduced at halftime of the WSU-Nevada football game on Sept. 23.

Dominique Arnold, who ran track at WSU from 1994-96, won the 1996 NCAA 110m hurdles title and, in 2006, went on to win the USA Outdoor National Championship and attain a No. 5 world ranking. In 2006, Arnold also set an American record with a 12.90 performance in the 110m hurdles. In 2005, Arnold held a No. 1 world ranking in the 55m, 60m and 110m hurdles events.

Sue Durrant coached volleyball and basketball at WSU from 1963-82 and is considered a pioneer of Cougars’ women’s athletics. She was a driving force in WSU’s Title IX lawsuit to fight for gender equity in the state of Washington and nationally, and over the years, she has earned numerous honors for her work in women’s athletics.

Mike Kinkade lettered in baseball at WSU from 1992-95 and set school records for hits (304), runs (230) and doubles (75). He also won a gold medal as a member of the U.S. Olympic Team at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Kinkade was a ninth round draft selection by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 1995 MLB draft, and he played six seasons in the major leagues.

Marcia Miles was a four-year basketball letter winner at WSU from 1982-86, and she finished her Cougars career second in scoring (1,485 points) and scoring average (15 points per game). Miles was a two-time first team All-Northen Pacific Athletic Conference selection, and she was named WSU Outstanding Female Athlete in 1986.

Diana Pickler, a heptathlete, was a five-time All-American during her time at WSU from 2004-07. She was the 2007 Pac-12 heptathlon championship and set school records for both pentathlon and heptathlon. She was named WSU’s Pac-10 Conference Medal recipient after her senior season, and she left WSU with four school records. She represented the U.S. in the heptathlon in the  2008 Beijing Olympic Games team and in 2009, she won the USA Outdoor heptathlon title.

Paul Sorensen played two seasons of football for the Cougars from 1980-82 after transferring to WSU from Diablo Valley (Calif.) College. He was part of WSU’s 1981 Holiday Bowl team — the Cougars’ first bowl game since 1931 — and he earned Football News and NEA All-America first-team honors. Sorensen was selected by Cincinnati in the fifth round of the 1982 NFL Draft. Upon his retirement from the NFL, he served as color analyst for Cougar Football radio broadcasts.

The 1968 Men’s Track & Field Team missed the national championship by one point to USC. WSU had three NCAA individual champions on the team: Gerry Lindgren (5000m & 10,000m), John van Reenen (Discus) and Carl O’Donnell (Javelin). Boyd Gittins finished as runner-up in the 400m hurdles.