West Liberty Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2024 announced

Ferry's Frazier, Zanesville's Harris, Woodsfield's Schumacher among selections

    WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – The 43rd annual induction ceremony for the West Liberty University Athletic Hall of Fame will be held on Saturday, Sept. 14 inside the university’s Academic, Sports and Recreation Complex.

    This year’s class features Michael Frazier (Track/Cross Country), Cedric Harris (Men’s Basketball), Eddie Hills (football), Lena Kalvans (Women’s Basketball), Jim Monnot (Baseball), Andrew Schumacher (Football), David Shuler (Track/Cross Country/Swimming) and Don Clegg (Contributor).

    Festivities begin at 8:30 a.m. with a social gathering in the lobby of the ASRC. Breakfast and the formal induction ceremony follow at 9 a.m. in the R. Emmett Boyle Conference Center. The WLU Hall of Fame Class of 2024 will be recognized on the field at West Family Stadium during halftime of that day’s football game against Frostburg State.

    Following are information capsules for this year’s honorees:

MICHAEL FRAZIER

(Track/Cross Country)

    A 3-time NAIA National cross country qualifier, Michael Frazier was a 7-time All-West Virginia Conference track and cross country standout under WLU Hall of Fame coach Tim Weaver from 1975-80.

    Frazier was a major factor in helping lead West Liberty to six West Virginia Conference championships during his four years on the hilltop. He ran a leg on the 4-mile relay team that set a school record in 1977 and served as a captain for both the track and cross country squads in his senior season.

    After graduating from West Liberty with an Art Education degree, Frazier spent two years as a teacher and coach before transitioning to a successful 28-year career in the lumber and building trades industry. He later served as office manager for a local window company until retiring in 2021.

    An active community member who still volunteers with a number of charitable organizations, he has won several awards for his artwork at local art shows and also created murals for businesses and churches. Frazier and his wife met at West Liberty and raised three daughters, two of which graduated from West Liberty.

CEDRIC HARRIS

(Men’s Basketball)

    A 2-time NCAA Division II All-American and Regional Player of the Year, Cedric Harris made a significant impact on West Liberty University's basketball program. During his three seasons in the Hilltopper backcourt, Harris led the Black and Gold to a spectacular 97-9 record that included a staggering 62-4 conference mark.

    His career scoring average of 16.8 points ranks 18th all-time on the hilltop while his impressive 217 career steals – in just three seasons – place him fourth in school history. Harris enjoyed a standout senior season, averaging 17.8 points, 5.5 assists, and 4.0 rebounds per game to earn Atlantic Region Player of the Year and consensus NCAA Division II All-America accolades. The Hilltoppers rolled to a 31-4 season mark, capped by a postseason run to the school’s first NCAA D2 national championship game.

    Harris pursued a teaching and coaching career after graduation and is currently head boys’ basketball coach at Zanesville (Ohio) High School – his alma mater. He has filled multiple academic and administrative roles for Zanesville City Schools and holds a master’s degree in special education from Muskingum University along with an administrative license from Salem International University. Cedric and his wife, Kaleigh, reside in Zanesville with their two sons, Cruz and Caz.

    Selected to play in the prestigious Cactus Bowl NCAA Division II All-Star Game, Hills departed West Liberty as the school’s career leader in pass receptions (175) and all-purpose yards (5,258) while ranking among the top five in touchdowns (41), rushing touchdowns (27), points scored (246), rushing yards (2,655) and receiving yards (2,176).

JIM MONNOT

(Baseball)

    Jim Monnot was a four-year mound ace for WLU Hall of Fame baseball coach Bo McConnaughy who helped lead the Hilltoppers to four straight West Virginia Conference Tournament championships and NAIA District 28 titles during the late 1980s.

    A bellwether of the West Liberty staff for four consecutive seasons, Monnot was the 1987 WVIAC Pitcher of the Year and a first-team All-Conference selection as a junior. He finished his stellar career as a team captain in 1988, setting career records of six shutouts and 33 complete games that still stand nearly four decades later. During his four years on the hilltop, the Hilltoppers won three WVIAC regular season championships while posting an impressive 67-17 mark in league play.

    Monnot’s diamond success continued after graduation as he excelled in Canton (Ohio) Class A amateur baseball for 16 years. The 1990 League Most Valuable Player and Pitcher of the Year, Monnot went on to earn multiple All-Star selections leading up to his 2002 induction into the Stark County Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame.

    Monnot has spent more than three decades working for Connecting Point, a local IT provider in Canton that specializes in small business solutions. He makes his home in North Canton.

ANDREW SCHUMACHER

(Football)

    Andy Schumacher was a dominant defensive lineman who earned multiple All-West Virginia Conference and NAIA All-America citations with the Hilltoppers from 1988-91.

    The Woodsfield, Ohio native exploded onto the scene as West Liberty's Defensive Freshman of the Year and never looked back. In addition to earning multiple West Virginia Conference Defensive Player of the Week honors, Schumacher was a 3-time All-WVIAC selection and earned back-to-back NAIA All-America honorable mention recognition.

    The oldest of five football-playing brothers who earned All-Ohio honors at Woodsfield or Monroe Central High Schools, Andy saved his best for last at West Liberty. He broke the school's single-game and single-season quarterback sack records as a senior in 1991 and still ranks 4th among WL’s all-time sack leaders. His school single-game record of 8 tackles-for-loss still stands more than 30 years later.

    After graduating from West Liberty, Schumacher pursued a career in education. He teaches Construction Trades for the Switzerland of Ohio School District and also devotes considerable time to coaching, contract work and farming. A proud grandfather, known affectionately as "Pa," Schumacher enjoys spending time with his grandsons, Otto and Isaac

DAVID SHULER

(Track/Cross Country/Swimming)

    One of the premier distance runners in West Virginia Conference history, David Shuler was an All-American and multi-sport conference champion at West Liberty during the early 1960s before going on to an illustrious business career. Shuler won a staggering 10 West Virginia Conference track and cross country championships during his time on the hilltop.

    He earned NAIA All-America honors in 1964 with a Top 10 finish at the 1964 NAIA Cross Country Nationals. Shuler also won a WVIAC swimming championship in swimming with a victory in the Mile Swim at the WVIAC Championships and received an invitation to train for the 1968 U.S. Olympic Pentathlon Team only to have his career cut short by an automobile accident. Shuler’s lasting impact was recognized in 1974 with a berth on the WVIAC’s All-Time Spring Sports Team.

    After graduation, he entered the workforce as a Research Analyst at West Virginia University. After furthering his education with an MBA and PhD, he moved on to management roles at Tata Steel North America and traveled internationally to present technical papers and lend his expertise to numerous organizations. A native of Weirton, W.Va., Shuler was recently inducted into the Weirton City Hall of Fame.

DON CLEGG

(Contributor)

     Ohio Valley sports historian Don Clegg spent more than four decades promoting West Liberty athletics, initially as a long-time reporter and editor with the Ogden Newspapers chain before working for many years in the Hilltoppers' sports information department.

     During his time on the hilltop, Clegg successfully promoted multiple student-athletes for NCAA Division II All-America, Academic All-America, All-Region and All-Conference honors while serving as the primary media contact for all WLU sports. In addition to generating editorial content for the university’s athletic website, publications, and social media, he helped research and develop enhanced record books for several sports, oversaw a series of upgrades for the athletics website and served as host SID for NCAA Division II regional championships in basketball, wrestling and softball.

     The Moundsville, W.Va. native came to West Liberty after 26 years at Ogden Newspaper where he and his staff received multiple awards for journalistic excellence. An honors graduate of the West Virginia University School of Journalism and past president of the W.Va. Sports Writers Association, Clegg was inducted into the OVAC Hall of Fame in 2019. He is a member of the OVAC Hall of Fame Committee and the West Liberty Hall of Fame Committee.