Judy Rankin
A St. Louis native, Judy Rankin is synonymous with golf, both as a player and longtime TV analyst. She won the 1959 Missouri Amateur at age 14 and was the low amateur scorer at the U.S. Women’s Open the next year. At age 16, she appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Eventually, her career led to membership in the World Golf Hall of Fame, as Rankin joined the LPGA Tour in 1962 at age 17 and won 26 tour events. She finished in the top 10 on the money list 11 times between 1965 and 1979, and was the first to win more than $100,000 in a season on the LPGA Tour, accomplishing that feat in 1976 ($150,000). Among her notable finishes were the 1972 U.S. Women’s Open (tied for second) and the 1976 and 1977 Women’s PGA Championship (tied for second, solo second). Rankin then worked as an analyst on the PGA TOUR for ESPN/ABC from 1984 to 2018, and has been the lead analyst for LPGA Tour telecasts on the Golf Channel since 2010.
Joanie French – Parkview High School/Missouri State University
Joanie French was a Parkview High School standout in tennis, track, volleyball and basketball, leading the Lady Vikings to city titles in all four sports her senior year. She led all city high school basketball players in scoring that year and was an amateur softball standout. At Missouri State, she also was a four-sport star, winning the A.J. McDonald Achievement Award for athletic and academic excellence upon her graduation in 1978. She took Missouri State to four consecutive state, regional and national tournament appearances in volleyball. She helped the basketball team win a state title and, as a senior, helped the softball team win state and region titles, qualifying for the College World Series. She led the CWS in stolen bases. In track, she won a state high jump championship her sophomore season. French was on the 1979 USA national volleyball team, played professional basketball with the Dallas Diamonds and participated with the English national championship basketball team and European Cup. In 1981, she was voted Outstanding Young Woman of Missouri and has been inducted into the Parkview, MSU Athletics, Springfield Amateur Softball and Springfield Area Sports Halls of Fame.
Cindy Shook – Director of Branson Parks & Recreation Department
As the Director of Branson Parks & Recreation since 2001, Cindy Shook has made a lasting impact by developing Branson into a youth sports tournament destination. She was promoted to the executive’s role after a decade of rising through the ranks with the City of Branson. In 2005, she headed the planning and development of the Branson RecPlex, a 40-acre sports complex which includes a recreation center, aquatic center, soccer fields, baseball/softball complex, walking paths and playground areas. Since then, the RecPlex has hosted 565 tournaments, including 58 national or World Series events. Nearly 730,000 participants have been brought in, with an economic impact to the City of Branson of nearly $167 million. Her work led to the 2016 Community Spirit Award from the Branson/Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce and Convention & Visitors Bureau, and the 2021 Missouri Municipal League Innovation Award. Shook is a graduate of Parkview High School, where she played on three state golf teams, including the 1982 state championship team. She also competed for Missouri State University golf (1984-1987), earning recognition on the All-Decade Team (1982-1992) of the Gateway Conference.
Stephanie Bates – Volleyball Coach
Stephanie Bates was a combined 625-199-73 coaching volleyball at Salem, Glendale and Springfield Catholic high schools. In 11 seasons at Salem, three teams reached the Final Four. The 1996 team won the Class 3 state championship, finishing 37-2. She was an assistant on the 1993 team that placed third. and her 1995 team was a state runner-up. Salem also won seven South Central Association championships, and Bates was the conference Coach of the Year five times. She then coached Glendale for 15 seasons, with her 2008 team reaching the Final Four and placing fourth in Class 4. The Lady Falcons also won five Ozark Conference championships. She was 27-6-2 in her lone season at Springfield Catholic. Overall, she coached 28 All-State players, 48 collegiate players and three All-Americans. A Salem High School All-State player, she starred at Drury University, earning Honorable Mention NAIA All-American honors in 1990.
Linda Smith – Kansas City Royals
A graduate of Washington High School and Missouri State University, Linda Smith served three big-league organizations over the course of a 46-year career. She spent the bulk of her time in Kansas City, logging 37 seasons with the Royals, including each of the organization’s two World Series championship campaigns in 1985 and 2015. She wore a number of different hats during her time at Kauffman Stadium, filling roles in the Royals’ public relations, group sales and marketing departments over her initial 20-year term (1972-1992) before transitioning to the scouting and player development realm. Smith spent the next nine years assisting the scouting departments of the Atlanta Braves and Texas Rangers. She returned to Kansas City in 2001, overseeing the day-to-day operations of the Royals’ scouting department and assisting with the preparation and execution of the club’s amateur draft efforts each June until her retirement in 2017. Smith received the Special Recognition Award from the Greater Midwest Scouts Association in 2007 for her dedication and commitment to professional baseball.
Harry Lineberry – Neosho High School Cross Country and Track & Field Coach
Harry Lineberry coached track & field as well as cross country for 33 years (1979-2011) at Neosho High School. His 1983 and 1984 girls cross country teams won Class 4 state championships. Additionally, the boys and girls track and field teams combined for nearly 30 conference championships. His girls and boys cross country squads won 18 conference championships, 10 district titles and six sectional championships. Lineberry is a 1966 graduate of Slater High School, where he was a five-time state medalist in track and field. He graduated from Missouri Valley College in 1970 after earning four letters in track and cross country. Lineberry initially worked for the Miami school district and then for Marshall High School, where in his final two years as head coach of the track and cross country programs he won two cross country conference championships and, in track, a conference and district title. Lineberry is a 2008 inductee of the Missouri Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
Neosho High School Girls Cross Country’s 1983 &1984 State Championship Teams
The girls cross country runners of 1983 and 1984 for Neosho High School won Class 4 state team championships, becoming the first in southwest Missouri to do so. Coached by Harry Lineberry, the 1983 Lady Wildcats featured Deanna Cole, Teresa Morehead, Tammy Townsend, Dawn Davies, Debbie Groh and Becky Freund. That team scored 64 points, 10 less than state runner-up Hazelwood Central. Townsend won the first of her two state titles (19:33), and Morehead placed sixth and Freund was seventh. The 1984 team beat Lindbergh by 20 points (87-107), with everybody back from the year before – and added freshmen Amber Townsend and Tracy Morehead. Tammy Townsend won state, improving on her 1983 time by five seconds and beating a field of 146 other runners. Amber Townsend was 12th. That team had placed third in districts as Lineberry withheld an injured Teresa Morehead, whose return helped fuel sectional and state team victories.
Eldon High School Volleyball’s 1980-1996 Era
One of the best eras in Missouri high school volleyball history could be found in mid-Missouri at Eldon High School. Between 1986 and 1993, the Lady Mustangs advanced to eight consecutive Final Fours. Only five other programs have enjoyed that kind of run, with two stringing nine consecutive together: Santa Fe (9, 1979-1987), Ozark (9, 2009-2017), Incarnate Word Academy (8, 1993-2000), Winona (8, 2000-2007) and St. Pius X of Festus (8, 2010-2017). Eldon’s 1991 team won it all in Class 3, finishing 30-3. Its 1988 and 1993 teams finished as state runners-up, while Eldon had four teams place third (1986, 1989, 1990, 1992). The 1987 Mustangs placed fourth. The program also won district all but three times between 1980 and 1996, with the early 1980s teams winning more than 100 matches to set up success.
Glendale High School Girls Tennis’ 1975 State Championship Team
The Missouri State High School Activities Association first hosted a state tennis tournament for girls in 1975, and Glendale High School brought home the top hardware. Coached by Linda Sisco, the Lady Falcons’ roster consisted of Kelly Ragan Anerud, Tammy Chalendar Corbin, Claire Dwyer Nelson, Cheryl Graham, Melinda Kastner, Jennifer Lorenc, Carol Penninger Minton, Kim Morris Wood, Kathy Banks Robertson, Cathleen Dwyer Scholl, Elizabeth Chaney Strickland, Pam Thompson, Meg Owens Townsend, Jeanne Warren Stanchik and Mary Palcheff Wiemer. The team formed after passage of the 1972 federal Title IX legislation that required public schools and universities to field girls athletic teams. Glendale was 16-0 overall, winning the SMSU Relays, before placing second in the district tournament. That enabled two doubles teams to advance to the state tournament. The team of Claire Dwyer and Meg Owens won doubles, while Mary Palcheff and Cathleen Dwyer placed fourth.
Susan Miles – President’s Award
Susan Miles received the President’s Award, which is bestowed on individuals who champion the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame and sports in the state in general. Miles has worked with individuals with disabilities for 48 years. That includes the past 20 years in leading Champion Athletes of the Ozarks since its inception in 2002. The Springfield-based non-profit assists folks with developmental disabilities, serving 450 individuals in eight counties at no charge. It provides education, life skills and sports programs in addition to teaching basic life skills, creating job experiences and reinforcing good social skills. It’s all in an effort to help individuals reach their full potential and become productive citizens in the community. Champion Athletes has been a longtime charity of the PGA Korn Ferry Tour’s Price Cutter Charity Championship presented by Dr Pepper, which is managed by the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame. Champion Athletes mans the Volunteer Tent all four days of the tournament and volunteers in numerous other ways. In 2012, its volunteers were named Volunteers of the Week for the PCCC and, in 2021, Alex Gillis was the Volunteer of the Year. In 2007, Miles was selected as the Korn Ferry Tour’s Volunteer of the Week and the PCCC’s Judy Weekley Volunteer of the Year. Previously, Miles worked for the Cerebral Palsy Center, now the Developmental Center of the Ozarks. She graduated from Crane High School after attending Red Bank Catholic High School in New Jersey.
WYNN AWARDS
Neely Burkhart – Joplin High School/Missouri Southern State University
Teri Steer Cantwell – Olympian/University of Missouri Track & Field Assistant Coach
Julie O’Dell-Griffith – Logan-Rogersville High School/Evangel University
Chelsea Dirks-Ham – Missouri State University
Amanda Hoenes – Branson High School/U.S. Marine Corps/Colorado State University
Kim Flieg Peters – Festus High School/Missouri State University
Brianna Broderick Portmann – Richmond High School/University of Michigan
