Greensboro, NC(10/26/00) - Six former student-athletes and a former sports information director comprise the 30^th class inducted into the Guilford College Athletics Hall of Fame. The seven inductees will be honored with a banquet Saturday, October 28 in the college's Founders Hall as part of Guilford's Homecoming Weekend festivities.

The inductees, as selected by the Guilford College Quaker Club Hall of Fame Nominating Committee are: Randy Lee Black '80, Howard McCoy Braxton Jr. '63, Bill Buckley '73, Darlene Bull Joyner '81, Suzanne Lowe '86, Ralph R. Nelson '58, and Rob Odom '87.

Randy Black '80 ranks as one of Guilford's top baseball players. Following an accomplished three-sport career at East Davidson (NC) High School, Black entered Guilford and competed with the baseball and track teams. A career .300 hitter and speedy center fielder, he was twice an All-Carolinas Conference selection and the league's Most Valuable Player in 1976. He earned honorable mention All-American and All-NAIA District 26 honors as a junior and helped the Quakers to the 1976 NAIA World Series. In addition to his baseball accomplishments, Black won the Carolinas Conference 100- and 220-yard dash titles with times of 9.6 and 21.6 seconds, respectively. Black signed with the Philadelphia Phillies after his junior season and earned the Carpenter Award for his performance in the team's 1977 minor-league spring training. He retired after 1977 and returned to Guilford in 1979 to earn his bachelor's degree in physical education. Black owns Randy's Mart #2 and Southside Laundry in Davidson County and resides in Trinity, NC.

Howard Braxton '63 played basketball, football and track in his four years at Guilford. He was a team most valuable player and four-time football and basketball letterman at Scotland Neck High School in Laurinburg, NC. A track and field most valuable performer, Braxton served as Guilford's class president as a sophomore and presided over the Monogram Club. After graduating from Guilford, he received a master's degree from Appalachian State in 1966 and his doctorate in education from UNC Greensboro in 1975. A retired educator and former captain in the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, Braxton maintains an active affiliation with many civic and professional organizations including the Kiwanis of Topsail Island and the Red Cross. He resides in Topsail Beach, NC, with his wife, Pat.

Bill Buckley '73 worked four years as a student sports information director at Guilford. The 1969 Grimsley (NC) High School graduate worked as Guilford's assistant sports information director (SID) as a freshman and served as the head SID for his final three years. His 1971 and 1973 men's basketball media guides were rated among the best such NAIA publications in the country, as was his 1972 Guilford football guide. Buckley served as the color commentator on Guilford football and basketball radio broadcasts and called the Quakers' improbable run to the 1973 NAIA men's basketball championship. He directed the statistical service bureau for the Carolinas Conference as a senior. After graduation, Buckley worked in the front office of the Macon Whoopees, a minor-league hockey team that folded after only four months of operation. The team became a significant piece of folklore in Macon, GA, and Buckley co-authored a book about it called "Once Upon A Whoopee." He resides in Roswell, GA, with his wife and three sons and works as the Senior Vice President and National Sales Manager for Momar, Inc., a chemical manufacturer in Atlanta.

Darlene Joyner '81 stayed close to home following an impressive three-sport career at Northwest Guilford High School in Greensboro and returned to enjoy a very successful coaching career. Joyner was an all-conference performer in volleyball and basketball at Northwest and played both sports at Guilford. She earned Northwest's Viking Award as the school's top female student-athlete her senior year and was named one of the school's top 10 seniors. At Guilford, Joyner played on the Quakers' 22-14 volleyball team in 1979 as a defensive specialist and outside hitter. She played point guard for the basketball teams from 1979-81. After graduating from Guilford, Joyner returned to Northwest as a physical education teacher and coach. A six-time coach of the year, Joyner has a 215-51 softball coaching record with one state title and 10 conference championships. Her volleyball teams have gone 114-30 with four conference crowns, which led to her three coach of the year awards. She directed the Vikings' cross country team to a league title in 1993 and had a 41-game winning streak while coaching Northwest's junior varsity girls' basketball team. As a coach in the Greensboro Gaters AAU basketball program, Joyner has won 17 tournaments, including a state championship and regional title. She coaches and teaches at Northwest Guilford and resides in Summerfield.

One of Guilford's first female three-sport student-athletes, Suzanne Lowe '86 compiled 12 varsity letters, one for each season of participation in volleyball, basketball and softball. A High Point, NC, native, she attended Southwest Guilford (NC) High School where she lettered four years in basketball, volleyball, and softball. A 1985 All-Carolinas Conference and All-District 26 pick, Lowe's Guilford volleyball teams went 81-42 with three 22-win seasons in her tenure. She played on the Quakers' 1984 and 1985 volleyball units that placed third in the NAIA District 26 Tournament. Lowe received the college's Richard Joyce Sportsmanship and Nereus C. English Athletic Leadership Awards and earned NAIA All-District 26 softball honors as a senior. She served with the Peace Corps in Africa upon graduation from Guilford and later founded the Community Nurse Corps, a volunteer nursing program. A former assistant women's basketball coach at Guilford, Lowe received her master's degree in nursing from UNC Greensboro in 1996 and works as a nurse practitioner in Littleton, CO.

Ralph Nelson '58 played on both sides of the ball for Guilford's football teams from 1954-57. He lettered in football, basketball, and baseball at Kernersville (NC) High School and earned all-conference football and baseball honors. Nelson started three years for Guilford's football team as an offensive guard and middle guard. He captained the Quakers as a junior and senior and received All-North State Conference honors in 1957. Nelson earned his master's degree in education from Appalachian State in 1963 and picked up his doctorate in education from UNC Greensboro in 1974. Nelson coached high school football for nine years and served as a public school administrator in Martinsville, VA, before retirement. He and his wife, Faye, live in Kernersville.

Rob Odom '87 owns the lowest career stroke average (75.04) in Guilford's distinguished golf history. Following a stellar junior golf and high school career at Copper Basin (TN) High School, Odom enrolled at Spartanburg Methodist Junior College where he earned All-America recognition in 1984. He transferred to Guilford in 1985, and helped the Quakers finish second in the 1986 and 1987 NAIA National Championships. The two-time NAIA All-American set Guilford's record for the lowest 36-hole score (138) and shared medalist honors at the 1986 NAIA Tournament. A 1987 English Athletic Leadership Award winner, Odom won an individual gold medal at the 1986 World University Games tournament in Sardinia, Italy, an helped the United States to a second-place effort. After college, Odom reached three U.S. Amateur Tournaments and four U.S. Mid-Amateur Tournaments by winning five of seven qualifying events. He works as a branch manager for United Rentals Highway Technologies and resides in Colleyville, TX.