During Homecoming weekend festivities Sept. 30-Oct. 1, Monmouth College will induct three new members into its M Club Hall of Fame.
The induction ceremony for championship-winning coach Chris Pio ’84, baseball standout Taylor Thiel ’02 and All-American Tanesha Hughes Newell ’09 will be held at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 1, in the Huff Athletic Center fieldhouse. All three will also be honored prior to the 2 p.m football game as the Scots host Lawrence at April Zorn Stadium.
Chris Pio
Through his contributions as an athlete, championship-winning coach and visionary sports information director, Chris Pio made a lasting impact on Fighting Scots athletics.
Pio ran to three All-Midwest Conference finishes in cross country and four school records on the track in the early 1980s.
He was named coach of the men’s and women’s cross country programs in 1988 and led them for 11 seasons. Pio’s 1996 men’s squad won Monmouth’s first league championship in 65 years. His teams added six runner-up finishes.
He also coached the women’s track and field team for 11 years. The Fighting Scots won eight indoor and outdoor MWC titles in that span and placed second four times.
Pio served as Monmouth’s SID through the 1990s and created the record books that remain a vital part of the college’s illustrious athletic history. He has announced over a dozen conference and national championship meets and has also published comprehensive books on collegiate nicknames and mascots.
Taylor Thiel
The slugger who led one of Monmouth’s best-ever teams in home runs and RBI was also called one of its leaders in heart and soul.
In 2002, catcher Taylor Thiel earned second team Midwest Region honors as the Fighting Scots won a then-record 26 games and finished one victory shy of reaching the College World Series.
Thiel belted 11 long balls, which remains the school record 20 years later. His 18 career homers rank No. 2 all-time. Behind the plate, he caught Hall of Fame pitchers Ryan Johnson and Joe Larkins. The latter hurler was his teammate at nearby Galesburg High School.
For his efforts, Thiel was named the Midwest Conference’s Player of the Year, earning his third consecutive All-MWC honor. Monmouth won at least 20 games in each of his three seasons.
Iowa State University’s loss was Monmouth’s gain, as the former two-sport GHS star came back to western Illinois after one year with the Cyclones.
Tanesha Hughes Newell
Tanesha Hughes was a woman for all seasons. Competing in the vastly different sports of volleyball, basketball, and track and field, Hughes earned All-Midwest Conference honors in each.
That all-around success led to Hughes receiving the MWC’s Woman of the Year honor in 2009. She went on to be a semifinalist for the NCAA’s Division III Woman of the Year.
Her highest Fighting Scots achievements came in the spring, when she earned All-American honors in the discus, placing fourth at the 2009 NCAA meet. At 164’6, she held the school discus record at the time of her induction. As a junior, Hughes won three throwing events at the MWC outdoor meet, earning one of her three Most Outstanding Performer honors.
In basketball, Hughes was a double-double machine her senior year, leading the MWC with averages of 16.3 points and 10.2 rebounds.
Her .249 career hitting percentage in volleyball ranks sixth on the Scots’ all-time list.
***Courtesy of Nathan Baliva, Monmouth College***
