Newberry College announces 2015 class for Athletic Hall of Fame

The Newberry College Lettermen’s Club announced today the six former student-athletes who will make up the Newberry College Athletic Hall of Fame’s Class of 2015.

These six stars will be inducted to the Hall of Fame in a ceremony on Saturday, September 19. The ceremony will be held at the Oakland Mill at 11 a.m. that day. A very limited number of tickets are available for the event. Tickets are available for presale only for $15 by calling Sharon Bryant at (803) 321-5212.

The Newberry College Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2015 is:

Angie Follweiler Smith, softball

Vic Gilmore, football

Keeno Griffin, wrestling

Will Newell, football

Cy Wainwright, wrestling

Mark Weeks, football

Angie Follweiler Smith

Follweiler Smith was a star softball player for the Lady Indians from 1996-99. She was the first Newberry player to earn all-South Atlantic Conference honors in softball.

She led Newberry to the 1999 South Atlantic Conference regular season championship with a 20-16 record in the circle, striking out 117 batters in 245.2 innings with a 2.45 ERA.

Over her four-year career, she hit .251 and had a .456 winning percentage. She also had an outstanding strikeout to walk ratio, punching out 412 batters and walking only 100.

Since her graduation, Follweiler Smith has taught in the Kershaw County School District, starting at North Central HS in 2000 and moving to North Central Middle School two years later. She coached high school softball for six seasons. She earned her masters in education from Francis Marion in 2006 and received the Kershaw County School District’s Golden Apple Award in 2013. She is also the PTO treasurer, a Credit Renewal Specialist, a School Improvement Council Member, the TEAM Leader for sixth grade teachers and a Certified CERRA Mentor for new teachers.

Angie and her husband Kyle live in Cassatt with their son Dylan.

Vic Gilmore

Gilmore was a star football player at Newberry College from 1997-2000 and excelled for the scarlet and gray both on and off the field.

His on field accomplishments are numerous. He is the school’s all-time leading rusher with 3,860 yards on 797 carries with 35 touchdowns. His 93-yard touchdown carry against Wingate in 1999 is the longest rushing play in school history.

He had 17 games with over 100 yards rushing, including a 210-yard game in the 1997 Bronze Derby win over Presbyterian. At the time of his graduation, he was the school’s all-time leading scorer with 222 points. His 24 points scored against Wingate in 1997 is tied for a school single-game record.

He was the South Atlantic Conference offensive freshman of the year in 1997 and was named first team all-SAC in 1997, 1998 and 1999. Gilmore was also named to the AFCA’s Good Works Team in 1998. He is still Newberry’s only honoree on that team.

Prior to enrolling at Newberry, Gilmore was already active in the community as a member of the Army National Guard. He was also a speaker at YMCA prayer breakfasts and tutor at local elementary schools as a student.

After graduating from Newberry, Vic pursued a career in information technology. In 2003, he married his college sweetheart, Senica. The Gilmores now live in the Charlotte area and have two sons, Elijah and Xavier.

Vic currently works as an IT Director with SPX FLOW, Inc., in Charlotte and has been with them for eight years. In his spare time, Vic and his wife are very active in their church life. They attend Nations Ford Community Church and are members of the Couples Ministry steering team. Vic is also on the executive team for their Men’s Ministry.

Vic is also very active in Cub Scouts with his sons and is a den leader for his son Xavier Gilmore.

Keeno Griffin

Griffin was instrumental in the establishment of Newberry College as one of the premier Division II wrestling programs in the nation, and was able to put his name in the record books as Newberry’s first-ever Division II national champion.

The Jacksonville, Fla., native was a four-time national qualifier and the first-ever three-time All-American for the scarlet and gray.

He claimed the national championship at 197 lbs. in 2009, becoming Newberry’s first NCAA title winner. He earned All-American honors in 2008 with a seventh place finish at 184 lbs. and again in 2010 with a fourth place finish at 197 lbs.

He was second in the school’s record books with 119 career victories when he completed his career, also racking up 17 pins and 12 major decisions.

Griffin later coached in the college ranks at Seton Hill University, where he also earned his masters degree.

Will Newell

Irmo native Will Newell was one of the most dominant linebackers in the South Atlantic Conference in an impressive four-year career at Newberry from 2005-08.

He ranks sixth in the school records with 338 career tackles, including 192 solo stops and 146 assisted tackles. His 130 total tackles in the 2006 playoff season ranks fourth in the school annals.

In 2008, he became the school’s third AFCA All-American after being named the South Atlantic Conference Defensive Player of the Year.

He was on two South Atlantic Conference championship teams and led the Indians in tackles for three straight years. Newell earned all-region honors as a sophomore and a senior and earned multiple All-American honors as a senior.

Following his graduation from Newberry in 2009, Newell earned his master’s in education while coaching linebackers at Irmo HS. He went on to coach and teach at River Bluff HS in Lexington before joining Newberry teammate Josh Stepp at Lexington HS, where he has served as defensive coordinator since 2013.

Will and his wife, Marie, live in Lexington with their son, Ford.

Cy Wainwright

Wainwright is the only undefeated national champion in school history, and his dominant run in his three years in a scarlet and gray singlet will be tough to approach.

The Green Cove Spring, Fla., native went an impressive 36-0 in the 2008-09 season with 14 pins, winning the heavyweight national championship just minutes after Keeno Griffin.

The three-time national qualifier also earned All-American honors in 2008 with a third place finish.

At the time of his graduation in 2009, Wainwright was the school’s all-time wins leader with 128 victories, all-time falls leader with 33 and all-time major decisions leader with 17.

Following his graduation from Newberry, Wainwright entered the collegiate coaching ranks. He earned his master’s degree at St. Cloud State and was named the first head coach at Benedictine (Kan.).

Wainwright is currently the head wrestling coach at rival Coker College, where he has led the Cobras to winning dual seasons in the program’s first two years.

Cy and his wife Megan live in Hartsville with their daughter, Amelia.

Mark Weeks

In three years wearing the scarlet and gray, Mark Weeks put together one of the most impressive defensive careers for any Newberry football player.

He graduated as the program’s all-time leading tackler with 410 total stops, and his seven recovered fumbles were also the most in school history. He improved his numbers each year, with an impressive 201 tackles in his senior season, which still stands as a school record by 50 tackles. His 33 single game tackles is also a school record.

In his senior season of 1982, he was named all-South Atlantic Conference, all-District 6, honorable mention NAIA All-American and twice won SAC-8 Player of the Week honors.

Mark also made Newberry College history as the school’s first-ever CoSIDA Academic All-America when he was named to the second team in 1982. No other Newberry student-athlete would earn that honor for 20 years.

Following his graduation from Newberry, Weeks earned his J.D. at the Oklahoma City University School of Law in 1995 and he was admitted to the South Carolina Bar in 1999.

Mark went on to form the state of South Carolina’s largest real estate law firm. He is a managing member of Weeks & Irvine, LLC, which has over 80 employees with six locations in the Lowcountry.

He is the proud father of three children – Alexa, Taylor and Julia.