Putting on his BYU cross country uniform for the first time as a freshman in 1979 was one of the proudest moments in Ed Eyestone's life.
In ceremonies held at the Cougar Room at Cougar Stadium Thursday night, Eyestone experienced similar emotions while being inducted into the BYU Athletic Hall of Fame.He was joined by retiring athletic administrator Lu Wallace and three other All-Americans: basketball stars Michael Smith and Tresa Spaulding Hamson and diver Tristan Baker-Schultz.
Longtime coach Sherald James called Eyestone "one of the finest distance runners in BYU history." Among Eyestone's accomplishments are four cross country titles and ten All-America awards. He is one of only three collegians ever to win the NCAA 5,000-meter and 10,000-meter events and the cross country championship in the same season. He was also a member of the 1988 and 1992 United States Olympic Marathon teams.
Hamson led the nation in scoring in 1987 with a 29-point-per-game average. The 6-foot-7 center also holds BYU career records in blocks and field goal percentage and is second in all-time points scored, scoring average, career rebounds and rebounds per game.
"She was the Michael Jordan of women's basketball," said her father, Allen. "Of course there are some differences between them.
She's an inch taller than him."
Smith, remembered for his flamboyant playing style, is BYU's all-time leader in rebounds and is second only to Danny Ainge in points scored. He also holds school records in games played, free- throw percentage and three-point percentage. Smith, who recorded one of the few triple-doubles in Cougar history and led BYU to a No. 2 national ranking during the 1988 season, was a first-round draft pick of the Boston Celtics.
Baker-Schultz was the school's first woman diver to earn All- America honors. She finished third on the three-meter springboard at the 1986 Diving Championships and later won a silver medal at the U.S. Sports Festival and a bronze medal at the World University Games.
In her 39 years at BYU, Wallace served as a teacher, coach and administrator and in the process established the foundation of one of the nation's strongest women's sports programs. During her extended tenure, each of the nine sports which Wallace oversaw placed in the nation's top 15 at least once and several teams regularly placed in the top 10 and top five.