(Posted Aug. 4, 2017)
Madison-Plains High School announces this year’s class of inductees into its Athletic Hall of Fame. The ceremony will take place Aug. 5 at the high school.
• Lisa Null Wijnands was a standout basketball player at Madison-Plains from 1981 to 1985. Her career total of 1,415 points still stands as the school record for both boys and girls. A four-year varsity starter, Wijnands scored her 1,000th point during her junior year. She was named Class AA Special Mention All-Ohio in 1982-83 and 1983-84. She was named to the South Central Ohio League all-league team all four years.
Wijnands also excelled in volleyball and softball, earning a total of 10 varsity letters. She was named all-SCOL in volleyball and softball.
• Chris Smith is the most accomplished boys’ track and cross country athlete in the history of Madison-Plains. In track, he was a two-time individual state qualifier in the 3200 meters, finishing eighth in 1988 and ninth in 1989. His 4×800-meter relay team also qualified for the state meet. He still holds the Madison-Plains records in the 3200 meters (9:37), 1600 meters (4:31), and 4×800-meter relay (8:11). He was a six-time KTC league champion, two-time district champion in the 3200 meters, and two-time regional champion in the 3200 meters.
In cross country, he ran on the first ever Madison-Plains team. He placed 16th at the state cross country meet, setting the Madison-Plains school record of 16:07. He was selected for and ran in the National Jr. TAC cross country meet in 1988. After graduation, Smith went on to have a standout career at the University of Rio Grande. He was a seven-time national NAIA qualifier. In 1994, he was an NAIA All-American, finishing fourth at the national meet in the 10,000 meters (30:38). He also served as the Madison-Plains cross country coach for the 1990 KTC league champion team.
• Brian Stoughton was a star football player for Madison-Plains, graduating in 1991. He was a co-captain on the 1990 Kenton Trace Conference champions,hip team, still the only Madison-Plains football league champions. That season, he rushed for a then school record of 1,683 yards and 24 touchdowns. His 1,683 yards led all of central Ohio in rushing. He also had a team leading 82 tackles, four interceptions, 33.1 punting average, and 33.1 kick-off return average. He was named Div. IV second team All-Ohio at running back, in addition to being named all league, county and district.
Stoughton also was a standout on the Madison-Plains basketball and baseball teams. He received a full athletic scholarship to play football at The Ohio State University. While at OSU, he was twice named academic all Big Ten and he earned a varsity football letter in 1995.
• Dickie Brown is one of the greatest basketball players in the history of Madison-Plains. Known for his shooting ability, Brown scored 994 points in just two years of varsity basketball. He averaged 27.5 points per game in 1979-1980 and was named Class AA second team All-Ohio. He scored a Madison-Plains record of 45 points against Hillsboro. He was the 1979-80 Central District Player of the Year and was twice all-SCOL. He helped lead the 1978-79 team to the Central District title. At the end of his senior season, he was selected to play in the District 10 All-Star Game.
Brown was also a fantastic baseball player. In 1979, he batted .408 and was named first-team all-SCOL, as Madison-Plains won the SCOL and finished the season with a 21-3 record.
• The 1978-79 boys’ basketball team is one of the most memorable teams ever to play at Madison-Plains. The team had a record of 15-8 and won the Class AA Central District championship with a victory over River Valley before narrowly losing in the regional semifinals. Mike Wilson was the team captain and Dickie Brown led the team in scoring. Other members of the team included Ben Stroup, Todd Henry, Scott Joslin, Pat Blackburn, Jeff Griffith, John Ruggles, Jeff Moss, Mark Kimbler, Dean Glispie and John Gray. The team was coached by first-year coach Dan Hughes. Hughes went on to a successful coaching career in college basketball and the WNBA.
