The Missouri Sports Hall of Fame on Wednesday inducted longtime Winona High School volleyball coach Francie McBride, the Winona High School Volleyball Program as well as the Santa Fe High School Volleyball and Girls Track & Field Programs. Additionally, six individuals were recognized with Wynn Awards.
They all highlighted the Women’s Sports presented by the Bee Payne-Stewart Foundation, held Wednesday at the Oasis Hotel and Convention Center.
“We’re delighted to honor these outstanding individuals,” said Jerald Andrews, President & Executive Director of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame. “Each made a significant impact in their sport, and certainly are deserving of recognition.”
The Wynn Awards are named in honor of the late Dr. Mary Jo Wynn, the pioneer of women’s athletics at Missouri State University and a Missouri Sports Legend. This year’s Wynn Award recipients are: Sandy Rippee-Hammers (Hillcrest High School/Drury University), The Russell Sisters – Amy Russell McNew (Branson High School/Missouri State University), Cindy Russell Rear (Branson High School/College of the Ozarks), Tina Keller Montez (Carl Junction High School/Missouri Southern State University), Kelly Richardson (Willard High School/Evangel University), and Virginia MacKenzie Sparks (Festus High School/Jefferson College/Southwest Baptist University).
Francie McBride – Winona High School Volleyball Coach
McBride is a 1992 graduate of Eminence High School, played volleyball at Three Rivers Community College and then Evangel University before graduating from Missouri State University. She has coached the Winona High School Volleyball Program since 1997 and is approaching 600 wins. Her teams have advanced to 14 Final Fours, won five state titles as well as 15 district championships, 15 Big Spring Conference championships and two Black River League titles. McBride has helped 11 players earn college scholarships, including two NCAA Division I recruits. She was the National Federation Midwest Sectional Coach of the Year (2002-2003), the Missouri High School Volleyball Coaches Association’s Coach of the Year five times and has coached club volleyball for 14 years. She also is an inductee of the MHSVCA Hall of Fame.
Winona High School Volleyball Program
Located in Shannon County, Winona High School’s Volleyball Wildcats have advanced to 14 Final Fours since the fall of 2000, winning five Class 1 state championships (2001, 2006, 2012, 2013, 2014). The Wildcats earned state runner-up finishes in 2000, 2002, 2007 and 2009. They placed third in 2004 and 2017, while the teams of 2003, 2005 and 2015 placed fourth. The 2002 and 2003 teams competed in Class 2, while the 2006 and 2007 teams – as a small Class 1 school – won the Ozark Tournament. The program dates back to 1945 and has been led by 29 coaches since, including Francie McBride from 1997 to 2019, and has produced 27 All-State players.
Santa Fe High School Volleyball and Girls Track & Field Programs
- Santa Fe High School Volleyball Program: It has advanced to 22 Final Fours, earning seven state titles (1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 2015). The Chiefs have finished as the state runner-up five times (1980, 1998, 2005, 2006, 2019) and placed third four times (1981, 1990, 2013, 2014). Meanwhile, it had fourth-place finishes in 1979, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2011 and 2012. The program began in 1975 under coach Sydney Goosen. Coaches since have been Tom Anderson, Gerry MacLean, Charlie Bock, Emily Road, Kim Bishop, Becky Heins, Stacy Thomas, Kinsey Harms and Ashton Sander. Bock was the coach from 1983 to 1989 and won 166 of his career 514 matches there. The program has won 30 district titles and 28 conference championships.
- Santa Fe High School Girls Track & Field Program: It has been one of Class 1’s most successful programs, dominating the 1980s. The program has had nine top four finishes at the MSHSAA Track & Field Championships, with five state championships (1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990). Gerry MacLean coached the first three state championship teams, while Bill Fox coached the program to its fourth and fifth state titles. Santa Fe was a state runner-up in 1986, placed third twice (1980, 1983) and was fourth in 1981. The program has won 15 district titles and 20 conference championships – plus had 38 All-State performers.
WYNN AWARDS …………………………………
Sandy Rippee-Hammers – Hillcrest High School/Drury University: A Springfield native, Hammers is a 1990 graduate of Hillcrest High School, where she was a four-year letter-winner in volleyball and earned All-Ozark Conference, All-District, All-Region and was an All-State nominee. Playing at Drury University for coach Barbara Cowherd (MSHOF 2016), she helped her teams to NAIA national rankings all four years she was at Drury. She earned NAIA All-American honors in 1993 and was selected as the District 16 Co-Player of the Year that season. A three-time All-District 16 pick and a four-year starter, she was inducted into the Drury Athletics Hall of Fame in 1999. Hammers is a career record-holder in games played (584), third in kill blocks (559), third in attack kills (1,492), fifth in digs (1,694), and fifth in service aces (199). Sandy has coached youth volleyball teams for the past 20 years, recently began officiating volleyball and is currently an art teacher for the Fair Grove School District.
Tina Keller Montez – Carl Junction High School/Missouri Southern State University: Montez is an inductee of both the Carl Junction High School and Missouri Southern State Athletics Halls of Fame. At Carl Junction from 1991 to 1995, she was a three-sport athlete (volleyball, basketball, track & field) and earned eight varsity letters combined in volleyball and track. Montez was a four-time state qualifier in track, earning two All-State finishes (4×400 meter relay, 100-meter hurdles). At Missouri Southern, she qualified for the 1998 NCAA Division II Outdoor in three events (100-meter hurdles, 400-meter hurdles, 4×100 meter relay). She also earned All-American status in the relay and 400-meter hurdles with third-place finishes and, a year later, placed third nationally in the D-II Outdoor 400-meter hurdles. At one point, she held the school record in the 100-meter hurdles and the indoor 55-meter hurdles, and was a member of the record-holding 4×100 meter relay team. She also held nine of the top 10 times in school history in the 100-meter hurdles, and the second-best time in the 400 meters. In the indoor 55-meter hurdles, she owns eight of the top 10 times. These days, she works for Liberty Utilities.
The Russell Sisters
- Amy Russell McNew – Branson High School/Missouri State University: A 1990 graduate of Branson High School, McNew earned First Team All-Central Ozarks Conference all four years in both volleyball and basketball, plus was a two-time All-State basketball selection. She won a state title in the discus her senior year, when she also placed third in the shot put. At Missouri State from 1990 to 1993, McNew was a two-time All-Missouri Valley Conference selection (second team as a junior, first team as a senior) and finished with 1,003 kills – only the eighth Bear to do so. She also shared MSU’s Volleyball Player of the Year honor as a senior, when she was also co-captain, and earned all-region in 1993 from the American Volleyball Coaches Association. Stats-wise, she led the Bears in kills as a junior (367), service aces as a senior (54) and blocks twice (163, 140). McNew, an inductee of the MSU Athletics Hall of Fame, is currently the volleyball coach of Mountain Grove High School.
- Cindy Russell Rear – Branson High School/College of the Ozarks: Rear bolstered Branson athletics in the late 1980s and early 1990s, becoming a three-time all-conference selection in volleyball and earning all-conference in basketball in 1990. Shen then played at College of the Ozarks from 1993 to 1996, earning NAIA Midwest Regional All-Regional team as well as first team all-conference, the Hustle Award, Mazzio’s All-Conference and Rockhurst All-Tournament. She once had 20 kills in a match, doing so against Ouachita Baptist her senior year. Rear was inducted into the C of O Athletics Hall of Fame in 2013.
Kelly Richardson – Willard High School/Missouri State University/Evangel University: Richardson was a two-time Class 3 All-state volleyball player (1998, 1999) at Willard High School. After a year a Missouri State, she became the first player in Evangel history to earn NAIA All-American honors – honorable mention her junior season and third team her senior season. She also was a three-time First Team All-Heart of America Athletic Conference selection, twice received National Player of the Week honors, landed on 10 all-tournament teams and set five program records. Richardson later coached at Republic High School, Southwest Baptist University, assisted at the University of Texas-Arlington and was the head coach of Western Illinois University. At Republic (2005, 2006), the 2005 team placed third in the state. At SBU (2007-2013), she coached the team to double-digit wins six times – the longest stretch in program history and first since 1987-1989. Richardson, an inductee of the Willard and Evangel Athletics Halls of Fame, now coaches the 417 Net Results Volleyball Program.
Virginia MacKenzie Sparks – Festus High School/Jefferson College/Southwest Baptist University: Sparks helped Festus High School finish as a state runner-up finish in 1981, part of a tremendous career in the early 1980s. She earned unanimous first team all-conference honors in 1981 and 1982 and the KTJJ radio station’s Dream Team Award in 1982 before earning all-district a year later. She also was a First Team All-League selection at the Heart of America Volleyball Camp. At Jefferson College, she helped the team to a fourth-place finish in the NJCAA Tournament in 1985. At SBU in 1985 and 1986, she earned NAIA All-American honors in her senior season. In her two seasons, the Bearcats were 64-19 as Sparks earned All-NAIA District 16 First team honors both years. Overall, she had 394 kills in 110 games, with 50 aces, 428 digs, 41 assists and 60 blocks. She has since been inducted into the SBU Athletics Hall of Fame. Sparks later coached volleyball in Illinois and Arkansas. These days, Sparks is a guidance counselor for Skyline Elementary School in Sedalia.