New members of the Lyon College Athletic Hall of Fame include (from left) Dr. Benjamin Bridges of Annapolis, Maryland, Kristi Kelley of Galveston, Texas, Kim Scarborough of Lucas, Texas, J. Eric Wilson of Chevy Chase, Maryland, and Tony Roepcke of Batesville.
Lyon College recently celebrated five new members of the Lyon College Athletic Hall of Fame with a banquet and induction ceremony on the Batesville campus.
The 2022 Lyon College inductees included Benjamin Bridges, ‘97, for baseball; Kristi Kelley, ‘12, for softball; Kimberly Scarborough, ‘04, for volleyball; J. Eric Wilson, ‘06, for soccer; and Tony Roepcke, ‘06, for coaching.
Executive Director of Athletics Advancement Elliott Sampley, ‘96, presided over the event, which included a warm welcome from Lyon College President Dr. Melissa P. Taverner and an invocation led by Professor Emeritus of Physical Education Fred Wann, ‘59, followed by dinner and great company.
More about the inductees:
Benjamin Bridges, M.D., ’97, was a four-year letterman for the Lyon College baseball team from 1993-1997. As a first baseman, he was in the top three in fielding percentage each of his final three seasons as a Scot. He played in every game, had a team-leading .990 fielding percentage during his senior season, and received the 1997 Gold Glove Award. Bridges was also a closing pitcher for the Scots in all four of his years and led the team in saves. He received All-Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference Honorable Mention recognition in 1994 and 1995. In his senior season of 1997, the Scots were 30-16, defeating AIC powers Southern Arkansas University, the University of Arkansas at Monticello and Arkansas Tech. That same year, Bridges and the Scots defeated the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, which was a Division I program. He also received the Shelter Insurance/NAIA Scholarship Award and the Dick Winningham Award. As a student at Lyon, Bridges was a member of the Honor Council and the Student Government Association. He graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in biology and graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in 2001. He currently practices at Maryland Oncology Hematology in Annapolis, Maryland. He received the National Cancer Institute Platinum Investigator Award in 2019, and serves on the board of directors of Wellness House of Annapolis. He lives in Crownsville, Maryland, with his wife, Dr. Jennifer Wong, and attends Woods Presbyterian Church.
Kristi Kelley, ’12, was a member of the Lyon College softball team from 2009-2011. Prior to Lyon, she attended and played for Alvin Community College where she was selected pre-season All American, First Team All XIV Region, First Team All Conference, Team Award and Most Valuable Player. She held eighth place for stolen bases in the National Junior College Athletic Association Division 1 in 2007-2008. During Kelley’s time as a softball player at Lyon College, she held numerous single game and season records. She holds the overall record in batting average with a .461, and she is ninth overall in total bases with 16. She is tied for fifth in hits with 140, third in stolen bases with 79, and had 78 hits in one season, which was the second-best all time in Lyon College softball history. She had 48 stolen bases in 2011, which was second-best all time and was tied for first all time with a .522 on-base-percentage that same year. In 2010 she was third overall with a .506 on-base-percentage. Kelley is first in Lyon College softball history with most hits and most runs scored in a single game with five, both of which she achieved twice (the second time on her birthday). She is also first in most stolen bases in a game with four (achieved twice). While at Lyon, Kelley was an NAIA Scholar Athlete, NFCA All-East Region and made the First Team in the All-TranSouth conference. Kelley graduated from Lyon with a degree in mathematics and earned a master’s degree in mathematics from Stephen F. Austin State University in 2014. Kelley lives in Galveston, Texas, where she is associate professor of mathematics and a member of the Faculty Senate at College of the Mainland in Texas City, Texas.
Tony Roepcke, ’06, was the head coach of the Scots baseball team from 2010-2022. During that time, Roepcke had an overall record of 406 wins and 266 losses. In conference play, his record was 197 wins and 133 losses, which makes him the first coach in Lyon College baseball history to have a winning percentage. During his tenure at Lyon, he coached his teams to the American Midwest Conference tournament championship, the American Midwest Conference regular season championship and qualified for the NAIA national tournament five times. Roepcke was selected coach of the year in the AMC in 2018 and again in 2022, the only season that his Scots won both the regular season title and the conference tournament championship. As a player, Roepcke was a non-traditional freshman at the age of 32 and was recruited by Lyon College while he was still coaching a little league baseball game. He holds the NAIA record as the oldest player to hit a grand slam and his peers considered him the hardest worker on their team. Forgoing his senior season, Roepcke was asked to be an assistant baseball coach for Lyon College while he was still a student. He later became the vice president for the NAIA Baseball Coaches Association and became president of that organization in 2019. Roepcke established a baseball scholarship at Lyon for the hardest working freshman each year. He lives in Batesville, where he is the head baseball coach for Batesville High School. He has one son, Talan Roepcke, ’15 and daughter-in-law Taylor Roepcke.
Kim Scarborough, ’04, was a member of the Lyon College volleyball team for four years. She holds first place overall in career ace serves with 294, fourth overall in digs with 1,471, and seventh overall in kills, with 1,134. She holds first place for a season number of aces with 102 in 2003, seventh in season kills with 420 in 2002 and ninth in season digs with 532 in 2002. Scarborough lettered all four years, and was the captain of the Scots in 2004. She was named Second Team All TranSouth Conference in 2001, 2002, and 2003; she was also a TranSouth Conference Scholar Athlete and named to the Athletic Director Honor Roll. She graduated in 2004 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. Scarborough is a medical assistant in radiology (mammography) and volunteers at her children’s schools and other organizations, including the North Texas Food Bank and Feed My Starving Children. She lives in Lucas, Texas, with her husband Chris Scarborough and their three children: Tyler, Ryley, and Colton.
J. Eric Wilson, ’06, is a graduate of Little Rock Catholic High School, where he led the soccer program to the 7A State Championship and was one of the first high-profile soccer players to be successfully recruited to the brand-new Lyon College men’s soccer program in 2002. Wilson was the founding captain during the team’s inaugural 2002 season and led the Scots to a victory in the first game in program history, beating Williams Baptist 9-7. His teammates also selected him captain each of the three succeeding seasons, and Wilson earned an athletic letter in soccer all four years. As a senior, he was selected 1st Team All-TranSouth Conference and was a TranSouth Scholar Athlete in 2003 and 2005. Wilson was named the Most Valuable Player for 2002, and Defensive Player of the Year in 2003. While at Lyon, he was elected president of the Kappa Sigma fraternity, elected vice president of his class and delivered a commencement speech on behalf of his peers. Wilson graduated with a double major in English and economics. He was chosen to serve as the Clinton School of Public Service’s first advancement officer, a position he held from 2006 to 2010. In 2016, Lyon College recognized him with the Patterson Decade award, and he was included in the Arkansas Business 40-under-40 list. In 2018, Wilson was chosen to be a Presidential Leadership Scholar in a program hosted by the presidential centers of G.W. Bush, W.J. Clinton, G.H.W. Bush and L.B. Johnson. Wilson lives in Chevy Chase, Maryland, with his wife Arezou. He is head of growth for the veteran-owned management consulting firm Echo Five Group, and serves as the inaugural Senior Fellow at Wayfinder for Covid 19 and the Future of Education.
The 2022 Athletic Hall of Fame Selection Committee included Ronnie Brogdon, ‘70; Julie Church, ‘04; Terry Garner; Jim Hansen, ‘76; Ryland Kieffer, ‘98; Elbert Lindesy, ‘76; David Parker, ‘74; Jennifer (Walls) Payton, ‘98; Tony Roepcke, ‘06; Larry Rogers; Elliott Sampley, ‘96; Tracy Stewart-Lange, ‘86; Jim Summers, ‘96; and Fred Wann, ‘59.
The following are ex-officio members of the selection committee: Director of Athletics Kevin Jenkins, ’86; Athletic Administrative Assistant Megan Bryant; Executive Director of Alumni Engagement Cindy Barber, ’85; and Vice President for Advancement Dr. David Hutchison.
Image provided by Lyon College
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