Rockets to Induct 2024 Varsity T Hall of Fame Class on Friday

TOLEDO, Ohio - The University of Toledo Varsity T Club will officially induct its 2024 Hall of Fame inductees in a ceremony this Friday at The Pinnacle in Maumee. The class will also be introduced at halftime of the Rockets' football game vs. Bowling Green on Saturday.

Members of the Class of 2024 include seven former student-athletes: Joe Conroy, football (1974-78), Arnika Edwards Bess, women's track & field (1995-98), Natalia Gaitan, women's soccer (2009-12), Kylie Gamelier, women's swimming & diving (2005-09), Yolanda Richardson Swain, women's basketball (2009-13), the late Glyn Smith, football/men's track & field (1970-72) and Ron Warga, baseball (1996-99).

Receiving the Distinguished Service Award from the Varsity T Club is former Deputy Athletic Director Dave Nottke, who retired in 2022 after working for 33 years in various positions in the Athletic Department.

Tickets for Saturday's game can be purchased at the Athletic Ticket Office in Savage Arena, at the gate on game day, online at UTRockets.com/FBtix, or by calling/texting 419-530-GOLD (4653).

The 2024 Varsity T Hall of Fame inductees are as follows:

Joe Conroy, Football (1974-78)
Joe Conroy was one of the all-time great defensive linemen at Toledo, ranking second in career tackles with 490 and sixth in tackles for loss with 39. As a senior, Conroy was the named team captain and earned First-Team All-MAC honors, the only Rocket to make all-league that year. He received the Nicholson Trophy as a senior for contributing the most to the success of the team. Conroy began his Rocket career in 1974, making 105 tackles while snagging one interception, earning the Norman Cohen Award as the team's best freshman. Conroy sat out the 1975 season due to injury but came back in 1976 to make 126 total tackles, including 11 behind the line of scrimmage. Conroy also had 126 tackles in his junior year in 1977, adding nine TFLs. In his final season as a Rocket, Joe had 133 tackles and 16 tackles for loss. While a student at UT, Conroy also played for the Rockets' men's volleyball club team for four seasons. After graduating from UT, Conroy was a professional beach volleyball player, and then became the strength and conditioning coach/assistant women's volleyball coach at Youngstown State University. He went on to become the Penguins' head women's volleyball coach from 1992-2004. He was named the Mid-Continent Conference Coach of the Year in 1994, 1995, 1998 and 1999. After retiring from coaching in 2004, Conroy worked as the Coordinator of Facilities and Programs for the Andrews Student Recreation and Wellness Center at YSU until his retirement in 2019.

Arnika Edwards Bess, Women's Track & Field (1995-98)
Arnika Edwards Bess was one of the greatest hurdlers in Toledo history. A five-time Mid-American Conference champion, Edwards won the 200-meter indoor hurdles in 1996 and 1997, and the 400-meter outdoor high hurdles in 1997 and 1998. She still holds the MAC Championship Meet record in the 200-meter indoor hurdles (26.53) and the 400-meter outdoor hurdles (57.94). She qualified for the NCAA Championship Meet in 1996 and 1997. In 1997, she qualified in the NCAA indoor 400 meters with a time of 54.97, still the second-fastest time in UT history. At the 1997 outdoor meet, Edwards competed in the 400-meter hurdles and ranked No. 18 in the U.S. that year. Three of her UT records still stand in the 60-meter high hurdles, 100-meter hurdles and the 400-meter hurdles. Edwards earned her bachelor's degree in communication from UT in 1998.

Natalia Gaitán, Women's Soccer (2009-12)
Natalia Gaitán was a two-time second-team NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region and All-Mid-American Conference honoree who played in two Olympics and two World Cups for her native Colombia. Twice named Toledo's top defender, Gaitán led the Rockets to a MAC championship and an NCAA Tournament appearance as a junior in 2011. She is also one of only two Rockets to be named to the Ohio Collegiate Soccer Association All-Ohio First Team on more than one occasion (2011, 2012). Gaitán moved into a starting role for the Rockets as a freshman, earning second-team NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region honors. As a junior, she was named first-team All-MAC and repeated as a second-team NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region honoree. In her senior year, Gaitán was second on the team in goals (4) and total points (8), and was named second-team All-MAC. She was an integral part of a Toledo squad that advanced to the MAC Tournament Semifinals for the seventh-consecutive season. Gaitán also represented her native Colombia as a team captain on the world's biggest stages at the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics, and the 2011 and 2015 FIFA World Cups before going on to enjoy a stellar career in professional soccer. An outstanding student, Gaitán earned Third Team Academic All-America honors as a senior in 2012. A three-time Academic All-MAC selection, Gaitán graduated Summa Cum Laude with a 3.93 GPA in business.

Kylie Gamelier, Women's Swimming & Diving (2005-09)
Kylie Gamelier is one of the most decorated swimmers in Toledo history. A two-time first-team All-MAC selection, she made history in the summer of 2008 when she became the first Rocket women's swimmer to compete at the United States Olympic Trials. As a senior, she was also the first Toledo women's swimmer to compete at the NCAA Championships, where she finished 31st in both the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke. In 2009 she was named the UT Senior Female Athlete of the Year, an honor voted on by fellow Rocket student-athletes. Gamelier was the 2008 MAC Champion in the 200-yard breaststroke, earning first-team All-MAC for the first time. Gamelier was also a part of a UT record in 4x50 medley relay with a time of 1:40.15 in 2009, and still holds second place on Toledo's all-time performance list in the 100-yard breaststroke and 200-yard breaststroke.

Yolanda Richardson Swain, Women's Basketball (2009-13)
Yolanda Richardson Swain was a two-time All-MAC player who is Toledo's all-time leader and ranks fourth all-time in Mid-American Conference history in blocked shots with 213. Richardson scored in double figures 45 times in her career and had at least three blocked shots on 29 occasions. She ranks fourth in Toledo history in field-goal percentage (56.6%) and 10th in rebounds (782). Richardson earned second-team All-MAC honors in 2011-12 and 2012-13, and was a key contributor on the team that won the 2011 WNIT Championship. Richardson truly blossomed as a sophomore during the 2011 WNIT Tournament, averaging 11.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.0 blocks, earning All-Tournament Team honors. She scored 20 points in a second-round win vs. Auburn and had 14 points on 7-of-7 from the field in the semifinals vs. Charlotte. As a junior, Richardson was a second-team All-MAC selection, averaging 10.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and a league-leading 2.1 blocks per game. She helped lead the Rockets to the quarterfinals of the WNIT that season. Richardson repeated as a second-team All-MAC selection as a senior, helping the Rockets to their third-consecutive WNIT appearance that season. A 2012-13 Academic All-MAC selection, Richardson graduated with a degree in recreational therapy in 2013. She served on the Rockets' coaching staff as director of operations from 2020-22.

Glyn Smith, Football/Men's Track & Field (1970-72)
Glyn Smith played wide receiver and kick returner on undefeated Rocket football teams that won Tangerine Bowls in 1970 and 1971. As a senior in 1971, he tied for second on the team with 19 receptions for 466 yards while catching five touchdown passes, earning second-team All-MAC honors. His average of 24.5 yards per catch still ranks seventh on UT's all-time list. He also returned five kickoffs for 62 yards. As a junior, he caught 14 passes for 268 yards, and returned five kickoffs for 119 yards. In his two seasons, he averaged 22.2 yards per reception on 33 catches. Smith may be best remembered for snagging a 56-yard catch from Chuck Ealey to set up the game-winning field goal vs. Villanova in 1971. Smith went out for track in the spring of 1972, setting Toledo and MAC records in the long jump with a 25-6 leap for a league title at the 1972 MAC Outdoor Track Championships, qualifying him for the NCAA Championships and 1972 Olympic Trials. Smith passed away in 1986 at the age of 37.

Ron Warga, Baseball (1996-99)
Ron Warga was a four-year starter as a middle infielder, starting every game in his career for the Rockets from 1996-99. For his career, Warga batted .300, with a .394 on-base percentage, nine home runs, 17 triples, 32 doubles, 107 walks, 104 RBIs, 156 runs scored and 65 stolen bases. When he left UT, he ranked first all-time in career runs scored, hits (212), triples, walks, was second in total bases (315), and eighth in RBIs and doubles. His 17 career triples still rank in the top five in MAC history. He was captain and MVP of the 1999 team that set school records for most wins (39) and conference wins (23), hitting .314 with four homers and 34 RBIs. He set the single season school records for stolen bases (26), runs scored (57), and triples (5) that season and added 32 walks. As a junior, Warga hit .312 with three home runs, four triples, 14 doubles, and 35 runs scored. As a true freshman, he started every game, leading the team in at bats, walks, stolen bases, and triples, earned Rocket Newcomer of the Year honors and made the MAC All-Tournament Team. Warga was also a slick fielder, committing just two errors and sporting a sparkling .992 fielding percentage in 1998, an almost unheard-of number for a middle infielder.

Rockets to Induct 2024 Varsity T Hall of Fame Class on Friday

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