Rockets Announce 2024 Varsity T Hall of Fame Class

Rockets Announce 2024 Varsity T Hall of Fame Class

The University of Toledo Varsity T Club recently announced its 2024 Hall of Fame inductees.

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).

The 2024 Varsity T Hall of Fame induction banquet is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 25, at The Pinnacle in Maumee. The class will also be introduced at halftime of the Rockets' football game vs. Bowling Green on Saturday, Oct. 26.

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 the Varsity T Hall of Fame induction dinner are $50 or $500 for a table of 10 and can be purchased by calling the Athletic Development Office at 419-530-5087.

Tickets for Rocket football games can be purchased at the Athletic Ticket Office, online at UTRockets.com/tix, or by calling/texting 419-530-GOLD (4653).

The 2024 Varsity T Hall of Fame inductees:

Joe Conroy, Football (1974-78)
Joe Conroy ranks second at Toledo in career tackles with 490 and sixth in tackles for loss with 39. As a senior, Conroy was the named the team captain and was also named to the MAC first-team defensive unit, the only Rocket to make any All-MAC team that year. He received the Nicholson Trophy as a senior for contributing the most to the success of the Rockets. As a freshman in 1974, Conroy had 105 tackles with 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 for loss. Conroy also had 126 tackles in his junior year in 1977, adding nine TFLs. In his senior year, Joe had 133 tackles and 16 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 for Youngstown State University. He later went on to become the head volleyball coach from 1992-2004. He was named the Mid-Continent Conference Coach of the Year in 1994, 1995, 1998 and 1999. After his retirement from coaching in 2004, Conroy worked as the Coordinator of Facilities and Programs for the Andrews Student Recreation and Wellness Center for YSU until his retirement in 2019.

Arnika Edwards Bess, Women's Track & Field (1995-98)
Arnika Edwards was a five-time MAC champion in hurdle events. She won the 200-meter indoor hurdles in 1996, 200-meter outdoor hurdles in 1997, the 400-meter outdoor high hurdles in 1997, the 400-meter indoor high hurdles in 1998 and the 400-meter outdoor high hurdles in 1998. She still holds the MAC 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, she competed in the 400-meter hurdles and ranked No. 18 in the U.S. that year. Three of her UT records still stand: 60 high hurdles, 100 hurdles, 400 hurdles. Bess earned her bachelor's degree in communication from UT in 1998.

Natalia Gaitan, Women's Soccer (2009-12)
Natalia Gaitan 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, Gaitan 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), joining Varsity T Hall of Famer Molly Cornwell. Gaitan moved into a starting role for the Rockets as a freshman in 2009, then went on to become one of the team's best defenders as a sophomore, when she earned 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, Gaitan was second on the team in goals (4) and total points (8), and was named second-team All-MAC. Gaitan is one of only three players in school history to earn MAC All-Tournament recognition on three occasions (2010, '11, '12). A well-credentialed player on the international level, Gaitan 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. She went on the play professionally with Zaragoza CF (Spain), the Houston Aces (USA), Valencia CF and Sevilla FC (Spain), Tigres UANL (México) and is currently playing at Santa Fe in her hometown Bogotá, Colombia. An outstanding student, Gaitan earned Academic All-America Third Team honors as a senior in 2012, the first member of the women's soccer program to earn such accolades. A three-time Academic All-MAC selection, Gaitan graduated Summa Cum Laude with a 3.93 GPA in business. Gaitan is a cancer survivor, who was diagnosed with lymphoblastic leukemia at age five, but nevertheless recovered and went on to enjoy a stellar soccer career.

Kylie Gamelier, Women's Swimming & Diving (2005-09)
Kylie Gamelier made Rocket history in the summer of 2008 as the first 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, which helped her earn the UT Senior Female Athlete of the Year (as chosen by UT student-athletes). Gamelier was the 2008 MAC Champion in the 200-yard breaststroke and a two-time first-team All-MAC selection (2007-08, 2008-09). A native of Cranberry Township, Pa., she was also a part of a UT record in the 4×50 medley relay with a time of 1:40.15 in 2009 and sits in second 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 from 2009-13 who is Toledo's all-time leader and ranks fourth all-time in the Mid-American Conference in blocked shots (213). A local recruit from Start High School in Toledo, Swain scored in double figures in 45 games in her career and had at least three blocked shots on 29 occasions. She ranked fourth in Toledo history in field-goal percentage (56.6%) and 10th in rebounds (782). Swain earned second-team All-MAC honors in 2011-12 and 2012-13, in addition to being a key contributor on the 2011 team that won the WNIT Championship. As a sophomore in 2010-11, Swain averaged 7.4 ppg and 5.6 rpg, and was second in the MAC with 1.4 bpg. She came into her own during the WNIT Tournament, averaging 11.7 ppg, 5.7 rpg and 1.0 bpg, and was named to the WNIT All-Tournament Team. During the tournament, 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, Swain was voted second-team All-MAC, averaging 10.3 ppg, 6.7 rpg and a league-leading 2.1 bpg. She helped lead the Rockets to the quarterfinals of the WNIT, averaging 11.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg and 1.3 bpg in four games. Swain repeated as a second-team All-MAC selection as the Rockets' co-captain, averaging 9.5 ppg, 7.2 rpg and 1.3 bpg per game. She helped the Rockets to their third-consecutive WNIT appearance that season. A 2012-13 Academic All-MAC selection, Swain graduated with a degree in recreational therapy in 2013. She served the Rockets' coaching staff as director of operations from 2020-22. She and her husband Ben have two daughters, Justice and Eshe, and a son, Xavier.

Glyn Smith, Football/Men's Track & Field (1970-72) Glyn Smith played wide receiver and kick returner on undefeated football teams 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 TD passes, earning second-team All-MAC honors. His average of 24.5 yard 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 hit .300, with a .394 on-base percentage, nine home runs, a school-record 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, first in hits (212), first in triples, first in walks, second in total bases (315), 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. In his four seasons, Warga's fielding percentage was never below .982. After graduation, Warga signed a free agent minor league contract with the Canton Crocodiles in the Frontier League.