Rio Grande Athletic Hall of Fame announces Class of 2022

A trio of women's basketball standouts and a long-time men's basketball coach comprise the University of Rio Grande’s Athletic Hall of Fame Class for 2022. Sarah Bonar, Brianna Thomas and Leah Kendro will join Earl Thomas for formal induction as part of the school's annual Hall of Fame banquet on Saturday, Nov. 12, at 6 p.m., in the Rio Alumni Heritage Room of Davis University Center. The banquet comes on the final day of the annual Bevo Francis Invitational Tournament, which is slated for Friday and Saturday, Nov. 11-12, at the Newt Oliver Arena. The Class of 2022 - and all other Hall of Fame members in attendance - will be recognized immediately following the Rio Grande women's game on the 12th at approximately 4:30 p.m. Tickets for the banquet, which are $25 each, can be purchased through the Alumni Relations office at 740-245-7221. Athletic Hall of Fame members and one guest will be admitted free.

Bonar, a native of Hartford, Ohio, played for the RedStorm from 2012-2016 and finished her career as the program's fourth-leading scorer (1,736 pts.), its seventh-leading rebounder (772) and the owner of the third-highest single-game scoring mark with her 41-point effort in a win over Ohio Valley University on Dec. 13, 2015. Bonar helped Rio Grande capture the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (KIAC) regular season championship and earn an NAIA National Tournament in the 2014-15 season, while earning three honorable mention selections to the Women's Basketball Coaches' Association (WBCA) NAIA All-American teams during the course of her collegiate career. She was also named to the All-KIAC First Team as a senior, while earning three Player of the Week awards that season.

Thomas was a teammate of Bonar's from 2013-15 after transferring from Cecil Junior College in Maryland to play her final two seasons of eligibility at Rio. During her two seasons with the RedStorm, the Newark, N.J. native totaled 1,205 points, while averaging 18.8 points per game, 5.1 assists per game, 3.7 steals per game and shooting 79.3 percent from the free throw line. Thomas, who also recorded one triple-double performance which helped earn her a National Player of the Week honor, finished her Rio career ranking third all-time in steals (243), 12th in assists (335) and 16th in free throw shooting percentage. Thomas was a first team All-Mid-South Conference honoree as a junior and was also named an honorable mention NAIA All-American. As a senior, she was named first team All-KIAC and the league's Player of the Year.

Kendro, a native of Strongsville, Ohio, played at Rio Grande from 2007-11 and is tied with three others for the most games played in program history (125). She ranks 12th on the school's all-time scoring list (1,513 pts.), is fourth in 3-point field goals made (172) and was an 84.5 percent free throw shooter for her career, leading all of NAIA as junior at 92.5 percent. Kendro, who was named to the All-America Mideast Conference freshman team, also earned All-AMC honors as a sophomore before being named first team All-Mid-South Conference as a junior and second team All-MSC as a senior. She averaged 16.5 points per game and 8.6 rebounds per game as a senior and helped Rio amass 87 victories over the course of her collegiate career.

Thomas, a 1974 graduate of Rio Grande, began his coaching career as a baseball assistant in 1979 and spent two seasons in that role. He also joined the men's basketball coaching staff as an assistant in 1980 where he remained until becoming the program's head coach prior to the 1997-98 campaign. Rio's teams posted a 557-283 (.663) record during his coaching career, including a 184-115 (.615) mark in his 10 seasons as head coach. Thomas was a two-time AMC Coach of the Year, while guiding his teams to a pair of conference championships, two conference tournament championships and two NAIA national tournament appearances - including the school's only trip to the Final Four in 2000-01. Thomas was also an Assistant Professor of Communications at URG during his entire coaching career and received the Ernie A. Wyant Award for outstanding teacher of the year - as selected by students - in 2003. He has since retired from his teaching position, but continues to volunteer with the Hoop Project in Gallipolis and other various basketball events.

The University of Rio Grande takes great pride in awarding outstanding alumni, athletes and former faculty members with various recognition awards. Nominations from alumni and former faculty and staff are encouraged. Nomination forms for alumni awards, Athletic Hall of Fame and Educators Hall of Fame are available through the resources link on the Alumni Relations webpage at rio.edu/alumni. Nominations are due by Feb. 1 of each year. For more information, or questions, please e-mail alumni@rio.edu