PASADENA, Calif. — Caltech Athletics will induct its ninth Hall of Honor Class in late October at a dedicated ceremony on campus, the department announced on Friday.
This year's group consists of seven former student-athletes who made significant contributions to their respective Caltech intercollegiate programs.
Lindsay King '08, Chen Yee Liaw '07, John McNally '82, Steven Sheffield '72, Ben Turk '98, Sarah Wright '13 and Gary Zieve '73 make up the 2023 Class.
Lindsay King '08
Women's Basketball
A two-time Caltech Female Athlete of the Year, Lindsay King cemented herself as a dominant force for the women's basketball team and one of the program's best-ever players by the time of her graduation. Most significantly, King – who started in all 100 of her games played – led the team to its first-ever conference wins in program history, contributing to four SCIAC victories between the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons.
Individually, the New Hampshire native broke an exhaustive list of school records, including total points scored (1242), points per game (12.4), three-pointers made (124), field goals made (430), free throws made (258), blocks (137), games played (100), games started (100) and minutes played (3788). She tied the record for most three-pointers in a game with six. King made history by becoming the first Caltech women's basketball player to reach 1,000 career points.
In her senior year, King led the team in points (316), three-pointers made (32), field goals made (112), free throws made (68) and blocks (28). The star recorded the second-most assists (30) and steals (18).
King won the 2008 Ed Baldwin Award and was the team MVP in 2007-08.
Chen Yee Liaw '07
Women's Tennis
A two-time department and team MVP, Chen Yee Liaw was almost unstoppable during her time as a Beaver. The standout performer sported a near-perfect 24-1 singles record during her collegiate career to earn a program-record .960 winning percentage. All 24 wins were achieved in the first singles position, with one coming over a nationally-ranked opponent. Liaw also broke the school record in single-season singles wins (13) en route to two First Team All-SCIAC selections. The phenom ranked 12th in the region in 2006 before ranking 4th in the region and 47th in the nation the following year.
Liaw's doubles win percentage of .600 ranks second-all time in program history; her 24 singles wins are the third-most by one player in the no. 1 spot, achieved in just two seasons of play.
The star's exceptional play propelled her team to a No. 22 regional ranking in April of 2006.
John McNally '82
Men's Soccer
By the time of his 1982 Caltech graduation, John McNally had been named First Team All-SCIAC three times, Second Team All-SCIAC once, Caltech's Outstanding Soccer Player of the Season three times, and Caltech's Most Outstanding Athlete one time. With soccer recording far fewer counting statistics than other sports, McNally's dominance was proven not so much by numbers, but by watching his exceptional play as he controlled and directed the offense. This is, of course, on top of his plethora of awards – few athletes in Caltech history have been able to achieve the number of accolades that McNally received.
A team captain, the star played at both the halfback and forward positions across his four years on the pitch, scoring 10 goals in his final three seasons among his responsibilities as a set-up man and primary corner taker.
McNally helped the team to nine impressive wins during his tenure, including five over Redlands and a massive 4-2 victory versus rival Occidental College. He provided two assists in the team's 1980 game versus La Verne.
Steven Sheffield '72
Men's Water Polo, Men's Swim & Dive
A force in the pool, Steven Sheffield demonstrated his multi-sport abilities in both water polo and in the lanes, cleaning up a plethora of records by the time his athletic career came to a close. In addition to winning the Coaches Cup, Sheffield was awarded Caltech's Most Outstanding Athlete in 1972 and was nominated for the NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship that same year.
In water polo, Sheffield notched First Team All-SCIAC honors his senior year after earning Second Team distinction the two years prior. He also received NAIA D3 honors for his strong play. The attacker found the back of the net 133 times as a Beaver; he notched a total of 80 goals in his final season on way to leading the team to a 15-6 record.
Sheffield stayed in the pool for the winter season as he competed in swim & dive. The star was named to the All-SCIAC team in three seasons; he made the team in two events in 1968-69 and in three events in both 1969-70 and 1971-72. Most notably, Sheffield broke the record in the 100 butterfly (55.3), 200 butterfly (2:04.4), 500 free (5:19.5), 1000 free (10:59.2), and was a leg on the record-breaking 400 medley, 400 free and 800 free relay teams. He scored major points on way to helping the team to the league tournament title in 1969-70; this came after earning NAIA All-American distinction in 1969 as a member of the sixth-place 400 medley relay.
Ben Turk '98
Men's Basketball
To say Ben Turk dominated the glass is an understatement, as he out-rebounded not just the other players in the conference, but the majority of players in the country. In 1998, the big man's 12.1 rebounds per game made him the sixth best rebounder in all of Division III; a year later, Turk's 12.6 rebounds per game put him fifth. He also ranked 23rd in blocks with 2.3 per contest.
To this day, Turk ranks first all-time in program history in career rebounds (984), rebounds in a season (279), and rebounds in a game (27). In 1997 he broke the program record for blocks in a single season, swatting 47 shot attempts. Upon the conclusion of his final season, he had set the record for career blocks (118), ranked fourth all-time in free throw percentage (.739), and eighth all-time in points per game average (13.2). He scored 25 points or more on four different occasions and was the fifth men's basketball player to join the career 1000-point club.
He was named Caltech Male Athlete of the Year in 1998 and was Second Team All-SCIAC in 1997 and 1998.
Sarah Wright '13
Men's Soccer, Women's Basketball, Women's Track & Field
It's no typo – Sarah Wright competed on the men's soccer team. Caltech did not offer women's soccer as a varsity sport until 2017, but this did nothing to stop Wright, who came to the Institute with talented skills at midfield and a desire to play collegiate soccer. She made her debut as a first-year and played all four years on the team, taking the field in nearly every game over her career. Her final three seasons, she played in 53 games with 12 starts. Wright served as a pivotal trailblazer as the Institute saw an increase of Caltech women playing on the men's team, ultimately leading to the creation of the women's team.
Beyond leading the vanguard on the soccer front, Wright was also a talented member of the women's basketball team in the winter. Wright played in 86 games, starting in 59 of them. She led the team in blocks in 2011-12 and was second in assists and steals. At the time of her graduation, Wright ranked fifth all-time in steals in the program record books. She also ranked top-ten in free throws made.
Wright may have performed her strongest in the spring on the track and in the field. To this day, she holds the school record in the heptathlon (4201), a score she achieved in 2013. Unsurprisingly, her multi-event prowess puts her in the program top-ten lists in a host of events; Wright currently ranks second all-time in the 100-meters (13.27), second in javelin (127'7" ½), third in the 200-meters (26.96), third in 100-meter hurdles (15.80), third in long jump (16"5' ¼), fifth in high jump (4'11" ¾), sixth in 400-meter hurdles (1:12.56), sixth in shot put (31"10'), and sixth in pole vault (8"8' ¼). She earned All-SCIAC recognition in back-to-back-to-back years for her top-six performances at the conference meet in the javelin throw, 100m hurdles, and 4x100m relay. Wright's best finish came at the 2013 SCIAC Championships, where she placed third in javelin.
Wright won the Women's Basketball Discovery Award in 2011-12 and 2012-13, for her "commitment to the discovery of the scholar, the athlete, and the citizen." In 2013, she was awarded the Caltech Athletics Directors' Award and won Caltech Sportswoman of the Year.
Gary Zieve '73
Wrestling
A two-time SCIAC champion and two-time runner-up at 150 lbs., Gary Zieve is undoubtedly one of the best Caltech competitors in school history. The standout helped lead some of the most successful Caltech teams ever, as he helped the Beavers to three straight SCIAC championships – one outright – and three straight titles at the conference tournament. In the four years Zieve competed, the team boasted records of 13-2, 8-5-1, 15-1, and 9-5, including an undefeated 4-0 conference record in 1969-70. Zieve captained the squad in his senior season.
The wrestler earned All-SCIAC honors in every year of action, earning one First Team selection and three Second Team nods. As a first-year, he won every match he entered, and he placed first at the league tournament his sophomore season.
Outside of regular season and conference play, Zieve qualified and competed in the NAIA District 3 Championships all four years – winning the title once, finishing runner-up twice, and finishing third one time. He is one of just four NAIA Dist. 3 champions in program history.
He is the two-time winner of the Thomas W. Latham Trophy and was named the Caltech Most Outstanding Athlete in 1973.
