CATAWBA COUNTY SPORTS HALL OF FAME ANNOUNCES CLASS OF 2026 INDUCTEES
In recognition of their achievements in sports in Catawba County, the Hickory Metro Sports Commission is proud to announce five new members and a Team of Distinction to the Catawba County Sports Hall of Fame (CCSHOF) for the class of 2026.
This year’s inductees include former Hickory High School and National Football League kicker Ryan Succop, area sports journalist and North Carolina High School Athletic Association Hall of Famer Rick Strunk, Maiden High and Lenoir-Rhyne athlete Marcus Midgett, Fred T. Foard High and USC-Upstate softball standout Lexi Shubert Wilson, and Hickory-area high school basketball coach Gary Bowne.
The CCSHOF also selected the 1966 Hickory High School Football Team as this year’s “Team of Distinction.”
“The Catawba County Sports Hall of Fame committee is delighted to be presenting this outstanding group to be inducted in May,” said Frank Snider, chairman of the Catawba County Sports Hall of Fame Committee. “There are so many great athletes, coaches and contributors to sports in Catawba County that the selections are extremely difficult. This year’s class is diverse in the sports they participated in, their contributions and their ages. Also, our selections come from several different areas of the county. We hope the sports fans of this area will support the banquet on May 11. ”
Succop excelled in both soccer and football at Hickory. With the Red Tornadoes, he scored 104 career goals and twice received all-state honors. On the gridiron, Succop scored 255 points for Hickory, the most by a placekicker in school history. His 30 field goals at Hickory included a 53-yarder, the longest for a Red Tornado. Succop played college football at the University of South Carolina, where he was second team All-SEC and a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award. He went on to play 14 seasons in the NFL with the Kansas City Chiefs (2009-2013), Tennessee Titans (2014-2019) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2020-2022). As a pro, Succop connected on 82.9 percent of his field goals with a career long of 54 yards. He won a Super Bowl title with the Buccaneers in 2020.
Strunk played basketball locally at Newton-Conover before attending North Carolina on a Morehead Scholarship. After graduation, Strunk worked in local media outlets in Catawba County with the Observer News Enterprise and WNNC Radio. He was also the Sports Information Director at Lenoir-Rhyne College and Furman University. Strunk’s greatest impact was with the NCHSAA from 1986-2015. With that organization, Strunk was the Directory of Special Programs and was as an Associate Commissioner working in media relations. He edited the organizations sports record book, and was the chairman of the National Federation’s National Records Committee. He was inducted into the NCHSAA Hall of Fame in 2014.
Midgett was a two-sport athlete in football and track-and-field at both Maiden High (1954-58) and Lenoir-Rhyne College (1958-1961). While playing collegiately, Midgett was named the Bears’ Most Outstanding Freshman. Later he was an All-State Selection during Lenoir-Rhyne’s NAIA National Championship team in 1960. Midgett was inducted into Lenoir-Rhyne’s sports Hall of Fame in 1991. In his hometown of Maiden, Midgett was a long-time Youth League football coach, and served on the Town Council and was Mayor Pro-Tem. He received the Order of the Long Leaf Pine in 2020. Maiden High added Midgett to the Wall of Honor in 2025.
Lexi Shubert was nearly unhittable during her four years in the pitching circle at Fred T. Foard. She posted an 89-19 record with a 0.44 ERA and struck out 1290 batters in 727.1 innings. Shubert named to the All-Northwestern 3A-4A Conference team all four seasons (2010-2013). She was the 3A West Region pitcher of the year in 2012 and 2013. Her high school career culminated with her selection as the NC Gatorade Player of the Year. She also excelled collegiately at USC-Upstate with All-Conference honors in 2014, 2015 and 2017, with trips to the NCAA Tournament in each of those seasons. Shubert was named the Conference Scholar Athlete of the Year in 2015 and 2017. Overall, with the Spartans, Shubert was 81-21 with seven saves and a 1.77 ERA. She struck out 626 batters in 663.3 innings.
Bowne coached for 31 seasons at Hickory High (1985-87), St. Stephens (1991-2011) and Hickory Christian Academy (2011-19), posting an overall record of 402-368 during his tenure. At St. Stephens, Bowne won five conference regular season championships and three conference titles. The Indians qualified for the NCHSAA playoffs in 17 of 20 season under Bowne, winning one sectional title and reaching the semi-final regional round once. With Hickory Christian, Bowne’s teams made the NCISAA playoffs six times in eight seasons, making the state quarterfinal round once. Bowne was the All-Star Coach for the West Team in the 2004 NC Basketball Coaches Association All-Star Game. He was a founding member of that organization in 1998. Bowne has been heavily involved in the “Coaches vs. Cancer” basketball game each year to raise awareness in the fight against cancer. From 1996 to 2011, St. Stephens and their opponents raised approximately $200,000, and another $100,000 while at Hickory Christian Academy for cancer research and treatment. In 2019, he was named a Coaches vs. Cancer National High School Champion by the American Cancer Society.
The 1966 Hickory Red Tornadoes finished 12-0 and won the Western North Carolina High School Athletic Association state title (no overall state championship was held in football that season). Hickory was ranked #1 in the final NCHSAA state poll. Led by coach Frank Barger, the Red Tornadoes outscored their opponents 465-56. Barger was named the North Carolina state coach of the year. All-State players included Ray Barger, Richard Dellinger, Mike Mallan, Jimmy Price, Hal Queen, and John Thompson. Dellinger and Mallan were also named to the Shrine Bowl and the East-West Coaches All-Star Game.
As part of the CCSHOF induction ceremony, the HMSC will once again recognize the top male and female scholar-athletes from each of the public and private schools throughout Catawba County. The top male and female scholar-athletes will each receive a $1,500.00 check to go towards a scholarship in their name to their college or university of their choice.
The induction ceremony will take place on Monday, May 11th at the Highland Recreation Center. Tickets for the event are $40 and can be purchased beginning March 2nd at Highland Rec., or by calling 828-322-7046. Tickets are also available at area high schools. For more information on the event, contact Candy Mashburn at cmashburn@hickorync.gov.
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