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Caltech Athletics Announces 10th Annual Hall of Honor Class

Published on Thursday, August 29, 2024 | 5:54 am
 

Caltech Athletics, Physical Education and Recreation named seven impactful Beavers to the 10th Hall of Honor Class, to be officially inducted this fall during Caltech Alumni Weekend.

Martin Walt ’50, Eric Musselman, Gregory Griffin ’75, Michael Greene ’96, Ryan Elmquist ’11, Paige Logan ’14 and Rebekah Kitto ’14 make up the 2024 Hall of Honor class and will be honored in an induction ceremony at Scott Brown Gymnasium. The invitation-only event will be live-streamed for free on Oct. 19 at 4 p.m. Pacific Time on the SCIAC Network.

Ryan Elmquist ’11

Men’s Basketball

Elmquist collected an incredibly lengthy list of individual accomplishments in his four years, but perhaps his most crowning achievement is his single-game performance on February 22, 2011 as he led Caltech Men’s Basketball to its first conference win in 26 years to break a 310-game losing streak. The senior scored a game-high 23 points with nine rebounds and four blocks as the Beavers topped rival Occidental College, 46-45.

Throughout his career, Elmquist impressed both on the court and in the classroom. In 2011, Elmquist notably earned A D3Hoops.com 3rd Team selection — the first Caltech player ever to receive such a selection — and was named Caltech’s Most Outstanding Athlete. One year earlier, he won Caltech’s Male Athlete of the Year. He received the Ted Ducey Award as awarded by the SCIAC and became Caltech’s first-ever CoSIDA Capital One Academic All-America First Team selection. He further earned three NABC Honors Court nods, was named team MVP (Vesper Trophy) three times and collected two SCIAC All-Academic Team selections.

The star broke the school record for blocks in a single season with 50 in 2010, before topping his own record with 51 in his senior season. He also broke the school record for career blocks, with 157. He still holds school records for free throws made in a game (17) and career (414).

By the time of his graduation in spring of 2011, Elmquist had joined the prestigious 1000-point and 500-rebound clubs. At that time, he ranked second in program history for career points scored (1,254) and single-season 3-point percentage (.415 in 2007-08); he also ranked seventh in career rebounds (531) as well as ninth in single-season points (395 in 2010-11) and scoring average (12.5/g). He played in 100 career games and started in all 25 contests his senior season, in which he led the team in points, blocks, free throws made and ranked second in rebounding. He led that 2010-11 squad to five wins – the program’s best record since 1995 and most victories against NCAA opponents in 50 years. Elmquist went on to work for Google after graduation.

Michael Greene ’96

Men’s Swim & Dive, Men’s Water Polo

Greene enters the Hall of Honor after an accomplished career in the water, collecting three All-SCIAC nods in swimming and two All-SCIAC selections in water polo.

A Caltech Outstanding Athlete (1996), two-time Caltech Male Athlete of the Year (1995, 1996), four-time Campbell Trophy Winner (one of just two ever) and two-time Men’s Water Polo Coach’s Cup winner, Greene played a major role in the success of both teams, serving as captain for both programs.

In swimming, Greene cemented his name in the history books at the 1996 SCIAC Championships, nabbing the 400 IM title in a stacked and exhilarating race. One year earlier at the 1995 Championships, the star made history in the 50-yard freestyle with a school record-breaking time of 21.61 seconds; this came on top of a fourth-place finish in the 400 IM.

The 1994 Conference Champs saw Greene lead the Beavers to a new school record in the 200-yard freestyle relay; the team made history with a blazing 1:30.55 performance. One year earlier — in just his first collegiate season — the standout finished runner-up at the meet in the 400 IM.

Greene also picked up major points in regular season dual meets throughout his career, helping lead the Beavers to 11 regular season wins.

In water polo, the standout’s two All-SCIAC Second Team nods come in addition to multiple other accolades. Greene received the title of Most Valuable Freshman and collected All-Tournament honors at the 1995 Caltech Classic Water Polo Tournament, leading the team in scoring with 12 goals. He often led the group in scoring while also playing at a high level on the defensive end.

Gregory Griffin ’75

Men’s Cross Country, Men’s Track & Field

After earning three All-SCIAC First Team selections in Cross Country, two All-SCIAC nods in Track & Field, Caltech’s 1975 Most Outstanding Athlete and a barrage of school records, Griffin to this day stands as one of the most decorated runners in Caltech history.

The star jumped from 32nd place at the 1971 SCIAC XC Championships his rookie season to an incredible third place finish one year later, leading the Beavers to a third-place team performance — their best finish in a decade. The team MVP went on to cross the line in ninth at the NAIA District III meet, leading the group to a top-10 finish. Griffin continued his dominance as an upperclassman, earning fifth place at the conference championship meet in both of his final years. The distance specialist qualified and competed at both the ’72 and ’73 NAIA National Cross Country Championships.

On the track, the standout earned runner-up at the 1973 SCIAC Championships in the 3-Mile (14:25.6) and third in the distance at the 1974 Championships (14:45.8).

Griffin earned school records in the 3000-meters (8:36.54, converted from 2-mile), 5000-meters (14:52.24, converted from 3-mile), 10,000-meters (31:14.34, converted from 6-mile); he also set a Caltech record in the marathon (2:37.11).

The runner held the 3000m record for an entire half-century before Rohun Agrawal ’25 surpassed him this past spring; Griffin held the 5000m record for 41 years until Aditya Bhagavathi ’16 beat him out. The legend held the 10K record for 49 seasons before Joey Litvin ’23 set a new mark; Griffin still holds Caltech’s all-time marathon record.

Rebekah Kitto ’14

Women’s Tennis, Volleyball

With four All-SCIAC First Team selections, multiple school records and an NCAA National Singles Championship appearance, Kitto proved herself as perhaps the best women’s tennis player in Caltech history.

The dominant player holds the school record in career singles wins with 53 as part of an incredible 53-11 record (30-8 vs. SCIAC). Kitto also ranks first in program history in single-season singles wins (19) and career doubles wins (34). She sits tied for third all-time in single-season doubles wins, with 12. The star earned the title of Caltech Female Athlete of the Year for two straight years (2012, 2013) and was a four-time team MVP.

In her final year as a Beaver, she picked up nine wins and ranked as high as ninth regionally and 44th nationally among all Div. III singles players. She made history after qualifying for the NCAA National Tournament in singles, becoming just the second-ever female Caltech athlete to compete in back-to-back NCAA Championships.

Her junior season, she recorded an unbelievable 19-0 record (10-0 vs. SCIAC) prior to NCAA singles tournament play, where she won an additional two matches. Six of her 21 total wins came over regionally-ranked opponents. That year, Kitto ranked as high as seventh regionally and 32nd in the nation for singles, playing the entire season at either the No. 1 or No. 2 spot. In doubles, she picked up 13 wins.

This campaign came after an incredible sophomore year in which Kitto went 13-1 in singles action (8-1 vs. SCIAC) – all in the first position. She dropped just four sets all season. In doubles, the star earned seven impressive victories. As a rookie, Kitto collected 12 dual match wins at the top singles position as part of a 12-4 record (7-3 vs. SCIAC foes).

While known for her dominant tennis career, Kitto also played volleyball, where she connected for over 100 kills, 18 aces, 13 assists and 26 total blocks. The scholar graduated with a degree in Chemistry in 2014.

Paige Logan ’14

Women’s Track & Field, Women’s Basketball, Volleyball

Very few student-athletes collect All-Conference honors all four years during their collegiate careers; perhaps even fewer competed in three different sports over the course of their time as an undergraduate. Paige Logan accomplished both. It comes as no surprise, then, that she earned Caltech’s 2014 Women Athlete of the Year award.

Logan earned All-SCIAC four years across six competitions at the SCIAC Track & Field Championships. The standout’s best result came in the shot put her senior season, where she won the conference title with a throw of 41 feet, 5 inches. She also placed third in the hammer throw (140’3″). The accomplishments came after she posted a second-place result in shot put in 2013, a fourth-place shot-put finish in 2012, and second-place finishes in both shot put and discus in 2011.

The star broke the school record in shot put (41′ 9 ¾”) — a record she still holds today. She also broke the program’s hammer throw record (145′ 3″), a mark she held for nine seasons before Meg Robertson ’24 narrowly surpassed the record.

The incredible athlete also played remarkably during her four years on the volleyball team. Logan graduated from the Institute as the career leaders in kills (554); she currently holds records in most kills in a match (25), most kills per set (3.16) and most blocks in a match (10). As of this writing, she ranks second in school history for career blocks (122), third in career kills (554) and third in single-season blocks (53). The Los Altos native led the team in kills her final two seasons.

Logan also played basketball for the Beavers before having to give it up mid-career due to four concussions. In her debut season, she played 21 games with 12 starts. One of her strongest performances came on February 3, 2011, as she put in 21 points with seven rebounds and two blocks in 29 minutes against the University of La Verne. The Beaver graduated with a double degree in geophysics and environmental science and engineering before earning her master’s in physical oceanography from the University of Washington.

Harold “Hal” Musselman

Administration, Coach (Baseball, Football, Men’s Basketball)

Musselman donned a plethora of caps during his long and illustrious career at the Institute, leading five decades of Caltech student-athletes and playing a critical role in the athletic department’s growth before his retirement in 1966.

The Illinois native and World War I Army Sergeant came to Caltech in 1921 as a physical education instructor, coach and part-time YMCA secretary before relinquishing his YMCA duties in 1923 to become Manager of Athletics on top of his other roles. In 1935, he became Assistant Director of Physical Education while continuing to serve as coach and Manager of Athletics. He kept up his coaching and managerial duties after becoming Director of Physical Education in 1942, handling all three roles until 1947 when he became Director of Athletics and Physical Education, overseeing the entire department. Musselman served in this role until 1964 before spending his final two years on campus as an advisor to the department.

Despite a dearth of student-athletes and a glaring lack of on-campus athletic facilities – with no gymnasium, pool, fields, tennis courts or student center – the determined leader built up the program both prior to and after the finished construction of those facilities in the mid-1950s. As “Caltech News” wrote, Musselman “never stopped working to make the plans for modern athletic facilities at Caltech become a reality.”

Among many highlights under his tutelage include back-to-back SCIAC championships in football (1931, 1932) three conference titles in May 1945 (baseball, track & field, swimming) an undefeated and un-scored-on football season (1944) and a 63-60 double-overtime win over Long Beach State College in the first-ever intercollegiate basketball game played on campus, held in the new Scott Brown Gymnasium.

The legendary leader collected over 220 wins in his 26 years as varsity baseball coach, and many more as assistant and freshman coaches for football and men’s basketball.

Musselman received the Honorary Member Award from the Caltech Alumni Association in 1965; he passed away in 1971. As Caltech News wrote, “probably no man enjoyed his work at Caltech more than Hal.”

Martin Walt ’50

Men’s Track & Field

Walt cemented his name in SCIAC and Caltech history after collecting two conference titles in the pole vault and setting a school record in the process. His consistent high-level pole-vaulting skills played a major role in the team’s successes across the 1949 and 1950 campaigns; in 1950, he helped lead the Beavers to dual meet wins against all other schools in the SCIAC (Occidental, Pomona, Whittier and Redlands).

His school-record-clearing height of 13 feet, 4 ¾ inches topped the previous school record set 24 years earlier by Olympic silver medalist and fellow Hall of Honor inductee Glenn Graham ’26; Walt’s record stood for 17 years.

Walt served as Proxy of the Varsity Club and Vice President of Tau Beta Pi, the oldest engineering honor society and second-oldest collegiate honor society in the United States. He graduated in physics with honors from the Institute in 1950.

The outstanding student-athlete went on to earn a PhD in nuclear physics from the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 1953 before moving to New Mexico, where he spent three years working for the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory. From 1956 to 1992, he worked for Lockheed Missiles & Space in Palo Alto, where he conducted research and served in managerial roles. Specifically, the brilliant academic specialized in atmospheric and plasma physics, trapped radiation and space science.

Walt later became a Consulting Professor of Electrical Engineering at Stanford University where he continued his research while teaching courses. He passed away in 2021.

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