Lyon to induct five into Athletic Hall of Fame

BATESVILLE — This year, Lyon College in Batesville will welcome five new members to its Athletic Hall of Fame with its annual banquet in Edwards Commons. Including these new members, the Hall claims 134 memorable athletes.

The reception to honor these inductees will be at 5:45 p.m. Saturday, and the banquet will start at 6:30 p.m. in Patterson Dining Hall at Edwards Commons on the Lyon College campus.

The first of the new inductees, Andy Bettis, class of ’07, was a member of the Scots’ baseball team from 2004 to 2007. As one of the top hitters in program history, Bettis continues to hold the records for all-time career home runs, 53, and alltime career hits, 260.

He left Lyon with a .356 batting average, ranking third all-time for a fouryear career, and during his senior season, he launched 18 home runs, the most for any Scot in a single season. Bettis was a three-time all-conference honoree for the 2005-07 seasons. He also earned NAIA second-team All-American accolades in 2005 and 2007.

Dr. Sam Cooke, class of ’06, played baseball for Lyon College from 2003 to 2006. He made an immediate impact on the Scots’ baseball program during his freshman season and played a significant role on some of the best teams in program history.

Cooke batted .358 for his career, tying for the top batting average of a fouryear player at Lyon College. In 2005, Cooke tied the Lyon baseball single-season hit record with 92 hits. At the end of his career, he boasted 231 total hits, the second-highest number in Lyon baseball history. With 18 home runs, Cooke is also tied for eighth all-time in career home runs.

Cooke was a two-time first-team All-TranSouth selection in 2004 and 2005. He also was named an NAIA All-American in 2005 and a second-team NAIA AllAmerican in 2006. Cooke earned the NAIA Champion of Character honor in 2006.

Cooke graduated from Lyon with a Bachelor of Science degree in biology in 2006. He continued his schooling after Lyon and earned a Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock.

Today, Cooke serves as a physician and partner of Medical Associates of Northwest Arkansas.

Gary Garner, class of ’72, was a member of Lyon’s men’s basketball team during the early 1970s, when he was named to the All-Arkansas Intercollegiate Team as an honorable mention. Garner averaged 15 points and 9 rebounds per game during his sophomore season and improved in his junior season, averaging a double-double at 16 points and 10 rebounds per game.

Garner was awarded the AIC Sportsmanship Award following the 1970-71 season. He also received honorable-mention honors for the AIC and NAIA. Garner earned a bachelor’s degree from Arkansas College (now Lyon College) in 1972. He then went on to earn a master’s degree at Arkansas State University in 1979 before receiving a secondary administration certificate.

Following his playing career at Lyon College, Garner coached two years at Strawberry High School, where he also served as the secondary principal until 1982, when he took the secondary principal position at Cashman High School, where he remained until he retired.

Katherine (Buchanan) Mayberry, class of ’85, ran for the Scots’ cross-country team during the early 1980s. In 1984, she earned allconference and NAIA AllDistrict 17 accolades. She became a national qualifier for cross country the same year. During her career, Mayberry was a member of seven championship teams — three cross-country and four track teams.

Apart from being a standout cross-country runner, Mayberry was a member of the Arkansas College volleyball team from 1981-82. She graduated from Arkansas College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in college physical education. Mayberry also earned a health minor at the University of Central Arkansas before receiving a Master of Education degree from Concordia University in Texas.

Following her athletic career at Arkansas College, Mayberry became the head basketball and track coach at Elaine, Arkansas, from 1985-1987. After her time at Elaine, she became a coach and a teacher at San Antonio Independent School District in Texas.

Yllen Rosales, class of ’05, was a member of the Scots’ volleyball team from 2001 to 2004. As a freshman, Rosales was named team captain, and she held that distinction for the rest of her career. In 2002, she set the single-season assist record with 1,421 assists, up from her 993 the season before.

Rosales ended her career with 3,533 assists, the most by any player in school history. She also chipped in on the defensive end of the court, ranking eighth all-time in career digs at 859. She was a two-time TranSouth All-Conference selection and was awarded the NAIA TranSouth Weekly and Regional Setter honors twice during her career. She graduated from Lyon with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree in 2005.

Rosales has remained heavily involved in volleyball, as she has coached indoor and beach volleyball for 13 years for highly competitive USA Junior Olympic and Athletic Amateur Union volleyball teams.

Rosales’ current club is one of the top elite programs in the Dallas Fort-Worth area. Rosales previously served as a club director for Southern Performance Volleyball, which held the honor as the No. 1 club in Alabama for six years. While at Southern Performance, Rosales traveled with the club to Japan for continuous volleyball coaching development and worked with the top Division I volleyball prospects in the United States.

She is a member of the Positive Coaching Alliance and the American Volleyball Coaches Association Mentoring Program. During her coaching career, Rosales coached several American Volleyball Coaches Association phenoms, JV A Watch List Recipients, AAU National All-Americans and AAU National Academic All-Americans.