Page 26 - Laker Connection 2014

H. Mason Barfield Alex Dowling Carlos Head Nkiru Okosieme
CLAYTON STATE ANNOUNCES FIRST INDUCTEES TO ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME
by Gid Rowell
Last fall, the Clayton State University Athletic Department es- tablished a Hall of Fame. And now is the time to recognize its first class of inductees.
From public nominations, the Clayton State Athletics Hall of Fame Committee selected four members for the initial class; retired Athletic Director H. Mason Barfield, former men’s soc- cer player Alex Dowling, former men’s basketball player Car- los Head and former women’s soccer player Nkiru Okosieme. The Hall of Fame Class of 2014 were recognized at a Hall of Fame induction ceremony on May 30, 2014.
This initial class of the Clayton State University Hall of Fame includes the architect of the department’s success, Mason Barfield, and three student-athletes who exemplify what a stu- dent-athlete is supposed to be; Dowling, Head and Okosieme competed not only at a national level in their sport but also excelled in the classroom. All four of these inductees made huge impacts while at Clayton State and certainly can be great role models for our current and future student-athletes.
MASON BARFIELD
A native of Hahira, Ga., Barfield served as Clayton State’s first athletic director and first men’s basketball coach (from 1990 to 1995.) He laid the groundwork for the program, be- ginning in 1990, and oversaw and led the program for more than 20 years until his retirement in 2011. The University also recognized Barfield by naming the basketball floor at the Ath- letics Center in his honor in 2012.
Barfield was instrumental in establishing the Laker sports pro- grams in the early 1990s and also in Clayton State’s transition to NCAA Division II in 1995. After the first few years of tran- sition into the Peach Belt Conference, Laker athletics began to take shape at the Division II level in 2000. Under Barfield’s leadership from 2000 to 2011, Clayton State won 15 Peach Belt Conference regular season championships and finished conference runner-up on 12 occasions. In addition, Laker teams won eight Peach Belt tournament titles and finished as tournament runner-up four times, establishing Clayton State as an elite power in the league.
At the national level, Clayton State teams advanced to the NCAA Division II National Tournament 48 times during that span, including three “Final Four,” six “Elite Eight” and four- teen “Sweet 16” appearances. The culmination of that success was in 2011 when the Laker women’s basketball team cap- tured the school’s first NCAA Division II national champi- onship.
ALEX DOWLING
A native of Benoni, South Africa, Dowling was a four-year letterwinner (2001, 2003-05) and one of the most decorated men’s soccer players in Laker history. He was a two-time NCAA Division II All-American in 2004 and 2005, a two-time NCAA Division II All-Southeast Region selection and a two- time All-Peach Belt member.
24 THE LAKER CONNECTION