Jan. 20, 2012

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - SIUE softball and track and field alumnus Alicia DeShasier is one of five individuals elected for induction to the Great Lakes Valley Conference Hall of Fame as announced today by the conference office. The 2012 GLVC Hall of Fame Class will be honored at the Enterprise Rent-a-Car/GLVC Spring Awards Banquet at the Drury Plaza Hotel in St. Louis on Tuesday, May 22.

Joining DeShasier in the 2012 class is Northern Kentucky softball player Krystal Lewallen, Southern Indiana women's basketball star Eileen Weber, Northern Kentucky men's basketball coach Ken Shields, and long-time Northern Kentucky coach and administrator Jane Meier.

DeShasier was a two-sport student-athlete at SIUE from 2003-07, having excelled in both softball and track and field. As a member of the Cougar softball team from 2003-06, DeShasier was a first-team All-American, a three-time All-Great Lakes Region choice, a three-time All-Conference selection, and the GLVC's Player of the Year in 2006.

The Carrollton native spent time at every position on the diamond before finishing her career ranked in the program's top five in plate appearances (639), hits (230), RBIs (132), home runs (19), doubles (44), walks (79), stolen bases (94) and runs scored (160).

Following a successful softball career that included four NCAA Tournament bids and the 2006 Great Lakes Regional Championship, DeShasier joined the SIUE track and field team in 2007. Despite having never competed at the high school or collegiate level previously, she threw the nation's longest toss in the javelin at 50.23 meters (164-9) heading into the 2007 NCAA Division II Championships.

DeShasier graduated in 2007 with a civil engineering degree and has since gone on to become an elite-level international competitor in the javelin, winning a gold medal at the 2011 Pan American Games.

DeShasier is the fifth student-athlete to be named to the GLVC's Hall of Fame. She follows Michelle (Gilman) Cox, Misi Clark (women's basketball), Mark Bugger (baseball), and Jenny Esker (softball).

The 2012 GLVC Hall of Fame Class will be the 11th class to be inducted since the institution of the honor in 2002. There will be 49 GLVC Hall of Fame members with the inclusion of the 2012 class.

Click HERE for the full release from the GLVC.

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