The Smith-Cotton Athletic Hall of Fame will grow by four members on Friday, Feb. 21, with the inductions of Wesley Scott Swain, Steve Stonecipher-Fisher, B.J. Curry and Dr. Earl Finley.

The ceremony will be held at about 7 p.m., between the S-C girls and boys varsity basketball Courtwarming games against Nevada.

Swain, a member of S-C’s Class of 1988, was a five-time letter winner, three times in soccer and twice in tennis. Swain earned All-District honors three times, Second Team All-State twice and First Team All-State his senior year, when he also was the first S-C player selected to the All-Midwest team. In tennis, Swain was a member of the only S-C team to go undefeated in the regular season, with the Tigers closing the 1988 season as state runners-up.

Fisher, a 1975 S-C graduate, won the two-mile run at the 1975 state outdoor track meet in a then-record 9:16.4. At the University of Missouri, he set the school record in the 10,000-meter run, a time that stood up for more than 23 years. He still holds the thee-mile indoor record at Mizzou and was a member of the school’s last conference championship team, the 1979 Big Eight indoor champions.

A member of Smith-Cotton High’s Class of 1977, Curry played varsity golf three years, beginning his sophomore year. He went on to play at Central Missouri State, now known as the University of Central Missouri, from 1977 to 1981, playing in the NCAA Division II National Golf Championship in 1979, 1980 and 1981. Starting in 1990, Curry coached S-C’s boys and girls golf teams for 24 years. His Lady Tigers teams won the MSHSAA State Team Championships from 1990 to 1993 and finished third in 1994 and ’95.

Finley came to Smith-Cotton High as a teacher and coach in 1959, coaching football, basketball and baseball. He found his greatest success in baseball, leading the Tigers to Central Missouri Conference titles five times and taking second place in the state tournament in 1965. After teaching and coaching, Dr. Finley became an administrator, serving as S-C’s principal for eight years. In 2002, Dr. Finley was named a “Pioneer in Education” by DESE in recognition of his distinguished career and contributions to public education.

In the photos: B.J. Curry addresses the crowd during the Smith-Cotton Athletic Hall of Fame induction of the Lady Tigers 1990-91 golf team in February 2016. A one-time PGA golfer, Curry will be inducted in the Hall of Fame for his playing and coaching accomplishments on Friday, Feb. 21.

Sedalia School District 200
Sedalia School District 200
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