Courtesy: Hokie Sports
BLACKSBURG – The Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame announced the addition of eight well-accomplished members as part of its 2024 induction class on Monday.
The 2024 class of inductees include:
Jeff Artis-Gray, a five-time All-American with the men’s track & field program that holds four program records.
Larsen Bowker, a former men’s and women’s tennis coach that hoisted three Atlantic 10 titles.
Duane Brown, a two-time All-ACC football honoree that became Tech football’s seventh first-round NFL Draft selection.
Dave Cianelli, a 20-time ACC Coach of the Year with the Hokies’ track & field program that has guided 20 individual national champions at Virginia Tech.
Brittany Pryor, a six-time All-American for the women’s track & field program with six conference titles.
Heather Savage, a two-time All-American with two ACC crowns in the 100 butterfly.
Logan Shinholser, Virginia Tech’s most decorated diver with four All-America honors.
Tyrod Taylor, a three-time ACC champion, the 2010 ACC Player of the Year and Tech’s all-time winningest starting quarterback.
The eight-member class will be officially inducted Friday, Sept. 20 at The Inn at Virginia Tech, and will be recognized during halftime of the VT/Rutgers football game on Saturday, Sept. 21 at Lane Stadium. Single-game inventory is currently unavailable, but fans can sign up to be notified when/if inventory becomes available again. The best way to ensure your attendance for the game is by purchasing season tickets, starting at $325.
Sport: Men’s track and field
Years at Virginia Tech: 2011-13
Artis-Gray wrapped up a heralded career, which included five All-America recognitions, at Virginia Tech in 2013. The Chesapeake, Va., native claimed the long jump at the 2013 ACC Indoor Championship and set four school records in the long jump (indoor and outdoor), 60-meter hurdles (indoor) and 110-meter hurdles (outdoor).
In 2011, Artis-Gray’s tenure with Tech started strong, as he used a season-best showing in the NCAA East Regional to qualify for his first NCAA Outdoor Championships, in which he finished 18th. He would set a then-school record (7.60m) in the long jump the following year at the NCAA East prelims, bettering Jerry Gaines’ record that was held for 41 years – the longest standing mark in Tech’s record book at the time.
Artis-Gray’s run of All-America honors began in 2012 at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, as he was the lead-off leg on the 4×100 meter relay team that finished 13th and second team All-America. In that same championship event, Artis-Gray placed 13th in the long jump with a 7.48m mark, earning him another second team All-America nod.
During the 2013 indoor season, Artis-Gray would earn his first ACC title in the long jump shattering Ken Stewart’s 30-year record with his mark of 7.87m at the 2013 ACC Indoor Championships. Another All-America honor would come with the 4×100-meter relay team in 2013, too.
Artis-Gray’s first of two first-team All-America recognitions came at the 2013 NCAA Indoor Championships, placing seventh overall in the long jump with a mark of 7.78m. He would double his first-team fortunes later that year at the 2013 NCAA Outdoor Championships, landing a 7.85m long jump, which was good for a fifth-place finish, the highest of his career.
LARSEN BOWKERSport: Men’s and women’s tennis
Years at Virginia Tech: 1979-98
Bowker coached tennis at Virginia Tech for 18 seasons, including 12 with the Hokies’ men’s tennis program through the 1997-98 academic year before retiring the summer of 1998. While at Tech, he guided the Hokies to three Atlantic 10 championships, along with reaching the finals of the NCAA Region I tournament in his final two seasons.
Starting in Blacksburg as coach of the women’s team in 1979, Bowker guided the team to a 35-26 record through 1983. Under his guidance, the program won the Mid-Atlantic Tennis Championships in 1982, finished second in the state on two occasions and finished in the top four of the conference in each of Bowker’s final three seasons. He oversaw the development of Andrea Fink, the 1982 Metro Conference singles champion.
As the leader of the men’s team, eight players earned All-Metro Conference honors and four others earned All-Atlantic 10 Conference honors under Bowker’s watch. Aaron Marchetti won Atlantic 10 Player of the Year on three occasions under Bowker, while Oliver Mayo won the same award in 1996. Marchetti, currently an assistant coach at Virginia Tech, and Mayo, are two of the program’s three All-Americans. Largely because of Bowker’s guidance and their ability, both of those players have already been inducted into the Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame.
Bowker saw Virginia Tech’s program establish championship pedigree in his time with three Atlantic 10 championships, along with posting a 196-81 (.708) all-time record and being named conference Coach of the Year on two occasions. In 1997, Bowker was named the NCAA Region I Coach of the Year, as well.
DUANE BROWNSport: Football
Years at Virginia Tech: 2004-07
Brown, a Richmond, Va., native, had a prolific two-time All-ACC career at Virginia Tech between 2004 and 2007, playing a pivotal role in two ACC championship-winning teams. Following his time in Blacksburg, he became Tech’s second offensive lineman to be selected in the first round of an NFL Draft.
Taking a unique path in his collegiate career, Brown first saw the field in 2004 as a tight end, making 13 appearances in his redshirt-freshman season. In 2005, he transitioned to the offensive line, which he anchored from 2005 to 2007. Brown started the final 40 games of his career across those three years on the offensive line.
Brown’s first All-ACC team honor came in the 2006 season, which saw the Hokies post a 10-3 record that included wins over No. 10 Clemson and No. 14 Wake Forest. In the 2007 season, the Hokies would claim another ACC title, while Brown picked up all-conference recognition and his second Offensive Lineman of the Year honor from the Richmond Touchdown Club.
Perhaps just as impressive as his position switch, the 6-foot-5, 300-pounder played on special teams during his career, recording four tackles on the punt team as a junior and two as a senior. He blocked three kicks in his career, including an extra point and a field goal in the Hokies’ 30-16 victory over BC in the 2007 ACC Championship Game.
A first-round draft pick by Houston in the 2008 NFL Draft, Brown spent a decade with the Texans, starting on the offensive line. He was then traded to Seattle, spending five seasons with the Seahawks, before playing with the New York Jets the past two years. He is a five-time Pro Bowler and has been named to the All-Pro first or second team on three occasions, while making 218 starts in the league.
DAVE CIANELLISport: Track and field, cross country
Years at Virginia Tech: 2001-24
Cianelli, widely regarded as one of the most accomplished coaches in Virginia Tech history and across the country, is capping off his illustrious career in 2024. As of May 2024, the 20-time ACC Coach of the Year led 20 NCAA individual champions (the most in Virginia Tech history), 352 All-America recipients and 261 ACC individual champions.
At the team level, the Hokies achieved four top-five finishes at the NCAA Championships, along with 13 top-10 displays since 2001. Tech claimed 22 ACC team titles under Cianelli’s watch. In 2007, the Hokies won both the indoor and outdoor conference titles, a feat they would accomplish three more times between the men’s and women’s programs. The Hokies had 18 ACC Track and Field Performers of the Year under Cianelli, as well.
In 2010, Queen Harrison was tabbed the Bowerman Award winner, an honor bestowed on the most outstanding male and female track and field athlete each year since 2009. Harrison was one of Cianelli’s 10 Olympic qualifiers at Virginia Tech. Eight Hokies became World Championship qualifiers under his watch, as well.
A 19-time TFCCCA Southeast Region Coach of the Year, Cianelli saw 118 new school records set under his watch.
In total, Cianelli has worked with 74 NCAA individual champions, 499 All-America recipients, 390 individual conference champions, 32 World Championship and 22 Olympics qualifiers. Dating back to his time as an assistant at SMU, he’s been part of 32 team conference championships.
BRITTANY PRYORSport: Women’s track and field
Years at Virginia Tech: 2006-09
Pryor, a six-time All-American in track and field, claimed six ACC titles in just three full seasons at Virginia Tech. To this day, she holds five top-10 marks in program history across the shot put (indoor and outdoor), hammer throw, weight throw and discus throw.
While with the Hokies, Pryor set school records in the shot put (indoor and outdoor) and discus throw. Her indoor shot put mark of 16.70m and 52.69m outdoor discus record held the top spot for 13 seasons.
In 2007, Pryor picked up her first All-America honor with a seventh-place finish in the shot put at the NCAA Indoor Championships. The Niagara Falls, N.Y., native would add her second in the 2007 NCAA Outdoor Championships with a ninth-place finish in the shot put as a redshirt-sophomore. In the same events, Pryor earned her first pair of ACC titles that season.
The following year, Pryor grabbed another seventh-place finish at the 2008 NCAA Indoor Championships, while adding an All-America nod in the hammer throw with a seventh-place finish at the 2008 NCAA Outdoor Championships. That season saw Pryor tally three ACC titles: shot put (indoor), weight throw (indoor) and shot put (outdoor). At that point, she was the first Hokie athlete to win two indoor ACC titles in the same season.
Pryor wrapped up her career with Virginia Tech in 2009 adding an ACC title in the discus throw and an All-America honor in the hammer throw at the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Championships, along with an 11th-place finish in the shot put. With her last honor, Pryor became the fifth women’s track and field athlete at Tech to earn six or more All-America recognitions.
Sport: Women’s swimming
Years at Virginia Tech: 2010-13
In three seasons at Virginia Tech, Savage cemented herself among the Hokie greats with a career that included ACC titles, All-America honors, school records and a pair of ACC Swimming and Diving Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards.
Savage was named the team’s Most Valuable Performer for the 2011-12 season, in which she became the ACC champion in the 100 butterfly, while setting ACC, school and pool records at the time, some of which she would go on to beat. At the 2012 NCAA Championships, she became the first women’s swimmer at Tech to become an All-American by placing seventh in the 100 butterfly. In that season, Savage would also claim her first ACC Swimming and Diving Scholar-Athlete of the Year award.
During 2012-13, Savage pieced together dominant performances across the board, winning all but five of 23 events she swam, and going undefeated in the 100 butterfly. She won three gold medals at the 2013 ACC Championships in the 200 medley relay, 400 medley relay and 100 butterfly, along with bronze in the 200 butterfly to reset the school record at a conference championship. To this day, Savage’s 100 butterfly record (51.78 seconds) set in 2013 still stands.
Savage became the first ACC women’s student-athlete to claim a second ACC Swimming and Diving Scholar-Athlete of the Year award in 2013 after joining fellow Virginia Tech hall of famer Sara Smith as the only Virginia Tech winner in 2012.
At the 2013 NCAA Championships, Savage finished her career being named an All-American in the 100 butterfly for the second straight year with an eighth-place finish. She also placed 33rd in the 200 butterfly, 37th in the 50 free and swam the third leg of the 200 medley relay to help Tech place 21st at the NCAA Championships.
LOGAN SHINHOLSERSport: Men’s diving
Years at Virginia Tech: 2009-13
As Virginia Tech’s most decorated diver, Shinholser had an incredible career that included four All-America honors and the Hokies’ only men’s diving ACC Championship. Outside of his time in Blacksburg, he represented the United States on the international stage and competed in the 2012 Olympic Trials in all four diving events.
In his freshman season, the Burtonsville, Md., native qualified for the 2010 NCAA Championships after winning the platform event at the Zone A Diving Championships. Shinholser’s first-year accomplishments were only a teaser of what was to come throughout his career.
Shinholser’s performance in the 2011 ACC Championships produced Virginia Tech’s first ACC Champion in diving and the program’s first champion in any conference in the platform event. As he advanced to the national stage, he became Tech’s first All-American diver and the second male All-American between swimming and diving.
His success continued into 2012, as Shinholser claimed gold at the ACC Championships in the 1-meter and 3-meter events. By winning the Zone A Diving Championship, he set himself up to claim three All-America honors at the 2012 NCAA Championships. With two ACC titles and three All-America nods to his claim, Shinholser became the first male swimmer and diver at Tech to be recognized with a performer of the year award, claiming the 2012 ACC Diver of the Year crown.
In 2013, Shinholser capped off his illustrious career with a fourth trip to the NCAA Championships and an All-America honorable mention finish in the platform event. A four-time All-ACC academic honoree, he was named the 2012-13 ACC Men’s Swimming and Diving Scholar-Athlete of the Year and graduated in 2014 with a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering.
TYROD TAYLORSport: Football
Years at Virginia Tech: 2007-10
Taylor, one of the most electric quarterbacks to take the field for Virginia Tech in its history, wrapped up his career as a three-time ACC champion. The Hampton, Va., native was the 2010 ACC Player of the Year, along with the MVP of that season’s ACC Championship game.
In 2009, Taylor’s passing game took major strides, as he threw for 2,311 yards and 13 touchdowns. The Hokies capped off another 10-win season that year with a 37-14 win over Tennessee in the 2009 Chick-Fil-A bowl, as Taylor passed for 209 yards and rushed for a touchdown.
Taylor’s career was capped off with a remarkable 2010 campaign, in which he set career highs in passing yards (2,473) and passing touchdowns (24). After an 0-2 start, the Hokies fired off 11 consecutive wins, headlined by a 44-33 ACC Championship game win over No. 20 Florida State. Passing for three scores and rushing for one, Taylor garnered MVP recognition en route to a third ACC championship.
At his career’s conclusion, Taylor posted a 34-8 record, the most wins by a starting quarterback at Virginia Tech. He stands as Tech’s second leading passer in school history with 7,017 yards and ran for the 15th-most yards in program history with 2,196. His 9,213 total yards rank second-most all-time at Virginia Tech.
Taylor was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in 2011 and won a Super Bowl with the team in 2012. In 2015, as the starting quarterback for the Buffalo Bills, Taylor set the franchise record for most rushing yards in a season by a quarterback, becoming the first Bills quarterback with over 500 yards rushing in a season. He was named to the Pro Bowl following the 2015 season. In 13 NFL seasons, Taylor has 12,135 yards and 65 touchdowns.