CSU Athletic Hall of Fame Announces Class of 2022

Two coaches and two former female student-athletes will be honored this fall.

By Josh Fuller

8/24/2022

COLUMBUS - Columbus State University Athletic Hall of Fame President Scott Miller announced the class of 2022 Wednesday afternoon.

Championship-winning coaches JD Evilsizer and Jonathan Norton and former Cougar student-athletes Moneque English and Michelle Mitchell will join the illustrious club this fall.

"I'm honored to welcome these remarkable individuals into the CSU Athletic Hall of Fame," commented Miller. "Coach Evilsizer and Coach Norton continued the Cougar winning tradition and impacted a countless number of student-athletes with their leadership. Moneque's and Michelle's statistical numbers and achievements speak for themselves, and we are lucky to be celebrating two of the greatest female athletes in Cougar history."

The ceremony honoring the class of 2022 will be a part of Columbus State University's Homecoming Week on Saturday, October 1.

Moneque English was one of the main contributors during one of the most dominant stretches in Peach Belt Conference women's cross country history. CSU's only four-time All-PBC runner, and one of only 11 in conference history, English helped the Lady Cougars to two PBC Championships (2009 & 2010), capping off a run of six straight by CSU. The CSU graduate was a two-time member of the NCAA All-Southeast Region team (2012 & 2013), including helping CSU to a region title in 2012. English was also a star on the first track & field team at Columbus State, still holding school records in the 4x800-meter relay and the 4x800-meter sprint medley relay. She is a member of the United States Air Force where she serves as a Diagnostic Imagining Instructor.

JD Evilsizer at a meet for the CSU track and field program.

JD Evilsizer closed out his career as one of the most decorated coaches in Columbus State history in 2020, winning 13 combined Peach Belt Conference cross country championships after taking over a program with zero titles. From 2006 until 2010, CSU swept the male and female PBC championships and added seven individual titles. He led the Lady Cougars to two NCAA regional titles (2009 & 2012), while the Cougars won their only regional championship in 2012 under Evilsilzer. CSU appeared in seven NCAA Championship appearances (4 men, 3 women) and coached CSU's lone three cross country All-Americans. Evilsizer was named the PBC Coach of the Year on four occasions (men's: 2006, '09, '10; women's: 2010) and the NCAA Southeast Region Coach of the Year twice (men's: 2012; women's: 2009, '12).
Evilsizer started to build the Columbus State track & field program from the ground up in 2010 and wasted no time in putting the Cougars and Lady Cougars on the national scene. Less than five months in, Evilsizer sent two individuals to the NCAA Championship. The program garnered its first All-American accolade that spring and went on to add 11 more under Evilsizer's tutelage. The legendary figure was integral in the PBC establishing a track & field championship with the inaugural conference championship in 2013. Later that year, he went on to win the conference's first-ever PBC Women's Track & Field Coach of the Year award that year.
The long-time Cougar spent 17 years on the CSU campus, also working time as a mathematics instructor.

Michelle Mitchell in a Lady Cougar basketball game.

Michelle Mitchell is the only two-time All-American in the storied history of the Columbus State women's basketball program, leading the Lady Cougars to back-to-back Peach Belt Conference regular-season and tournament championships during the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons. She was named the PBC Player of the Year in both of her seasons in Columbus, averaging 20.2 points per game in 63 contests. Mitchell's point per game average is the best in CSU history (minimum of 40 games) and the second best in PBC history, while her 42-point outburst against Clayton State University during the 2014-15 season still stands as the school record. She is the program's all-time leader in field goals made (524) and is third in total points (1,274), fifth in field goal percentage (.477), and sixth in rebounds per game (8.0). The 2015 PBC Tournament MVP also stood out in the classroom earning spots on the CoSIDA Academic All-District team in 2015 and 2016, graduating from CSU with a degree in criminal justice. Mitchell returned to the program this summer to assist the staff as a graduate assistant coach.

Jonathan Norton in a huddle during a women's basketball game.

Jonathan Norton spent 14 years on the Columbus State women's basketball coaching staff, including the final seven seasons as the head coach of the Lady Cougars. Norton took the reigns from his mentor, and fellow Hall of Fame coach, Jay Sparks for the 2009-10 season and continued CSU's winning ways. In his seven seasons, CSU went 141-61 for a .698 winning percentage and made three straight NCAA Tournament appearances from 2014-16. The Lady Cougars swept both the 2014-15 and 2015-16 PBC regular-season and tournament championships and won the program's first NCAA Tournament game in nearly a decade in 2016. Norton was named the PBC Coach of the Year twice (2015 & 2016), while picking up the WBCA Southeast Region Coach of the Year award in 2016.
As an assistant coach, Norton helped Columbus State to two NCAA DII final four appearances (2000 & 2001). He was also the head cross country coach for CSU (1996-2002) and was named the PBC Coach of the Year in 2009.

CSU Athletic Hall of Fame Members

Established in 1996 to honor and memorialize those individuals who made major contributions to their individual sport and the university, the Columbus State Athletic Hall of Fame currently has 108 members.

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