JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – A program that won a pair of national championships, one of the greatest relay squads in Blue Tiger history, and five impressive individuals will join the Lincoln Athletic Hall of Fame in a special ceremony on Friday, April 24 in the Scruggs University Center Ballroom at 6:00 p.m. CDT.
 
The individuals entering the Hall of Fame this year include: David Cochran (football); Alfred Larry (track & field); Cedric Ridle, Jr. (basketball); Vernon Shelton, Jr. (golf); and Darrell Thomas (basketball).
 
Additionally, the 1968-71 men's 4x110m relay team and the 2006 women's track & field program will also be enshrined into the Lincoln Athletic Hall of Fame.
 
The 2006 Women's Track & Field Team swept the national championships during both the indoor and outdoor seasons, winning the fifth and sixth national titles in program history. Lincoln won the 2006 NCAA Division II Indoor Championship with 87 points, easily beating runner-up Abilene Christian, which scored 50.33. Kerry-Ann Robinson won the triple jump and Davita Prendergast won the championship in the 200m while the Blue Tigers turned in 11 other All-American performances to claim their second-ever national title in the sport of indoor track & field.

The Blue Tigers were even more impressive during the 2006 outdoor track & field season, winning the NCAA Division II championship for the third-straight year after scoring 93 points. Lincoln won three individual championships, with Janika Martell sweeping both the 100m and the 200m while Prendergast took the title in the 400m with a record-breaking time of 51.29. Lincoln also won national championships in the 4x100m and 4x400m relays, and LU recorded eight other All-American performances.
 
From 1968-71, Lincoln's 4x110m Relay Team was nigh unbeatable, winning or finishing among the top-four in the event in nearly every meet in which it competed. Consisting of James Amerison, Tyrone Hunt, Harold Sims and Walter Walker, all of four of whom are already individually enshrined in the Lincoln Athletic Hall of Fame, the 4x110m relay team broke multiple meet and facility records during its three years of dominance. The foursome broke the LU record by posting a time of 40.8 at the 1970 Drake Relays, and won the event at the prestigious Arkansas Relays in 1971.
 
David Cochran started his career as a defensive lineman on the Lincoln football team in 1982 as a walk-on, but ended it in 1985 as a two-time All-MIAA selection. Cochran posted 149 tackles during his junior and senior seasons, and was selected to play in the 1986 Freedom Bowl Classic, an HBCU all-star game. Following his career as a Blue Tiger, Cochran became a tremendously successful high school coach, leading Cheyenne High to a league championship and seven-straight playoff appearances. Cochran has coached two players who were subsequently drafted into the National Football League: Quinton Carter (Denver Broncos) and D.J. Campbell (Carolina Panthers).
 
A five-time All-American, Alfred Larry won the NCAA Division II championship in the 120-yard high hurdles in 1975 with a time of 13.7, which was, at the time, the third-quickest in the history of the national meet. Larry won MIAA championships in the 60-yard and 120-yard high hurdles twice during his illustrious career, and he also won races against some of the best competition in the country at the Drake Relays and the Kansas Relays during his four-year career between 1971-75. Larry was the national runner-up in the 120-yard high hurdles in 1974, and, during his time at Lincoln, earned three All-American accolades in the 120-yard high hurdles; one All-American award as a member of LU's 4x200m relay team; and another All-American honor in the 60-yard high hurdles.
 
A two-time All-MIAA selection, Cedric Ridle, Jr. scored 1,225 points during his three-year career with the Lincoln men's basketball team from 2010-13. Ridle led the MIAA in scoring with 21.0 points per contest in 2012-13, becoming just the fifth player in Lincoln history to accomplish that feat, and he was the only league player to make at least 200 field goals that season, finishing with 213. Ridle was named to the All-MIAA second team as a senior, following an all-league honorable mention accolade as a junior, and he currently ranks second all-time in program history in steals with 118. Ridle averaged 16.8 points per game and 5.8 rebounds, and his 1.6 career steals per contest are the sixth-most in the history of the team.
 
In 1966, Vernon Shelton, Jr. made history by becoming the first African-American to make the Lincoln men's golf team. The trailblazer never played below the fourth slot, and was LU's captain and number one golfer during his senior season in 1969-70. Shelton was selected to play in the NCAA Championship tournament in 1970, and qualified for the NCAA regional tournament twice.
 
Darrell Thomas is one of the best scorers in the history of the Lincoln men's basketball program, ranking 10th in team history in both total points (1,295) and field goals made (564). Thomas, who averaged 13.6 points per game for his career, including 15.0 ppg. in 1980-81 and 16.2 ppg. in 1979-80, led the Blue Tigers to 60 wins between 1978-82 and finished with a career field goal percentage of .479. In 1980-81, Thomas led LU to a 22-8 record as well as the MIAA regular season championship.
 
The Lincoln Athletic Hall of Fame was established in 2008 and will now be comprised of 106 members. Inductees are nominated by their peers and voted upon by a select panel of Lincoln administrators and alumni. A minimum of five years must pass before any athlete, coach, team or administrator is eligible for the Hall of Fame. Athletes must have earned a minimum of two varsity letters at Lincoln while coaches and administrators must have been on the LU staff for a minimum of five years. Qualifications are based mainly upon the nominees' performance at Lincoln, although accomplishments post-graduation may also be considered.