NEW ORLEANS, La. – The United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced six inductees into the NCAA Division II Athlete Hall of Fame inductees on Thursday afternoon. The Class of 2023 includes Nikkisha Maynard and Moya Thompson of Lincoln (Mo.), both of whom graduated from LU in 2005.

Maynard, a former student-athlete at Lincoln University of Missouri from 2001 to 2005, came into her own as a sophomore and junior. Between 2003 and 2004, Maynard captured three NCAA titles and finished runner-up four other times. Maynard forever left her name among the NCAA DII annals in 2003 when she became the first – and still, only – athlete to win both the heptathlon and 100-meter hurdles at the same Championships. Those 20 points from Maynard went a long way in helping the Tigers win their first of five consecutive national titles. Maynard also stood out in the classroom, being named to the National Dean's List four times.

Thompson, an exceptional track and field athlete at Lincoln University of Missouri from 2002 to 2005, garnered an impressive nine NCAA titles (three individual, six relay) and snagged 14 All-American honors between the NCAA DII Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field Championships during her legendary career. All three of Thompson's individual titles came in the 400 meters, an event in which she won back-to-back outdoor crowns in 2003 and 2004, and then added the indoor version in 2005. The Blue Tigers thrived with Thompson as the anchor of their sprint relays: Lincoln won three consecutive 4×100 relay titles between 2002 and 2004, in addition to three 4×400 relay crowns in outdoors in 2003 and 2004 and one in indoors in 2005.

The complete USTFCCCA Division II Hall of Fame Class of 2023 can be found here.