2011 Hall of Fame Class to be inducted Saturday

Four former student-athletes comprise the 2011 Western Carolina University Athletics Hall of Fame class announced on July 6th 2011. The 22nd class will be inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fame on the weekend of November 4-6, 2011.


"Terry Helms (Track & Field, Cross Country, 1968-72) amassed 15 individual event championships and guided WCU to three district championships as a distance runner almost single-handedly putting Catamount Cross Country on the map.  A native of Kannapolis, N.C., Helms won nine of the 11 meets the team entered as a freshman, while also setting five course records and pacing the Catamounts to a 25th-place finish in the NAIA national championship meet. In 1969, he claimed top podium honors in five meets while setting three course records before finishing sixth in the NAIA national championship meet to become WCU's first-ever All-American in cross country. Over his final two seasons in cross country, Helms led WCU finishes of 15th and a school-best 13th in the national championship event as a senior.

Following his graduation from WCU, Helms embarked on a 32-year teaching
career including 26 years at Ledford Middle School in Thomasville, N.C. He retired from teaching in 2007 before passing away from mesothelioma in 2008.

In 2010, Helms' college roommate at WCU - 1972 graduate Gaither Keener and his wife Beverly - created an endowed scholarship fund in Terry's memory. The Terry M. Helms Endowed Scholarship Fund provides scholarship support for one WCU track or cross country distance runner each year."

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"Todd Harkins (Football, 1989-92) was a three-time All-Southern Conference offensive lineman during his playing career at WCU, starting every game for four seasons at guard.  The Canton, N.C., product was the squad's top-rated blocker in both 1991 and `92, garnering second team All-America honors from The Sports Network and third team plaudits from the Associated Press in the latter. Over his last two seasons, he only surrendered one quarterback sack. Harkins is just one of 29 Catamount football players to earn All-America honors all-time, and just one of 20 since moving to NCAA Division I in 1976.

In 2000, Harkins was one of five offensive lineman selected to Western Carolina's 20th Century All-Time Football team which included players from 1931 through 1999. Of that group, he becomes the second to join the WCU Athletics Hall of Fame, joining 2006 inductee Mark Ferguson (1971-73).

A member of the Statesville Rotary Club and a 2000 inductee into the Pisgah High School Athletic Hall of Fame, Harkins has continued to be a strong supporter of Western Carolina since his graduation. He continually offers corporate sponsorship of various Catamount Club Golf Tour events such as the Catamount Classic and Bob Waters tournaments."

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"Chris Moore (Baseball,1996-99) was one of only three Western Carolina baseball players in school history to earn All-Southern Conference honors for four-consecutive seasons joining Freddie Hailey (1984-87) and Matt Raleigh (1989-92). A two-time All-America selection - garnering freshman All-America honors in 1996 and Collegiate Baseball Louisville Slugger All-America honors in '99 - Moore earned 1999 SoCon Player of the Year accolades, capping a string of three-straight seasons that a Catamount garnered top player honors.
At the time of his graduation, Moore not only led Western Carolina, but was the SoCon's all-time hits leader with 311, a mark that ranks him second in school history at the time of his induction. All told, Moore continues to rank inside the top 10 on 15 different statistical categories in the WCU record book including the program's all-time leader with 254 RBI, second in hits (311), doubles (68), runs scored (240) and total bases (545).

Moore, a Wilmington, N.C., native, was drafted in the 11th round of the 1999 Major League Baseball Draft by the Colorado Rockies and spent four years in the Rockies' system before embarking on his coaching career. His first stop as a coach came as an assistant at Davidson College in 2003 before spending five years at Lander University, the final four seasons as the program's head coach guiding the squad to as high as No. 17 in the NCAA Division II national rankings. After a season at West Georgia University, Moore spent the 2010 season coaching infielders and hitters at ASU.

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"Nardia Moore (Women's Soccer, 1999-2002) was the first-
ever signee for the WCU women's soccer program and was named to the WCU Women's Soccer 10th Anniversary Team in 2008. Named Soccer Buzz magazine's Freshman of the Year for First-Year programs in 1999, Moore remains Western Carolina's only three-time All-Southern Conference selection, garnering second team accolades from 1999 through 2002 and twice earning all-tournament recognition.

A native of Fountain Inn, S.C., Moore continues to rank atop two of WCU's career charts, while also owning a pair of single-season and single-game markers. She scored a school record 38 goals from 1999-02 - tied for eighth all-time in the SoCon - which includes a single-season record 15 in the inaugural season. She also ranks top the points tally with 96 career points including 38 in 1999 to hold the single-season record.

Moore, who owns both undergraduate and graduate degrees in special education / learning disorders from Western Carolina, helped lead the Catamounts to its first-ever women's soccer championship, sharing regular season honors with UNC Greensboro and Furman in 2001."

Courtesy: WCU Sports Information