NATCHITOCHES – Seven remarkable figures in Northwestern State's athletic history, including 2000 Olympian LaMark Carter along with All-Americans Reggie Gatewood and Marcus Spears, will be honored Saturday, Oct. 15 by the Graduate N Club during its annual Hall of Fame Ceremonies.
 
Joining Carter (track and field), Gatewood (baseball) and Spears (football) in the Hall of Fame's 2011 induction class are basketball great Roman Banks, softball star Sonja Olsen and Lady Demon tennis standout Vicky Sims Newsom. Former head baseball and assistant football coach Herbie Smith will receive the Graduate N Club's Distinguished Service Award in recognition of lifetime achievements and impact on NSU athletics.
 
They will be honored in 9 a.m. ceremonies on Oct. 15 at the Magale Recital Hall in the heart of the NSU campus. An 8:30 a.m. reception and the ceremonies are open to the public at no charge. The Graduate N Club Hall of Fame is the highest athletic honor Northwestern presents for athletic accomplishment, with induction ceremonies each year at homecoming.
 
Carter, a Shreveport native and Captain Shreve High School alumnus, competed in the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games in the triple jump for Team USA. He won seven USA championships in that event during an 11-year pro career after being a four-time All-American from 1991-93 for Northwestern under venerable coach Leon Johnson. He won seven Southland Conference individual or relay titles, led the Demons to their first two Southland track and field championships, indoor and outdoor crowns in 1993, and still holds the conference triple jump record at 55-2 3/4, posting a career pro best of 57-2 ¾.
 
Gatewood became the Demons' first Division I All-America baseball player in 1994, when his pitching (11-3 record, 2.14 ERA) helped NSU win the Southland Conference championship and earn an at-large NCAA Tournament invitation. The Mabelvale, Ark., product shares the school record with six career shutouts in 1993-94, ranks third all-time in wins (21), fourth in winning percentage (.805, 21-5) and fourth in career ERA (2.56) for coach Jim Wells. Gatewood, whose last win came in the 1994 NCAA Midwest Regional, was the 1993 Southland Pitcher and Newcomer of the Year and was first-team All-SLC in both of his seasons as a Demon.
 
Spears, signed by legendary coach Sam Goodwin although he played football only as a senior at Belaire High School in Baton Rouge, was one of 10 semifinalists for the 1993 Outland Trophy given annually to the nation's best college football lineman. An All-America offensive tackle in 1992-93, he became just the second FCS player, along with Jerry Rice, to make the Football Writers of America's 24-man All-America team in 1993. Spears was a three-time first-team All-Southland Conference selection who was the 39^th pick in the 1994 NFL Draft, launching a 12-season NFL career.
 
Banks was a dynamic guard at NSU from 1987-92, ranking seventh in school history in scoring (1,454 points, 118 games, 12.3 average), second in assists (515, 4.4 average, set the career record at the time) and third in steals (190, 1.5 per game). Remembered for sinking a decisive free throw with 12 seconds left in the Demons' Dec. 7, 1988 85-82 upset of Kentucky at Rupp Arena, Banks was an All-Southland Conference selection who led coach Dan Bell's squad in scoring (16.2) as a senior when NSU topped the NCAA with a 95.0 team average. Banks, a Shreveport-Captain Shreve product, is the first-year head coach at Southern-Baton Rouge.
 
Olsen is one of only two four-time first-team All-Southland Conference choices in any sport in school history, and among current SLC members, she is one of only four four-year first-team all-conference softball selections. A smooth-fielding shortstop from San Diego, she helped coach Rickey McCalister's Lady Demons post back-to-back 40-win seasons, including the 1991 conference championship team that claimed NSU's first outright Southland women's team sports title. She still holds the school career record for assists with 614.
 
Sims still holds the Lady Demon tennis career mark for singles wins with a 67-19 record from 1989-92. Competing for coaches Johnnie Emmons and Patric DuBois, she won three individual Southland titles in four seasons, capped by the No. 2 crown in 1992, and was a two-time Volvo Tennis Scholar-Athlete, chosen among 35 selections in 1991 and 30 in her senior year, when the London native graduated with a 3.64 grade point average in business administration. While going 16-1 and winning the SLC's No. 5 singles title as a freshman, the London, England native helped Emmons' squad share the 1989 Southland team championship.
 
Smith was head baseball coach for 18 years, from 1969-86, while also serving as an outstanding receivers coach in football until 1983. He won 327 games as baseball coach while NSU competed as an independent in eight seasons. He guided the 1974 Demons to the NAIA District 30 title and the NAIA Regionals, and led the 1982 Demons to the Trans America Conference championship. Smith, a 1963-64 Demon baseball letterman, was a dynamic recruiter who signed many top football players, including future NFL quarterback Bobby Hebert.  Smith became a very successful high school football coach at Pineville and in Texas after his NSU career.
 
Additional basketball inductees will be honored this winter. Banks would not have been able to participate then due to his role as the new head basketball coach at Southern, following a long stint as associate head coach at Southeastern Louisiana.
 
The seven honorees will be introduced in Turpin Stadium before the 6 p.m. homecoming football game Oct. 15 between the Demons and old rival Southeastern. Tickets for that contest can be purchased at the nsutickets.com website.

Bio Capsules of 2010 Graduate N Club Hall of Fame honorees

Roman Banks (basketball, 1987-92) -  Remembered for sinking a decisive free throw with 12 seconds left in the Demons' Dec. 7, 1988 85-82 upset of Kentucky at Rupp Arena, Banks is all over the NSU record book as one of the top players in school history after his career as a guard from 1987-92 … he ranks seventh all-time in scoring (1,454 points, 118 games, 12.3 average), second in assists (515, 4.4 average, set career record when he played), third in steals (190, 1.5 pg). Banks was an All-Southland Conference selection (second team) in 1990, when he was also on the six-man All-Southland Tournament team … a severe hamstring injury halted his initial senior season in 1990-91, but he came back to lead the 1992-93 Demons in scoring (16.2) as NSU topped NCAA Division I in points per game (95.0)… a longtime college assistant coach, Banks is in his first season as head coach at Southern-Baton Rouge.
 
LaMark Carter (track and field, 1991-93) – Demons' first Olympic track and field athlete, competing in the 2000 Sydney Games for Team USA in the triple jump …seven time USA champion in the triple jump (1998, 1999, 2001 outdoors, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2001 indoors) … fourth in the 1996 Olympic Trials (by five inches), second in the 2000 Trials, eighth in the 2004 Trials, 14^th in the 1992 Trials while at NSU … four-time All-American for the Demons … finished as high as second in World Championship competition (1999 World Indoors silver medalist) and was as  high as fifth outdoors in World Cup competition in an 11-year pro track career … Carter placed eighth or better in the triple jump at USA Championships from 1993-2004, except for 2002-03 while recovering from a knee injury … ranked sixth in the world in 1998 and eighth in 1999 … had personal bests of 57-2 ¾ (TJ) and 26-2 ¼ (LJ) … won the 1993 Southland Conference Indoor and Outdoor Field Performer of the Year honors … three-time Southland Outdoor TJ champion, setting a school record that still stands with a  55-2 ¾ leap in 1993 … won the 1993 SLC Indoor High Point Award with 28 of the Demons' 101 points, winning the TJ and 55m dash and finishing second in the long jump to lead Northwestern to its first Southland track crown … outdoors in 1993, gave up his redshirt status at the Southland meet and led Demons to their first SLC Outdoor title by winning the TJ, anchoring the winning 4x100 relay and finishing second in the long jump, all NCAA qualifying performances … fourth in the 1993 NCAA Outdoors in the TJ (55-0 ¾), 10^th in the long jump … third in the TJ at 1993 NCAA Indoors … eighth in the TJ at the 1992 and 1991 NCAA Outdoors … won seven Southland titles (1992, 1993 Indoor TJ; 1993 Indoor 55m dash; 1991-93 Outdoor TJ, 1993 Outdoor 4x100 relay).

Reggie Gatewood (baseball, 1993-94) – Demons' first Division I All-America baseball player … earned second-team National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association honors in 1994 with an 11-3 record and a 2.14 ERA … the Mabelvale, Ark., native was the ace of the Demons' first team to earn an at-large NCAA Tournament invitation, and was the winning pitcher vs. Illinois State at the Stillwater Regional … he completed 11 of his 14 starts and was the team leader with 101 innings pitched as a senior … he shares the school record with six career shutouts, ranks third in wins (21), fourth in winning percentage (.805, 21-5) and fourth in ERA (2.56) … threw a no-hitter vs. UTA … helped Demons win 1993, 1994 Southland titles under Jim Wells after transferring from Arkansas State … 1993 Southland Pitcher & Newcomer of the Year … first-team All-SLC in 1993, 1994.
 
Sonja “Betty Sue” Olsen (softball, 1988-91) – Only four-time first-team All-Southland Conference selection in school history, including Rhonda Rube, whose jersey is retired …  among current SLC members, she is one of only four four-time first-team All-SLC selections … slick-fielding shortstop from San Diego helped Lady Demons post back-to-back 40-win seasons, earned two first-team All-Louisiana honors … she helped the 1991 Lady Demons win the first Southland Conference women's team sports championship in school history … still holds school career record with 614 assists (throws that created outs).
 
Vicky Sims (women's tennis, 1989-92) – Set NSU's all-time singles victory record (67-19) and capped her career by winning Southland Conference's No. 2 singles crown, her third SLC title in four years … Two-time Volvo Tennis Scholar-Athlete chosen by Intercollegiate Tennis Coaches Association, 3.64 in business administration … was among 35 selections in 1991, only 30 in 1992 … 16-1 and SLC No. 5 singles champ as a freshman in 1989 … 16-6 in sophomore year, SLC No. 4 singles champ … 18-6 in doubles in 1990 … was 16-6 in singles, 10-3 in doubles as a junior in 1991 … 19-5 in singles, 11-7 in doubles as a senior in 1992 when she was team captain, leading a young team to a 14-7 record and third place in SLC … All-Louisiana as a senior.

Marcus Spears (football, 1990-93) - Member of Top 100 Demon Players of All-Time roster chosen during 2007 Demon Football Centennial Celebration … only the second FCS player, along with Jerry Rice, ever to make the Football Writers Association All-America Team (1993) … one of 10 semifinalists for the Outland Trophy, given to the nation's best lineman, believed to be the only FCS player ever on that level … a consensus FCS All-American offensive tackle in 1992-93 … three-time first-team All-Southland pick, All-Louisiana  … second round (39^th overall) NFL Draft pick in 1994, played 12 NFL seasons.
 
Herbie Smith (baseball/football coach, 1969-86) –  Head baseball coach for 18 years while also serving as an assistant football coach 1969-1983 for three head coaches … noted as a dynamic recruiter and an outstanding receivers coach in football, who signed many top players, including Bobby Hebert … won 327 games as baseball coach while NSU was independent in eight of his 18 seasons … guided 1974 Demons to NAIA District 30 championship and the NAIA Regionals … managed 1982 Demons to Trans America Athletic Conference championship… coached All-Americans Danny Turner  and Darryl Woods … he lettered in baseball in 1963-64 for the Demons, then was a graduate assistant coach as the 1967 Demons won the Gulf States Conference title and NCAA College Division playoffs under football coaching great Jack Clayton in his only spring at the helm … Smith became a very successful high school football coach in Louisiana and Texas after leaving his alma mater.