UAA RELEASE
 
WESTERVILLE, Ohio – Four former student-athletes, coaches and administrators were selected as 2026 Richard A. Rasmussen UAA Hall of Fame honorees, the conference announced this week.
 
This year's class is the second full class in history since the Hall of Fame inception in 2024. To be eligible as a student-athlete, a person must have earned their undergraduate degree from a UAA institution, competed for at least three years in the UAA, and graduated at least 10 years ago. Coaches and administrators become eligible once they have retired from a UAA institution.
 
Inductees include: legendary men's basketball coach Mark Edwards, athletic trainer Rick Larsen (posthumous), Lucy Cheadle '15 (women's cross country and track and field) and Jennifer Martz '99 (volleyball).
 
Mark Edwards was instrumental in bringing men's basketball back to the Danforth Campus. A four-year player for the Bears and a 1969 graduate, Edwards served as an assistant coach at Washington State University before returning to WashU for the 1981-82 season to restart a program that had been defunct since 1971.
 
The winningest coach in program history, Edwards retired following the 2017-18 season with a career record of 685-293 (.700). In that time, he guided the Bears to two national titles in 2008 and 2009, 20 NCAA appearances and 15 UAA titles. He was a three-time national coach of the year (2002, 2008, 2009) and a 10-time UAA Coach of the Year.
 
Rick Larsen, who passed away in 2020, was a member of the WashU Athletic Department for 39 years, including 35 as the head athletic trainer. Joining the department in 1981, Larsen had a five-year stint (1982-86) as the head baseball coach, racking up a 113-91-3 record and leading the Bears to the first two NCAA tournament appearances in program history.
 
In addition to building up the sports medicine program at WashU, Larsen also had experience in professional sports, serving as a part-time athletic trainer for the St. Louis Cardinals football team (1982-87) and as the head athletic trainer for the St. Louis Stampede Arena Football League team (1995-96).
 
Lucy Cheadle, a 2015 graduate, won three individual national championships in her time with the Bears. Her first was in 2014 in the outdoor 3,000m steeplechase, followed by the indoor 5,000m and outdoor 3,000m steeplechase in 2015. In 2011, Cheadle finished 20^th to help WashU to its first women's cross country national title.
 
Cheadle was a three-time CSC (formerly CoSIDA) Academic All-American, including earning the top honor of Academic All-American of the Year in 2015. She closed out her career with the Bears with 13 All-America honors across track and field and cross country. Cheadle earned the NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship in 2016.
 
Jennifer Martz, a 1999 graduate, was the 1997 Player of the Year for both the America Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) and Asics/Volleyball Magazine. She is a four-time AVCA All-American, including three first team nods. Additionally, Martz was a three-time UAA Most Valuable Player (1996, 1997, 1998).
 
In her time at WashU, she was part of two national titles, three Final Four appearances and four-straight UAA titles. Martz still holds the program records for most kills (2,068) and most blocks (588) and ranks among the top 10 in eight categories. In 1998, Martz was named an Academic All-American.
 
Richard A. Rasmussen UAA Hall of Fame – WashU Members
2025
Amy Albers (Athlete - Volleyball)
Teri Clemens (Coach – Volleyball)
Willam H. Danforth (Administrator)
Nancy Fahey (Coach – Women's Basketball)
Alia Fischer (Athlete – Women's Basketball)
Harry Kisker (Administrator)
Laurel Sagartz (Athlete – Softball)
John Schael (Administrator)
 
2026
Lucy Cheadle (Athlete – Women's Cross Country and Track & Field)
Mark Edwards (Coach, Men's Basketball)
Rick Larsen (Athletic Trainer)
Jennifer Martz (Athlete – Volleyball)
 
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