Five Feted at First Sports Hall of Fame Induction

Foxcroft celebrated its athletic tradition with a contrast of old and new Saturday, March 1, 2014. when five women were inducted into the School's brand new Sports Hall of Fame at one of its oldest annual events.

Head of School Mary Louise Leipheimer presented Jane Forbes Clark '73, one of the most influential women in sports, and Olympic rider Juliet Graham '72 with engraved pewter boxes during "Fox/Hound Basketball Big Game," a century-old tradition. Olympic bronze medalist Nina Fout '77  was inducted in absentia while pioneers Charlotte Haxall Noland and Teresa Shook were accorded posthumous honors at the packed Leipheimer Gymnasium.
"I am so proud of these women," said Leipheimer, who taught Clark, Graham, and Fout when she was a member of the English Department. " 

After the game — which was a nailbiter — a reception honoring the women was held with dozens of friends and admirers in attendance. 

Clark, who flew in from Florida for the ceremony, is chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum and also is an influential force in the equestrian community, having served as president of the American Horse Shows Association (now U.S. Equestrian Federation) and the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation. She has also been senior vice president of the U.S.Equestrian Team, a director of the U.S.Olympic Committee, and a member of the Fédération Equestre Internationale Executive Board.

Born in England and raised in Calgary, Alberta, Graham now makes her home in nearby Upperville, where she continues to ride, teach and occasionally compete.  She was a member of the Canadian Eventing team for 10 years, competing in three World Championships and earning a team gold medal in 1978. Graham also competed in the 1976 Montreal Olympics on her mare, Sumatra.
 
Fout, a Middleburg resident, could not make the ceremony but hearty thanks to all for the honor. One of the leading performers in United States equestrian history, she helped the U.S. win the team bronze medal in three-day eventing at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. She has represented the U.S. at the most challenging CCI four-star competitions in the world and earned the title of Junior National Eventing Champion at the 1975 Radnor Three-Day Event when she was a 16-year-old Foxcroft student. Ironically, she rode very little at the School, however, focussing on — and excelling at — a variety of team sports. She was also Hound captain.

Noland, or "Miss Charlotte" as she was called, founded Foxcroft School in 1914 at the age of 32. She served as headmistress until 1955and included sports as part of the School’s curriculum from the start. She introduced basketball to Foxcroft students, both as the centerpiece of the beloved Fox/Hound intramural tradition and on an interscholastic level.

The other posthumous inductee, Shook, or "Shookie" to the Foxcroft community, graduated from Foxcroft in 1930 and returned to the School shortly after her graduation as a member of the faculty. For 35 years — from 1932 to 1967 – she taught at Foxcroft, serving as head of the athletic program, director of riding, basketball coach, and director of the military drill program.

One of the few girls’ schools with a Sports Hall of Fame, Foxcroft began the initiative a year ago, inspired by the School’s growing athletic success and reputation. The inaugural induction was timed to fall during Foxcroft’s centennial year. The inductees were elected by a panel of eight voters comprised of Athletic Director Michelle Woodruff, Director of Riding Kate Worsham, former athletic director Joan Eliot, and five alumnae who played and/or coached at Foxcroft: Cricket Bedford ’85, Jessi Coil ’06, Stewart Chapman Herbert ’77, Victoria "Vicky"Howard ’71, and Jennifer Sgro Orfield ’91. Fred McMane, a coach and unofficial historian of Foxcroft athletics, prepared the ballot of nominees and supervised the election.
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An all-girls boarding and day school in Northern Virginia, Foxcroft prepares young women in grades 9-12 for success in college and in life. Our outstanding academic program offers challenging courses, including Advanced Placement classes and an innovative STEM program. Our premiere equestrian program is nationally recognized, and our athletic teams have won conference and state championships. Experience the best in girls' boarding schools: visit Foxcroft.