Nevada High School Wall of Fame inductees announced

NEVADA, Mo. -- The Nevada High School Athletic Wall of Fame Committee has announced its newest class of inductees. The 2010-'11 class of inductees includes three teams, as well as three individual athletes.

The 1975 Nevada Tigers football team went undefeated in conference play and throughout the regular season and suffered just one loss in a very close contest in which Columbia Rock Bridge defeated Nevada 10-0 for the state championship. The Tigers sported 16 All-Conference players that season as well as seven All-District and two All-State players.

In a 33-7 defeat of Carthage in the season's third game, Jimmy Rice was named the Missouri Class 3A Player of the Week.

The 1990-'91 Nevada Tigers basketball team finished the regular season with a perfect 25-0 record on their way to district and conference championships. The Tigers went on to win another five games in the postseason before dropping the state championship contest to finish with the best record in school history at 30-1.

The Tigers won the Clinton, Aurora and Carthage tournaments that season as well.

The 1994 Lady Tigers track squad sported five individual conference champions in eight events as well as two relay teams. Of those district champions, three individuals and both relay teams went on to win district championships.

The team won the SBU Classic, the Southwest Conference meet, the SMSU Relays and the district and state championships. Candy Mason placed first at state in the 100- and 300-meter hurdles and long jump and took third in high jump while two other athletes scored top-five individual finishes in their events.

During the course of the season, the Lady Tigers set a total of 10 school records.

Hillary Adams played basketball for the Lady Tigers from 2001-'05 and was a four-year letter winner and three-year team captain. She made the All-Conference team all four years and All-District three of those four years, as well as earning All-State honors and a McDonald's All-American nomination her senior year.

Adams finished her high school career second on the all-time scoring list with 1,640 points, first all-time in career assists (628) and single season assists (198) and finished with 310 career steals. Adams was a 36 percent career 3-point shooter and a 76 percent free throw shooter.

At William Jewell College, Adams is currently a two-time All-Conference selection, two-time All-American Honorable mention, two-time Academic All-American, two-time HAAC Scholar Athlete, two-time WJC Scholar Athlete and has scored 915 points in just two seasons.

Lacy (Leonard) Warren was a Lady Tigers basketball team member from 2001-'05 as well and finished her high school career with 1,192 points -- sixth all-time with a 14.9 points per game average -- and 523 career rebounds.

At Cottey College, Warren was a first-team All-Region selection both years, first-team NJCAA All-American both years and played in the NJCAA National All-Star game in July 2006. Warren led the Comets in scoring at 21.8 points per game her freshman year and was third at 18.2 points per game her sophomore year.

Warren was second in rebounds per game (10.6), second in free throw percentage (78.8) and third in field goal percentage (49.5) in the 2005-'06 season -- the first winning season in Comets history. Warren went on to finish sixth on the team in free throw percentage (71.8) and third in field goal percentage (48.7) her sophomore year.

In her junior season at the University of St. Mary, Warren led the conference in scoring at 17.3 points per game and 3-point percentage at 41 percent. She was a first-team All-Conference selection and finished third in the conference with a .447 field goal percentage while leading the team to a school record in wins as well as leading the team in blocks and steals and finishing the season with five double-doubles.

In the 2008-'09 season at Benedictine College, Warren was named the Heart of America Athletic Conference Newcomer of the Year and also earned a second-team All-Conference selection. She finished the season second on the team at 11.82 points per game and 4.77 rebounds per game.

Brett Merriman was a 1984 graduate of Nevada High School and was on the Nevada Tigers baseball team in its first two seasons of existence his junior and senior years. He walked on at Mesa Community College where he made a total of 33 appearances on the mound in 1986 and '87.

From there, he posted a 3.85 ERA and a 12-1 record in 20 games for Grand Canyon University in 1988. He pitched six complete games that year with one shutout, allowing just 46 earned runs in 107 innings.

Merriman was drafted by the Indians in the ninth round of the MLB draft in 1988 and played with them until he was released in 1990. He then signed and played with the Angels until the Colorado Rockies picked him in the expansion draft in 1992.

Merriman was traded to the Twins in 1993 and made the team out of spring training before being sent back to AAA 2 1/2 months later. He was called up in September that year and finished out the season with the big league team before being sent back to AAA Salt Lake City in 1994.

Merriman was called back to the big leagues in May 1994 before being sent back three months later. He signed with the San Diego Padres that off season where he finished out his career.