CCCC announces Hall of Fame class

Cloud County Community College has selected four members to be enshrined as the 17th Cloud County Athletics Hall of Fame class, which will be inducted the afternoon of January 27 when the basketball teams host Coffeyville Community College.
 The four individuals who will be honored that afternoon are athletic contributors Jim Lowell and Jay Lowell as well as T-Bird athletic standouts Sheila Cherry-Coleman and Matt Bechard.
A sports journalist for The Concordia Blade-Empire for over 40 years, Jim Lowell has been covering Cloud County Community College athletics throughout his time at the newspaper which includes the coverage of all five NJCAA National Championships won by CCCC teams.
A familiar face at Cloud County athletic events, Jay Lowell has been covering Cloud County Community College as a sports photojournalist for The Concordia Blade-Empire for the past 27 years and has been instrumental in helping put together the annual Cloud County Community College athletics media guide that is produced by The Blade-Empire.
A two-sport standout for the T-Birds, Coleman played at Cloud County from 1986-1988 and was a volleyball and basketball player for Cloud County where she earned first-team All-Region VI honors in volleyball. The Salina, Kansas, native helped the Cloud County volleyball team to its first NJCAA Region VI title and berth in the 1987 NJCAA National Tournament while also scoring 810 points in her two seasons on the basketball court to rank fifth in the all-time scoring chart at CCCC.
Bechard was a member of the Cloud County track and field program under hall of fame coach Harry Kitchener from 1987-1989 where he excelled and set the still standing outdoor track and field record in the pole vault by clearing 16 ft. - 1 in.
Following his career as a T-Bird, Bechard would attend Wichita State University where he won the 1990 Missouri Valley Conference indoor title in the pole vault and would go on to graduate with his bachelor's degree in 1992.
Bechard was named the third athletic director in school history at Cloud County, filling the shoes of hall of game coach and athletic director Dennis Erkenbrack.
In his 25-plus years as athletic director, Bechard has assisted in completing facility upgrades for every sport and increased scholarship opportunities for student-athletes. Under his leadership, Cloud County teams have won 20 KJCCC titles, 17 NJCAA Region VI Titles, and five NJCAA National Championships.
The induction ceremony for the 17th Cloud County Athletics Hall of Fame class will be held at halftime of the men's basketball game against Coffevyille Community College on Saturday, January 27th. Action gets underway that afternoon at 2 p.m. with the women's game. The men's game will follow at 4 p.m. as the festivities will be held as part of CCCC's 2024 homecoming.