VIRGINIA BEACH (WTKR) — For the first time in its 52-year existence, the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony will happen outside of Hampton Roads, but there are a few 757 connections in the next group of inductees.
Portsmouth native LaShawn Merritt is heading into the hall of fame after a storied track career. A sprinter, he won numerous state titles at Manor High School before becoming an international champion. Merritt brought home four Olympic medals and eight world championships during his career. He won gold medals in the 400m dash and the 4x400m relay during the 2008 Beijing Olympics, then took another gold in the 4x400m relay and a bronze in the 400m dash during the 2016 Rio Olympics.
William & Mary women's soccer standout Jill Ellis is also included in the class. The forward scored 32 goals in her college career before embarking on a stellar coaching career. A collegiate head coach for 14 years, Ellis led the University of Illinois and UCLA, collecting eight appearances in the Women's College Cup. She then spent two decades with the United States Women's National Team, the final seven as the head coach. Ellis would help guide the USWNT to win two World Cups in 2015 and 2019.
The rest of inductees includes a trio from the University of Virginia: former defensive end and two-time Super Bowl champion Chris Long, former Cavalier director of athletics Craig Littlepage, and women's basketball star Monica Wright Rogers.
Also going in with the 2024 class is legendary Randolph-Macon men's basketball coach Hal Nunnally, former Special Olympics Virginia president Rick Jeffrey, long-time Virginia Tech sports information director Dave Smith, and Paul Woody, who was a columnist at the Richmond News Leader and Richmond Times-Dispatch for four decades.
The nine-person class takes its place in the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame during induction weekend at the new Henrico Sports and Events Center just outside of Richmond next April. The weekend will feature a sponsor welcome reception on Friday, April 19, followed by the Breakfast with Champions and Hall of Fame Reception and Induction Ceremony on Saturday, April 20.
Though the ceremony will move away from Hampton Roads this year, Virginia Sports Hall of Fame Executive Director Will Driscoll told WTKR in Augustthe event would "100 percent" return to the Tidewater region in the future.
