The Oglethorpe County High School Sports Hall of Fame was created in 2019 to show students that OCHS has a long history of stars and encourage athletes to achieve their dreams.
“We have winners in our legacy,” former OCHS principal Susie Johnson said. “And the sports hall of fame was able to highlight those individuals and teams.”
Photos of the members are displayed on the hallway outside the main office. There were eight inductees last year, but the hall doesn’t accept applications every year, so there won’t be any additions this year.
Previous classes were inducted in 2019, 2022 and 2024, a group that included Harold Benson, Nicole Bonner-Grant, George Gresham, Michael Goolsby, James Haynie, Craig Mathews, Nichole Raines and Latange Wise.
Johnson said she thinks the committee will take applications for new members in 2026.
People nominated for the hall of fame must fill out an application and will need to provide supporting evidence of their athletic career at OCHS. Nomination forms will be available in the OCHS main office and nominees will be informed of their nominations.
Tim Stoudenmire, former OCHS wrestling and track coach, was inducted into the hall in 2019 for his outstanding wrestling career when he was a student at the school. Stoudenmire was a three-time state champion at OCHS.
He admits he was embarrassed by the nomination at first, but is honored to be recognized, especially alongside his late father, Jim Stoudenmire Sr. Stoudenmire Sr. was also recognized in 2019 for his time as the head football coach at OCHS.
Stoudenmire is grateful for the hall of fame and believes it will push younger generations to get more involved in athletics. He said the committee, especially Johnson, has handled the development of the hall extremely well.
“It’s a real point of pride for the school and for the community,” Stoudenmire said.
Johnson said the hall has made a “significant impact” on the younger generations who view it.
“Those students are able to walk past and see what other outstanding athletes have done in Oglethorpe County sports history,” Johnson said. “It has been an encouragement to them.”
Stoudenmire hopes the hall of fame will continue because it’s important to provide young athletes with real examples of hard work and success.
“I think that will inspire younger student-athletes now, in a time when inspiring young student-athletes is very important,” he said. “I think getting more kids involved in high school athletics is a good thing.”