Earlier this month, former Oregon State gymnast Leslie Mak received a phone call from Alexis Serna.
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Earlier this month, former Oregon State gymnast Leslie Mak received a phone call from Alexis Serna.
Their time at Oregon State overlapped, but Serna wasn’t calling to reminisce. Instead, he informed Mak she was part of the 2024 class of the Oregon State University Athletics Hall of Fame.
“To hear the news from a friend and former Beaver athlete was cool,” Mak said. “I honestly didn’t expect it. I saw that my former teammate, Mandi Rodriguez, was awarded it. She was an amazing gymnast who deserved it a hundred times over, but I wasn’t expecting it for myself. But it is such an honor.”
Former Oregon State gymnast Leslie Mak will be inducted to the Oregon State University Athletics Hall of Fame in September.
MID-VALLEY MEDIA (File)
Rodriguez was part of the 2023 Hall of Fame class which also included Serna, a former kicker for the football team who is now the director of Beyond Football at OSU and is the current chair of the Hall of Fame committee.
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Gymnastics coach Tanya Chaplin said Mak deserves to join the other athletes who are being recognized.
“Leslie Mak exemplified dedication and excellence at Oregon State University,” Chaplain said. “Her graceful performances and unwavering commitment set a new standard for collegiate gymnastics, inspiring teammates and fans alike.
“A true champion in every sense, Leslie’s legacy will forever shine in the … Hall of Fame.”
Mak competed for Oregon State from 2009-12 and was the 2011 and 2012 Pac-10/Pac-12 gymnast of the year. Mak was the first gymnast to win the award in back-to-back years.
She was a 2011 first-team all-American on all-around and balance beam and was a 2012 second-team all-American on balance beam and floor exercise. In both 2011 and 2012, she was named the Oregon State female athlete of the year.
“I think back on my years at Oregon State as a gymnast so fondly,” Mak said. “Now that I have been out of it for a while and I am working and have a family, and now a 10-month-old daughter, I just think about how … being an athlete for the Chaplins has just shaped me and set me up for success way beyond my years at Oregon State.”
Mak lives in Cincinnati and has to support the Oregon State gymnastics program from a distance. She will be back on campus for the Hall of Fame weekend Sept. 13-14.
“I haven’t been to an Oregon State gymnastics meet for far too long, but I’m really, really excited to make it back to Corvallis for the award,” Mak said.
In particular, she wants to visit the gymnastics training facility which opened in 2021.
“The level of gymnastics now, I think that it was a really wonderful thing that they were able to move to that new facility and have a little more space, more room to play and throw crazy skills,” Mak said.
Mak will be part of a distinguished group of inductees this fall. The class also includes: Derek Anderson, Darwin Barney, Pat Casey, Jacoby Ellsbury, Robbie Findley, Joey Hansen, Saori Haruguchi, Cambria Miranda, Jacquizz Rodgers and Kathy Weston.
The class will be enshrined on Friday, Sept. 13 and recognized on the field during the football game against Oregon the next day at Reser Stadium. The time of the enshrinement and ticket information will be announced at a later date.
Derek Anderson (football)
Anderson led Oregon State to three bowl games and was just the sixth player in Pac-12 history to throw for 10,000-plus yards. He was a sixth-round draft pick by Carolina in the 2005 NFL draft and was named to the Pro Bowl in 2007. Anderson came to Oregon State after being named the high school basketball and football player of the year at Scappoose High as a senior.
Darwin Barney (baseball)
Barney helped lead the Beavers to three trips to the Men’s College World Series, winning national championships in 2006 and 2007. The Beavers also won Pac-10 titles in 2005 and 2006. Barney was a 2005 Pac-10 freshman of the year and was first-team all-league in 2006 and honorable mention as a junior in 2007. Barney left Oregon State as the all-time leader in hits (238) and at-bats (765), was second in runs (152) and tied for eighth with 40 doubles. He was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the fourth round, made his major debut in 2010 and played for eight seasons. In 2012, he earned the Fielding Bible Award as the best fielding second baseman in MLB and was awarded the Golden Glove award.
Oregon State coach Pat Casey will be inducted into the Oregon State Hall of Fame after leading the Beavers to three baseball national championships.
ERIC FRANCIS, Associated Press (File 2013)
Pat Casey (baseball)
Casey led the baseball program to six Men’s College World Series appearances with three national titles, the most titles by any coach since the NCAA went to the Super Regional format in 1999. Casey was a five-time national coach of the year and his teams won five Pac-10/12 titles. His 900 wins is most ever by any coach in any sport at Oregon State and his 900 wins at OSU is sixth in Pac-12 history.
Jacoby Ellsbury (baseball)
Ellsbury was a three-year letterman (2003-2005) and was a first-round pick by the Boston Red Sox. He was the 2005 Pac-10 co-player of the year and was named first-team all-American in 2005 by the American Baseball Coaches Association, Baseball America and the National Baseball Writers Association. In 2011 he was named MLB Comeback Player of the Year, finished second in the MVP race, made the MLB All-Star team and won a Gold Glove Award. He played for the Red Sox and Yankees from 2007-19 and was a two–time World Series champion. Ellsbury twice led the MLB in stolen bases, setting a Red Sox record for stolen bases in 2009.
Robbie Findley (men’s soccer)
Findley was a three-time all-Region selection and was the Pac-10 co-freshman of the year in 2003. He earned all-Pac-12 honors all four years of his career. Findley tied for second in OSU history with 71 career points (goals and assists) and was fourth in program history with 28 career goals, including 10 game-winning goals. Findley was selected in the second round of the MLS Draft (16th overall) by the LA Galaxy and played 13 seasons with four different teams, scoring 40 goals. He scored a goal for Real Salt Lake in the 2009 MLS Cup Final, helping RSL win the championship in one of the biggest upsets in league history. He made a total of 11 appearances for the US Men’s National Team, including three at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
Joey Hansen (men’s rowing)
Hansen was a 2004 Olympic Gold medalist in men’s eight as the United State won its first gold in that event since 1960. He was a three-time Pac-10 first team honoree and was a three-time U.S. National team member, winning silver and bronze medals at the World Championships. The OSU rowing shell was named after him in 2012 and he was inducted into the National Rowing Hall of Fame in 2010.
Oregon State swimmer Saori Haruguchi won the NCAA championship in the 200-meter butterly in 2008.
SHIZUO KAMPAYASHI, Associated Press
Saori Haruguchi (swimming)
Haruguchi was the 2008 NCAA national champion in 200-meter butterfly and participated in the Olympic Games. She was a 2006 all-American in the 200 butterfly, taking sixth place. Haruguchi was a 10-time all-American and was a two-time OSU female athlete of the year and the 2006 OSU female newcomer of the year.
Cambria Miranda (softball)
Miranda was a 2006 first-team All-American and a 2007 second team all-American. She was a four-time all-Pac-10 honoree, including first team in 2006 and 2007. Miranda set the OSU record with 152 runs scored and was second in home runs (42) and stolen bases (44). Miranda helped lead OSU to its first conference title in 2005 and was a member of the 2006 team that competed in the Women’s College World Series. That team was inducted into the Oregon State Hall of Fame in 2023. Miranda won a gold medal in 2006 playing for the United States at the World University Game. She enjoyed a lengthy professional career, including being drafted by the Washington Glory and later playing in Holland helping her team to the Euro Cup in Italy.
Jacquizz Rodgers ran for at least 1,000 in all three seasons he played at Oregon State.
BEN MARGOT, Associated Press
Jacquizz Rodgers (football)
Rodgers was a 2008 all-American and the Pac-10 offensive player of the year as a freshman, becoming the first freshman in league history to win that honor. He was a three-time member of the Pac-10 first team, one of just three running backs to earn that accomplishment. Rodgers was the 2009 OSU male newcomer of the year and the 2009 OSU male athlete of the year. Rodgers helped Oregon State defeat top-ranked USC in 2008 by rushing for 186 yards. He had 19 games with more than 100 rushing yards, second all-time OSU history, and is one of four players in school history to have more than 1,000 rushing and receiving yards. Rodgers set the school record for most touchdowns in a season (21) and is the third all-time leading scorer in school history (306 points). A fifth-round draft pick by Atlanta, Rodgers played eight seasons in the NFL.
Kathy Weston (women’s track & field)
Weston was the 1978 national champion in the 800 meters. She was a 1979 all-American as part of the two-mile relay team that win the NCAA championship and was a 1979 NorPac champion in the 400 meters. Weston competed in the 1976 Olympics in the 800 meters. She holds the OSU record in the 400 and 800 meters. In addition to competing in the Olympics, Weston twice competed in the Pan American Games winning gold in 1975 and bronze in 1983.
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