Hello, my name is Hugh Tomasello and I am a communications graduate assistant with Nevada Wolf Pack athletics. This past summer summer, I started this project with the goal to reconnect with our Nevada alumni and help share their stories with our fans. Most of us remember and revere what they did while wearing the Silver & Blue, but I wanted to know what incredible things they have done since hanging up their uniform. Below, you will find stories of former athletes finding love, starting their own businesses, and even staying in the building to continue to help make the University of Nevada the best it can be. If you are an alumni of Nevada athletics,
please take a few minutes to click here and fill out this form so we can share your story!
*Surveys issued in July of 2019
Shane Anderson: Football (2007-2011)
After spending five years with the Nevada football team, former wide receiver Shane Anderson has settled down in Phoenix Arizona after recently marrying former Wolf Pack cheerleader Angela Grieco. Anderson currently helps manage a sports performance facility called FAST, after graduating in 2011 with a degree in community health science. His wife Angela recently started her own social media consulting business for beauty professionals called Beauty Social Breakthrough.
As a senior in 2011, Anderson caught 40 balls for 526 yards and two touchdowns. He averaged 52.6 yards per game with a long of 55 yards, with his first touchdown of the season coming in a 37-0 drubbing of UNLV. Anderson also played a role on Nevada’s historic 2010 team, as he caught a touchdown that season in a 63-17 beatdown of Idaho after snagging a 28-yard reception from Colin Kaepernick to open the scoring on the afternoon.
Anderson’s favorite memory in a Wolf Pack uniform came that same season, when No. 19 Nevada knocked off No. 3 Boise State 34-31 in overtime in what was dubbed the “Miracle at Mackay.” Reflecting on his time at Nevada, the former wideout is “Proud to be an alum and thankful for the relationships and memories made there.”
Dana (Holt) Shipley: Volleyball (2010-2014)
Now working at Best Law Firm in Scottsdale, Ariz. as a legal assistant, Dana Shipley remembers her time with the Wolf Pack fondly after making lifelong friends at Nevada. Known as Dana Holt at the time, she played for the Wolf Pack volleyball team from 2010-2013 playing in 53 matches.
Dana helped form one of the biggest Nevada athletics power couples in recent memory, marrying her college sweetheart and former Pack baseball star Braden Shipley. After being selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks with the 15th overall pick in the 2013 MLB Draft, the highest selection in Nevada history, Shipley has spent his career both in Arizona and with the local Reno Aces, the team’s Triple-A affiliate. Dana finds herself constantly traveling back and forth between Scottsdale and Reno with their five-year-old Golden Retriever named Maverick.
Dana was a staple for the Pack volleyball team during her time in the Silver & Blue, totaling 75 kills and 1,193 assists including 55 in a match against Texas Tech in 2012.
Jennifer White-Cuff: Volleyball (1990-1993)
No one in Nevada volleyball history had earned First-Team All-Conference honors before Jennifer White-Cuff came to the program and did so as a senior in 199
3 in the Big West Conference. Her fondest memory with the Silver & Blue actually came the year prior, however, when the Wolf Pack took down top-20 ranked Hawaii at home.
Jennifer has two daughters, Katelyn and Lexi, with Katelyn following in her mother’s footsteps and playing collegiate volleyball. As a middle blocker for the University of Colorado, Katelyn played from 2013-2016. Collectively, one of their fondest mother-daughter memories was while Kaitlyn was playing club volleyball and came to Reno for tournaments, some of Jennifer's former teammates and head coach Devin Scruggs would support her and give her the royal Wolf Pack treatment in the Biggest Little City.
Since her volleyball career has ended, Jennifer has settled down in Del Mar, Calif. where she currently works for Salesforce as a sales director and supporting their Marketing Cloud Portfolio. Even almost 30 years later, Jennifer is still thankful for the friendships she built and have thrived since her time at Nevada, a time she dubs as the best days of her life.
Alicia Godfrey: Swim & Dive (1992-1996)
Swimming for the Wolf Pack from 1992-1996, Alicia Godfrey had an illustrious career with Nevada as she broke the one meter diving record that was set in 1973. She originally came to Nevada as a swimmer, but the coaches found she had talent on the board as well.
Following graduation, Alicia had the opportunity to work in Zimbabwe, Africa, teaching fourth grade reading and starting three swim teams. She also had the pleasure of working with former Olympic swim coach Eddie Reese for three summers and all his Olympic swimmers. She claims it as one of the best years of her life, and learned so much about teaching, humanity and herself.
Now living in Houston, Texas, Alicia still finds herself in the pool, as she currently coaches swimming and works with kids who have special needs. She also has two children of her own, a boy and a girl who are twins named Max and Maddie, with her husband Benjamin who she has been married to for 12 years. Both eight year olds are great swimmers, as Max specializes in the backstroke and fly and Maddie is great with the breaststroke and free.
Meagan Wood: Track & Cross Country (2013-18)
Now living in Manhattan, Kansas, Meagan Wood spent six years with the Wolf Pack track and cross-country team. After a long and successful career in the Silver & Blue, she now lives with her husband Taylor Wethern who does heating, ventilation and air conditioning in their town.
Now attending Kansas State University, Meagan is in her second year of veterinary school. This past summer, she had the opportunity to travel to Thailand for a two-week course focused on elephant veterinary medicine. She assisted in blood draws, physical exams, vaccinations, deworming and much more during her experience.
As far as her career for the Wolf Pack, her fondest memory came when Nevada hosted the cross-country Mountain West championships at home. Head coach Kirk Elias made a difficult course, but Meagan raced her hardest on the crisp autumn day. She remembers being so proud of her teammates for the hard effort they put out that day and loved having a home crowd for one of their biggest meets. It encapsulates something she learned at Nevada that she has carried with her ever since, “The work is hard. Do the work.”
Kelsey Quintos: Soccer (2012-16)
One of the best goalkeepers to come through Nevada, Kelsey Quintos has not strayed far from athletics since graduating. She currently serves as a compliance officer a few hours away at UC Davis. The best moment of her athletic career is also heralded as one of the best moments in Nevada soccer history, as she broke the career shutout record during her senior year against her hometown team of Fresno State.
'One of Kelsey’s fondest memories of playing soccer at Nevada was traveling to Brazil with her teammates, creating bonds that would last a lifetime. She now lives in Sacramento with her fiance, Jeff Hardy who played baseball his freshman year at the University of Nevada. Following her time as a student-athlete, she had the opportunity to participate in the NCAA’s postgraduate internship where she traveled to Indianapolis to the NCAA’s National Office. She was given the opportunity to see how athletics operated on a national level.
What she learned at Nevada and has carried with her since, is that the relationships built with people, how you treat them and how they remember you is more important than anything else.
Jim Short: Football (1983-1986)
Living in Porterville, Calif., Jim Short played for the Wolf Pack football team for four years, but football has remained in his blood ever since. He has been teaching and coaching for the past 32 years at his alma mater, Monache High School in Porterville.
His wife, Quin also shares his love of education as she is also a teacher. They have built a beautiful family themselves with three daughters: Devin (28), Zander (24) and Bryn (20). The two oldest and college graduates while Bryn is in her third year at Cal Poly.
While at Nevada, Jim learned that effort and habit makes great effort a habit. His most memorable moments came from the relationships he built with his teammates and coaches.
Lisa Leachman Haggerty: Tennis (1977-78)
Now residing in San Jose, Calif., Lisa played tennis for the Wolf Pack in the late 1970s and cited traveling to Santa Cruz with the team as her most
memorable memory. She was also earned a Who’s Who award during her time at Nevada.
She has been saving lives for 29 years, working in Emergency Medical Services for the past 29 years in Santa Clara Country in California. She has one daughter who is currently employed at Facebook.
Lisa still cites herself as being extremely active, doing mud runs, going to the gym, dancing and hiking. She plans to retire next year and move on to the next chapter of her life.
Adam Whitt: Baseball (2013-15)
After serving as one of the most dominant closers in Nevada baseball history, Adam Whitt has etched his name into Wolf Pack history in multiple facets. He ranks first in Pack history with 14 saves in a single season and second all time in Nevada history with 22. He helped lead his team to its first-ever Mountain West championship in 2015 which he tabbed as his favorite moment during his career.
Adam was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 16
th round and spent a couple years in the organization, playing in their farm system from 2015-17. Now living in Salt Lake City, Utah Adam has been married for two years to his wife Sara, whom he met while at Nevada.
Now a manager at Liberty Park Tennis Facility, Adam has stuck with the world of athletics even after his playing career. He has embodied perseverance and strength since leaving Nevada, as he was diagnosed with Leukemia in April 2018. Thankfully, his cancerous percentage of blood cells has been decreasing ever since his diagnosis.
Jay Uhlman: Baseball (1995-97)
After serving as the Associate Head Coach for Oregon Baseball for the past 10 years, Jay Uhlman took a job this summer to be an Assistant Coach and Recruiting Coordinator for Tulane University.
This comes after spending a couple years with the Wolf Pack, playing from 1995-97 before becoming a prominent face in the collegiate baseball coaching world.
Jay’s fondest memory from his playing days at Nevada came from defeating eventual National Champion Cal State Fullerton at Peccole Park in 1997, the same year Nevada reached its third regional in history. Now in New Orleans, Jay has brought his wife Emily of 18 years along with his three children, Zoey (14) Kai (11) and Sawyer (7). Both Zoey and Kai were born in Reno and are Native Nevadans.
Jay’s name was one that was prominent in the Nevada baseball program for years, and will be remembered for many more. The one thing he learned during his time with the Pack? “Perseverance.”
Ryan Coulson: Football (2006-2011)
Ryan Coulson played a large role in the best season in Nevada football history, serving as a team captain for the Wolf Pack in 2010. The former defensive end now lives in Elk Grove, Calif., serving as a lineman for the Sacramento Municipal Utilities District.
Ryan recently married his wife Christina, who also loves rooting on Nevada football to this day. She is a political consultant at a firm in Sacramento, and the two are hoping to start their own family soon.
Nevada allowed Ryan to pursue his childhood dreams of playing football, which also led him to MMA fighting and coaching high school football. During his time with the Silver & Blue, he learned how to be open and accepting of different people and experiences and how it can enhance one’s life. “I loved my time at Nevada,” said Coulson. “I hope to be involved with the Pack for many years to come.”
Thomas Barcia: Football (2004-07)
Thomas Barcia has bled Silver and Blue his entire life as a Reno local, walking on to the Wolf Pack football team and now progressing his career in the Biggest Little City. To watch a short feature on how the Pack has impacted his life, click here or on his family photo on the right!
Nicole Wadden: Track & Field (2012-17)
Coming from Canada where she didn't know what being an All-American was, to becoming one herself, Nicole Wadden ended her career as one of Nevada's most decorated athletes. She went from competing with the Wolf Pack to helping it, as she now works for the football team as the Assistant Director of Football Operations. Her video feature can be found by clicking here or on her picture on the left!
Stay tuned! We have more features coming
