University of Nevada Athletics

Dodie Post Gann – Alpine Skiing
United States - 1948, 1952, 1956 (manager)

Born in Reno in 1922, Dodie Post Gann started training with the Reno Ski Club in 1938 and became one of the top junior skiers in the West. She excelled on the slopes for the Wolf Pack before Nevada had a women's skiing program. She was named the captain of the 1948 United States women’s Olympic ski team in San Moritz, Switzerland, but a broken ankle kept her from competing that year. She captained the FIS World Championship ski team in Chile in 1950 and finally had her chance to compete in the 1952 Olympic Games in Oslo, Norway. She was appointed to the U.S. Olympic Team selection committee in 1956 and served as the team manager for the 1956 U.S. Winter Olympic team that competed in Cortina, Italy. Gann, who passed away in 2012, was the first woman to be inducted into the Nevada Athletics Hall of Fame when she was part of the inaugural 13-person class in 1973. She was also inducted into the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame in 2001. 



 

Joe Keshmiri – Discus
Iran - 1968

Jalal Ali “Joe” Keshmiri won Far Western Conference championships in both the shot put and discus in 1969 and 1970. He transferred from Hancock College in Santa Maria, Calif., where he was the top-ranked junior college shot put and discus thrower. He started his athletic career as a soccer goalkeeper in Iran but switched to the throwing events after a coach noticed him throwing an errant discus that nearly hit him in the head during a match. Keshmiri competed in the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City and finished 20th in the discus but was unable to compete in the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich because the Iranian government considered him an American citizen. Between 1966 and 1974, he won three golds, three silvers and one bronze at the Asian Games and held the Iranian record in the discus.
 
A 1974 graduate with a degree in physical education, Keshmiri continued competing in the masters division, holding the M60 American record in the discus for many years and briefly holding the world record in the shot put. Keshmiri stayed in Reno and worked as a contractor. He passed away in Reno in 1999. His son, Kamy, went on to win three NCAA titles in the discus for the Wolf Pack from 1990-92 and was inducted into the Nevada Athletics Hall of Fame in 2007.


 

Lane Monroe – Alpine Skiing
United States – 1972 (assistant coach)

Lane Monroe became the first Wolf Pack skier in 17 years to win the UNR Winter Carnival in 1965, a premier skiing event in the West. He also spent time as a wide receiver on the Wolf Pack football from 1966-67, catching passes from fellow Hall of Fame inductee Chris Ault. Monroe received the Doc Martie Award in 1967 as Nevada’s top male senior student-athlete. After graduation, Monroe went on to coach for the Ski Education Foundation and the U.S. Ski Team. He coached the U.S. Women’s Ski Team from 1975-76 and also was an assistant coach on the Men’s Olympic Ski Team from 1972-74. Monroe has gone on to have a very successful career as a real estate broker and developer in Sun Valley, Idaho. He was inducted into the Nevada Athletics Hall of Fame in 1987.






 

Domingo Tibaduiza – Distance Running
Colombia – 1972, 1976, 1980, 1984

One of the most prominent runners at Nevada, Domingo Tibaduiza competed in four Olympic Games, two NCAA National Track and Field Championships, two Pan American Games and numerous international marathons. He was named an All-American in 1975 after finishing second in the NCAA 10,000-meter event. He captained Nevada track and field team for three years from 1972-74 before graduating in 1976. A native of Colombia, he went on to have an elite international career. He represented his native country at four consecutive Summer Olympics: 1972 in Munich, 1976 in Montreal, 1980 in Moscow and 1984 in Los Angeles. 1983 was his best year on the international marathon circuit as he won both the Berlin and Manila Marathons and came in second in the Rome Marathon. During that year, he turned in his best personal marathon time of 2:11.21 at the 1983 New York City Marathon where he finished eighth. In the 1983 Pan American Games, he finished second in the 10,000 meters and third in the 5,000 meters. He also set the Colombian national records in the 3,000 meters, 10,000 meters and 20,000 meters. Tibaduiza stayed in northern Nevada and spent several years coaching at Galena High School, leading his son to a pair of state cross country titles. He is still an active international runner and helped train athletes in Colombia for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Tibaduiza was inducted into the Nevada Athletics Hall of Fame in 1985.


 

Glenn Jobe – Biathlon
United States - 1980

Glenn Jobe grew up on a cattle ranch in Alturas, Calif., and joined the Wolf Pack where he lettered alpine skiing in 1971 and 1972 and began cross country skiing in 1972-73. A two-time team captain, he won the Western Collegiate Racing Championship in 1972-73, going undefeated against Western Collegiate competition. A two-time Wolf Pack ski team captain, he also won the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate Championship in cross country skiing in 1973 and was a qualifier for the 1973 NCAA Championships. After finishing his Wolf Pack career, he began attending cross country races in the region and met a biathlon coach in 1975. He served as a member of the U.S. Cross Country Team from 1976-81, racing in the 1978 and 1979 Biathlon World Championships. He qualified for the 1980 U.S. Olympic Team in biathlon in 1980 and competed in the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, N.Y., finishing 38th. The following year, he also won the U.S. title at the 20-kilometer biathlon distance in 1981. Jobe continued to coach skiers and started and designed the trail systems for the cross-country ski areas at Tahoe Donner and Kirkwood. He now lives in Sierraville where he helps out at his neighbor’s ranch and continues to coach, running the biathlon program at the ASC Training Center run by the Auburn Ski Club. Jobe was inducted into the Nevada Athletics Hall of Fame in 2002.


Philip Attipoe – Track & Field
Ghana – 1984

A sprinter on the Nevada men’s track and field team, Philip Attipoe competed in the 100 meter race as well as the 4x100 meter relay team at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, representing his home country of Ghana. Attipoe ranks among the top 50 Olympic athletes in the history of Ghana and still holds school outdoor records as part of the Wolf Pack’s 400 and 800 meter relay teams in 1983. 


James Idun – Track & Field
Ghana – 1984

James represented his home country of Ghana in the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, competing in the 200 meters in track and field. He had originally qualified for the Summer Olympics in 1980 but was unable to participate when Ghana became one of the 65 nations that boycotted the Moscow Games for political reasons. Idun still holds the Nevada outdoor record as part of the Wolf Pack’s 800 meter relay team in 1983.

 

May Ooi – Swimming
Singapore - 1992                      

A native of Singapore, May Ooi swam for the Wolf Pack from 1993-97. She represented Singapore at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona before enrolling at Nevada. She still ranks 10th in the Nevada record book in the 200 yard breaststroke and held Nevada’s long course record in the event. A pre-med major at Nevada, Ooi went onto medical school but later decided that a career in medicine wasn’t for her and became a mixed martial arts fighter.







 

Natalia Pulido – Swimming
Spain – 1992

Natalia Pulido swam for the Wolf from 1992-94, earning Big West Player of the Year honors in both 1993 and 1994. She represented Spain in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, competing in four events: the 100 and 200 meter freestyle races. At Nevada, she was one of the top distance swimmers in school history and set school records in the 500, 1,000 and 1,650 freestyle events (since broken). She still ranks in the top 10 in all three events in the Wolf Pack record book. 






 

Lisé Mackie – Swimming
Australia – 1992, 1996

One of the top swimmers in Wolf Pack history from 1995-98, Lisé Mackie was named the Big West Conference Swimmer of the Year three times in her career and helped the Wolf Pack to three conference titles. She captured eight individual Big West championships, sweeping the 100 and 200 free for three straight seasons from 1996-98, and was part of 10 Big West champion relay teams. A seven-time NCAA All-American, she set the school records in the 200 freestyle and 200 individual medley and as part of the 400 medley relay and 400 freestyle relay teams (since broken). The Brisbane, Australia, native still appears on Nevada's list of top times in the 100 and 200 free and the 200 individual medley. Mackie represented Australia at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona and the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, winning a bronze medal as part of the Aussies' 800 meter freestyle relay team in 1996. She was inducted into the Nevada Athletics Hall of Fame in 2009.





 

Limin Liu – Swimming
China – 1996, 2000

Limin Liu won three NCAA individual championships during her prolific Wolf Pack career from 1999-2000, capturing the 200 butterfly at the NCAA Championships in 1999 and the 100 and 200 fly in 2000. She still holds school and Big West Conference records in the 100 and 200 fly. A three-time All-American, Liu was named the Big West Swimmer of the Year in 2000. She was also part of Nevada’s school and conference record-setting 200 and 400-meter medley and freestyle relay teams (since broken). Liu captured the silver medal in the 100 fly while representing her native China at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and also competed in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. She held the world short-course record in the 100 fly and also won a gold medal at the World Championships. Liu was inducted into the Nevada Athletics Hall of Fame in 2010.






 

Katerina Hanusova Nash – Cross Country Skiing & Mountain Biking
Czech Republic – 1996, 1998, 2002, 2012, 2016

A native of Prachatice, Czech Republic, Katerina Hanusova Nash transferred to Nevada from the University of Colorado following the 2000 season. The six-time All-American won the NCAA title in the 5K freestyle at the 2000 NCAA Championships while representing the Buffs and won three more NCAA individual titles after joining the Wolf Pack. In 2001, she became just the second skier (and the first female skier) in Nevada school history to win a national title when she swept the 15k freestyle and the 5k classical races at the NCAA Championship. She defended her 15k freestyle title at the NCAA Championships the following year. A 2013 Nevada Athletics Hall of Fame inductee, she is the only Wolf Pack Olympian to appear in both the Winter and Summer Olympic Games. She made five Olympic appearances, competing in mountain biking in 1996 and 2002 and cross country skiing in 1998, 2012 and 2016. A two-time Czech Republic national cross country champion, she helped her 4x5 kilometer women’s relay team to a fourth place finish at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.




 

Brandon Rock – Men’s Track & Field
United States – 1996

A Nevada State high school champion out of El Dorado High School in Clark County, Brandon Rock came to Nevada in 1993 after transferring from Taft College in California. He overcame a severe kidney infection to compete and went undefeated during the 1994 regular season for the Wolf Pack. He finished eighth at the 1994 NCAA Championships in the 800 meters to earn All-America honors with a PR of 1:47.44. Rock transferred to the University of Arkansas after Nevada dropped men’s track and field  and went on to win the NCAA championship (1:46.37) and the United States men’s national championship (1:46.50) in 1995. He also finished fifth at the World Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden that year. Rock was ranked among the best in the United States and the world in his event from 1995 to 1997, ranking as high as first nationally and ninth in the world in 1995. Rock ran a personal best of 1:44.64 in the 800 meters at the 1996 U.S. Olympic Trials in Atlanta to win the silver medal and earn a spot on the U.S. Olympic squad. He then went on to run in the 800 meters at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Rock served as an inspirational speaker despite battling the kidney issues that ultimately ended his running career.



 

Diana Sokolowska – Swimming
Poland – 2012

Diana Sokolowska was one of the Wolf Pack’s top freestyle swimmers in 2017-18. She earned all-conference honors in the 400 free at the 2018 Mountain West Championships. She also led off Nevada’s conference champion 800-yard freestyle relay team that year and still ranks in the Wolf Pack top 10 in the 200 free, the 500 free and the 800 meter free relay. She represented Poland at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, as part of the country’s 4x200 meter freestyle relay team that finished 13th. She won seven medals in the Polish national champions in her career and was the 2016 national champion in the 200 free.






 

Chavisa Thaveesupsoonthorn – Swimming
Thailand – 2004, 2008

One of the best individual medley and distance freestyle swimmers in the history of the Wolf Pack program, Chavisa Thaveesupsoonthorn competed in the 400 individual medley for her home country of Thailand at the Summer Olympics in 2004 in Athens and in 2008 in Beijing. An All-Western Athletic Conference performer, she turned in 16 individual event wins during her Nevada career and finished second in the 400-yard individual medley race with a personal best (4:21.42) at the 2010 WAC Championship.






 

Krysta Palmer – Diving
United States – 2020

Krysta Palmer competed for the Pack from 2012-16, earning two NCAA All-American honorable mention accolades and two Mountain West Diver of the Year awards. In addition, Palmer compiled four Mountain West titles and competed in two NCAA Championships during her junior and senior campaigns. As a senior, Palmer was named Nevada's 2015-16 Ruth Russell Award winner, which is given annually to the school's top senior female student-athlete. 

A member of the Nevada coaching staff, Palmer won a bronze medalist in the women’s 3-meter springboard competition at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, becoming the first American woman to medal in that event since 1988. She also competed in the women’s synchronized 3-meter springboard in Tokyo, finishing eighth. She won both events at the 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials in Indianapolis. No stranger to representing Team USA, Palmer traveled the world as a member of the U.S. National Trampoline Team before injuries forced her to start a career in diving in 2012 when she was 20. Palmer first qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2016 where she finished fourth in synchronized platform and ninth in individual platform. Her first international diving competition was the 2017 FINA World Championships where she helped lead the United States to a bronze medal in the mixed 3-meter/10-meter team event.

Palmer was coached by Nevada diving coach Jian Li You in Tokyo. Nevada’s nine-time conference coach of the year was the Chinese national champion in the 1-meter, 3-meter springboard and platform for five years from 1976-80 and ranked No. 1 in the world during that stretch. She was named to the 1980 Chinese Olympic team, but she was not able to compete after 65 nations decided to boycott the Games in Moscow for political reasons. You became the first woman in United States history to be named to the country's Olympic diving coaching staff.


 

JaVale McGee – Men’s Basketball
United States – 2020

JaVale McGee spent two seasons on the Wolf Pack men’s basketball team from 2006-08, establishing himself as one of the top frontcourt players in the Western Athletic Conference. He earned second-team All-WAC and WAC All-Defensive honors in 2008 and played in 66 career games with 31 starts. He averaged 8.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocked shots per game in his career. Despite playing just two seasons, he finished fourth on the Wolf Pack career list with 122 blocked shots, leading the WAC and ranking 14th in in the nation with 2.79 blocks per game as a sophomore.

McGee entered the NBA Draft following the 2008 season and was taken 18th overall by the Washington Wizards. He just finished his 13th season in the NBA and has won three NBA titles (Warriors in 2017 and 2018 and Lakers in 2020). He has averaged 7.8 points and 5.2 rebounds per game in his NBA career so far and has played for Washington, Denver, Philadelphia, Dallas, Golden State, Los Angeles and Cleveland. 

McGee became the first Wolf Pack men’s basketball student-athlete to play in the Olympics and won a gold medal as a member of the 12-man Team USA squad in Tokyo in 2020. He was previously a member of the U.S National Team from 2010-12. He joins a family tradition of representing the United States in the Olympics with his mother, Pamela, and aunt, Paula, winning gold with Team USA at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. The pair is the first mother-son duo to win gold medals in Olympic history.


 

Aivi Luik – Women’s Soccer
Australia – 2020

An Australia native, Aivi Luik spent two seasons on the Wolf Pack women’s soccer team where she was a two-year starter after transferring from Brescia University in Kentucky. As a senior, she captained the team and scored the game-winning penalty kick to win the Western Athletic Conference championship and send the Wolf Pack to the NCAA Championship for the first time in school history. She earned second-team All-WAC honors in 2005 and was named Nevada's most valuable player in 2006. She started 41 of 42 matches at Nevada, scoring nine goals and had seven assists for 25 points which still ranks 10th on the Wolf Pack career list. 

Following Nevada, Luik began a professional soccer career and played for FC Indiana and Ottawa Fury in the USL W-League. She has also played for teams in Australia and throughout Europe. She made her debut for the Australian national team in 2010 in a friendly against New Zealand. She was also part of the squad which won the 2010 AFC Women's Asian Cup. 

Luik made her Olympic debut in 2020, earning a spot on the Australian National Team roster and playing in three matches. The Aussies made it to the bronze medal game, falling to the United States 4-3 in that match. Shortly after the Olympic Games, she retired from the Australian National Team with over 30 appearances.