Western Carolina Athletics Hall of Fame
Susie Gardner-Mayhorn - Cross Country and Track & Field - (1989-93)
Is one of the most decorated student-athletes in Western Carolina history. A three-time Academic All-America recipient, picking up first-team honors in 1992 and 1993, the Marietta, Ga., native was additionally tabbed North Carolina's 1993 NCAA Woman of the Year and won the Southern Conference's 1993 Dorothy Hix Postgraduate Scholarship. Also in 1993, she graduated summa cum laude (3.92-grade point average) with a degree in psychology to earn the WCU Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award and she received the fourth of her four SoCon All-Academic Team honors. In cross country, Gardner-Mayhorn earned All-SoCon honors in 1991, becoming the first Catamount female to earn the honor thanks to a fourth-place finish in 1991. She was the cross country team MVP in 1990, 1991 and 1992, finished first eight times in her career and set WCU course records for all distances. She was an 18-time All-SoCon honoree in indoor track (four times each in 800 meters, 1,600 meters, 4x800 relay and high jump and twice in the 4x400 relay), earning indoor team MVP honors once. In outdoor track, Gardner-Mayhorn earned All-SoCon honors 12 times, including four times each in the 800 meters, high jump and 4x400 relay. She added SoCon individual championships in the high jump (1992) and 800 meters (1991 and `92) during the outdoor season. In addition to her numerous conference honors, she holds the distinction of being the first SoCon female athlete to break the five-minute mark in the mile and set 18 Western Carolina records over her career.
Gardner-Mayhorn became Western Carolina's first inductee into the Southern Conference Hall of Fame in 2018 and was selected to the Southern Conference 100th Anniversary Team in 2021 for cross country and women's track & field.
