Tonya Stites was inducted into the RMAC Hall of Fame Saturday evening at the Colorado Springs Marriott at the annual RMAC Hall of Fame banquet. Stites was one of six individuals and two teams inducted into the 2010 class.
Stites, a four-year starter for the Mavericks from 1990-1994, was named First Team Academic All-American in 1994, Stites graduated with a 3.51 GPA in history. A two-time All-American and three-time First Team All-RMAC player, Stites is Mesa State’s all-time leader in scoring (1,920) and rebounding(1,032). She’s also second in field goal percentage.
Stites was named to the RMAC Centennial Celebration Women’s Basketball All-Time Team, receiving the third most points by the selection committee. Stites is the fourth women’s basketball player inducted into the RMAC Hall of Fame (Annett e Wiles, Debra Gilbert, Pam DeCosta). DeCosta is a former Maverick.
Stites was inducted into the Mesa State College Hall of Honor in 2004. A graduate of Cedaredge High School she entered MSC in 1990 and had a stellar athletic and academic college career.
In 1992 she earned NAIA Honorable Mention; NAIA District VII Player of the Year; First Team All Conference; Conference Scholar-Athlete, and Most Valuable Player at California State tournament.
In 1993 she was selected First Team All Conference; Denver Post Colorado Small College Player of the Year; RMAC Scholar-Athlete, and Most Valuable Player at Cal Poly Tournament.
Tonya's accomplishments in 1994 included: RMAC scholar-athlete, NCAA Division II All-American First Team; Conference Scholar-Athlete; Division II All-District VII; Sportswomen of Colorado Award for Basketball; RMAC Player of the Year; NCAA Division II Academic All-American First Team; Division II Academic All-District VII; and NCAA Division II All-American Honorable Mention.
She was the only player to lead the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference in scoring and rebounding for three consecutive seasons. Her jersey was retired in January 1995.
In addition to the conference and national awards listed above, Tonya was on Mesa State's Dean's List seven times and the President's List two times. While at Mesa she received the Robert J. Quimby Award, the Max Krey Scholarship, the William Foster Award, the State of Colorado Congress Award of Outstanding Achievement, and was a member of the Phi Alpha Theta (Historical Honor Society) and Phi Beta Lambda (Business Society).
After graduating Cum Laude from Mesa State in 1994, Tonya taught at Central High School during the 1995-96 year. She’s spent the last 14 years teaching and coaching in Delta County on the western slope of Colorado.