BRIDGEWATER, Va. – Four former standout student-athletes, including a pair of dual-sport stars, headline the 2024 Bridgewater College Athletic Hall of Fame Class to be inducted on Oct. 19.
Davon Cruz '05
A member of the Bridgewater College football team from 1998-2001, Davon Cruz played a significant role in the program's rise to national acclaim, as they went from a winless season in 1998 to an ODAC championship and a spot in the Stagg Bowl, the Division III national championship game, in 2001.
As a freshman, Cruz played quarterback, but he transitioned to running back beginning with his sophomore season. As a junior, Cruz ran for 1,556 yards and 14 touchdowns to push the Eagles to a 10-2 record and a trip to the national postseason.
In Cruz's senior season, he finished with 1,678 rushing yards, which still stands as BC football's single-season record, and ran for 18 touchdowns, which stood as the program record for almost 15 years and still ranks as the second-highest. That year Cruz was not only named to the All-ODAC first team and VaSID All-State first team, but he also received All-American honors from five organizations, including first team laurels from D3football.com and the AFCA.
For his career, Cruz owns the Bridgewater record with 3,986 rushing yards, is second with 36 career rushing touchdowns and totaled 20 games with at least 100 yards rushing, which is also a program record. He is second in the record book with 102.2 yards per game, and he ranks third in all-purpose yards with 4,675.
In addition to his many accolades on the gridiron, Cruz excelled as a member of the track & field program, qualifying for the national championship in the 55-meter dash in 2001 and 2002. He set a program record in the 55-meter and 60-meter dashes, with his time of 6.94 seconds in the 60-meter standing for nearly 20 years. It is still the third-fastest in team history. During his senior season in 2002, Cruz earned All-American honors by finishing sixth in the 55-meter dash at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field National Championships.
Cruz, who passed away in 2011, will be posthumously inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Amanda Kyger '00
Amanda Kyger exhibited excellence throughout her four-year tenure with the Bridgewater College
women's basketball team.
In her four seasons as a post player, she was a dominant presence on both ends of the court and was named First Team All-ODAC for her performances during the 1998-99 and 1999-00 campaigns. While Kyger was with the Eagles, the team jumped out to an 88-23 overall record and dominated the ODAC, finishing 66-14 across the four seasons.
As a junior, she averaged 13.5 points per game, while shooting 52.8 percent, to help the Eagles to
the ODAC Championship. Kyger also recorded an impressive 45 blocked shots and 7.7 rebounds per game. As a senior, she averaged 15.4 points and 7.0 rebounds per game along with 54 blocks and 47 assists.
During her time at BC, the team qualified for the NCAA tournament in three consecutive seasons
(1996-97, 1997-98 and 1998-99), including the team's first-ever NCAA tournament appearance in 1997.
In the 1997-98 NCAA tournament, she put together a double-double (24 points and 16 rebounds) to help defeat Christopher Newport 90-87 in the Round of 32 and push BC to its first-ever Sweet 16 appearance.
Kyger is regarded as one of the most accurate shooters in program history, ranking second all-time with an average of 51.6 percent from the field. Kyger finished her career with 1,374 points, which is the sixth-most in program history. Her 159 career blocked shots ranks fourth-highest in the women's basketball record books, as do her 711 career rebounds.
Kameron Tucker '03
Kameron Tucker was a dominant force at the plate during her softball career at Bridgewater College.
Tucker was a member of the BC softball program from 2000-2003, garnering a number of accolades as the Eagles went 110-56, including a 43-12 record in ODAC play.
During her first year with the team in 2000, Tucker served as the team's catcher, helping the Eagles to a then-program record 32 wins. She played in 39 of the team's 42 games, finishing second on the team with a .415 batting average and first with 44 runs batted in – still the seventh-most in program history. In addition, she scored 30 runs and totaled 20 extra-base hits, including four home runs.
Her sophomore campaign concluded with a .376 batting average and 27 RBI, ranking second on the team, along with a team-high four home runs. The Eagles once again crossed the 25-win plateau, finishing the 2001 season at 29-12.
Tucker belted a then-team record 10 home runs as a junior and batted .421 with 39 RBI on her way to a First Team All-ODAC selection. The catcher earned All-Atlantic Region first-team laurels and a spot on the VaSID All-State first team, before becoming the program's first-ever All-American in her senior campaign. Tucker's final season also saw first-team accolades at the conference, region and state levels after batting an impressive .441 with eight home runs and 41 RBI.
She graduated as the career leader in several categories with a .685 slugging percentage, 26 home runs, 153 RBI and 328 total bases. Her total base record now ranks second in team history, but she still leads the other three categories after more than two decades. Tucker's 153 career RBI total ranks ninth in the ODAC record book.
Ken Utterback '76
Ken Utterback was a two-sport standout for Bridgewater College, playing baseball for four years and basketball for three seasons.
A three-time All-Virginia College Athletic Association selection in baseball, Utterback's senior season at the plate was one of the best in program history. Utterback finished with a batting average of .439, which ranked among the top 10 in all of Division III in 1976. The mark stands as the eighth-best in program history. Utterback finished his career with a .321 batting average. He also achieved the distinction of not being charged with any passed balls as a catcher in his final two years on the diamond.
Utterback also spent three seasons as a member of the Bridgewater men's basketball program, averaging more than five points and two assists per game. An efficient shooter, Utterback ranked in the top 25 in Division III with a 90.0 percent free-throw shooting percentage as a sophomore.
The second-ever pair of father-son inductees in the 30-year history of the Bridgewater College Athletic Hall of Fame, Utterback joins his father, James Utterback Jr. '53, who was inducted in 1998 for his achievements in both basketball and baseball.
