July 5, 2012
THE FLATS – George Godsey and Jon Carman, key members of Georgia Tech’s bowl teams of the late 1990s, track and field All-Americans Becky Megesi and Tomas Motiejunas, golf All-American Carlton Forrester, ACC volleyball Player of the Year Maja Pachale and All-American pitcher Cory Vance have been elected to the 2012 class of the Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame.
This group of standout student-athletes will be inducted on Friday, Oct. 19, at the annual Hall of Fame Induction Dinner at the Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center. Tickets for the dinner are $50 and can be purchased through the Alexander-Tharpe Fund at 404-894-6124. They will also be honored during Tech’s football game against Boston College on Saturday, Oct. 20, at Bobby Dodd Stadium.
“We are excited to welcome this 2012 class into the Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame,” said Tech director of athletics Dan Radakovich. “All of these student-athletes excelled individually in their own right, but they were also key contributors to the success of their teams, which achieved great heights during their time at Tech. They are all tremendous representatives of Georgia Tech, and we look forward to honoring them on Oct. 19.”
Godsey was a two-year starter at quarterback, and Carman was a tremendous lineman for Georgia Tech offenses that ranked among the most prolific in the nation around the turn of the century, playing a key role in building the Yellow Jackets into a nationally ranked program which has now been to a bowl game 15 straight years.
Megesi was one of the pioneers in distance running in Tech’s cross country and track teams in the last 1990s, and remains involved with her alma mater as a coach in the program. Motiejunas won a national championship and All-America honors in sprint relay events during the same period, and he joins his twin brother Jonas, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2010.
Pachale was the ACC volleyball Player of the Year in 2001 and led Tech to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances, while Vance earned All-America honors and was one of the top left-handed pitchers in Tech history. Forrester played on Tech golf teams that included current PGA Tour pros Matt Kuchar, Bryce Molder and Troy Matteson, helping the Yellow Jackets to an ACC title and two runner-up finishes in the NCAA Championship.
Following are brief bios on the 2012 Hall of Fame class:
Jon Carman, Football (1997-99) – Photo Gallery
Carman was a two-year starter at right tackle for the Yellow Jackets in 1998-99, helping Tech to a share of the 1998 Atlantic Coast Conference football title and being an integral part of three Tech teams that played in bowl games from 1997-99. As a senior in 1999, he made the All-ACC first team, and earned second-team All-America honors by The Sporting News and third-team honors by the Associated Press and Football News, helping pave the way for a Tech offense that led the nation with 509 yards per game, 226 on the ground and 283 through the air (both ranking among the nation’s top 20). Tech finished the year ranked No. 9 in the national polls. Carman went on to play four seasons in the NFL with Buffalo and Minnesota.
Carman currently lives in Barnegat, N.J., with his wife Candace, a former Tech basketball player, and their three daughters.
Carlton Forrester, Golf (1997-2000) – Photo Gallery
One of the unsung heroes of Georgia Tech’s golf resurgence in the late 1990s, Forrester was a key component of Yellow Jacket teams that won nine tournaments, including the 1999 Atlantic Coast Conference championship, and posted a pair of runner-up finishes in the NCAA Championship (1998, 2000).
Forrester made the All-ACC team in 1999 and earned honorable mention All-America honors in 1999 and 2000. He tied for 15th individually at the 2000 NCAA Finals, helping Tech into a tie with Oklahoma State after 72 holes and forcing a playoff for the team title. He was also Tech’s top finisher (T14) with Matt Kuchar at the 2000 NCAA East Regional. Forrester ranks 17th in career stroke average at Tech (73.30).
Forrester lives in Atlanta with his wife, Katie and two sons, remains active as an amateur golfer and works for a capital investment firm. He was the runner-up in the 2005 U.S. Mid-Amateur and was the medalist at the 2006 Mid-Amateur.
George Godsey, Football (1998-01) – Photo Gallery
A four-year letterwinner at Georgia Tech, George Godsey quarterbacked two of the most prolific offenses in Yellow Jacket history, leading Tech to a 17-8 record as a starter. The Tampa, Fla., native was second team All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection as a junior in 2000 as the Yellow Jackets ranked 15th nationally as 435 yards per game and landed a berth in the Chick-fil-A Bowl, then helped the Jackets to a win in the 2001 Seattle Bowl after ranking 34th nationally with 417 yards per game in total offense. Godsey also was the backup to Joe Hamilton in 1998 when the Yellow Jackets grabbed a share of the ACC title and beat Notre Dame in the Gator Bowl.
Godsey still owns a number of Tech offensive records, remaining Tech’s all-time leader for career completion percentage (63.3 pct.). He still holds Tech’s single-season record for passing yards (3,085), pass completions (249) and pass attempts (384), all set in 2001. His 477 yards of total offense against Virginia in 2001 and his 309.69 pass efficiency rating against Navy in 2001 still stand. Godsey still stands fourth in Tech history for career total offensive yards (6,125).
Following his graduation in 2002, he played one season of Arena League football and then joined the coaching staff at the University of Central Florida, where he remained until joining the New England Patriots as an offensive assistant in 2010. He is now the Patriots’ tight ends coach.
Becky Megesi, Track and Field (1998-01) – Photo Gallery
A two-time All-American in the outdoor 1500 meters and the distance medley relay, Megesi was one of the pioneers among women’s distance runners at Georgia Tech. In 1998, she became just the third Tech individual qualifier for the NCAA Cross Country Championship and qualified for the 2000 Olympic trials in the 800 meters. She twice won Atlantic Coast Conference titles, in the outdoor 1500 meters in 1998 and 1999, and earned All-ACC honors three times in the 1500 meters (indoor and outdoor), once in the indoor 800 meters and once in the indoor mile run.
Megesi set a Tech record in the outdoor 800 meters in 1999 (2:04.63) and was part of two record-setting relay teams, the outdoor 4×800 meters in 1998 and the indoor distance medley relay in 2000, of which she ran the anchor leg. She qualified for the NCAA Championships four times in three different events.
Megesi earned her bachelor’s degree in Management from Tech in 2001, and has been an assistant coach with Tech’s cross country and track teams for the last seven years.
Tomas Motiejunas, Track and Field (1995-98) – Photo Gallery
A 1998 national champion in the 4×400 meter relay, Motiejunas earned All-America honors numerous times in his four-year career, including four times in the 4×400 meter relay and once in the indoor 400 meters in 1997. He won Atlantic Coast Conference titles in the 4×400 relay four times, in the process earning All-ACC honors, and captured one ACC championship in the 400 meters.
Motiejunas, who graduated in 1998, lives in Atlanta with his wife Neely and daughter Lila, and has his own company dealing in environmental and safety compliance work.
Maja Pachale, Volleyball (1998-01) – Photo Gallery
The Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year in 2001, Pachale was a four-year starting outside hitter on some excellent Tech volleyball teams in the late 1990s and early 2000s. She earned All-ACC honors three times (1999, 2000, 2001), led the Yellow Jackets to two NCAA Tournament appearances and a share of the 2000 ACC Championship during her four years. Tech compiled an 83-43 overall record during her time, including a 41-23 ACC mark.
Pachale set Tech records for kills in a career (1,836), season (552) and match (38) and still carries the career standard for kills per game (4.21). The 1999 team MVP twice made the AVCA All-District III team and twice made the ACC’s Academic Honor Roll.
Pachale currently lives in her hometown of Schwerin, Germany, and works for the federation of sports in Mecklenberg-West Pomerania.
Cory Vance, Baseball (1998-00) – Photo Gallery
A first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference and a third-team All-America pitcher in 2000, Vance stands as one of the top left-handed pitchers in Georgia Tech history. The Vandalia, Ohio native won 28 games in three seasons with the Yellow Jackets, including a 13-3 record in his final season of 2000, when he tossed five complete games and struck out 123 batters in 119 innings. His 13 wins that year tie for second most ever for a Tech pitcher.
He fanned 328 batters in his career, fourth-most in Tech history, in 302.2 innings, and ranks 10th in Tech history in strikeouts per nine innings (9.75). His 28 wins is tied for fourth place, and his innings total ranks eighth. Among his other honors were Freshman All-America in 1998 and ABCA All-Atlantic Region in 2000.
Vance was selected in the fourth round of the 2000 Major League Baseball draft by the Colorado Rockies, and appeared in 11 games for the major league team in 2002 and 2003. He retired to Chandler, Ariz., where lives with his wife and two daughters, and he has been a firefighter for the last eight years.
