July 23, 2008

by Jeff Smith
Contributor, BigTen.org

With the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games quickly approaching, BigTen.org takes a look at both former and current Olympians who have made their mark in their respective sports.  In today's "Olympic Spotlight" feature, we take a look at the Olympic field hockey careers of Marcia Pankratz of Iowa and Indiana's Kayla Bashore.

MARCIA PANKRATZ, FIELD HOCKEY, IOWA, 1982-86
1988 - Seoul
1996 - Atlanta

Marcia Pankratz was a two-time Olympian and a two-time Big Ten standout during her career.  The former Iowa star competed in the 1988 and 1996 Olympic Games before heading to Ann Arbor to take the head coaching position of the Michigan field hockey team.

During the 1988 Games in Seoul, Pankratz guided the Americans to an eighth-place result and then returned to the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta with a team-leading three goals to help the U.S. finish fifth.  Despite competing in two Olympiads without winning a medal, Pankratz earned four medals during the 110 international matches in which she played.

A vice-captain for the USA squad from 1985-96, Pankratz competed in the 1986 and 1994 World Cup contests, playing a key role in helping the U.S. take home the bronze in the latter event.  She scored the game-winning goal on a penalty corner to lift the U.S. to a 2-1 victory over defending World Cup champion The Netherlands.  In 1991, she earned a bronze medal with the team at the Pan American Games and then added a Pan Am silver medal at the 1995 Games.  That same year she also notched a bronze at the Champions Trophy.  Pankratz served on a number of Olympic committees as well.  She was a member of the U.S. Field Hockey Board of Directors from 1994-2000 and was a representative to the United States Olympic Committee from 1996-2000.  In 2004, she was inducted into the USA Field Hockey Hall of Fame.

Pankratz first stepped foot on a Big Ten campus when she was a student-athlete at Iowa from 1982-86.  There she was a first-team All-America selection in 1984 and 1985 and the Iowa Female Athlete of the Year.  She earned NCAA All-Tournament accolades in 1984, following a regular season where she led the conference with 21 points and 10 goals.  Pankratz was also the 1985 and 1986 recipient of the Big Ten Medal of Honor and was honored as a first-team All-Decade selection by the conference in 1991.

From 1996-2005, Pankratz served as head coach of the Wolverines' program.  The three-time Big Ten Coach of the Year led the Maize and Blue to regular-season conference titles on five occasions and captured the Big Ten Tournament crown three times.  In 1999, Michigan was an NCAA Championship finalist and later returned in 2001 to win the national title.  Pankratz coached 11 different Wolverines to 19 All-America citations and was the first U-M field hockey mentor to guide Michigan to four straight 15-win seasons.

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MP		KB
2	Olympics	1*
0	Total Medals	0
0	Gold	0
0	Silver	0
0	Bronze	0
	* 1st Olympics in 2008

KAYLA BASHORE, FIELD HOCKEY, INDIANA, 2001-05
2008 - Beijing

Indiana's Kayla Bashore is set for her first Olympic experience this August as a member of U.S. squad.  Bashore, who is the first Hoosier field hockey standout to ever compete with the U.S. National squad, played a vital role in helping the Americans clinch their first Olympic berth since the 1996 Atlanta Games.  She scored a goal against rival Belgium in the World Hockey Olympic Qualifying Tournament final in Russia back in April.

Since 2004, Bashore has been on the radar of the USA Field Hockey selection committee.  She was appointed to the USA Under-21 Team in 2004 and made her first appearance with the Senior National Team in 2005.  She competed with the Americans in 2006 when they placed fourth at the World Cup Qualifying Tournament in Rome and sixth at the World Cup in Madrid.

During her time at Indiana, Bashore was the unanimous Big Ten Athlete of the Year as a senior in 2005, and later led the Hoosiers to their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament that same season.  Following her senior campaign, Bashore was named a semifinalist for the Honda Award, presented to the nation's top college field hockey player.  She earned first-team All-America honors in her final year after tallying 29 points off 12 goals and five assists.  The three-time first-team All-Conference selection was also honored with the prestigious Arthur Ashe Sportsmanship & Leadership Award in 2002.