INDIANAPOLIS—The Great Midwest Athletic Conference announced its second Great Midwest Hall of Fame Class on Tuesday afternoon. The inductees will be honored at the league’s spring awards banquet on May 21 in Blue Ash, Ohio.
 
The 2024 class will feature former Walsh cross country and track and field athlete Sarah Berger-Winkler along with standout track and field athlete from Malone University Duke Taylor.
 
“Congratulations to Sarah and Duke on this well-deserved honor," said Great Midwest Comissioner Tom Daeger. "These two former student-athletes truly excelled during their collegiate careers and claimed national championships during their time in the G-MAC and are among the first to stake claim to that amazing accomplishment in league history. We are thankful for their many contributions to the G-MAC and we look forward to honoring them at our annual Hall of Fame induction ceremony.”
 
Sarah Berger-Winkler
During her time as a Cavalier, Berger-Winkler was not only a standout in the league, but also at the national level. She found herself atop the podium in 2018, becoming a national champion in the 1,500 meter run. While at Walsh, Berger-Winkler racked up a list of accolades including the Midwest Cross Country Runner of the Year followed by a Midwest Female Track Athlete of the Year in the spring of 2018. She was a finalist for the prestigious NCAA Woman of the Year award, a three-time national runner-up, and a six-time USTFCCCA academic all-American.
 
In the Great Midwest, she earned the league’s highest-honor as the Female Collegiate Achievement Award winner in 2018 after a historic year. The Wadsworth, Ohio native still holds the third fastest time in G-MAC history in the 6k (20:52.00) and the fifth fastest in the 5k (17:25.40).
 
Duke Taylor
Duke is one of the most decorated student-athletes to not only come out of Malone, but also the Great Midwest. Taylor, the only three-time NCAA Division II all-American in Malone athletics history, concluded his senior season by winning the NCAA Division II Discus National title.
 
A native of East Canton, Ohio, Taylor was a two-time First Team All-American in the discus (2016, 2017) and became Malone’s first NCAA indoor track & field All-American with an eighth-place finish in the weight throw at the 2017 Indoor National Championship Meet. His mark of 58.78m is the best mark in G-MAC history to date.
 
He helped lead the Malone men’s team to a Great Midwest Athletic Conference Indoor Track & Field Title in 2017, as well as a runner-up finish at the conference’s 2017 Outdoor Championships. Individually, Taylor claimed conference titles in the indoor shot put and the outdoor discus and hammer throw competitions.
 
Taylor’s lengthy list of career awards includes four USTFCCCA All-Region honors in the discus in addition to being named the Great Midwest’s 2016-17 Male Athlete of the Year.