Taylor Athletic Announces 2023 Hall of Fame Class
UPLAND, Ind. – Taylor Athletics will induct a class of three members into its Hall of Fame on Saturday, October 21 as part of the 2023 Taylor Homecoming festivities. The 2023 inductees are Alex Berends, Adam Sauder and Eric Turner.
Berends graduated from Taylor in 2018, after running to eight NAIA All-American awards in cross country, indoor track and outdoor track. The seven-time Crossroads League Champion also collected 12 All-CL honors and set six new course, stadium or meet records during her illustrious career with the Trojans. Berends broke Taylor's program records in the steeplechase, mile, 1,000-meters, 3,000-meters, distance-medley relay and 4x800-meter relay, while posting an incredible head-to-head cross country record of 438 wins to 34 defeats. Her performances helped Taylor win four-straight CL Championships in cross country, as well as the 2018 CL Indoor Track Championships. In addition to the league titles, Berends powered her teams to four top-11 finishes at NAIA Cross Country National Championships, including a fifth-place showing in 2017 and a third-place finish in 2018. The awards and accolades were plentiful for one of the most decorated women's distance runners in Taylor history, as Berends hauled in 16 CL Athlete-of-the-Week nods on her way to being named the 2014-2015 CL Female Athlete of the Year and the 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 TU Natalie Steele Award recipient. Berends also excelled academically as a six-time NAIA Scholar-Athlete and two-time CoSIDA First-Team Academic All-American.
Sauder graduated from Taylor in 2015, with NAIA and AFCA First-Team All-American honors on his resume following his junior and senior campaigns on the football field. The dynamic safety was named a Cliff Harris Award Finalist in each of those seasons, being the NAIA's top vote-getter for the award in 2015. Additionally, Sauder was named a First-Team All-American by InstantScouting.Com in 2015 and a Preseason First-Team All-American by USA College Football in 2015. Sauder made program history as the first player to be named the Mid-States Football Association Mideast League Defensive Player of the Year in 2015, capping a string of three-straight All-MSFA honors and back-to-back First-Team All-MSFA nods. The 2015-2016 TU Gates-Howard Award recipient and team captain was a three-time MSFA Mideast League Defensive Player of the Week and finished his career at TU with 364 tackles, nine interceptions and 20 tackles for lost yardage.
Turner graduated from Taylor in 1974 and has since been a life-long friend and supporter of Taylor University and TU Athletics, having made prominent contributions to a host of facility projects around campus. As a successful businessman, Turner also served for 25 years as a member of the Indiana House of Representatives and was recognized as Taylor's 2007 Distinguished Alumnus for Professional Achievement. During his time on campus, Turner was a four-year letterman on TU's football team and led the squad in scoring as a placekicker in each of his final three seasons. Those performances led to Tuner being a two-time All-Hoosier Buckeye standout and led the way to a pair of NAIA All-District selections. Most recently, Turner has served as president of the TU Athletics Hall of Fame, highlighting a long-time role as an active member with the Hall-of-Fame committee.
Individuals wishing to attend the 2023 Hall of Fame brunch at 9:00 am on October 21 can purchase tickets by going to TaylorTrojans.com/tickets.