Hall of Fame
Sharon Lorber was a memorable star in both basketball and softball. She was the first Coe woman athlete to lead the nation in statistical categories in softball and she set a scoring record in basketball that lasted six years. She was a First Team All-Midwest Conference pitcher in softball four years and was First Team All-Midwest Conference twice in basketball. How would you like to be in the batter's box against pitching like this? As a sophomore, Sharon Lorber led the nation in strikeouts in NCAA Divisions I, II, and III. In her junior and senior years she led the nation in strikeouts in NCAA Division III. In 1990 she had the lowest earned run average in the nation in Division III. In Midwest conference play she led the Kohawks to a 10-0 conference season three consecutive years. In 1989 she was 17-3, including nine shut-outs, and three no hitters, while averaging eight strikeouts per seven innings. Coe went 31-6 in 1990 and with Sharon pitching three shut-outs won the Midwest Conference Tournament. She pitched Coe to its first NCAA Division III Regional Tournament and won First Team All-Region Honors as well as Division III National All-American Honors. But softball was only one of two sports in which Sharon excelled. In basketball she started every game all four years, winning the Most Valuable Player Award as a senior. She set a record for single-season rebounds with 215 total. She was the first woman basketball player at Coe to reach 1000 total career points and she set a scoring record of 1033 points, a record that held up for six years. Now a Loan Officer and Marketing Director at a bank in Fairfield, Iowa, Sharon still enjoys competition in softball and basketball. She was a team leader in an era when Coe was first establishing a national position in women's sports. She contributed richly to the women's athletic program and for all these reasons we feel particularly privileged to welcome Sharon Lorber Kleinow into the Kohawk Athletic Hall of Fame.
