Nov. 3, 2008
By JERRY HILL
Baylor Bear Insider
(This is one of a series of articles on the 2008 induction class for the Baylor Athletic Hall of Fame)
Sometimes, injuries can be a blessing in disguise.
At the time, when a hip injury at the end of cross country wiped out her senior year in track at Baylor, Sally Geis probably didn't see it that way. But it turned out to be one of the best things that could have ever happened to her.
"I would have graduated in '94. But because I redshirted, I had that whole extra year in a way," she said. "I didn't compete in cross country, but I had the indoor and track outdoor seasons. And because I was there longer, I met my husband."
Introduced by former Baylor runner Bill Adams, Sally and former Georgia Tech runner Matt Smart met at the Southwest Conference track meet at Houston in 1994. And now, 14 years later, Rev. Matt and Sally Smart are still together and raising their four children in Lebanon, Tenn.
"We were both involved in Athletes in Action, part of the Campus Crusade for Christ," said Sally, who will join the Baylor Athletic Hall of Fame at the induction banquet on Friday in the Galloway Suite at Floyd Casey Stadium. "We moved up to Ohio and then back to Texas, where he went to Dallas Seminary. And we've been here for five years at Grace Bible Church, a small church in Lebanon, which is just outside of Nashville. It's a small town, but it's growing, and we really like it here."
A native of Manhattan, Kan., Geis was recruited by her hometown Kansas State, plus Kansas, SMU and TCU. But she was looking for a college with a Christian emphasis and liked the "whole environment" at Baylor.
"It's kind of a blur, but I remember Kansas State recruiting me. They were hoping I would stay closer to home," she said. "And my parents, too, wanted me to stay home. But I just thought the school itself would be good for me. I was wanting to branch out."
At Baylor, Lisa Stone Monsees "took me under her wings," Geis said, as the two trained together. Two of the best distance runners in the school's history, they have remained close friends and ran at the Country Music Run half-marathon in Nashville, Tenn., in April.
"Ever since I graduated, I've always enjoyed running," she said. "I competed while we were in Athletes in Action. But when I started having babies, I had to slow down a little. I took the baby stroller and jogged, but nothing competitively. Lisa had taken a break, and so did I. But she called me and said she wanted to do the half-marathon. It was a lot of fun."
Geis was part of a golden era in Baylor cross country, running on four consecutive Southwest Conference championships (1990-93) and finishing in the top 10 individually every year. She also was the first Baylor individual in school history to run in four NCAA Cross Country Championships, leading the Bears to a program-best 10th-place finish in 1991 and finishing 64th individually as a senior in '93.
"I don't know what the comparison is (with the Big 12), but it seemed like it was competitive enough at the time with Texas and Arkansas in there," she said. "It kind of made all the training worthwhile."
On the track, she's tied with former teammate Natalie Nalepa for the most individual conference titles with five. Geis doubled in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters at the SWC Outdoor Championships and came back after her injury to win the 5,000 at the 1995 SWC Indoors.
Geis also earned her first All-American honor as a fifth-year senior, when she finished seventh in the 10,000 meters at the 1995 NCAA Outdoor Championships.
"That was one of my goals was to become an All-American," she said. "But the things that I remember are just the friendships I made and being part of a team."
A 1995 Baylor grad with a degree in elementary education and a special education emphasis, Smart said she stays busy with her four children: Micah, 10; Andrew, 8; Hannah, 4; and Jacob, 2. But she also teaches pre-school two days a week, is involved in a Christian Mothers' group and also helps out at the church however she can.
Not surprisingly, Micah and Andrew have followed in the footsteps of their parents. Both have played soccer, T-ball, baseball and basketball and run in AAU summer track meets, with Micah finishing first in the state in the 400 meters with a 1:14 clocking.
"Matt and I try to keep up with them," Sally said, "so that is our athletic event now."
Thirteen years after she graduated from Baylor, Smart said she was "kind of caught off guard" when she got the call about the Hall of Fame. She's part of a class that includes tennis coach Matt Knoll, former football standout Ray Crockett, baseball player Marty Crawford, basketball player Tom Stanton and track and field's Roy Lee Smalley.
"I was doing my normal mom things, so I wasn't exactly expecting a phone call like that," she said. "I have a lot of good memories of my time at Baylor. I've kind of lost touch with some folks, but I'm really looking forward to (the induction banquet). We still have a lot of our friends that are there from our seminary and Baylor days."
