5 New Members Inducted Into MSO Hall of Fame

Dec.10, 2023—On relatively short notice, we had an excellent turnout for our 2023 MSO Awards Ceremony, held on a cold, rainy Dec. 10 at North Potomac Community Center in Rockville. We inducted the new class of MSO Hall of Famers, presented our civic awards, introduced two new honorary awards, and recognized our athletes who set new records.

MSO’s 13th Hall of Fame class honors Jill Coleman of Owings Mills (swimming), James Kenney from White Plains (track and field), Edward “Ted” Murphy of Rockville (multisport), and Carl and Carol Cuneo from Perry Hall (bowling), the first pair to be inducted.

Mrs. Coleman, 93, is one of the most prolific winners in MSO history. From 1998 until 2021, she participated in 13 different MSO swimming events and won 36 gold medals. Mrs. Coleman never finished second or third. That’s right, she was 36-0 in MSO competition. Along the way, she held records in numerous events from ages 65 to 94, with eight remaining today. She was also a six-time swimming gold medal winner in the 2011 National Senior Games in Houston.

Mr. Kenney, 82, began playing in MSO in 1999, trying a variety of track and field events. He eventually settled into the javelin throw, where he now holds every MSO record from ages 60-84. Mr. Kenney has also won three gold medals, one silver, and one bronze in javelin while representing Maryland at seven National Senior Games. Today, he’s the No. 3-ranked Masters age 80-84 javelin performer in the U.S. and No. 6 in the world.

Carl, 83, and Carol Cuneo, 80, have participated in the Maryland Senior Olympics since the late 1990s. They have combined to win 54 gold, 38 silver, and 13 bronze MSO medals while holding three of our age-group records, with two still standing. While they bowl in singles and doubles events, the Cuneos have made their most significant mark as a mixed doubles pair. Their age 60-64 mixed doubles record has stood since 2006, while Carol has held the women’s 70-74 singles record since 2017. Meanwhile, Carl has participated in 11 National Senior Games, and Carol in nine. They have won eight medals (two gold, two silvers) at Nationals.

At age 99, Mr. Murphy is one of MSO’s true long-timers, having played in our Maryland Games since 1990. He has participated in numerous track and field events, plus swimming, bowling, golf, horseshoes, table tennis, bocce, and lord only knows what else. He has the list somewhere. But through that time, he’s held a dozen MSO records with seven of them still standing in age groups 85-89, 90-94, and 95-99. Along the way, Mr. Murphy has participated in three National Senior Games (2003, 2019, and 2023), winning two gold medals in each of the javelin and discus. His 2019 javelin throw in Albuquerque is second-best in the National Games’ age 95-99 group. He turns 100 on Feb. 3, 2024, and desires to participate in MSO for another five years. “Outliving the competition. That’s the method to my madness,” he says.

In addition, we presented MSO Citation Awards for service and dedication to our games to Lois Scheminant, Herman Yeh, and Ted Light (absent). The Robert G. Zeigler Service Award went to Howard County Recreation and Parks, which sent a friendly letter of appreciation for our long-running partnership.

We also introduced the new George Huson and Carmen Campbell awards for the male and female participants who show sportsmanship, achievement, and good attitude. In receiving the first award named in her honor, Carmen gave a passionate speech about the importance of participation. George’s wife Patsy told funny stories about how much he loved MSO and playing the games, even though he wasn’t always good at some of them. George passed away in 2022, and we miss him dearly.

The ceremony was the second we’ve had this year to make up for those canceled during the pandemic. So, we invited all athletes who broke one of our Maryland records between 2021 and the present to receive their certificates.

On relatively short notice, we had an excellent turnout for our 2023 MSO Awards Ceremony, held on a cold, rainy Dec. 10 at North Potomac Community Center in Rockville. We inducted the new class of MSO Hall of Famers, presented our civic awards, introduced two new honorary awards, and recognized our athletes who set new records.

MSO’s 13th Hall of Fame class honors Jill Coleman of Owings Mills (swimming), James Kenney from White Plains (track and field), Edward “Ted” Murphy of Rockville (multisport), and Carl and Carol Cuneo from Perry Hall (bowling), the first pair to be inducted.

We’re always happy to see MSO founder Bob Zeigler and wife Ginny Lee.

Mrs. Coleman, 93, is one of the most prolific winners in MSO history. From 1998 until 2021, she participated in 13 different MSO swimming events and won 36 gold medals. Mrs. Coleman never finished second or third. That’s right, she was 36-0 in MSO competition. Along the way, she held records in numerous events from ages 65 to 94, with eight remaining today. She was also a six-time swimming gold medal winner in the 2011 National Senior Games in Houston.

Mr. Kenney, 82, began playing in MSO in 1999, trying a variety of track and field events. He eventually settled into the javelin throw, where he now holds every MSO record from ages 60-84. Mr. Kenney has also won three gold medals, one silver, and one bronze in javelin while representing Maryland at seven National Senior Games. Today, he’s the No. 3-ranked Masters age 80-84 javelin performer in the U.S. and No. 6 in the world.

Carl, 83, and Carol Cuneo, 80, have participated in the Maryland Senior Olympics since the late 1990s. They have combined to win 54 gold, 38 silver, and 13 bronze MSO medals while holding three of our age-group records, with two still standing. While they bowl in singles and doubles events, the Cuneos have made their most significant mark as a mixed doubles pair. Their age 60-64 mixed doubles record has stood since 2006, while Carol has held the women’s 70-74 singles record since 2017. Meanwhile, Carl has participated in 11 National Senior Games, and Carol in nine. They have won eight medals (two gold, two silvers) at Nationals.

Rose Green (track) and Mary Wilkins (field) received their certificates for setting new records

At age 99, Mr. Murphy is one of MSO’s true long-timers, having played in our Maryland Games since 1990. He has participated in numerous track and field events, plus swimming, bowling, golf, horseshoes, table tennis, bocce, and lord only knows what else. He has the list somewhere. But through that time, he’s held a dozen MSO records with seven of them still standing in age groups 85-89, 90-94, and 95-99. Along the way, Mr. Murphy has participated in three National Senior Games (2003, 2019, and 2023), winning two gold medals in each of the javelin and discus. His 2019 javelin throw in Albuquerque is second-best in the National Games’ age 95-99 group. He turns 100 on Feb. 3, 2024, and desires to participate in MSO for another five years. “Outliving the competition. That’s the method to my madness,” he says.

In addition, we presented MSO Citation Awards for service and dedication to our games to Lois Scheminant, Herman Yeh, and Ted Light (absent). The Robert G. Zeigler Service Award went to Howard County Recreation and Parks, which sent a friendly letter of appreciation for our long-running partnership.

We also introduced the new George Huson and Carmen Campbell awards for the male and female participants who show sportsmanship, achievement, and good attitude. In receiving the first award named in her honor, Carmen gave a passionate speech about the importance of participation. George’s wife Patsy told funny stories about how much he loved MSO and playing the games, even though he wasn’t always good at some of them. George passed away in 2022, and we miss him dearly.

Heidi Henning of Bethesda set four new records in age 60-64 swimming this season.

The ceremony was the second we’ve had this year to make up for those canceled during the pandemic. So, we invited all athletes who broke one of our Maryland records between 2021 and the present to receive their certificates.