Mary Lou Thimas Inducted into NFHS National High School Hall of Fame

For 60 years, Mary Lou Thimas has been the guiding light for the girls sports of field hockey and lacrosse in Massachusetts. From her days as a student and coach, and now in her seventh decade of officiating at the age of 81, no one in Massachusetts has contributed more to these high school sports than Mary Lou Thimas.

Thimas was one of 12 members of the the 43rd class of the NFHS National High School Hall of Fame, which was inducted during the annual NFHS Hall of Fame Banquet on Monday, June 29, at the Hyatt Regency Salt Lake City. 

Thimas started as a field hockey official in 1965 in her sophomore year at Bridgewater State College and continues to officiate the sport today. She has officiated Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association state tournaments, sectionals, semifinals and state finals in field hockey and, amazingly, has officiated in EVERY postseason field hockey tournament since the MIAA started championships in the 1980s.

Additionally, she added girls lacrosse to her officiating duties in 1982 and, like field hockey, has officiated in every MIAA girls lacrosse tournament since the inception of the sport. She has never missed a postseason tournament in either sport for the entirety of her 60-year officiating career.        

As impressive as her on-field officiating accomplishments has been her passion for mentoring and using officiating as a vehicle for teaching, learning and growth. It is estimated that Thimas has mentored at least 15-20 officials a year for the entirety of her career – a total that exceeds 1,000 individuals she has guided.

Thimas has been a strong leader and advocate for girls sports throughout her career. She has been a part of the MIAA Girls and Women in Sport Committee for 30 years, and she has been instrumental in organizing and supporting the annual Massachusetts Girls and Women in Sport Day celebration.

Thimas also has been a part of the MIAA Field Hockey Committee for decades. She has chaired multiple subcommittee efforts to enhance the sport of field hockey across the state, and she has presented and facilitated workshops for both coaches and officials to grow and improve the knowledge base of these stakeholders.

Outside her officiating duties, Thimas has coached basketball, field hockey, lacrosse and tennis at both the high school and college levels. She also has served as director of athletics for women and associate director of athletics at her alma mater, Bridgewater State College, as well as associate director of athletics at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth.

Thimas also served for a period of time as director of athletics at Framingham North High School and Framingham South High School, and she also served a stint as senior assistant commissioner of the Eastern College Athletic Conference.

Among her numerous awards, Thimas has received Hall of Fame honors as an athlete, coach, administrator and advocate. She was named MIAA Official of the Year for girls lacrosse and received the Massachusetts Women in Athletics Distinguished Service Award. In 2024, she was honored with the MIAA Distinguished Service Award.

“As an educator, Mary Lou has an unswerving desire to use her exposure to the rules and understanding of the game to better all of those around her,” said Bob Baldwin, MIAA executive director. “She has been a leader since the inception of the sports and the organization of the officiating boards in the state that guide the instruction and scheduling of officials. She has shepherded two female sports from the beginning and worked with others to make it happen.”

“Mary Lou’s greatest contribution may be her unwavering character,” said Sherry Bryant, MIAA deputy director. “In my decades of experience, I have never met a person who has expressed anything but the utmost respect and appreciation for her. Her reputation as a humble, hard-working, kind and giving person of integrity is known statewide.”

About the 43rd Hall of Fame class

Five former standout high school athletes, including baseball star Joe Carter and football standout Patrick Willis, along with volleyball stars Alisha Glass Childress and Jordan Larson and ice hockey standout Krissy Wendell-Pohl, also highlighted the 2026 class.

Carter, who hit the iconic walk-off home run to win the 1993 World Series for the Toronto Blue Jays, was a phenomenal four-sport athlete at Millwood High School in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. In addition to his baseball prowess, he helped the Millwood basketball team to three consecutive state championships. Willis was a football and basketball standout athlete at Hollow Rock-Bruceton Central High School in Bruceton, Tennessee, before his stellar career with the San Francisco 49ers.  

Glass Childress and Larson are two of the top players in the history of high school volleyball. Childress still holds three national records from her days at Leland (Michigan) High School, and she went on to win three NCAA championships at Penn State University. Larson was one of the most celebrated players in Nebraska history at Logan View High School in Hooper, before her days at the University of Nebraska and an Olympic standout at the past four Summer Games.

Wendell Pohl, the girls ice hockey phenom from Park Center High School in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, is the other athlete in the 2026 class. Wendell-Pohl is the most prolific scorer in the history of high school girls ice hockey and continued her success at the University of Minnesota with two NCAA championships.

The three highly successful high school coaches in the 2026 class include Jan Barker, who led Amarillo (Texas) High School to 10 Texas University Interscholastic League Class 5A state volleyball championships in 31 years; David Gentry, the winningest football coach in North Carolina history who led Murphy High School to nine North Carolina High School Athletic Association Class 1A state football titles; and Flo Valdez, the multi-sport coach at Roswell (New Mexico) High School who finished her career as the outstanding volleyball coach at Franklin High School in El Paso, Texas.

Joining Thimas in this year's class is Burney Jenkins, a three-sport official from Georgetown, Kentucky, with 50 years of service.

The final members of this year’s class are Steve Savarese, who led the Alabama High School Athletic Association from 2007 to 2021 after an outstanding 33-year high school coaching career; and Craig Ihnen, former director of the Iowa High School Speech Association for 28 years after 13 years as a classroom speech teacher.

The National High School Hall of Fame was started in 1982 by the NFHS to honor high school athletes, coaches, contest officials, administrators, performing arts coaches/directors and others for their extraordinary achievements and accomplishments in high school sports and performing arts programs. This year’s class increases the number of individuals in the Hall of Fame to 552. Thimas is the fifth Hall of Fame inductee from Massachusetts.

The 12 individuals were chosen after a two-level selection process involving a screening committee composed of active high school state association administrators, coaches and officials, and a final selection committee composed of coaches, former athletes, state association officials, media representatives and educational leaders. Nominations were made through NFHS member associations.