Heidelberg Athletics Hall of Fame
Things haven't changed that much since Donna May Palmer graduated from Heidelberg College in 1980.
She returns each year for the annual Alumni Game in basketball and displays that same shooting eye and hustle she had while wearing the Tricolor.
Currently residing in South Amherst and teaching and coaching at Amherst, Palmer was also a standout athlete at Amherst High School where she graduated in 1976.
She was one of those very rare athletes to earn a dozen varsity letters while at Heidelberg before graduating cum laude and earning the Paul H. Hoernemann Award.
Palmer was considered one of the true sharpshooters of the game from long range and her speed and quickness led the fastbreak for the Student Princes.
Lettering four years in basketball, volleyball and softball, she was honored as the Athlete of the Week for her outstanding contribution to the basketball team during the 1978 season.
While performing on the hardcourt she set a single season individual scoring record of 206 points while also establishing a new career scoring record of 581 points her junior year.
She added a field goal percentage record for a single game when she blitzed the cords with 11 of 13 for 85 percent in a home clash with Bluffton College in 1980.
Before she left collegiate basketball at Heidelberg she owned the career scoring mark of 690 points.
In volleyball, Palmer was also a standout hitter and served as the co-captain of the volleyball team her senior season.
A guard/wing player in basketball, she was tri-captain her sophomore season and co-captain her junior and senior years.
Her talents also spilled over into the spring season where she pitched for Heidelberg and was co-captain of the team her sophomore, junior and senior years.
Since leaving college she has been very active in her community in serving as a volunteer for charitable drives such as The American Cancer Society and the American Heart Association.
In 1984 she was awarded the Cheryl Allen Sportsmanship Award in the Elyria Women's Softball League and she is listed in the book, Young Community Leaders of America.
Donna has been the secretary of the Lorain County Girls Basketball Coaches Association since 1981 and she is currently the secretary of the Lorain County Track and Field Coaches Association American Running and Fitness Association.
(This profile appeared in the 1995 Hall of Fame Banquet program.)
