On Tuesday night 4 new members were enshrined into the Springfield Area Sports Hall of Fame. The 80th, 81st, 82nd, and 83rd inductees into the Hall are Penny Clayton, Nolan McCaullley, Jim Mentis and Chuck Williams.

Clayton is a 1976 graduate of Hillcrest High School. She led amateur softball teams to state and regional championships from 1975-'79. In 1978, at age 20, she pitched a perfect game in the Amateur Softball Association national tournament.

Clayton played at Southwest Missouri State from 1976-'80 and her teams were in the AIAW College World Series three times. In her four seasons at SMSU, Clayton won 40 games, indlucing a 20-win season in 1978 when the Bears finished 7th nationally with a 31-7 record. They were ranked first for a time.

McCaulley has officiated thousands of football, baseball, basketball, softball and soccer games since 1962, including high school state title games and many college games. He's officiated at 36 Greenwood High School Blue & Gold basketball tournaments, more than any other official. His total of 178 Blue and Gold games is second to Jim Ewing's 237 B&G games.

McCaulley has spent more than 30 years as the commissioner of the local American Legion baseball league. He also assigns umpires for hundreds of games each year.

Mentis lettered for the SMSU football Bears at end and tackle from 1946 -'49. He played on an MIAA championship team in 1948 and earned all-conference honors in three seasons. He coached high school football from '53 to '61 at Carthage and Central (Springfield) and then was an assistant SMS football coach, including in '63 when the Bears went 9-1 and were the undefeated MIAA champions.

Mentis also was the first SMS wrestling coach before becoming head football coach in 1965. His 1966 team was undefeated in the conference and went to the Mineral Water Bowl in Excelsior Springs. After four seasons as head coach, he remained on the school's physical education faculty for many years.

Williams led Buffalo High to a pair of state basketball titles. In four seasons at SMS, he was known as the Springfield Rifle for his outstanding shooting. His Bears teams had a 29-game MIAA winning streak, won three conference titles and finished second in NCAA Division 2 in 1969. In his final three years, Williams averaged 17 points per game, was an All-America team honorable mention, and a second team Academic All-American. He's sixth on the Bears' all-time scoring list with 1,687 points.

Williams was an assistant coach for the Bears for six seasons, head coach at Missouri Southern State College for 12 seasons, and an assistant coach for the SMS Lady Bears for three seasons. He currently coaches girls basketball at New Covenant Academy in Springfield.