Amy Smith '85 Kline
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Amy Smith dashed her way into The College of Wooster athletic record books as a first-year, and would later swish and swipe her way into Fighting Scot history as a senior.
A three-sport standout who ran cross country in addition to excelling on the basketball court and on the track, Smith was one of Wooster’s first women’s All-Americans. She ran the anchor of the fourth-place sprint medley relay, which clocked in at 1:58.54, at the 1982 AIAW Div. III Championships. Fast forward to her senior year and the 5-6 point guard set a then-school record with 332 points while leading the Scots to their second NCAA Tournament in three seasons
“I absolutely loved playing sports at Wooster,” said Smith. “My enjoyment came not only from the sport, but the incredible teammates who were my friends and family.”
Remembered for her performances on the hardwood the most, Smith was the starting point guard on the only two NCAA Tournament teams in program history. She turned in a 16-point, six-steal outing in the Centennial Athletic Conference Tournament championship win over Denison University in 1983, to help Wooster to its first bid in the national tourney. Smith was a key piece of a relentless defense that entered the NCAA’s allowing 48.6 points per game, the second-lowest in all of Div. III.
“What I remember most about playing with Amy was her aggressive defense and her ability to get her teammates fired up to play as intensely as she did,” said teammate Lisa Diment Panepento, the Scots’ current interim women’s basketball coach. “She was unselfish and a great leader for our team. She never hesitated to sacrifice her body for the game, and was always covered in bruises during (the) season.”
Two years later, Smith played a key role in helping the Scots to a co-championship in the inaugural North Coast Athletic Conference basketball season, and despite a loss in the finals of the NCAC tourney, they received another bid to NCAA’s due to a 21-6 record at the time. Wooster drew a tough first round match-up – Rust College, the defending national champions – putting an end to a season in which Smith averaged a team-high 12.8 points plus 5.6 rebounds and earned first-team all-conference honors.
At the end of her career, Smith was the third all-time leading scorer with 839 points, and to this day, she still stands third in steals with 217, 78 coming as a senior.
When not on the court, Smith competed in an era when the track & field and cross country programs were still in their infancies as varsity programs. Despite only running track for two years, Smith turned in two first-place finishes at the OAISW state meet and two top times in the 1983 Centennial meet, in addition to her All-American honor. She graduated with school records in the 400, 800, and 1500 meters, as well as two relays, and still ranks fifth in program history with a 58.84 400-meter dash.
As a harrier, Smith paced Wooster with a 14th-place finish at the NCAA Great Lakes regional as a junior (personal-best 19:27 over 3.1 miles). Other highlights from cross country included a 27th-place showing in the regional meet as a sophomore, following a 12th-place run at the Ohio Athletic Conference meet.
“Amy was my first on-campus recruit,” then-head coach Craig Penney recalled in a recent interview. “It was a new experience for her and I. She brought a high level of energy and success with her drive and determination. Watching her grow and contribute to the success of the program was very rewarding.”
A psychology major at Wooster, Smith went on to teach sixth-grade for five years before starting a family. She has five children – Kaitlin (25), Riley (22), Sam (19), Jaret (13), and Jenna (11).
Continuing an involvement in sports, Kline has coached basketball and track in the past, and has coached cross country for the past 14 years.