Former high school and college basketball star enters hall of fame

Mary Grinaker — Athlete

As a student athlete at Moorhead High School, Mary Grinaker maintained a high GPA  while gaining recognition as athlete of the year in her sophomore, junior, and senior years, was a most valuable player in tennis, track, and basketball, and was one of the top athletes in the state.

Mary led the Moorhead girls’ basketball team to Seventeen victories in Twenty-one games one season, averaging 18.5 points per game. She twice made it to the state tennis tournament, but track and field was the sport in which she triumphed and upon which she would excel.

At Smith College, where she earned her M.S. degree, Grinaker began her coaching career with outstanding success, producing several Division III national champions and 3 All-Americans, 1 of whom ran for the United States. national team in international competition. Colleagues credit her success at Smith for the college’s decision to build state-of-the-art track facilities with 1 of the best indoor tracks in northeastern USA.