From Olympic Trials to PGA Tours – this year’s Hall of Fame inductees all have impressive stories.  The five alumni selected for the 2022-2023 Hall of Fame included standouts in swimming, golf, track, tennis and baseball. Despite their varying choices of sport, all of the honorees contributed greatly to the athletic history on which Green Hope prides itself.

Tom Nobles was one of two inductees in attendance at the recognition ceremony. Being a cross-country and track captain, Nobles was quick to credit his success to his innate love for running. After graduating in 2014 as a 3-time team MVP, 3-time All-Region, 4-time All-Conference, 4-time Academic All-Conference, and a member of the 2010 4A state championship team, he continued to grow at UNC Charlotte. By this point, Nobles recognized that “short” races such as the 5K didn’t match his running style and that he was more suited for distance running. As a college athlete, he was named the 2018 Conference USA Male Athlete of the Year, Conference USA’s Most Outstanding Senior and Conference USA Scholar Athlete. Nobles won the Conference USA Cross Country Individual Championship in 2018 and earned an Honorable mention in All-American in Outdoor Track (2018). His success eventually paid off as he qualified for the 2020 Marathon Olympic Trials. He was unable to compete at the trials due to injury, but has an optimistic outlook on the years to come.

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Harrison Ray

Tom Nobles accepts his award, officially entering Green Hope’s Hall of Fame.

Melissa Kandiata was the second inductee to attend the ceremony. Some of her accomplishments as a Falcon included being named a 2011 Tennis All-American, a 3-time All-conference award recipient, 3-time Academic All-conference, 1st team All-State in 2011, team MVP, and the individual 4A NCHSAA state championship in 2011. Her achievements are especially impressive when considering she was homeschooled until her junior year of high school. This means she earned all of her awards in a mere two years. During her senior year, Kandiata was one of the top 35 players in the United States. She said that tennis “was an obsession” for her, viewing the activity less of a job and more of a gift. She continued her successful streak at the University of Richmond and went on to be named the 2012 Atlantic-10 Outstanding Rookie Performer, an ITA Scholar Athlete in 2014, and earned All-Conference status in the Atlantic-10 3 times. Kandiata plays tennis recreationally now, but recognizes that she’ll never fully be able to let go of the game.

Unfortunately, three of the inductees were not able to attend the ceremony, but their achievements remain some of the highlights of Green Hope’s athletic history. Fellow honoree Hannah Moore continues to be one of Green Hope’s most decorated athletes. Moore holds numerous conference titles in addition to holding the NCHSAA record in the 500 freestyle. She was named Conference MVP for three consecutive years and was Green Hope’s Athlete of the Year in 2014. Moore continued her athletic career as a swimmer for NC State University where she became an 8-time NCAA All American, a three time All-ACC and named 2018 ACC scholar athlete of the year. 

Former golf captain Ben Kolhes was unable to attend the ceremony as he was on the 2022 PGA tour. This is Kohles’ second time competing on the PGA tour as he previously attended in 2013 and has now made his way back. During his time at Green Hope, Kohles was a three time letterman, named Carolina’s Junior Golfer of the Year and Tri-8 Conference Player of the Year in both 2007 and 2008. He upheld another title the following year as he was named runner-up ACC Freshman of the Year while playing for the University of Virginia. His collegiate career proved quite successful as Ben was named a 3-time All-American in 2011, and 2-time ACC Player of the Year in 2012. With such a skill and passion for golf, he turned pro by joining the Korn Ferry Tour.  He won two tournaments in his first professional year.

The final Hall of Fame honoree was baseball player Thomas Yoder. Yoder started off with a bang his freshman year by making the varsity team. His four years at Green Hope demonstrated outstanding success as he went on to be a two-time captain, team defensive player (sophomore year) and offensive player (senior year) along with being a two-time MVP. He continues to hold the school record for doubles (42), third all-time in batting average (.422) and second all-time in slugging percentage. Yoder’s college career was equally as impressive as he went on to play at Liberty University for one year and finished out the rest of his college career at Belmont Abbey. Throughout his four years in college, Thomas was named Academic 1st Team All-Conference 3 times, named an Academic All-American as a senior with a 3.96 GPA in mathematics, won the Belmont Abbey Murphy Osborne Award and had 17 home runs and 60 RBIs his senior year. With such boisterous academics and athletics, it’s no surprise that Yoder went on to pursue an impressive career as an officer in the Navy’s Nuclear Propulsion Program.

All five athletes were spectacular both in and out of Green Hope High School. They have and continue to make a mark on Green Hope Athletics and provide inspiration to all athletes that hope to follow in their footsteps.