Shari Retton Timko was WVU’s first women’s sports All-American, earning first-team honors in the all-around, floor exercise, uneven bars and vault at the 1982 AIAW national gymnastics championships in Memphis, Tennessee.
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A four-year letterwinner, Retton, just a freshman, helped the 10th-seeded Mountaineers finish third at those national championships, while she posted a third-place individual finish in the all-around (36.30). Twice team captain, Retton went on to earn a number of accolades, including NCAA regional balance beam champion, Most Valuable Gymnast and Atlantic 10 Senior of the Year. WVU qualified for the NCAA regionals each year during her career.
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The daughter of Ronnie Retton, fellow WVU Sports Hall of Fame inductee who captained WVU’s 1959 NCAA runner-up basketball team, the Fairmont, West Virginia, native is the older sister of Olympic gold medal gymnast Mary Lou Retton, Ronnie Jr. (former WVU baseball player), Donnie and Jerry.
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She was inducted into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame in 2001 and was named an inaugural member of the Mountaineer Legends Society in 2018.
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