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| photo by Jarred Berger |
Carol Menken-Schaudt, Olympian and inductee to the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame, was raised in Jefferson but resides in Philomath. She still holds records for career field goal percentage, career double-doubles, points in a single game, and single season scoring average in women's basketball at Oregon State University.
Her achievements weren’t a straight shot, the path to the gold took plenty of picks and rolls.
She planned to join the Navy following high school, but was told by a recruiter that due to a height restriction her 6-foot-4-inch frame was too tall. Plan B was to attend Linn-Benton Community College in Albany, Ore. She began as an ordinary student, pursuing a degree in graphic arts. She had no plans to become an athlete.
Her height may not have suited the Navy, but it did suit basketball. She was asked to lend her lengthy limbs as a player on the first-ever women’s basketball team during the 1977-78 school year. After graduating LBCC, neighboring Oregon State University recognized her talent and offered her a partial scholarship to join the lady Beavers.
“My journey as an athlete started at Linn-Benton but it became more than what I was just ‘doing’ at OSU,” she said.
Success continued to follow Menken-Schaudt. In her sophomore year, her talents landed her a full scholarship through her junior and senior year.
“Two of the three years I was at Oregon State we won our regional tournament by upsetting the Ducks in the finals,” she said.
At the time, the lady Beavers had never defeated their in-state rival from the University of Oregon during the regular season.
Her time at OSU changed the course of her life in more ways than one. While there, she met Ken Schaudt, the men’s basketball manager. They wed in 1982, just before one of the biggest highlights of her life — the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
“There are events in your life that are defining moments,” she said. ”The Olympics was definitely one of them. When you have a gold medal nothing is the same anymore. You are always viewed through that lens.”
Her journey to join the ranks of the world’s most elite athletes was made possible in part by her skills and in part by her timing.
During her senior year at OSU she tried out and was selected as part of the 1981 U.S. National Team. While on the National Team, an agent in Los Angeles contacted her with an offer to try out for the Italian Women's League after a recent change allowed one foreign player per team. Of the 16 teams in the league, Menken-Schaudt was chosen for one of them. She went on to play for six years.
As a player on the 1983 U.S. National Team, she was automatically invited to try out for the 1984 Olympic Team.
“I was very honored to have been chosen to be a part of the team because the chemistry was very special,” she said. “We had a team where everyone was committed to the team concept of making one another better and always being available for whatever role we were called upon to take.”
Team USA won the gold medal after defeating South Korea 85-55.
“The most challenging part of the Olympic process was definitely the tryouts,” she said. “Once we got to Los Angeles and competition began we were definitely the most dominant team. The actual Olympics were not that stressful, we won every game by 25-30 points.”
After reaching the peak of her basketball career she retired in 1984. She went on to have two children, Brian and Laura, with her husband. Both became school athletes in their own right. Brian competed in track and Laura played volleyball.
“It’s very satisfying, not just that they have become great athletes, but that they have become great people," she said. "That’s probably the thing that I’m most proud of.”
Menken-Schaudt remains humble in her success as an Olympian offering advice to aspiring athletes.
“Discovering something I was good at was a way I built confidence, and that confidence has carried over in all aspects of my life," she said. "I think that most successful athletes are not always the most physically talented athletes. A lot of it is the mental aspect of it; how you view things, how you view yourself, and how you endure disappointment and hardship.”
Inducted into the OSU Sports Halls of Fame in 1993, her retired jersey still hangs on display in Gill Coliseum today.
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