Kennesaw State has a proud tradition of producing Olympic athletes. In it's relatively short athletic history, Kennesaw State has produced three Olympians in three different sports. Joanna Cuprys, Colleen Thorburn-Smith and Seth LaFera have all represented Kennesaw State in the past two Olympic Games.
The most recent Kennesaw State Olympian and lone alumni to participate in the games is LaFera, who was the Owls' who played for head coach Mike Sansing for two seasons after transferring from DeKalb College.
LaFera, who has played professionally in Italy since leaving Kennesaw State, played for the Owls in 1997-98 and twice earned NCAA Division II All-South Atlantic Region honors while also garnering All-Peach Belt Conference accolades in 1997. In 126 career games at KSU, he hit .331 with 28 doubles, 15 home runs, 125 runs scored and 97 RBIs.
Cuprys played for the Lady Owls for just one season after transferring from Auburn University at Montgomery. However, in that brief period she provided the Lady Owls fans with the greatest single-season in the history of the women's basketball program. Cuprys led the Lady Owls to their best-ever record, a 30-2 mark, in 1996-97.
Named to several All-America teams in 1997, Cuprys, who holds several of Kennesaw State's single season records, led the nation in both scoring (26.0 ppg) and three-point field goal percentage (49.2 percent). She received her bachelor's degree in finance from KSU in 1999.
Cuprys, who played professionally in Poland and France, starred in the 2000 games. She
Kennesaw State's first two-time Olympian is Thorburn-Smith. An All-American for the Owls, Thorburn-Smith played on the Canadian Olympic Team in the 1996 Games in Atlanta as well as the 2000 Games in Sydney.
Thorburn-Smith played with the Owls from 1992-95, leading KSU to its first NCAA champion ship in 1995. A two-time All-American, Thorburn-Smith still holds many of the school's single game, single season and career records. She ended her collegiate career with a .381 career batting average, 25 doubles, 47 triples, 22 homers, 199 runs scored and 179 RBIs in 199 contests. She earned her bachelor's degree in accounting from Kennesaw State in 1996.
2004 Games
Athens, Greece
Seth Lafera, Baseball, Italy
2000 Games
Sydney, Australia
Joann Cuprys, Women's Basketball, Poland
Seth Lafera, Baseball, Italy
Colleen Thorburn, Softball, Canada
1996 Games
Atlanta, Georgia
Colleen Thorburn, Softball, Canada
