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Paris Junior College is a part of the National Junior College Athletic Association.

Section: Softball

The Softball Coaching Staff

Head Coach Corey Lyon

It will be hard to top what Corey Lyon and the PJC Lady Dragons softball team accomplished during Lyon’s first year as the head coach. The Lady Dragons went 44-15 on the season and won the Region XIV Eastern Division Conference Title. This was the first conference championship in the history of softball at Paris Junior College.

And 2008 was a record-setting year the Lady Dragons. The softball team set school records for wins (44), home runs (74) and runs scored (384). Two PJC players also set school records: Shay Ristau broke the home run record, hitting 18 round-trippers, while Kaci Crawford set the school record for most wins by a pitcher with 32.

“In our first year, I felt it was very important to establish a foundation for us to build a program that competes for league championships and regional tournament championships every year,” said Lyon. “I am very pleased with what we were able to accomplish last season, and I am very excited about taking the next step with this year’s group.

Lyon came to PJC from Wichita Independent High School in Wichita, Kan., where he was dean of students, head softball coach and head football coach.

Lyon took over the school’s softball program following a winless first two seasons, and led them to 65 wins over the next four years, including a 42-5 run his last two seasons. Those seasons included two league championships, two regional championships and two trips to the Class 3A State Tournament, finishing fourth and second.

His team went 25-1 during his last season there and outscored opponents 304-51, setting a new state record for most runs in a season.

Lyon also was head coach of the U16 Wichita Mustangs in summers of 2006 and 2007, leading the team to an ASA state title, a USSSA state title, two AFA state titles, a second place finish in the 2006 Colorado Fireworks Tournament, a top 25 finish in the 2007 Colorado Fireworks U18 Gold Tournament, and a top 12 finish at the 2007 U16 ASA A National Tournament.

He also instructed and assisted the Mustang Gold Team, consisting of players from institutions such as Baylor, Stanford, Utah, Purdue, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Tech, Kansas, Louisiana Monroe, Arkansas, Albany, Emporia State, Nebraska - Omaha and Jacksonville State University.

Lyon himself was a student athlete, playing football at Hutchinson Community College before moving the University of Nevada - Las Vegas. He finished his athletic career playing baseball at Kansas State University.

Lyon holds a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Kansas Newman University and a master’s degree in school leadership from Baker University in Topeka, Kan.

He and his wife Bridget have three daughters, Cheyanne, Carson and Ciarra.

Assistant Coach Tawnya Guthrie

Tawnya Guthrie enters her first season as the assistant softball coach with the Lady Dragons. Guthrie comes to Paris from Washburn University in Topeka, Kan., where she spent the 2008-09 season as an assistant softball coach after graduating from Wichita State University in Wichita, Kan.

She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Wichita State in 2008 with a double major in sociology and criminal justice and also earned the MVC Commissioner’s Academic Excellence Award all four seasons as a member of WSU’s softball team. Before coaching at Washburn University, she served as an assistant coach and private instructor in the Wichita Mustang Softball Academy from 2006-08.

Guthrie was a catcher and designated-hitter for Wichita State, as well as a four-year member of the Missouri Valley Conference’s Honor Roll.

As a sophomore, she set the Shockers single-game RBI record with seven against Missouri State in the MVC Postseason Championship Tournament with a pinch-hit grandslam, and is also second on the Shockers career hit-by-pitch list.

Athletically, she was unable to finish her senior year and transitioned into a team mentor position due to career-ending back injuries she battled throughout the duration of her softball career at WSU.

Guthrie attended Thomas Jefferson High School in Auburn, Wash. She is the daughter of Jodie and Ken Miller, with two younger sisters Andrea (14) and Taylor (12)

“I feel extremely blessed to not only become a part of the Lady Dragons softball program, but the entire PJC family as well,” she said.

Volunteer Assistant Jack Butler

Jack Butler (“Mr. Jack”) is a volunteer assistant with responsibilities that include field maintenance, working with the outfield.

He is a graduate of the University of Kentucky, where he played softball.

While in the military, he coached baseball and was recreation officer for the 16th Regiment of the 1st Infantry Division, “The Big Red One.”

These entries also may interest you:

» The Dragons Softball Team

» The 2009-2010 Schedule

» Transferring Softball Players

» The Vernon Carter Cup

» To Potential Recruits