Becky Pace, as she will forever be remembered in the Wilson Gymnasium trophy case, came to Barton in the fall of 1980.  She was known statewide for her basketball talents, having played in the prestigious East-West Coaches Game following her senior year at Franklinton High School.  And her basketball contributions at Barton were numerous, but it was in the then-emerging sport of women’s volleyball that she literally carried our program into a new dimension.

A member of the Class of ’84, she was a two-time all-district and all-conference performer in volleyball under coach Sandy Dofflemeyer, and in 1982 was the Carolinas Conference Player of the Year, the first female athlete to earn that distinction at Barton.  Her efforts during the 23-7 season, couple with another fine basketball season, resulted in the first of two Kiwanis Club Female Athlete of the Year honors she would receive.

Also a three-time all-tournament selection and two-time team MVP, Pace was simply an outstanding athlete who would have been a star and a team leader in any sport and at any college.  Some of this due to talent, and some credit has to go to the outstanding program at Franklinton where she was a fixture on the Tar River 2-A All-Conference teams in basketball and volleyball.

But there was also something special about Becky Pace Holder, and everyone who played with or against her knew it, as did her coaches.  This was true during the best days of her career as it was when she played in pain following knee surgery as a senior.

Off the court she exemplified the All-American girl:  good student, strong values and a solid Christian background and extremely well-liked.  On the court, she played hard but did so with class and sportsmanship.  She had a tremendous competitive spirit about her and was never one to ask or care how many points, rebounds or spikes she was credited with.  If AC won, she was pleased; if AC lost, she wasn’t.

AC won a lot when Becky Pace was in the lineup, ranking as high as 17th in the nation on Coach Carole McKeel’s 1983 women’s basketball team.  That team ranked fifth nationally on offense (80.6 ppg) while Pace with 15th in rebounding with 12.1 boards per game.

After college, Pace married Joey Holder and returned to her prep alma mater to being her teaching and coaching career, coaching volleyball, basketball and softball at Franklinton for three years.  She later moved to Wake Forest-Rolesville, where she coached four years of volleyball and three years of basketball, advancing to the state playoffs every year in both sports.

During that seven-year span, she was Wake County Coach of the Year in 1989 and the Triangle 3-A Coach of the Year in 1988 and 1989.  She stopped coaching when the first of two children, Joseph, was born three years ago.  The Holders have since welcomed a second son, Charlie, into their lives.

Becky Pace Holder majored in physical education and was a dean’s list student her senior season.