A “pioneer” of women’s sports at Brandywine High School will be honored this weekend.

Carol Thurston, who taught physical education at Brandywine High School for more than three decades and coached for 20 years, will be remembered during a dedication ceremony for the Carol Thurston Memorial Softball Field at 10:15 a.m. Saturday.

“She had over 300 victories and was really well known around Michigan as a coach and a pioneer of women’s sports in Michigan,” said Supt. John Jarpe.

Thurston, who passed away in October, taught physical education at Brandywine High School from 1959 until her retirement in 1991. She was the school’s first PE teacher.

Thurston was also the school’s first softball and volleyball coach, starting after the passage of Title IX, which required gender equity for boys and girls in federally funded educational programs, in the early ‘70s.

Her accomplishments as a coach include district championships in softball in 1975 (the first year of the program) and 1989 and a trip to the state tournament in 1977.

She retired from coaching softball in 1991 after two decades.

Jarpe said some of Thurston’s former players told him last year that the softball field had been named after her in the early ‘90s.

However, he could find no official record of the dedication anywhere.

With approval from the school board, Jarpe said Brandywine decided to formally dedicate the field in her honor.

“We wanted to do it right,” Jarpe said.

The words, “Carol Thurston Memorial Softball Field,” now appear on the scoreboard at the field, located east of the high school.

Former players, colleagues, students and friends of Thurston are encouraged to attend Saturday’s ceremony.

Jarpe said they plan say a few words about Thurston and to have a former player throw out the first pitch prior to the Bobcats’ doubleheader softball game with Schoolcraft.