The Gustavus Adolphus College Athletics Department has chosen nine individuals for induction into its Athletics Hall of Fame. The 2003 inductees include Val Flom Ashland ’87 (Volleyball), Wendy Ericksen Bachman ’87 (Soccer), Karen Ahlstrom Bishop ’86 (Gymnastics), Jay Coatta ’87 (Basketball and Golf), Marv Gunderson ’53 (Football), Jim Hearn ’82 (Tennis), Dave Najarian ’82 (Football), Betty Wannarka Ringeisen ’84 (Basketball and Track and Field), and Larry Shelhamer ’76 (Soccer). This group will be honored at the Athletics Hall of Fame Banquet which is scheduled to be held in Alumni Hall at 7:30 pm on Saturday, September 27, following the Hall of Fame football game against Augsburg College at 1:00 p.m.
Individuals eligible for induction into the Gustavus Athletics Hall of Fame are student athletes, coaches, and benefactors. Selection of athletes is based on athletic achievements while a student at Gustavus. All of the members of the 2003 induction class are being inducted for their accomplishments as student athletes.
Val Flom Ashland, a native of Kenyon, Minnesota, was a starting outside hitter on three MIAC Championship volleyball teams from 1984-86. A two-time first team All-American, Flom ranks first in career kills with 1,684; Wendy Ericksen Bachman, a native of Bloomington, Minnesota, was a four-time all-conference selection as a defender. She captained the 1984 team to the MIAC Championship which was the first title in the program’s history. Bachman earned First Team All-Midwest Region and honorable mention All-America honors her senior year; Karen Ahlstrom Bishop, a native of Franklin, Wisconsin, was the Division III National Champion in the All-Around and in floor exercise in 1985. She was also an integral part of national championship teams in 1984 and 1985 and finished her career as a nine-time All-America selection; Jay Coatta, a native of Hopkins, Minnesota, was a standout on both the basketball and golf teams. He was a three-time all-conference selection as a point guard in basketball and was named the league’s Most Valuable Player in 1986. In golf, he was a two-time all-conference performer (claiming MIAC medalist honors in 1986) and played on three teams that finished fifth or higher at the NCAA Championships; Marv Gunderson, a native of Alexandria, Minnesota, was a two-time First Team All-Conference offensive guard on the football team in 1951 and 1952. He started every game of his three-year career on teams that won three MIAC titles. His teams did not lose a MIAC contest in his career (18-0); Jim Hearn, a native of Fort Dodge, Iowa, won the 1981 NCAA Division III doubles title with partner Shaun Miller and was a member of the 1980 and 1982 NCAA Championship team. He earned All-America honors in 1980, 1981 and 1982; Dave Najarian, a native of Minneapolis, Minnesota, earned All-America honors as a linebacker on the football team in 1981. A two-time All-Conference selection, Najarian ranks fifth all-time in career tackles with 258; Betty Wannarka Ringeisen, a native of Fairmont, Minnesota, starred in both basketball and track and field for the Gusties. A three-year starter in basketball, she earned First Team All-Conference honors in 1983 and ranks fourth all-time in scoring with 1,098 points. In track and field she was a three-time all-conference selection in the heptathlon winning the MIAC Outdoor title in 1984; Larry Shelhamer, a native of St. Louis Park, Minnesota, was a four-year standout forward for the soccer team. He is the program’s second all-time leading scorer with 61 goals and 38 assists for 160 points. Shelhamer holds the MIAC records for goals in a season with 24, assists in a season with 14 and points in a season with 62.
The selection of the inductees to the Gustavus Hall of Fame is made by the Gustavus Hall of Fame Board. The board is an 11-member group consisting of current athletic administrators, and former coaches and alumni.