The Gustavus Adolphus College Athletics Department has chosen nine individuals for induction into its Athletics Hall of Fame. The 2011 inductees include Todd Anderson ’95 (Soccer), Amanda Murdock Diehl ’92 (Gymnastics), Jay Klagge ’92 (Basketball), Tracy Erickson McMorrow ’95 (Tennis), Scott Moe ’95 (Golf), Laura LeVander Peters ’96 (Softball), Bryan Ripken ’94 (Swimming), Colleen Barland Sherman ’96 (Soccer), and Owen Sammelson ’58 (Benefactor). This group will be honored at the Athletics Hall of Fame Banquet, which will be held in Alumni Hall at 6:00 pm on Saturday, October 15, following the Hall of Fame football game against Bethel at 1:00 p.m.
Individuals eligible for induction into the Gustavus Athletics Hall of Fame are athletes, coaches, and benefactors. Selection of athletes is based on athletic achievements while a student at Gustavus. Eight of the nine members of the Gustavus Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2011 will be inducted for their accomplishments as athletes, while one, Owen Sammelson, will be inducted as a benefactor.
Todd Anderson, a native of Eden Prairie, Minn., was a three-time All-Conference center midfielder on the soccer team and led the Gusties to MIAC Championships and NCAA Tournament berths in both 1993 and 1994. A two-time First Team All-Region honoree, Anderson became the first Gustavus men’s soccer player to earn All-America honors when he was named to the NSCAA Second Team in 1994; Amanda Murdock Diehl, a native of Casper, Wyoming, graduated in 1992 as the most decorated gymnast in the history of the Gustavus gymnastics program. The seven-time All-American won three national titles including a vault title in 1990 and all-around and floor exercise titles in 1991. She was the first Division III gymnast to ever be nominated for the Honda Gymnast of the Year Award; Jay Klagge, a native of Winona, Minn., was a two-time All-Conference point guard on the basketball team who was named the Most Valuable Player of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) in 1992. Klagge was the quarterback of squads that were MIAC co-champions in 1991 and 1992 and won MIAC Playoff titles in 1989 and 1992. He graduated as the tenth leading scorer in the program’s history with 1,324 points; Tracy Erickson McMorrow, a native of Virginia, Minn., was a three-time All-American for the women’s tennis team who won the ITA Small College national doubles title with Lisa Broughten the fall of 1994. A seven-time MIAC champion in singles and doubles, McMorrow helped the Gusties earn four MIAC titles and make four NCAA National Tournament appearances during her standout career; Scott Moe, a native of Elk River, Minn., was a three-time MIAC Individual golf champion and two-time All-American. Moe helped the Gusties win four MIAC team titles and make four NCAA Tournament appearances from 1991 to 1995. He played a key role in the Gusties second place team finish at the 1991 NCAA Championships and posted a career best 19th place individual finish at the 1993 national tournament; Laura LeVander Peters, a native of Woodbury, Minn., was the first four-time All-Conference honoree in the history of the Gustavus softball program. A dominating pitcher, Peters graduated with virtually every pitching record at Gustavus including strikeouts (392), wins (42), complete games (55), innings pitched (406.1) and shutouts (19). She also registered the first no-hitter in the program’s history against Carleton in May of 1993; Bryan Ripken, a native of New Brighton, Minn. was a standout swimmer in the sprints, breaststroke and on multiple relay teams from 1991 to 1994. He claimed the MIAC individual title in the 100-yard breaststroke in 1992 and was part of the MIAC Champion 200 medley relay team in 1993. Ripken graduated holding school records in the 50-yard freestyle (21.48), the 100-yard freestyle (47.69), the 100-yard breaststroke (59.62) and the 200-yard breaststroke (2:16.21); Colleen Barland Sherman, a native of Coon Rapids, Minnesota, was a three-time All-Region honoree and a two-time All-Conference selection as a center midfielder for the women’s soccer team in the mid-1990s. In her senior season, Sherman helped the Gusties win the MIAC title with a 10-0-0 record and post the program’s first ever win in the NCAA Tournament. She was named to the NSCAA All-America Second Team in 1995; and Owen Sammelson, a native of Vasa, Minn., was the Director of Admission from 1968 to 1982 and Vice President of Administration from 1982 to 2006. Sammelson’s vision of the importance of athletics in recruiting and of enhancing the experience of the student-athlete led to Gustavus becoming a model for Division III athletic programs as well as its prominence in the NACDA Directors’ Cup standings over the past 25 years.
The selection of the inductees to the Gustavus Hall of Fame is made by the Gustavus Hall of Fame Board which is an 11-member group consisting of current athletic administrators, and former coaches and alumni.