Oct. 6, 2008
NORMAL, Ill. -
The Illinois State Department of Athletics will honor a group of six outstanding individuals with induction into its Athletics Hall of Fame during Homecoming Weekend.
The 2008 class of the ISU Athletics Hall of Fame includes former student-athletes Bruce Ewen (men's track and field), Dan Freed (baseball), Andy Isaacson (men's gymnastics), Cindy Kaufmann (women's basketball) and Angie Taylor (women's track and field) and former staff member Kathy Schiedwind (athletic training), as well as long-time bench crew volunteer and former Redbird Club president Jeff Fritzen, who will receive the Campbell "Stretch" Miller award.
The official induction ceremony will take place Saturday, Oct. 18 in the Brown Ballroom of the Bone Student Center on the Illinois State University campus. The event will begin at 8 a.m. The six honorees will also be recognized during halftime of the Illinois State-Missouri State football game later that day. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.
The class is the 35th in the history of the ISU Athletics Hall of Fame, which began with the charter class in 1972. Tickets for the Hall of Fame ceremony are $25 per person and can be purchased through The Redbird Club office by calling 309/438-3639. Tickets for the event must be ordered by Monday, Oct. 13.
Illinois State Athletics Hall of Fame - Class of 2008
Bruce Ewen
Track and Field (1982-85)
Illinois State's first All-American thrower ... a finalist in the 35-pound weight throw at the 1985 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, en route to being named an All-American ... a seven-time Missouri Valley Conference champion ... member of the league's all-centennial team ... won the conference title in both the indoor and outdoor shot put in 1983 and 1985 ... claimed a league title in the 35-pound weight throw in 1985 and the discus in 1983 and 1985 ... participated in the U.S. Olympic Trials and was a finalist in the hammer throw during the 1988 trials ... owns the school record for the indoor shot put with a toss of 60-0 ½ ... also owns the school standard in the outdoor shot put with a throw of 59-6 ½.
Dan Freed
Baseball (1985-88)
A Missouri Valley Conference First-Team selection in 1988 ... as a senior, led the Redbirds in innings pitched (82), strikeouts (67), wins (5) and ERA (2.52) ... named the team's most valuable player in 1988 ... ended his career with a 3.91 career ERA, a 20-13 record and 205 strikeouts ... played in the Montreal Expos, Detroit Tigers and Cincinnati Reds minor league systems.
Andy Isaacson
Men's Gymnastics (1977-80)
A three-time All-American on the pommel horse ... four-year letterwinner, who was team captain for three years ... placed sixth on the pommel horse at the NCAA Championships three-straight years (1978-80) ... finished 13th on the pommel horse at the 1977 NCAA Championships, following a third-place effort at the Eastern Regional ... placed fourth at the 1978 Midwest Regional ... finished fourth at the 1979 Midwest Regional ... his personal-best on the pommel horse was a 9.8 ... named the team's most valuable gymnast in 1979 and 1980 ... he scored a perfect 10.0 in a meet against Wisconsin ... the Redbirds' only event winner in the exhibition meet versus the Republic of South Korea (November 1979).
Cindy Kaufmann
Women's Basketball (1988-91)
Three-time first-team All-Gateway (1989, 1990 and 1991) ... member of the Valley All-Centennial Women's Basketball Team ... played on Illinois State's 1989 NCAA Tournament team ... played on ISU's 1988 and 1990 WNIT teams ... the first Redbird to be named all-conference as a sophomore ... one of five ISU players with 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 200 assists in a career ... ranks No. 2 at Illinois State in career scoring (1,684), career field goals made (662) and career three-point field goal percentage (.422) ... ranks fifth in career three-point field goals made (129) ... two-time Gateway Player of the Week ... played professionally in Finland (1991-93).
Kathy Schniedwind
Athletic Training
Served three decades as an athletic trainer at Illinois State , including working as the head athletic trainer for the final 17 years ... became ISU's first head women's athletic trainer in 1976, before the departments merged in 1982 ... gained national recognition working on the NCAA's Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports ... in 2004, she was inducted into the National Athletic Training Association (NATA) Hall of Fame ... a member of the Illinois Athletic Trainers' Association Hall of Fame ... a former chair of the NATA College and University Athletic Training Student Committee ... throughout her career, was involved with the United States Olympic Committee and was chosen as one of the athletic trainers for the United States for the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, Korea.
Angie Taylor
Women's Track & Field (1984-87)
Nine-time Gateway Conference champion ... member of the Valley All-Centennial Track and Field team ... named to the Gateway All-Decade Team in 1992 ... three-time conference champion in the outdoor long jump (1985, 1986 and 1987) ... three-time conference champion in the indoor long jump (1985, 1986 and 1987) ... 1987 conference champion in the indoor 55-meter high hurdles ... 1987 conference champion in the outdoor 100-meter hurdles and the outdoor 100-meter dash ... in 1987, qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 55-meter indoor hurdles, the 55-meter outdoor hurdles and the 100-meter outdoor hurdles ... qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 55-meter indoor hurdles in 1984 ... holds the school record for the outdoor long jump (20-5 ¾) and outdoor 100-meter hurdles (13.61) ... ranks second in school history in the indoor long jump with a jump of 19-10 ¼.
Jeff Fritzen
2008 Campbell "Stretch" Miller Award recipient
An Illinois State alumnus, who received his bachelor's degree in communications in 1974 ... has served as a member of The Redbird Club's Board of Directors since 1999 ... was a member of the TRC Executive Committee from 2001-05, including his term as the TRC President in 2003-04 ... has worked as a bench official for Redbird men's basketball and football since 1990 ... he is currently the executive vice president at Bloomington Offset Process, Inc. (BOPI) ... he is also currently serving his sixth, four-year term as a councilman for the Town of Normal ... he has served on four Illinois State search committees, including the director of athletics search in 2005 ... he has also been heavily involved with the Illinois State Alumni Association since 1987 and served as the president from 1994-96 ... he was inducted into the University High School (Normal, Ill.) Alumni Hall of Fame in 2004 ... received the E. Burton Mercier Alumni Service Award from Illinois State University in 2002 ... was named the Town of Normal's Citizen of the Year in 1999 ... was honored by Illinois State in 1998 with the Outstanding Graduate in Speech Communication Award ... also active in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and served as the chairperson of the North Central Illinois Region Area Representative's Advisory Council from 2001-04.
