Oct. 6, 2010
NORMAL, Ill. -
The Illinois State Department of Athletics will honor a group of five outstanding individuals with induction into its Percy Family Athletics Hall of Fame during Homecoming Weekend.
The 2010 class of the ISU Athletics Hall of Fame includes former student-athletes Ryan Duncheon (baseball), Christian Goy (cross country/track and field), Boomer Grigsby (football), Heather Stella (softball) and Evan Strawn (tennis), as well as longtime officials observer Wayne Meece, who will receive the Campbell "Stretch" Miller award.
The official induction ceremony will take place Saturday, Oct. 16, in the Brown Ballroom of the Bone Student Center on the Illinois State University campus. The event will begin at 8 a.m. The five inductees and the Stretch Miller award winner will also be recognized during halftime of the Illinois State-North Dakota State football game later that day. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.
The class is the 37th in the history of the ISU Athletics Percy Family 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 Weisbecker Scholarship Fund office by calling Marianne Riddell at 309/438-3636. Tickets for the event must be ordered by Monday, Oct. 11.
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2010 ILLINOIS STATE ATHLETICS PERCY FAMILY HALL OF FAME CLASS
Ryan Duncheon, Baseball (1997-2000) - Petersburg, Ill. (Porta)
The only Redbird baseball player to earn three first-team All-Missouri Valley Conference honors during his career (1998, 1999 and 2000) ... as a senior, led the Redbirds in average (.363), doubles (20), home runs (13), total bases (132), slugging percentage (.657) and on-base percentage (.482) ... as a junior, he belted 23 home runs, which still stands as the single-season record at Illinois State ... owns the career home run mark at ISU with 58, and is also first in career on-base percentage (.474), walks (141), doubles (59) and runs batted in (210) ... named to the 1999 Valley All-Tournament Team ... during the 1999 season, he reached safely in 56 of ISU's 59 games ... batted .411 with 18 home runs and 68 RBI as a sophomore ... named the Central Illinois Collegiate League (CICL) Mike Schmidt Player of the Year in 1998.
Christian Goy, Cross Country/Track and Field (1999-2002) - Rheineburg, Germany
Became the second individual in Illinois State history to be named an NCAA Champion when he claimed the 2002 title in the indoor mile with a time of 3:59.43 ... a three-time NCAA All-American ... ran the first leg of the 1999 Illinois State distance medley relay team which finished second at the NCAA Indoor Championships ... also earned All-American honors in the 2001 indoor mile ... an eight-time Missouri Valley Conference champion, including the 2002 MVC Cross Country individual title ... won the Valley title in the 1,500 at the outdoor meet three times (1999, 2000 and 2001) ... also won the outdoor 800-meter run in 2001 ... in indoor, was the mile champion in 2001 and 2002 and the 3,000-meter run champ in 2002 ... a two-time Drake Relays champion in the 1,500-meter run ... finished third in the 3,000-meters at the 2003 German Championships ... 2002 Milt Weisbecker Illinois State Male Athlete of the Year and the 2002 Doug Collins Illinois State Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year ... earned three CoSIDA Academic All-America honors ... received the Valley's Charlotte West Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award in 2003 ... also named the Valley's All-Centennial Track and Field and Cross Country teams.
Boomer Grigsby, Football (2001-04) - Canton, Ill. (Canton)
The most decorated football player in Illinois State history ... a three-time Missouri Valley Football Conference Defensive Player of the Year, the only player in league history to accomplish this feat ... a three-time Buck Buchanan Award finalist, as the nation's top NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) defensive player ... finished second in the Buchanan voting in 2003 and third in both 2002 and 2004, as the only player in the history of the award to finish in the top-three for three-consecutive years ... owns the Missouri Valley Football Conference and the Illinois State career tackles records with 580, which was an NCAA record mark at the time ... a consensus All-American in both 2003 and 2004, but was voted an All-American by the Sports Network for three-straight years (2002, 2003 and 2004) ... ranks second in school history with 179 tackles in a season, which he accomplished in both 2002 and 2003 ... played three seasons in the NFL, after being drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2005 NFL Draft ... also played on the Miami Dolphins and Houston Texans.
Heather Stella, Softball (1995-99) - Gridley, Ill. (Gridley)
Illinois State softball's first two-time All-American ... member of the Missouri Valley conference all Centennial Team ... first player in Missouri Valley Conference history to be rookie of the year and league MVP... named an Easton Sports First-Team All-American in 1998, and earned second team honors in 1999 ... named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-American Third Team in both 1998 and 1999 ... earned CoSIDA First Team Academic All-America honors in 1999, to become Redbird softball's first athletic and academic All-American ... named the 1998 and1999 Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year ... earned first-team all-league honors in both 1998 and 1999, while claiming second-team honors in 1997 ... named the Valley's Rookie of the Year in 1996 ... named the Illinois State University 1998 and 1999 Female Athlete of the Year...a three-time MVC Scholar-Athlete Team selection ...Batted .385 for her career with 47 doubles, 25 home runs and 157 RBI ... her doubles and RBI marks are still the ISU standard, while her 224 career hits ranks second in ISU history ... still owns the single-season record at ISU in batting average with a .445 clip in 1999 ... the first Redbird softball player to be drafted by the Women's Professional Softball League (WPSL) ... also participated in the 1999 USA Olympic tryouts.
Evan Strawn, Men's Tennis (1950-53) - Bloomington, Ill. (Bloomington)
A four-time Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) singles champion and two-time doubles champion ... a member of four-straight IIAC team championships ... as a senior, won the No. 1 singles title and then teamed with Frank Purdy to claim the No. 1 doubles championship ... during his junior year, won the No. 2 singles championship and teamed with Tom Henderson to win the No. 1 doubles title ... claimed the No. 3 singles title as a sophomore and the No. 4 singles championship as a freshman ... the only player in school history to win four conference singles championships in progression during his career.
Wayne Meece, 2010 Stretch Miller Award Winner
Served 25 years as Illinois State's officials observer for men's basketball games and eight years as the observer for ISU football games ... officiated high school basketball for 25 years and was a member of the crew in three state finals ... served as a football official in the Big Ten Conference for 20 years and worked five bowl games, including the 1986 and 1990 Rose Bowls ... also worked the 1978 Tangerine Bowl (now Capital One Bowl), 1983 Liberty Bowl and the 1991 Peach Bowl ... mentored and taught nearly 30 officials in the profession ... a member of the Illinois State Athletics Percy Family, Bloomington-Normal Official Association, Champaign Officials and Illinois Basketball Coaches Halls of Fame ... graduated from Illinois State is 1960 and was the Redbirds' starting quarterback from 1957-59.
