Alex Hicks, one of only two UW-Eau Claire
athletes to ever play his sport at the highest professional
level, is one of eight individuals who will be inducted
into the Blugold Hall of Fame September 15.
A set of brothers will be inducted for the second year
in a row and four of the eight athletes were two-sport standouts.
The sports of swimming, hockey, football and track are represented
by the six male inductees and the sports of softball, soccer
and volleyball are represented by the two female inductees.
The 2007 class, which will recognized at halftime of the
Alma College football game and enshrined in ceremonies after
the game, includes swimmer Steve Hollman, hockey players
Alex and Mark Hicks, football-track athletes Pete Balistrieri
and Dan Kelner, track athlete Dan Schmidt, volleyball-softball
player Beth Brochhausen and soccer-softball player Tammy
Brandt Stanius.
This will be the 31st class of men's inductees and the
18th class of women's inductees and brings to 157 the number
of athletes, coaches and administrators who have been honored.
The Blugold Hall of Fame was established in 1973 to pay
tribute, to give deserved recognition and to enhance school
tradition by honoring former athletic letterwinners or coaches
who showed distinctive, unique or exceptional ability while
on the campus at Eau Claire and have distinguished themselves
in their profession or personally since leaving the institution.
For women athletes, there must be a lapse of 10 years before
they can be considered and for men 15 years.
The inductions will take place September 15 at a banquet
at the Best Western Trail Lodge & Suites (3340 Mondovi
Road) following the football game. The banquet will begin
with a social hour at 5:30 p.m., followed by a dinner at
6:30 p.m. and a program at 7:30 p.m. Blugold play-by-play
radio announcer Mike Sullivan and local television sports
director Bob Bradovich will serve as presenters for the
Hall of Fame with Director of Athletics Scott Kilgallon
handling the official induction of the class. The banquet
will also include recognition of the Blugold Super Six Salute
Award winners.
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ALEX
HICKS
A three-time team MVP and three-time American Hockey Coaches
Association (AHCA) first team All-American, Alex Hicks still
holds the school and Northern Collegiate Hockey Association
(NCHA) career records for goals, assists and points. He
scored 249 points as a Blugold from 1988 through 1992 with
98 goals and 151 assists. His career point total still ranks
14th in NCAA Division III history and he is one of only
three NCHA players listed among the top 25 all-time scorers.
Seven times Hicks recorded a hat trick during his 116 career
games. His 42 career power play goals rank seventh in NCAA
Division III history. He also had seven shorthanded goals
and nine game-winning goals. He received the Wallace G.
Akervik Award as the top freshman player in 1989 and the
team Most Dedicated Player Award his senior year when he
also served as team captain.
During his career, the Blugolds produced a 53-53-13 record
playing in an NCHA that included Bemidji State, St. Cloud
State and Mankato State, now all current Division I members
of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.
Following his Blugold career, Hicks embarked on a 15-year
professional career that included five years in the National
Hockey League (NHL). He played 258 games with the Anaheim
Mighty Ducks, Pittsburgh Penguins, San Jose Sharks and Florida
Panthers, scoring 25 goals with 54 assists for 79 total
points. He reached the NHL playoffs both seasons with the
Penguins and once with the Panthers.
From 2000 through 2006, Hicks played with the Berlin Polar
Bears and the Cologne Sharks in Europe. There he played
in 267 games with 107 goals and 115 assists for 222 total
points.
En route to being called up to the NHL in 1995, Hicks
played with the Toledo Storm of the ECHL, the Adirondak
Red Wings of the AHL, the Las Vegas Thunder of the IHL,
the Baltimore Bandits of the AHL and the Louisville Panthers
of the AHL. He also played one year of professional roller
hockey with the Buffalo Stampede, serving as team captain
in 1994 when the Stampede won the league championship.
Hicks was recognized for his performance at every level.
He was an ECHL All-Star with Toledo, also serving as captain
as the Storm won the Riley Cup. He was the Las Vegas Thunder
Rookie of the Year in 1995. He was the team scoring leader
for the Berlin Polar Bears and also with the Cologne Sharks
in 2002 when they won the league championship. He was named
to the DEL (German Elite League) All-Star Team in 2002 and
in 2004 was voted the Most Popular Player in DEL.
In 2002, Hicks played on Team Canada in the German Cup
competition. In his first season with the Anaheim Mighty
Ducks, he centered a line that included Teemu Selanne and
Paul Kariya. That season he was the Ducks’ Alka-Seltzer
Plus-Minus Leader.
This past year, he was a team member of the Phoenix Senior
Coyotes who won the USA Hockey Over 30 National Championship.
In 2002, he founded the Alex Hicks Initiative, a non-profit
charitable organization that provides, coordinates and distributes
gifts and support to ill and underprivileged children in
Cologne, Germany. The organization continues to thrive even
though he has retired from the DEL and left Cologne.
He and his wife Sarah, a 1992 UWEC grad, have three children:
Madison, 11; Logan, 9; and Luke, 7. He is currently a self-employed
realtor in Scottsdale, Arizona.
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MARK
HICKS
The older of the Hicks brothers by more than a year, Mark
Hicks played the same four years as Alex and ranks right
behind his brother in most Blugold and NCHA records. He
played three years of junior hockey with the Calgary Spurs
before arriving in Eau Claire as a 20-year-old freshman
in 1988.
In 115 career games, he scored 83 goals with 122 assists
for 205 points. Despite being second to his brother, he
is still 42 points ahead of third-place Mike Lintner and
Mike Schwengler. He and Alex scored 31 goals apiece as sophomores
and that number still stands as the Blugold single season
goals record. He remains tied for second behind Alex in
NCHA career points and ranks third in NCHA career goals
and third in NCHA career assists.
Three times during his sophomore season, he registered a
hat trick. He tallied 36 power play goals and 10 game-winning
goals. He was a two-time NCHA first team pick and three
times was named to the Wisconsin State University Conference
(WSUC) second team. He was an AHCA second team All-American
in both 1990 and 1992.
Mark was a member of the only Blugold team ever to advance
to the NCAA Division III playoffs. The Blugolds lost to
eventual national champion UW-Stevens Point in the quarterfinals
of the 1989 tourney.
Upon completion of his eligibility, Mark spent part of one
season and all of another assisting Ian Perrin as a Blugold
coach while he completed his degree in journalism with an
advertising emphasis. He also spent six months playing with
the Richmond Renegades and Toledo Storm of the ECHL.
In July, 1995, he landed a position as an assistant coach
with the North Iowa Huskies Junior A program in Mason City,
Iowa, where he currently resides.
He has been a project manager and lab technician with Heartland
Asphalt since 2000 and is a member of the Asphalt Paving
of Iowa Specifications and Marketing Boards.
Since 2000, he has also been the high school coach of the
Mason City Youth Hockey program, producing a 151-44-10 record.
His team has won one league title and twice he has been
tabbed for Coach of the Year honors. He has been active
with the Mason City Youth Hockey program since 1995 and
the Mason City Youth Hockey Coaching Director since 1997.
He has been USA Coaching Director for the Mid-West Section
for two years. He coached team Mid-West in the Chicago Showcase
in both 2005 and 2007.
Mark is actively involved in the Praise Community Church
in Mason City and is taking on-line classes from Rhema Bible
College in Oklahoma. He is a member and partner in several
Christian-based organizations and is currently writing a
book about living a Christian life.
He has three step-children: Alex, 24, and his wife Mandi;
Cole, 22; and Jenna, 20, and her husband Brian; and four
grandchildren. His wife Cassie is an office coordinator
for Dr. Daniel Burgmeier, DDS.
A native of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Mark became an American
citizen in January, 2007.
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TAMMY
BRANDT STANIUS
A Blugold Super Six winner in 1996, Tammy Brandt, as she
was known during her playing days, is a top figure in the
record books for both soccer and softball.
Stanius played four years of soccer before finishing up
with two seasons of softball after her soccer days were
complete. She was a three-time All-Conference pick in soccer
and twice named All-Conference for softball. She was named
to the All-Region first team and All-American third team
her senior season of soccer and the All-Region third team
her second year of softball when she was named an NSCA All-American
Scholar-Athlete.
She ranks second on the Blugold all-time career points list
in soccer with 118. She still holds the single season assists
mark of 17 set in 1994 and tied the school single season
goals record with 16 in 1992. That mark has been exceeded
four times since and now stands at 20. Her career point
total might have been higher but assists were not tracked
her freshman season.
During her soccer career, the Blugolds compiled an overall
mark of 56-21-5. Among her team awards were Rookie of the
Year, Playmaker Award and Top Offensive Player. She also
served as team captain her senior season.
She still holds the school career batting average mark of
.439 and owns the school career stolen base mark of 67 set
in just two seasons. In addition, she owns the single season
runs mark of 49 and has the top two single season stolen
base totals of 34 and 33. The Blugolds had a combined record
of 46-23 during her two campaigns.
Stanius graduated from UWEC in 1996 as a comprehensive
physical education major. She had an emphasis in adaptive
physical education and coaching. She earned her master’s
degree from St. Mary’s University in Winona, Minnesota.
Since 1998, she has taught and coached in the White Bear
Lake School District after starting her teaching career
in Hopkins, Minnesota at the John Ireland Schools. She currently
is a PE and adaptive PE instructor for grades 6-8 while
coaching ninth grade girls soccer and 10th grade girls fastpitch.
Her eight-year soccer record is 102-8-2 and her six-year
softball record is 60-42. She received the Distinguished
Educator Award for the 2005-06 academic year.
She and her husband Chad Stanius, a real estate appraiser,
have a 2-year-old daughter named Hailey and four-month-old
son named Jack.
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BETH
BROCHHAUSEN
Brochhausen was a four-year letterwinner in both volleyball
and softball and earned All-Conference recognition three
times in volleyball and twice in softball.
She was a member of the Blugolds’ first conference
championship team in each sport as well. Her four volleyball
teams had a combined record of 170-30 including a 52-3 championship
season in 1987. The four softball teams had a combined record
of 93-72 including a 28-12 mark in 1991 and a league championship.
Brochhausen led the volleyball team in assists four straight
seasons from 1986 through 1989 and also was the team leader
in service aces three times and in digs twice. She still
ranks second on the career service aces (277) and assists
(4,732) lists and is sixth in digs (1,161).
In softball, she was a .261 career hitter including a .311
mark as a senior and had a career .976 fielding percentage
as an outfielder.
She earned team MVP honors in volleyball and Most Spirited
award in softball.
Brochhausen graduated in 1991 with a degree in management
information systems. She started with the Carlson Companies
as a programmer and has worked at Target Stores, North Central
Consulting, Fingerhut, Inc.; and St. Paul Companies. Since
2006, she has been a Senior IS Systems Analyst with UnitedHealthGroup
in Plymouth, Minnesota.
She lives with her partner Sheri and two boys: Ryan, 12;
and Alex, 10.
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STEVE
HOLLMAN
Steve Hollman had the “Midas” touch as a Blugold
swimmer, especially in the WSUC championships. In his four-year
career, he swam in 23 conference races and earned a gold
medal 19 times while setting a conference record five times.
The three-time team MVP led the Blugolds to four consecutive
conference championships from 1984 through 1987. He won
the 200 freestyle four consecutive years, the 200 individual
medley three times and the 400 individual medley two times.
He was a member of the 400 freestyle relay team and the
800 freestyle relay team, neither of which lost the four
years he swam. He also picked up two firsts as a member
of the 400 medley relay team. The 400 medley relay squad
was third two other times and he was runner-up in the 200
backstroke once and the 100 freestyle once.
In national competition, the Blugolds were also very successful
with Hollman as a qualifier. In 22 national races, he placed
in the top eight 15 times. He was a first team or second
team All-American 21 times. He was a member of the 1987
Blugold 800 freestyle relay team which won a national championship
in school record time. That same year, he was a member of
the 400 freestyle relay team which was national runner-up
with a school record time. Both the 800 freestyle and 400
freestyle records set in that meet still stand 20 years
later.
His top individual finish in national competition was a
fourth in the 200 freestyle at the 1984 meet. As a team,
the Blugolds placed sixth, fifth, fourth and third in consecutive
years at the NAIA Nationals with Hollman on the squad.
A three-time team captain, Hollman was the WSUC Scholar-Athlete
for the sport of swimming in both 1986 and 1987. He was
a member of the inaugural class of Super Six recipients
in 1987. The Blugold Super Six Salute Award is the highest
award the institution bestows upon one of its student-athletes
and is presented to three male and three female student-athletes
each year.
Hollman graduated cum laude with a chemistry and business
degree. He is now Vice President-Technical Director of Chicago-based
Univar Chemcentral Corporation, the world’s largest
privately held distributor of industrial chemicals with
annual sales of more than $1.375 billion. He has been with
Chemcentral since 1987 as a sales representative, adhesive
market manager, corporate account executive and technical
director. He assumed his present position in 2005.
Hollman and his wife Carolin have three children: Melanie,
15; Joseph, 13; and Thomas, 9. The Hollman family was recognized
for its involvement in the Association for Individual Development,
an organization to assist people with disabilities. Steve
has been actively involved in coaching his sons’ soccer
and basketball teams, served as an Assistant Pack Leader
with Cub Scouts and assists in the local Fox Valley Special
Recreation Association for spring track and field training
for kids participating in the Illinois Special Olympics.
For a number of years, he also assisted in the coordination
of the annual fund-raiser for a local homeless shelter and
also was involved along with his wife in an annual fund-raiser
at his church.
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DAN SCHMIDT
Dan Schmidt set an NCAA Division III national record when
he won the 35-pound weight throw at the 1992 NCAA Division
III indoor nationals. That mark of 62 feet, 6.75 inches
still stands as a school record today. He had placed fifth
in that event in 1990 with a toss of 53-6.25, then was national
runner-up in 1991 with an effort of 57-5.5 before unleashing
his record throw as a senior.
He was an 11-time NCAA All-American, placing at either
the indoor or outdoor nationals in four different weight
events. He set school records in three different events
at nationals and they all remain intact today. Besides the
indoor weight throw mark, he set a school discus record
(170-5) in finishing second at the 1992 outdoor nationals
and a school hammer throw record (187-5) in finishing fifth
at the 1992 outdoor meet. He was also second in the shot
put at the same outdoor nationals. He was second at the
1990 indoor nationals in the shot and third in the 1992
indoor nationals in the shot, giving him a total of six
top three finishes.
He was a contributor to the only two trophies ever brought
home by a Blugold men’s track team from a national
meet as the 1990 Blugold squad finished fourth in both the
NCAA Division III indoor and outdoor nationals.
In conference competition, Schmidt was the conference indoor
and outdoor shot put champion in 1991 and the indoor weight
throw gold medalist in 1990 and 1992.
A two-year team captain, Schmidt was the men’s track
MVP in 1992 and was also tabbed by the student newspaper
the Spectator as the Blugold Male Athlete of the Year in
1992. He was also a two-time recipient of the Blugold Super
Six Salute Award.
Schmidt graduated with a management information systems
degree in 1992. He is currently a business analyst for Schneider
National, Inc., headquartered in Green Bay. This is his
second stint with the company as his first position was
as an application development analyst from 1992-96. He was
a senior programmer analyst with ShopKo Stores, Inc. from
1996-2001, a senior analyst with Global Crossing, Ltd. In
2001-02 and an account manager with ZyQuest, Inc. from 2002-04
before returning to Schneider in 2004.
He served as an assistant throws coach at Green Bay Southwest
High School for two years and as been the head boys and
girls’ throws coach at Ashwaubenon High School since
1999. He has coached six WIAA Division 1 state qualifiers
with one All-State shotputter.
Schmidt also has been involved in various service and charitable
activities in the Green Bay area including the Green Bay
Jaycees, Downtown Green Bay Inc., the Cellcom/Green Bay
Marathon and the Green Bay Community Church’s Dessert
Theatre. For the past seven years, he has been a member
of the Green Bay Packers game day press box staff.
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DAN
KELNER
Dan Kelner spent only two years at UW-Eau Claire but made
the most of it.
He won the conference outdoor 100 and 200-meter championships
in both 1990 and 1991 after claiming the same two titles
in 1987 and 1989 while attending UW-Superior. He added three
relay golds at Eau Claire, giving him 11 WSUC titles for
his career, seven at UWEC.
Kelner went on to win the NCAA Division III outdoor 200-meter
championship in 1990 and also helped the Blugolds win a
national championship in the 400-meter relay. Those championships
keyed the Blugolds’ fourth-place finish in the NCAA
meet.
Kelner helped the Blugolds achieve some success at the
prestigious Drake Relays in 1990 as the Blugolds won the
4x200 relay and finished third in both the 4x400 relay and
the 4x100 relay.
Kelner is still the school record holder in six events--the
outdoor 100 and 200 and as a member of the indoor 4x400
relay team and the outdoor 4x100, 4x200 and 4x400 relay
teams.
He shared team MVP honors with Hall of Famer Eric Burrell
for the 1990 season.
With his speed, Kelner was also a breakaway threat as a
wide receiver in football. After starring for three years
at Superior, Kelner played his final season in a Blugold
uniform in 1990. He caught 33 passes for 675 yards, an average
of 20.4 yards per catch, and scored five touchdowns, three
in one game against Stout to tie a school single game record.
After a four-year WSUC career in which he hauled in 129
passes for 2,875 yards and 22 touchdowns, Kelner was signed
as a free agent by the New York Giants but was subsequently
released.
He earned both his undergraduate and graduate degrees in
biology from UW-Eau Claire in 1991 and 1994, respectively.
He began his career as an aquatic biologist with Ecological
Specialists, Inc. in St. Louis, Missouri. He was hired by
the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources in 1999 as
the coordinator of the Minnesota Statewide Freshwater Mussel
Survey. Since 2002, he has been an aquatic biologist with
the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers in St. Paul, Minnesota
where the majority of his work focuses on the Upper Mississippi
River. His primary duties for the Corps of Engineers involve
environmental compliance, ecosystem restoration projects,
and inventory, monitoring, and propagation studies designed
to contribute to the conservation and recovery of federally-endangered
mussel species.
His mussel research has led to a number of publications
in scientific journals plus presentations at several professional
society symposia in addition to articles published in the
Minnesota Conservation Volunteer magazine by the Minnesota
DNR. Twice, he has been deployed for hurricane disaster
relief--after Katrina in 2005 and after Ivan in 2004.
He and his wife Wendy, a special education teacher, have
two sons: Alex, 10; and Adam, 8. With the two boys, Kelner
has been involved in coaching youth football and baseball
for a number of years.
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PETE
BALISTRIERI
Like Kelner, Balistrieri was a football-track standout
but unlike Kelner, Balistrieri spent his entire four-year
career at UW-Eau Claire.
He was a four-year starter in football but missed four
games his senior season due to injury. In 36 games, he caught
100 passes for 2,178 yards and 18 touchdowns. His best season
came as a junior when he caught 35 passes for 884 yards
and 11 TDs. He was on the receiving end of a 99-yard collaboration
from John Clark which represents the longest TD pass reception
in school and conference history. That same season, he also
averaged 23.9 yards for 23 kickoff returns. For his career,
he returned 68 kickoffs an average of 21.1 yards per return.
Balistrieri still ranks third in single season receiving
and second in single season TDs with his brilliant 1989
campaign that earned him All-Conference recognition as both
a wide receiver and return specialist. He also is fourth
in career receiving yards and tied for third in career TD
receptions.
After his senior season, he played in the All-American
Classic College All-Star game in Tampa, Florida.
In track, Balistrieri was a member of the Blugolds’
national championship 400-meter relay team in 1990, helping
the team to a fourth-place finish. He qualified individually
for the NCAA indoor nationals that year in the 55-meter
dash. He won conference gold medals as a member of the Blugold
indoor 4x200 relay in both 1989 and 1990 and as a member
of the Blugold outdoor 4x100 relay in 1988. His name is
still in the Blugold outdoor record books as a member of
the 4x100 and 4x200 relay teams.
A Milwaukee native, Balistrieri received his degree in organizational communication in 1991. He was signed by the New York Jets as a free agent in 1991 and by the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League in 1992. He had a chance to play with the Orlando Predators of the Arena Football League in 1993 but declined the offer. He did spend a few seasons coaching at Carthage College and Brown Deer High School before getting out of football entirely.
Balistrieri has been an actor in several national commercials
and independent films including “Not on My Watch Hollywood,”
which he wrote. Since 2000, he has been the owner of Balloon
Entertainment LLC where he writes film scripts and develops
independent films. Since 2004, he has been the producer/creative
director for USAV Group which produces videos and events
for corporate customers across the Midwest.
He and his wife Kristin, a retail manager, have one son
Salvatore, age 2.
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