FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mark Albanese, Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Media Relations

SOMERS, Wis. (June 30, 2016)-- The University of Wisconsin-Parkside athletic department will induct nine individuals, one honorary member, and two teams into the Hall of Fame on Saturday, October 15, at a ceremony inside the Student Center Ballroom. It will be the 11th induction class since the Hall of Fame was created in 1980.
 
Earning induction as individuals are men's soccer players Riley Mewes and Jim Spielmann, women's basketball player Sammy Kromm, women's soccer player Abbigail Wild, men's basketball player Stevie King, volleyball athletes Kari Good and Katie Spitzer, along with wrestlers Randy Skarda and Trevor Hasenjager. Longtime cross country and track & field coach Mike DeWitt earns a spot as an honorary member while the 1973-1974 wrestling squad and the 2005 baseball squad will be enshrined in the team category.
 
Riley Mewes, Men's Soccer (1999-2004)
Mewes was a Second Team All-American as a senior, culminating an outstanding career that saw the defender overcome two separate knee injuries. The Wauwatosa, Wisconsin native was a two-time All-Great Lakes Valley Conference (2003 and 2004) and a two-time All-Midwest Region (2003 and 2004) selection while securing GLVC Fall Scholar Athlete of the Year in 2004. Mewes played in 76 games in his career, making 60 starts and helping the Rangers compile a 49-23-5 mark on the pitch while scoring three goals and netting three assists. A three-time team captain (2002-2004), Mewes led the Rangers to the NCAA Tournament in 2004, helping the squad advance to the regional final and was also a member of the 2000 team that won the GLVC Tournament Championship and qualified for the NCAA Tournament. Mewes won the athletic department's 2004 Ranger Award, 2005 Male Athlete of the Year, and the 2005 Career Achievement Award, and was a top performer in the classroom, earning GLVC All-Academic honors four times while earning the highest academic award for both the history and international relations departments.
 
Jim Spielmann, Men's Soccer (1981-1984)
A two-time NAIA All-American, Spielmann guided the 1984 Rangers to their first NAIA National Tournament appearance while capping off his four-year career with a 46-25-7 record on the field. A central midfielder, Spielmann collected 18 career goals and 17 assists with the Green and White, earning All-American honors in 1982 and 1983 while securing NAIA All-Area in 1983 and 1984. He was a four-time NAIA All-District selection (1981-1984), a three-time NSCAA All-Mideast honoree (1981, 1983, and 1984) and a three-time Wisconsin All-State Team selection (1981-1983) and was considered the heartbeat of the team as one of just seven returners in Hall of Famer Rick Kilps first season as coach in 1984. The Rangers advanced to the NAIA Area playoffs all four seasons Spielmann was on the team with the 1983 squad ranking as high as seventh in the nation. Spielmann is an active member of the amateur soccer community in Wisconsin and in March of 2016 was inducted into the Wisconsin Soccer Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
 
Sammy Kromm, Women's Basketball (2001-2005)
A two-time All-Great Lakes Region selection, Kromm laid the foundation for turning the Rangers into a regional juggernaut on the hardwood. A native of West Brooklyn, Illinois, Kromm led the GLVC in scoring as a sophomore (19.8 points per game), collecting a school record 555 points during the 2002-2003 campaign while closing her career as the program's all-time leading scorer with 1,897 career points. Kromm was a three-time First Team All-GLVC selection and powered the Rangers to their first winning season in GLVC play in 2003-2004 before taking UW-Parkside to its first NCAA Division II Tournament the following season. Kromm was the 2002 GLVC Freshman of the Year and led all of Division II as a senior in field goal percentage, hitting 64.8 percent of her opportunities from the floor. Her athletic accomplishments have stood the test of time, still maintaining the top spot on the career charts in scoring and field goals made (757) while sitting third in rebounding (780).
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Abbigail Wild, Women's Soccer (2001-2004)
A four-time All-Great Lakes Valley Conference honoree, Wild helped establish the Ranger dynasty on the soccer pitch, helping UW-Parkside to its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 2003 while helping the team post its first NCAA Tournament victory the following season. The goalkeeper tallied a school record 210 saves in her career while posting 45 clean sheets, capping off her career with two GLVC Tournament titles (2003 and 2004) and one GLVC regular season crown (2004). Wild wasted little time making an impact with the program, earning GLVC Freshman of the Year and Second Team All-GLVC honors in her debut season with a 0.78 goals against average. Wild's next three seasons were some of the greatest in program history, ranking second in single season goals against average in 2004 (0.30), third in 2002 (0.46), and fourth in 2003 (0.58), earning Second Team All-GLVC in 2002 while securing First Team accolades in 2003 and 2004.
 
Stevie King, Men's Basketball (1974-1978)
One of the most durable players in program history, King suited up in 115 career games for the Green and White, helping the Rangers win 87 games in his four-year career, the most second most wins by any player in program history. The guard amassed a school record 572 assists in his career, a record that has stood the test of time, while helping the Rangers make four consecutive trips to the NAIA Sweet 16, including an Elite Eight appearance with the legendary 1974-1975 squad that was inducted into the UW-Parkside Hall of Fame in 2014.
 
Kari Good, Volleyball (1996-1999)
A two-time All-GLVC selection, Good helped the Rangers qualify for the GLVC Tournament on three occasions and was an integral part of the 1997 squad that won 23 games, the most ever won by UW-Parkside since joining NCAA Division II. Good collected a school record 5.133 assists in her four years with the Rangers, a record that has been untouched since with the next best career tally over 3,000 assists shy of the mark. She left campus as the career record holder for aces (113) and still sits third all-time while ranking fifth in career digs (1,376). Her 1,551 assists during the 1997 season still stands as a single season record, helping the Rangers to a 23-12 record while compiling an 11-5 mark in GLVC play, the best winning percentage in conference play in program history. Good additionally holds down the second (1,545 in 1999) and third spots (1,335 in 1998) for single-season assists while ranking fourth in single season aces in 1997 (46) and eighth in single season digs with 494 in 1999.
 
Katie Spitzer, Volleyball (1996-1999)
A two-time All-GLVC selection, Spitzer guided UW-Parkside to its most prolific season as a Division II institution in 1997, collecting 23 wins while sporting an 11-5 record in GLVC action, the best winning percentage in conference play in program history. The middle blocker owns career records in both kills (1,245) and blocks (521), earning First Team All-League laurels in both 1998 and 1999. Spitzer was a 1999 Academic All-GLVC honoree and helped the Rangers make the GLVC Tournament in three of her four seasons with the program.
 
Randy Skarda, Wrestling (1972-1975)
Skarda served as a catalyst for UW-Parkside, turning the wrestling program into a national powerhouse. A transfer from UW-Oshkosh, Skarda owned a 60-12 career record on the mat, securing the NAIA National Title at 150 pounds during the 1973-1974 campaign. His national title run included a 28-1 record on the mat, then a program record for wins, with 12 pins. Skarda was the NAIA District 14 Wrestler of the Year that season, helping the Rangers place third at the National Championships for UW-Parkside's first national trophy in any sport. Skarda's .833 winning percentage still ranks fourth best all-time in program history and his influence as a coach and teacher brought in several future Rangers including his brother and 2003 Hall of Fame inductee Steve, his son Scott, and 1995 NAIA national champion Trevor Hasenjager.
 
Trevor Hasenjager, Wrestling (1992-1996)
A three-time NCAA Division II National tournament qualifier and the 1995 NAIA Champion at 118 pounds, Hasenjager closed his outstanding career with an 85-51 record on the mat and at the time was considered the top 118-pounder in program history. Hasenjager was a two-time NCAA Division II Regional Champion and helped the Rangers to a pair of ninth place finishes at the NCAA Championships in both 1994 and 1995. The 118-pounder won the Wisconsin Open, Wheaton College Invitational, and NCAA Midwest Region Championships in 1994-1995 en route to his NAIA national title while powering the Rangers to a third-place showing at the NCAA National Duals.
 
Mike DeWitt, Honorary
Mike DeWitt made his mark at UW-Parkside as both a student-athlete and a coach. As a student, DeWitt was the track & field team's first All-American and went on to compete in the US Olympic Trials five times in the 50 kilometer racewalk and was on Team USA seven times including the 1989 World Cup of Racewalking while twice medaled at the U.S. National Olympic Festivals in the 1980s.
 
DeWitt returned to his alma mater as the women's cross country and track coach in 1981 and piloted the program until 2010 while also coaching the men's teams from 2007-2010. DeWitt guided the women's cross country team to its second NAIA national title in 1986 while securing Great Lakes Valley Conference crowns in cross country eight times including four consecutive from 2004 to 2007. DeWitt was named the GLVC Cross Country Coach of the Year on seven occasions, was the NAIA or NCAA Region Coach of the Year 12 times, and was the NAIA Coach of the Year in 1986 while earning an induction to the NAIA Hall of Fame in 2000. Under his tutelage, the Runnin' Rangers captured four Midwest Region titles and made 13 NCAA national championship appearances while developing over 125 All-Americans, including six student-athletes making appearances in the Olympic Games.
 
1973-1974 Wrestling Team
Under the guidance of Hall of Fame coach Jim Koch, UW-Parkside's 1973-1974 wrestling squad tallied the highest ever finish by a Ranger men's team in school history, finishing third at the NAIA Championships for the university's first trophy from a national competition. The 1973-1974 Rangers featured two national champions with Bill West ripping through the season with a 27-0 record to claim the 134-pound title while Randy Skarda capped the season with a 28-1 record and a national title at 150-pounds. Ken Martin, a national champion the prior season, moved up from 134-pounds to 142-pounds and placed runner-up at the national meet, boasting an impressive 25-2 record. Also on the star-studded 1973-1974 squad was Joe Landers who would go on to win a national title at 134-pounds in 1976.
 
A statistically dominant team, West, Martin, and Skarda all rank in the top four all-time in career winning percentage while seven members of the squad rank among the top 12 all-time in takedowns allowed per match.
 
In dual competition, the Rangers posted a 7-4-1 record with three setbacks coming at the hands of Division I opponents. The 1973-1974 squad laid the foundation for a juggernaut program that recorded seven top 10 finishes and four top five finishes during the decade and became the preeminent small college program in the state and the upper Midwest.
 
2005 Baseball Team
Under the direction of 2004 GLVC Coach of the Year Tracy Archuleta the 2005 UW-Parkside baseball team captured its first and to-date only GLVC Tournament Championship while advancing to the regional finals of the NCAA Division II Tournament. The 2005 squad had big shoes to fill after the previous season's team tallied a school record for wins, capturing the GLVC regular season title and advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history.
 
For an encore, the 2005 Rangers accumulated a program record 45 wins, including a program-record 30 coming in GLVC play, tying Saint Joseph's College for the regular season title. At the conference tournament the Green and White bested the Pumas 7-3 and 11-2 to hoist the league title and advance to the NCAAs for the second straight season. UW-Parkside dropped its opening game at the North Central Regional before battling back to the finals, winning three straight before succumbing 10-3 to Grand Valley State University in the regional championship game.
 
2014 Hall of Fame inductee Adam Brechtl led the Rangers (45-18, 30-8 GLVC) at the plate, securing GLVC Player of the Year honors while six other UW-Parkside players earned All-GLVC distinction. The 2015 club set single season records for runs batted in, hits, runs scored, walks, home runs, doubles, triples while on the mound smashed single season marks for strikeouts, shutouts, saves, and appearances.