ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Concordia University, St. Paul has announced the 2008 Hall of Fame class to be inducted on Friday evening on campus. The group of 10 former Concordia greats will be inducted on Friday, September 26 at the Hall of Fame banquet reception on campus.
The 2008 Hall of Fame class includes Marla (Garbers) Anderson (Volleyball, '95), Louis Carter (Basketball, '82), Coach Tom Cross (Football, Softball), Steve Mudgett (Football, '95), Kelli (Strehlo) Schunk (Softball, '98), Mark Sikich (Football, '83), Eric Schutte (Baseball, Football, '98), Naomi Stohlmann (Basketball, Softball, '98), Dustin Trombley (Baseball, '94) and James Wilson (Football, '79).
The Concordia University, St. Paul Athletic Hall of Fame, Class of 2008:
Marla (Garbers) Anderson ‘96
Marla graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in elementary education with a concentration in math. Following graduation, she worked full time at Concordia in the registrar's office, eventually moving to the business office after a couple of years. During this time, she was an Assistant Volleyball Coach at Concordia and the JV Basketball Coach at Park High School of Cottage Grove. After becoming engaged to Cliff she accepted a job offer at Welcome State Bank and has been employed there for eight years. They have been blessed with two wonderful children, Zach (4) and Emily (1).
Marla helped lead the Concordia volleyball team to dominance in the mid-1990’s. On the volleyball court, Marla still has her name etched in the Concordia record books, currently ranking fifth in career kills with 1,429, fourth for kills in a season with 561 in 1995, 3rd in kills per game for a season with 4.40 in 1995, fifth in total attacks in a season with 1,227 in 1995 and she holds the Concordia record with 15 solo blocks in a single match against Martin Luther in 1995. In her career, the Comets went 97-51 overall and in her first three years, the team went 35-1 in the UMAC conference season.
Louis Carter ‘82
Louis graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in social science and then went on to get a degree in Social Work from Metro State University in 2000. Louis is now finishing up his Master's degree in counseling and psychology from Saint Mary's University of Minnesota with an expected graduation date in June of 2009. Currently, Louis works as a counselor at his old high school, Minnehaha Academy where he coaches football, basketball and baseball. After obtaining his MA, Louis plans to work in the Federal Prison system in the state of New York. He also has four sons: Michael Peltier, Wesley Holmes, Dominique Sims, and Louis B. Carter, III.
In the 1981-82 season, Louis set a school record for most points in a single season by scoring 471, averaging an astonishing 19.6 points per game. While the amount of points now ranks sixth on the Concordia single season scoring record list, his 19.6 per game average is higher than any of the players whose point total surpassed his. In his career, which spanned 1978 to 1982, Carter scored 1,206 points and left Concordia ranked third in career scoring and his point total still ranks eighth all-time today. He is one of 13 members of the 1,000 point club as well.
Coach Tom Cross ‘90
Cross served as both head softball and head football coach at Concordia University in St. Paul. His Concordia softball teams won 273 games and numerous conference titles during his 15 years and he was twice named Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Coach of the Year. Concordia won every UMAC championship between 1983 and 1991 and was a common participant in the NAIA playoffs.
Cross’ teams on the gridiron at Concordia enjoyed success as well and he still holds more career wins than any other football coach in program history. His teams captured a pair of UMAC Championships, in 1988 and 1991 while leading his first team to a 4-1 league finish for second place in 1987.
Tom Cross is currently in his fifth year as head softball coach at Macalester after taking over the program following the 2003 season.
Coach Cross served as offensive coordinator for the Mac football team from 1998-2005, coaching both softball and football for three years, and is now concentrating solely on building the softball program. Coach Cross has a BA from Concordia University, St. Paul and resides in St. Paul.
Steve Mudgett ‘95
During Steve’s football career at Concordia, he was named All-UMAC four times: Third Team (’91), Second Team (’92) and First Team All Conference (‘93, ’94). He was also named a team captain and MVP (’94), and Male Athlete of the Year (’94, ’95). Steve also played semi-pro football for the St. Paul Wranglers. He has served as a defensive line coach for both Concordia University and Macalester College. Over the last seven years, Steve has been a licensed real estate agent and has been named Coldwell Banker Top Selling Rookie Agent in 2001/2002, as well as, 2007’s Super Agent. Steve has also worked in retail management at Walgreen’s and currently Kwik Trip.
As a student-athlete, Mudgett compiled 226 tackles on the football field, which ranks seventh on the career list. He was also credited with 28 career sacks, which is tied for second all-time.
Mark Sikich ‘83
Mark graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in elementary education (grades 1-6) and physical education (k-12). He also received his MSE in reading from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. While attending Concordia, he participated in football being selected as a captain and named All-Conference during his junior and senior years. He was also named All-Conference in tennis for four years and eventually being Head Men’s Coach at CSP. His full-time teaching and coaching career started at his fourth grade elementary school in Hibbing, Minn. where he coached football, gymnastics and tennis at the high school. He is in his 2fourth year as a teacher in the South Washington County School District where he currently serves as a secondary physical education teacher at Park High School in Cottage Grove, Minn. He has been Varsity Assistant Football Coach and Head Gymnastics Coach at Park for many years where he has been recognized for numerous awards.
Mark has been recognized for a few awards over the years. In gymnastics, he was voted “AA” coach of the year twice in 1998 and 2002. He was inducted into the Minnesota Girl’s Gymnastics Coaches’ Association Hall of Fame in 2002 and has been a MSHSL Gymnastics Official for the past 22 years. Mark is very proud of all of his teams that he has coached over the years. His teams took third place three times and won the State Championship in the 2003-04 season. Finally, Mark was truly happy to be recognized as an “Education All Star” from his district in 2004.
Naomi Stohlmann ‘98
Naomi graduated with honors and earned a bachelor’s degree in K-12 physical education and was also a teacher of the Church. During her time at Concordia, Naomi was a four year letterwinner (‘93-‘97) and captain, in both basketball and softball. In softball, she was a two-time All-Conference and All-Section selection (‘95, ‘97). Naomi led the team in runs and sacrifices (‘96), walks (‘97), she was also among the top three in batting average, at bats, hits, steals, and putouts during her last three years. In basketball she led the team in steals, was named Most Improved Player during her senior year and was also among the top three in scoring, rebounding, assists, and steals during her last two years. In 1998, she was named Female Athlete of the Year. In 2004, Naomi later received her Master’s degree in higher and post secondary education from Arizona State University. She currently resides in St. Peter, Minn. and is joined by her parents Stephen (’62) and Jeanette (’71) and siblings Seth, Mary, Micah (’03), and Philip (’06).
Kelli (Strehlo) Schunk ‘98
Kelli graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in psychology with minors in communication and sociology. She worked in corrections for several years but after moving to Scobey, Mont., she began working as a nurse's assistant. After another move to N.D., she went back to school for medical transcription and is currently employed by MeritCare Hospital in Fargo, N.D. She currently resides in Mapleton, N.D., with her husband Josh and their two children Ella (3) and Caleb (1).
On the field, Kelli went out in style as a senior, leading the Comets with a .386 average in 114 at bats. In 37 games, Kelli slugged 44 hits with 10 doubles, five triples and seven home runs. She led the team with 34 RBI's as well. She helped lead the Comets to a 24-18 overall record.
Eric Schutte ‘98
Eric first received his AA degree from Bethany Lutheran Junior College in 1995. He graduated from Concordia in 1998 with a Bachelor’s degree in physical education k-12 and in 2002 with a Master's degree of education. During his time at Concordia he won numerous awards for his athletic participation in football and baseball, some of which include: NAIA All-American (football ’97), UMAC Offensive Player of the Year (football ’97), Team MVP (football ’97, baseball ’97, ‘98), UMAC All-Conference/NAIA All Section (baseball ’97, ’98), UMAC Player of the Year (baseball ’97), and Athlete of the Year (’97, ’98). Eric currently teaches physical education and health at St. Bernard's High School in St. Paul. He also serves as the head boy’s basketball and baseball coach at Concordia Academy in Roseville.
On the football field, Schutte rushed for 1,415 yards and 18 touchdowns in his career, averaging 4.6 yards per carry. A versatile running back, Schutte also had 67 pass receptions for 786 receiving yards, giving him over 2200 career yards and his 10 receiving touchdowns put him at 28 career scores. When he finished his career, he ranked fifth in school history in all-purpose yards and second in touchdowns.
On the baseball diamond, Schutte completed his career ranked third in career batting average at .374, first in slugging percentage at .694 and second in on-base percentage at .475. His 127 career hits were fourth on the career list and with 23 career home runs, he was Concordia’s home run king until his record was broken in 2006. He still currently ranks third in career home runs and holds school records with 11 triples and 50 stolen bases. In his career, he only committed three errors. His 29 steals in 1998 is a single season record that may never be reached.
Dustin Trombley ‘94
Dustin graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in business. He started every game of his college career in baseball from 1991 to 1994. He was named NCAA Small College All-American (‘91), Team Captain (’94), Team MVP (’94), NAIA All-District (’94) and was a finalist for Athlete of the Year (’94). Dustin has coached t-ball for his daughter Allyssa (7) and his son Tyler (4) for the last three years. He currently works for Modern Heating and Air Conditioning as a Project Manager.
In his career on the diamond, Dustin had two seasons hitting above .400, his first and his last. As a freshman, he hit .421 with power, hitting six doubles, three triples and five home runs in only 107 at bats. He scored and drove in 34 runs and stole ten bases. As a senior, Dustin hit .418 and finished his Concordia career with a .362 average. In 431 career at bats, he had 31 doubles, six triples and 12 home runs. He scored 117 career runs and drove in 90. He also stole 30 bases. He clubbed a career-best 13 doubles as a junior in 1993. Maybe as impressive as the huge hitting numbers was how hard he was to strike out. In four years with the Comets, Dustin only struck out 36 times, that’s nine times a season, less than once every four games. To go with his low strikeout totals, Dustin walked twice as many times as he struck out with 74 career walks and a .457 career on base percentage. He also pitched, too, with a 3-2 career record in 17 appearances in just over 30 career innings.
James Wilson ‘79
Jim attended Concordia from 1976 to 1979 and graduated Magna Cum Laude/St. Paul Jaycees Court of Honor. During his time at Concordia, he was the president of Ski Club and played four years of football, being named an All-Conference defensive back two of those years. He also ran track for two years and was eventually Head Track Coach in 1982. Jim has a Master's degree from Sam Houston University in school counseling and an extensive career in the education field, including 26 years as a Lutheran Educator teacher/administrator. He was named Texas District Educator of the Year in 2001 and was recognized by the Department of Education as a National Blue Ribbon award winner in 2006. He also coached 18 of the years while serving as a principal. Jim is currently a school counselor at Navarro Elementary near Seguin, Texas and has been married to his wife Darla for 28 years. He has three children Rebecca, Josh and Joy.
Jim helped lead Concordia to their first-ever conference championship, helping the Comets to a Twin River championship in 1976 with a perfect 4-0 Twin River record. They were also UMAC Co-Champions that year going 3-2 in that league, with a dual conference membership. In that championship season, Jim Wilson was one of the leaders in a Concordia secondary that allowed just 47 completions in 123 passing attempts by their opponent all season. He finished the season with 28 tackles, an interception and a fumble recovery. In 1977, Wilson helped the Comets to a 9-1 record, which still stands as the best winning percentage in Concordia football history. His 85 yard kickoff return for touchdown on the opening kickoff helped the Comets blow out Maranatha Baptist for their seventh win of the season. He helped the Comets to a third straight championship run in 1978 when they took the Twin River Co-Championship despite an 0-3 start to the season, the team finished strong at 5-4 overall. As a junior, Wilson again earned All-Twin River accolades. As a senior in 1979, Wilson earned All-UMAC second team and All-Twin River honorable mention honors, making 59 tackles with three interceptions and four pass deflections.
