SIOUX FALLS - Stars from the past in track, football, volleyball, wrestling, and baseball will be inducted into the Augustana Athletic Hall of Fame on Friday, October 3.

Track and field standouts Tom Dow and Hiedi Reed will be joined by Doug Clark (football), Jason Reitmeier (wrestling), Ann Sieckert (volleyball), and Dan Conrad (baseball).

In addition, former Augustana head wrestling coach Paul Kendle will receive the Lefty Olson Award, and Tim Homan, Augustana graduate and now the head wrestling coach at the University of Sioux Falls, will receive the Ole Odney Award.

The induction banquet will be held at the Holiday Inn City Centre in downtown Sioux Falls beginning with a social hour at 6:00 p.m. Tickets are $25 per person and can be reserved by calling (605) 274-5420.

Augustana teams won two events at the Drake Relays for the first time in 1995 and TOM DOW anchored both units. The Vikings claimed the 1,600-meter relay in 3:11.74 and the 3,200 in 7:38.56. During his time at Augustana, Dow set school records for 800 meters outdoors (1:48.89) and indoors (1:47.97). He was the North Central Conference 800-meter outdoor champion three consecutive years and helped Augustana dominate the event from 1993 to 1998. He anchored the Vikings to consecutive NCC outdoor 1,600-meter relay titles in 1994 and 1995. At the NCC indoor championships in 1995 he won the 800 and anchored the Vikings’ winning 1,600-meter relay team. His time in the 800 (1:50.88) is an NCC record. A 12-time All-America, Dow anchored Vikings’ 1,600-meter relays teams to school records indoors (3:10.88) and outdoors (3:10.26). He qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials in 1996. Today Tom Dow is a public affairs staff writer and web editor with the U.S. Air Force.

HIEDI REED was captain of the Augustana cross country team in 1995 and 1996. She held five school records during her career, was a three-time All-America in cross country and earned similar distinction for her track exploits in 1993. She won North Central Conference cross country championships in 1993 and 1996, leading the Vikings to third place each year. She was chosen NCAA North Region cross country runner of the year in 1996. In 1993 and again in 1996 she finished sixth at the NCAA Division II national cross country championships. She was the first NCC entrant to cross the finish line both years. Reed was a double winner at the NCC outdoor track championships in 1997 capturing the 5,000 (18:17.29) and 10,000 (36:24.50). In addition she was named Academic All-NCC in 1997. She capped her career in 1997 by winning the Ruth Marske Award for significant contributions to team and community while showing courage in overcoming adversity. Today, Hiedi Reed Johnson is a stay-at-home-mom living in Sioux Falls.

DOUG CLARK was a standout defensive player on Augustana’s 1975 football team that finished third in the North Central Conference with a 5-2 record. The Vikings’ two losses were to undefeated champion North Dakota (36-34) and runner-up Northern Iowa (20-14). Augustana lost two of its first three games and then won six of the last seven. Included were wins over South Dakota State and the University of South Dakota, and a 27-14 conquest of North Dakota State on Viking Days. The team’s 7-3 overall record was the best since 1942. Clark anchored the defensive unit and was voted the team’s most valuable defensive player. He was also included on the All-NCC honorable mention list. Clark earned MVP honors as a freshman, was tabbed most valuable defensive lineman his junior year, and served as a tri-captain his senior season.
Today Clark is the owner of Doug Clark Installations and lives in Placitas, N.M.

In just two seasons, JASON REITMEIER made a huge impact on Augustana wrestling. He transferred to Augustana from the University of Nebraska and as a Viking compiled an impressive 36-4 record with 20 pins for the 1995-1996 season. He was the North Central Conference’s 134-pound champion and garnered All-America recognition with a third-place finish at the NCAA Division II nationals. He was back in top form for the 1996-1997 season, posting a 30-3 record with nine pins. He slipped to fifth place in the NCC tournament and needed a wild card to advance to nationals. He didn’t waste the opportunity, battling as the No. 7 seed all the way to the 142-pound title. He was Augustana’s first national wrestling champion in 12 years. Prior to the 2003-2004 season, Reitmeier was named Augustana’s head wrestling coach.

One of the most powerful outside hitters in Augustana volleyball annals, ANN SIECKERT was the North Central Conference’s player of the year in 1996, helping the Vikings to a share of the championship with a 16-2 record and an overall mark of 32-4. The Vikings were ranked fourth in the 1996 national Division II poll. At one time Sieckert held school career records for kills (1,885), attacks (4,540), kills in a season (635), attacks in a match (73) and attacks in a season (1,449). She was named to the All-Conference team in 1995 and 1996. She was named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association All-America first team in 1996, the first Augustana played selected to the first team. Additional honors included the NCC Honor Athlete Award in 1997, and the Stan Marshall Award, also in 1997, for academic performance, athletic ability, and community activities. A nursing major, she was twice named to the Academic All-NCC team (1995, 1996) and was selected to the first team of the 1996 GTE Academic All-America College Division Women’s Volleyball Team. Today Ann Sieckert Seppelt is a nursing instructor at Ridgewater College and a Community Program Associate at the University of Minnesota School of Nursing. She lives in Hutchinson, Minn.

In 1997, Augustana’s DAN CONRAD was voted the most valuable player in the North Central Conference’s Southern Division. The Vikings were 9-7 in league play and runners-up in the division standings. During the 1997 campaign the Vikings swept South Dakota State, the first time Augustana took all four games from the Jacks in 27 seasons. For the season, Conrad posted a hefty batting average of .414 with five home runs and 21 runs-batted-in. He was chosen to the All-NCC team in 1995, 1996, and 1997. Augustana had a 20-20 record in 1996 with Conrad leading the team in home runs (6) and runs-batted-in (36). He finished among the league’s top ten batters in 1996 with a .413 average. Conrad’s play helped Augustana claim the NCC’s Southern Division championship in 1995. Today Dan Conrad is teaching and coaching at Sioux Falls Lincoln High School.

In 2000, PAUL KENDLE was inducted into the NCAA Division II Wrestling Hall of Fame. He was hired to head Augustana’s faltering wrestling program in 1973 and in the first season guided the Vikings to a 9-8-1 record. In his third year, Kendle’s Vikings were sixth at the NCAA Division II nationals and featured the school’s first four All-America wrestlers. In 1977, Kendle mentored six All-America wrestlers and Augustana was the runner-up at nationals. For the next 14 seasons, Kendle’s program at Augustana was among the nation’s elite in Division II. Ten times his teams finished among the top nine at nationals, 44 of his student-athletes earned Division II All-America distinction and three claimed Division I All-America honors. Seven of his wrestlers were national champions, three won the Division II outstanding wrestler award, and four earned the Gorrarian Award for most pins at nationals. Two of Kendle’s wrestlers won prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships. His overall dual record for 18 seasons was 160-57-1.
He served two terms as President of the NCAA Division II Wrestling Coaches Association and is the only coach to serve on the NCAA Wrestling Rules Committee and the NWCA Executive Committee at the same time.

TIM HOMAN, who graduated from Augustana in 1981, retired prior to the 2004-2005 school year after nine seasons as head wrestling coach at Roosevelt High School in Sioux Falls. He coached five state champions in nine years and guided the Rough Riders to fifth place at the 2003 state tournament. “There are two things Coach Homan did really well,” said Aaron Haddorff, a Roosevelt state champion in 2003. “The first thing was the recruiting he did at Roosevelt and the middle schools in Sioux Falls. He was always trying to get kids out for the sport. The second thing was his commitment to us. It wasn’t just wrestling, it was every facet of our lives. He taught us a lot about hard work, dedication, motivation, responsibility and accountability for our actions.” Homan coached at Webster before beginning a 12-year stint at Brandon Valley. One of his Brandon Valley standouts was Ryan Tobin, a three-time All-America at Nebraska. He coached Aaron Graumann at Roosevelt, a two-time state champion who won the NCAA Division II 125-pound title while competing for Augustana. Homan ended his retirement in 2006 to become the head wrestling coach at the University of Sioux Falls.
 

Phone: 605-274-5420