WU Announces Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2008

St. Louis, Mo., September 30, 2008 –Washington University in St. Louis, in conjunction with its athletic support organization, the W Club, has announced its 13th induction class for the University's Sports Hall of Fame. Induction ceremonies will be held during a breakfast at the Knight Center on Friday, Feb. 6, 2009, at 8:30 a.m.

Later that night, the 2008 class will be recognized at halftime of the women's basketball game against New York University. Tip-off for the women is set for 6 p.m., with the men to follow at 8 p.m. With the addition of the 2008 class, the WU Sports Hall of Fame boasts 132 members, including Distinguished Service honorees.

This year's induction class features 10 former student-athletes: men’s basketball’s Kevin Folkl (Class of 1996), volleyball’s Stephanie Habif (Class of 1997), football and track and field’s Chris Nalley (Class of 1997), men’s cross country and track and field’s John Nelke (Class of 1967), women’s soccer’s Rachel Sweeney Patton (Class of 2000), women’s cross country and track and field’s Emily Richard (Class of 1999), women’s basketball’s Tasha Rodgers (Class of 2001) and men’s tennis’ Tim Spengler (Class of 1986.)

Hord Hardin (Class of 1935), a member of the football, golf, baseball, and men’s basketball teams, and W. Edward Lansche (Class of 1948), a member of the men’s basketball and track and field team, will be honored as Distinguished Service members.

Folkl was a three-time All-America selection (1994, 1995, 1996) and earned University Athletic Association (UAA) Player of the Year honors in 1995. He is the ninth all-time leading scorer at Washington University with 1,358 career points and holds the school record for highest field goal percentage in a season (65.6 percent, 1993-94). Folkl also ranks first in school history in field goal percentage (63.1), fourth in blocked shots (140) and eighth in field goals made (543) and rebounds (590). A third-team Academic All-America selection in 1995, he averaged 16.1 points per game as a junior and 16.0 ppg as a senior. The Bears posted a 79-27 (.745) overall record in his four seasons, made two NCAA Tournament appearances, and won two UAA titles. Washington U. posted back-to-back 23 win seasons in 1994-95 and 1995-96, and made an NCAA Quarterfinal appearance in 1996.

Habif helped Washington University to four-consecutive national championships and four-straight UAA titles from 1993-96. A two-time AVCA first-team All-America setter (1995-96), she graduated as the Bears’ career assists leader with 4,995, a record that still stands today. Habif was also a three-time first-team all-UAA (1994-96) honoree and garnered NCAA all-Tournament Team honors in 1994 and 1996. She set a Washington U. NCAA Tournament single-match record for assists on Nov. 19, 1994, with 84 against UC-San Diego. Habif helped lead Washington University to a 166-13 (.927) record during her four-year career.

Nalley was a Hewlett Packard first-team All-America selection in football in 1995 and 1996. He is second on the all-time Washington University list with 21-career interceptions. Nalley set a single-season school record with nine interceptions and guided the Bears to a 9-1 overall mark in 1995. The Bears posted a 29-11 (.725) record in his four seasons, and won three UAA championships. Nalley also holds the school record in the 100-meter run (10.64), and qualified for nationals in track.

Nelke, a four-year letterwinner in cross-country and track and field, held the outdoor track and field half-mile record for 23 years at Washington University. Nelke, who was captain and Most Valuable Performer of the 1965 and 1966 track team, set the half-mile (1:53) and mile record (4:17.9) in 1966. He was also a four-year captain of the cross-country team.

Patton is Washington U.'s all-time women’s soccer leader in goals scored (80), assists (44) and points (206). A NSCAA/Adidas first-team All-America and UAA Most Valuable Player selection in 1997, she was also a four-time all-UAA and three-time all-region honoree. Patton recorded 28 goals and 10 assists for 66 points in 1998, and tied a school record with 16 assists in 1999. She helped the Bears to a 61-15-2 (.795) mark in four seasons and two NCAA Tournament appearances. Washington U. won a school record 17 games in 1998 and 1999, and made the school’s first Final Four appearance in 1997.

Richard won the outdoor NCAA Division III national championship in the 5,000-meter run in 1998 and the indoor national championship in the 5,000-meter run in 1999. She earned six All-America citations during her four-year career, and is the only track and field student-athlete in Washington U. history to win two national championships. A first-team Academic All-America honoree in 1999 and second-team selection in 1998, Richard is the school record holder in the indoor 3,000 (9:59.20) and 5,000 (17:07.80) meter run. She was also a cross-country NCAA and CCCA All-America in 1997 (placing fifth) and 1998 (placing eighth), and finished first at the UAA Cross Country Championships in 1996 and 1997. Richard won a total of 12 UAA indoor and outdoor titles in her career.

Rodgers was a member of all four of Washington University’s women’s basketball national championship teams in 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001. She ranks first in school history in career steals (295) and field goal percentage (.583), second in scoring (1,643) and sixth in rebounds (682). As a senior, she led Washington U. in scoring (20.2 ppg), rebounding (7.8 rpg) and steals (123). Rodgers, the 2000-01 WBCA Division III Player of the Year and a 2000-01 Women’s Division III News first-team All-America selection, was a three-time member of the NCAA all-Tournament Team (1998-99, 1999-00, 2000-01). The 2001 UAA Most Valuable Player helped lead Washington U. to back-to-back undefeated national championship seasons (30-0) in 1998-99 and 1999-00.

Spengler was a two-time NCAA All-America selection in singles in 1984 and 1985. A three-time captain, Spengler was a three-time NCAA Tournament qualifier in singles and qualified in doubles with 2004 WU Sports Hall of Fame inductee Duncan Seay in 1986. The Bears posted a then school-record 19-6 overall record and advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals for the first time in school history in 1986. Spengler, the Student Life Athlete of the Year in 1984, was a national finalist for both MVP and Team Leader awards in Division III in 1986.

Hardin earned 16 varsity letters as a member of four teams at Washington University. A St. Louis, Mo., native, Hardin was President of the United States Golf Association (USGA) in 1967-68. After joining Augusta National Golf Club in 1964, he served as Chairman of the Masters rules committee from 1970-80, and was Chairman of the Masters Golf Tournament from 1979-1991. Hardin won 23-club championship titles at Bellerive Country Club and competed in five U.S. Amateurs and the 1952 U.S. Open.

Lansche, a four-year letterwinner in basketball and track and field, was a founding member of the W Club and served as vice-president. A 1952 graduate of the Washington University School of Medicine, Lansche was also president of Lock and Chain, the Sophomore Class, Thurtene Carnival and Omicron Delta Kappa. He has served on the Eliot Society Membership Committee for Arts & Sciences and the School of Medicine, and currently serves in that role for the Department of Athletics. Lansche is an active member of the W Club Executive Committee and was on the WU Alumni Board of Governors from 2003-07. Lanshe entered the private practice of medicine in 1959, before retiring in 1992.

Selection criteria for admission to the Hall of Fame require that student-athletes hold an undergraduate degree from the University, have earned their degree a minimum of five years prior to induction and have competed for a varsity sport as recognized by the University. Coaches and administrators must have begun a term of service to the University at least 10 years prior to induction.

For information regarding tickets to the breakfast, contact Kathy Lasater in the Washington University Department of Athletics at (314) 935-5193 or email: kel@wustl.edu.