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For Immediate Release
October 11, 2006
NWU announces 2006 ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME
The Athletic Hall of Fame at Nebraska Wesleyan University
will induct seven new members as a part of Homecoming festivities
on Saturday, Oct. 21.
The ceremony will be part of an induction breakfast,
which starts at 9 a.m., in the Patio Dining Room of the Roy G. Story
Student Center. Tickets are on sale to the public through the Alumni
Relations office and available to members of the media at no cost
through the Sports Information office.
Since 1970, NWU’s Athletic Hall of Fame has
recognized the outstanding contributions of former student-athletes
by inducting teams and individuals, as well as other strong supporters
of the athletic program. Profiles on the Class of 2006 follow:
Scott Bostwick ’86
Scott Bostwick, an Omaha North High School graduate, ranks as one
of the best defensive players in Nebraska Wesleyan football history.
A dominant linebacker from 1981-84, Bostwick compiled 408 career
tackles, a mark which stands third in the NWU all-time records.
Bostwick led the Plainsmen in total tackles for
three consecutive seasons, earning him two spots on the team’s
single-season charts as well. His 159 stops as a sophomore are the
fourth most in team history, while his 145 tackles as a senior still
rank sixth all-time. During his career, Bostwick received a pair
of All-Conference Second Team awards, an All-Conference First Team
selection, two NAIA District 11 All-District Honorable Mention honors
and four varsity letters.
As a junior, Bostwick helped NWU earn a share of
the conference championship and national rankings in NAIA Division
II that reached as high as No. 11. The 1983 squad finished with
a 7-3 overall record, which tied the school record for wins at the
time.
In addition to competing for the Plainsmen, Bostwick
also served as a coach for five seasons. Bostwick coached under
Orson Christensen from 1985-86 and under Jim Svoboda from 1987-89.
As a coach, Bostwick helped NWU claim three league titles with a
20-5 conference record during his five-year stint on the coaching
staff.
Karen Oerter ’88
Three-year letter winner Karen Oerter earned her spot as one of
the best discus throwers in the nation from 1985-88. The North Platte
native amassed the most All-America awards in team history for the
discus.
Oerter made All-America in the discus as a first-year
athlete, sophomore and senior and went on to place third at all
three NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships in which she competed.
Her name can also be found in the NWU all-time charts for both discus
and javelin. Her toss of 149-8 in the discus is good enough for
second place, just behind fellow hall of famer LuAnn Soderling (151-1).
Oerter also ranks sixth in the javelin with a mark of 108-3.
As a first-year athlete, Oerter claimed Nebraska
Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (NIAC) runner-up honors in the
discus and placed third at the NAIA District 11 meet. She also led
the nation in the discus (149-8) entering the NCAA Div. III Outdoor
Championships that season. Oerter recorded the third best toss in
NAIA District 11 as a sophomore and she helped the Plainswomen to
a 29th-place outdoor national finish as a senior, Wesleyan’s
highest team finish in her tenure.
Steve Brugman ’89
Steve Brugman, who played forward from 1985-89, was a key player
on some of Nebraska Wesleyan’s best basketball teams in school
history. For his career, Brugman was a part of four national tournament-qualifying
teams, three conference championship teams and a pair of NCAA Division
III Final Four teams.
The four-year letter winner came from Lincoln East
High School and went on to help NWU capture third-place finishes
in the national playoffs as a first-year player and again as a junior.
Brugman served as a key sub early in his career and produced his
best outing in Nebraska Wesleyan’s Final Four loss to LeMoyne-Owen
College in 1986. After an 11-0 start as a junior, Brugman helped
NWU obtain its second No. 1 ranking in school history in early January.
The Plainsmen went on to defeat Hartwick College in the 1988 NCAA
Div. III consolation game.
Nebraska Wesleyan recorded four consecutive 20-win
seasons during Brugman’s career, and the team was consistently
ranked nationally. As a senior, the Plainsmen were even ranked first
in the Sports Illustrated NCAA Div. III poll.
In addition to team success, Brugman garnered a
great number of individual awards, being named to the West Regional
All-Tournament Team and the All-Conference team as a sophomore,
junior and senior. On the team’s all-time charts, Brugman’s
name can still be found in several categories, including 11th in
career points (1,376), fifth in both career rebounds (752) and free
throws made (330) and sixth in both career steals (131) and blocked
shots (53).
Chris Costello ’92
Lincoln native Chris Costello made his mark on the NWU baseball
program in many ways, but most obviously as the school’s all-time
leader in stolen bases for a season and career. During his junior
campaign, Costello led NCAA Division III in steals by nabbing 48
of 52 bases. His 38 steals in 1992 and 22 thefts in both 1989 and
1990 also rank among the best in team history. Costello’s
130 career stolen bases are more than twice that of the next closest
NWU player, and he was caught stealing just 12 times during his
career.
In addition to his prowess on the base paths, Costello
ranks on the team’s all-time charts in a handful of other
categories, including first for triples in a season (5), tied for
third in career runs scored (126), tied for fifth in career triples
(7), ninth in both career games played (132) and fielding assists
in a season (75) and 10th in career fielding assists (188).
Costello was named All-Conference First Team as
both a junior and senior after earning Honorable Mention as a first-year
player. In 1990, the second baseman helped NWU to its best overall
record in school history (25-12), a No. 30 ranking in the NCAA Div.
III poll and the first of three conference championships. A four-year
starter, Costello was named to the All-Midwest Region Second Team
as a senior and helped the team win 85 games during his career.
Julie Kohtz Cast ’94
A middle hitter from 1990-93, Julie (Kohtz) Cast was a force at
the net for the NWU volleyball team. Kohtz etched her name on several
of the school’s all-time charts, including nearly every blocking
category. Her 138 career solo blocks set a school record, and she
also broke the single-season mark when she recorded 64 solos in
1991.
During Kohtz’s sophomore campaign, she led
the Plainswomen in kills, total blocks and service aces. Her 133
total blocks that year ranked her fifth in NAIA District 11 and
still rank sixth in the team’s record books for a season.
Her efforts earned Kohtz All-Conference and NAIA All-District 11
Honorable Mention accolades.
As a senior, Kohtz again led the team in kills and
blocks while NWU produced its best record during her four-year career
(17-11). The Waco, Neb., native earned a pair of postseason honors
with First Team All-Conference and First Team NAIA All-District
11 selections. She also ranked seventh in the conference in both
attack percentage and kills per game.
In addition to her No. 1 rankings in solo blocks, Kohtz is still
third all-time at NWU in career total blocks (332) and eighth in
career assisted blocks (194). She also ranks 10th in career kills
(1,009), eighth in single-season attack percentage (.305) and eighth
in career hitting (.267).
Steve Reynolds ’95
Sprinter Steve Reynolds is an icon in Nebraska Wesleyan track and
field history. From 1991-94, Reynolds set many standards for NWU
sprinting success by writing his name into the team’s all-time
charts more than 20 times. Reynolds still owns the most outdoor
All-America awards in team history (12), and he is tied for the
most combined All-America honors with 17 during his illustrious
career.
In addition, the Grand Island, Neb., native was
a part of three national championship 4x400-meter relay teams, and
he holds three school records, including the 400-meter dash outdoors
and both the 300 and 440-yard dashes indoors. He also ranks among
the top three in 13 different events.
As a senior, Reynolds anchored both the indoor and
outdoor 4x400 relays to national titles. His efforts helped the
Plainsmen earn a runner-up finish at the 1994 NCAA Division III
Indoor Championships, NWU’s best team finish ever. Nebraska
Wesleyan placed no lower than sixth as a team during Reynolds’
career and brought home a total of three third-place national finishes.
At the outdoor national meets, he earned All-America honors all
four years in both the 200-meter dash and the 4x100-meter relay.
Reynolds also has numerous conference championships
to his name, and he still holds five of the team’s first-year
records (55, 300 and 400 indoors; 200 and 400 outdoors).
Scott Kasl ’81
Spirit of the Plainsman Award
For his contributions to the tradition and success of the men’s
golf program at Nebraska Wesleyan, former golfer and coach, Scott
Kasl, is this year’s recipient of the Spirit of the Plainsman
Award.
The graduate of Lincoln Southeast High School competed
for the Plainsmen from 1976-80 and went on to serve as head coach
for eight years from 1986-94. Kasl was also an assistant coach under
Neil Baker from 1983-86.
As an athlete, Kasl earned four letters and helped
NWU to four consecutive Nebraska Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
(NIAC) Championships and a pair of bids to the NCAA Division III
Championships. He participated in the national meet all four years,
earning at-large individual bids as a junior and senior. His best
finish was a tie for 53rd place as a sophomore (341) and a junior
(343). As a team, Nebraska Wesleyan placed 17th and 16th, respectively,
in 1977 and 1978. The four-year All-Conference golfer claimed runner-up
honors at the NIAC Championships twice and placed third as senior.
After capping his collegiate playing career in 1980,
Kasl returned to campus in the fall of 1983 to serve as an assistant
coach under Baker. During that three-season span, NWU placed seventh
at the NCAA meet in both 1984 and 1985 and took 14th in 1986. Kasl
then replaced Baker at the start of the 1986-87 season and went
on lead his team to an 18th-place finish at the NCAA Div. III Championships.
Throughout his tenure, Kasl helped shape the NWU
men’s golf program into one of the most respected programs
in the nation. Kasl’s teams were consistently ranked in the
Top 20 poll for Division III, qualified for seven NCAA national
tournaments and appeared in six NAIA national tournaments. They
also recorded six consecutive NIAC titles. In 1994, the Plainsmen
placed fifth at the NCAA Div. III Championships, which was Nebraska
Wesleyan’s highest team finish at that time.
Kasl coached a pair of All-American athletes, including
two-time honorees Mike Higgins (1987-88) and Ryan Knispel (1992,
1994). He also earned some awards of his own, being named Conference
and District Coach of the Year every season from 1989-94. In addition,
he received recognition as the NCAA District 5 Coach of the Year
in 1994.
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