LINCOLN, Neb. (July 11, 2023) - On Saturday, September 30, 2023, as part of Wesleyan Weekend, Nebraska Wesleyan will officially induct T.J. Martin (football), Tyler Peterson (baseball), Lisa (Wellman) Ringus (volleyball), Claire Kersenbrock (women's track & field), Bret Blake (football/men's track & field), and Ira Zeff (Spirit of the Plainsmen) into its Athletic Hall of Fame. The six will be part of the University's Hall of Fame's 53rd class of induction.
T.J. Martin '99 concluded his football career as a member of the Omaha World Herald first-team all-defense and was an honorable mention All-American defensive tackle in 1998. He was a two-time first-team All-NIAC selection on defense.
A four-year letter winner, Martin ranks 8th all-time at NWU with 18.5 career sacks. In his senior season, Martin led NWU to a 6-4 record and was a part of a defense that held opponents to just 20 points a game, the best across his four-year stint.
Tyler Peterson '01 is one of the top two-way players in Nebraska Wesleyan history. Peterson's name is etched all over the record book while leading the program to new heights. In 29 career appearances, including three starts, he recorded a 5-2 record, a 2.99 ERA, and 12 saves. He posted 56 career strikeouts as a closer. Peterson ended his career with school records for home runs in a season, saves in a season, saves in a career, and E.R.A. in a season. He still holds the records for saves in a career and E.R.A. in a season. In the 1999 season, Peterson threw 28 innings without giving up a single earned run. Peterson also did a lot of work in the batter's box. Over his four years, he racked up 117 runs, 150 hits, 32 doubles, 25 home runs, and 127 RBIs, while batting .393. Nebraska Wesleyan recorded 85 victories in Peterson's four seasons. Peterson also assisted in guiding the Prairie Wolves to one conference tournament championship, two conference regular season runner-up finishes, and a conference regular season championship. He finished his immaculate career by earning a NCAA Post Graduate Scholarship in 2001.
Lisa (Wellman) Ringus '01 was a first-team All-NIAC outside hitter. During her first-team all-conference season as a junior, she averaged 4.25 kills, 4.49 digs, and 0.2 blocks per set. She came back for her junior season in 2000 and earned second-team All-GPAC honors. During her four-year span, the Prairie Wolves had winning records, and in 1998, they made NCAA Division III tournament appearances. Wellman holds the school record for career kills per game at 3 and the total digs record with 1,656 before a libero was added to the sport a season later. She finished her career with 1,351 kills.
Claire Kersenbrock '03 was a five-time All-American and an eight-time conference champion. As a versatile athlete, Kersenbrock won All-America Awards in the 400-meter as well as the 4x100- and 4x400-meter relays. In 2002, as a sophomore, Kersenbrock's 4x400-meter relay team finished eighth to help Nebraska Wesleyan to a seventh-place team finish at the NCAA Women's Indoor Championship. She would go on to receive All-American honors at the Outdoor Championships in 2002 as well, including a second-place finish with the 4x400 team. Additional All-American honors were acquired for the Indoor and Outdoor National Championships in 2003. For both indoor and outdoor track and field, Kersenbrock met success during conference championship meets with top places and records in multiple events, including three-time outdoor champion for the 200-meter dash.
Bret Blake '05 was a two-sport superstar who achieved remarkable feats during his Nebraska Wesleyan career. On the track, Blake accumulated 21 All-Conference awards, 17 Conference Championships, 15 All-American awards, and 5 National Championships. On the football field, Blake was nominated as captain his senior year where he led the team in receptions as a wide receiver and was named Honorable Mention All-Conference in the GPAC. In 2003/2004 Blake had arguably the best personal athletic year in school history. He followed up his senior year on the football field with a 55-meter dash national title and a Distance Medley Relay All-American Award at the NCAA Indoor Championships. He then had a 200-meter dash National Championship and a 100-meter dash All-American Award at the Outdoor Championships, where the men's team brought home a National Runner-Up Trophy. For his accomplishments, Blake was selected as the 2004 Lincoln Journal Star State College Athlete of the Year, named the Association of Division III Independents Student-Athlete of the Year, the Mondo Regional Outdoor Track and Field Athlete of the Year, and the Scheels/GPAC Outstanding Athlete of the Year. His career National Championships also include a second 55-meter dash win at the 2003 indoor championships and two 4x100 relay team wins in 2003 and 2005 at the outdoor championships. All together, Blake was a member of 9 teams (one football and eight track) that won conference titles; while he competed at Nebraska Wesleyan, the track teams never lost a Conference Championship. The track teams he was a member of brought home an NCAA team trophy in 6 of the 8 national indoor and outdoor championships he competed in, which go to the top 4 teams in the country. During his senior year in 2005, the outdoor track team was named "Dual Meet National Champions." He set 6 school records while a member of the track and field team, all of which still stand today.
Ira Zeff (Spirit of the Plainsmen) worked on the Nebraska Wesleyan campus for 24 years as the athletic director. Zeff managed 68 coaches and employees in a department of 21 varsity sports. The Prairie Wolves achieved success during Zeff's leadership in the classroom and their sport. Two national titles, the 2006 NCAA Division III Men's Golf Championship, and the 2018 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball National Championship, were the result of the teams' competitive performance. Before Zeff's arrival, Nebraska Wesleyan had never claimed a national championship in any sport. More than 50 conference titles were won by the Prairie Wolves during his tenure, and they won the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) All-Sports Trophy six times. NWU has elevated its reputation as one of the nation's top universities for academic success under Zeff's leadership. With at least one CoSIDA Academic All-American in each year of Zeff's career and 124 since 2000, Nebraska Wesleyan is ranked 10th in the country. The university received two-thirds of its awards for NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships during Zeff's tenure. Nebraska Wesleyan's 42 NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships rank third in NCAA Division III and sixth overall among all colleges and universities. Zeff led initiatives to expand the athletic department, bringing back men's wrestling in 2015 and adding men's and women's swimming in 2014. Prior to joining the American Rivers Conference (formerly the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference), Nebraska Wesleyan was the nation's only NAIA-NCAA dual-affiliated university. After the change, NWU became Nebraska's only NCAA DIII institution. Zeff also contributed to the university's construction efforts with a new wrestling facility. Other facilities improvements from Zeff's career include the installation of lighting and turf at Abel Stadium, renovation of the press box, two new video boards, resurfacing Woody Greeno track and the floor of Knight Fieldhouse, and lighting at Harold G. Chaffee Practice Field. Zeff's work on national committees increased NWU's national exposure. He presided over the West Region Advisory Committee and chaired the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Committee. He was chosen to serve on the NCAA Division III Championships Committee and served as its chair. In 2007, the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) presented him with its Outstanding Service Award. NWU has hosted numerous NCAA and conference championships. In particular, the 2002 and 2006 NCAA Division III Men's Golf Championships and the 2014 NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships were hosted by NWU.
To learn more about Wesleyan Weekend 2023 and how you can get involved, click here. If you would like to attend this year's Hall of Fame banquet, please RSVP by Friday, September 16.
