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RELEASED: Saturday, September 23, 2006
Five Inducted into Blue Devil Athletic Hall of Fame
Menomonie,
Wis.--A pitcher, a catcher, a speedster, an NCAA Division I qualifier
and a coach and teacher who has impacted lives for more than 30 years
were inducted into the UW-Stout Athletic Hall of Fame, Saturday, Sept.
23.
Softball pioneer pitcher Karen Lien, four-time all-conference catcher Greg Osterhaus, six-time national champion Terry Anders, national qualifier and national gymnast of the year Ryan Sweeney and football player and coach Jerry Sinz are scheduled to be inducted in ceremonies scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. at the UW-Stout Memorial Student Center. Long-time Blue Devil supporter Harlen Knutson will receive the Athletic Distinguished Service Award.
Greg Osterhaus
A four year, first team all-conference catcher, Greg Osterhaus capped
off his career by breaking the Stout career home run record, a mark that
has only recently been matched. Working behind the plate from 1992-95,
Osterhaus slammed out 30 career home runs and hit 12 in 1994.
Baseball coach Terry Petrie called Osterhaus - a two-time team captain - a great leader, great power hitter and excellent defensive catcher. Osterhaus appears in the top 10 of six Stout career lists - home runs (1st tie, 30), runs batted in (2nd, 123), slugging percentage (6th, .660), hits (7th tie, 156), runs (9th, 100) and batting average (9th, .371).
Osterhaus, a 1995 NCAA Division III Midwest All-Region selection, had a balanced career. As a freshman, he batted .410 and as a junior, carried a slugging percentage of .761.
A native of Prairie du Chien and prior to coming to Stout, Osterhaus played two years of international fastpitch softball. He is currently employed in the construction field in the Twin Cities area. Osterhaus was not able to attend the ceremony due to a family emergency.
Karen Lien
Karen Lien came from nearby softball powerhouse Elmwood, and helped to
grow the Stout fastpitch program. The team's first pitcher throughout
the four first years of the program, Lien currently holds or has held
nearly all of the Blue Devil softball pitching records.
Lien was basically the Blue Devils' only pitcher throughout her career, holding not only the Blue Devils' career record for most innings pitched, but the WIAC record with a phenomenal 660 innings tossed from 1992-95. Lien holds the Blue Devil records for most wins in a season (24), career (53). Lien ranks fourth in the league in career strikeouts (409), seventh in wins (53), third in complete games (75) and second in appearances (124).
Lien posted a career record of 53-56 for a program that was just finding its bearings. In 1995 during an all-WIAC season, Lien posted a 24-9 record and took the Blue Devils to a second place finish at the WIAC Championships hosted by Stout. Lien pitched nearly every inning for Stout in the tournament as the Blue Devils were forced to come back to the championship game through the losers bracket.
Lien currently resides in Amery with her husband, Paul Blanford, and two children, and teaches special education in the Clear Lake school district.
Terry Anders
A six-time track and field national champion, 13-time All-American, a
20-time Wisconsin State University Conference (WSUC) champion, the WSUC
scholar-athlete and an academic All-American, Terry Anders may well lay
claim to the most decorated athlete to grace the Blue Devils' athletic
doorsteps.
A sprinter with blazing speed from 1994-97, Anders held or holds school indoor records in the 55-meter, 200-meter, 4x200-relay and 4x400-relay; and outdoor records in the 100-meter, 200-meter, 400-meter, 4x100-relay, and 4x400-relay.
When Anders stepped onto the track, other competitors and spectators took notice. Anders won the 400-meter indoor titles in 1995 and 96, the same years he won the 400-meter outdoor championships. Anders was phenomenal during the 1996 NCAA outdoor championships at North Central College, winning the 100- and 200-meter championships to go with his 400-meter title.
An early childhood education major from Cornell, Anders is currently teaching and coaching in the Fall Creek school district.
Ryan Sweeney
One of only three UW-Stout gymnasts to compete at NCAA Division I national
meets, Ryan Sweeney was a still rings specialist who scored five first
place finishes at NAIA invitational meets and two second place finishes
in a career that ran from 1979-83. Following an injury-shortened 1982
season that saw rotator cuff surgery, Sweeney bounced back the following
season to be named the NAIA National Outstanding Gymnast and placed second
at the NCAA Division II national championships, qualifying to the Division
I meet.
Upon graduation in 1983, Sweeney worked as an engineer in the western United States and retired from Intel Corporation in 1999 to spend more time with his family. He resides with his family in Chaska, Minn.
Jerry Sinz
A three-year football letterwinner, Jerry Sinz parlayed his Stout experience
into both a successful teaching and coaching career. Sinz, who played
at Stout from 1968-71, was a two-year starter at safety and as a punt
returner his junior and senior years. Since graduating from Stout, Sinz
has put together a 272-65 overall record (before this season) at Edgar
High School. He has led Edgar High School to four state championships,
three state runner-up titles, 19 playoff appearances, nine undefeated
years, 16 conference championships and has been named the region coach
of the year eight times and the conference coach of the year nine times.
Sinz has taught technology education and math at Edgar High School since 1972. He was named the Edgar teacher of the year in 1998 and the Wal-Mart Wisconsin teacher of the year in 1999. Sinz and his wife, Barbara, a kindergarten teacher, have four sons, three that so far have graduated from college. All three are working in the education fields.
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