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NORTHERN TODAY
17
SPRING 2016
2016
INDUCTEES
ALUMNI
NEWS
BILL FRITZ
earned a Bachelor of Science
in Physical Education in 1960 with a
minor in biology. The honor will be given
posthumously, as Fritz passed away on
May 28, 2015.
Fritz retired from Rowan College in
New Jersey in June 2014 after coaching
for 43 years. Fritz had been the men’s cross country
head coach there since 1971. He also guided the
women’s program from 1986 to 2006. Under Fritz, the
men’s team won 19 New Jersey Athletic Conference
Championships. The men qualified for the national
championship 19 times.
In 1994, Fritz took over as head coach for the track and
field programs. The men’s team won four consecutive
NJAC Championships (1994-97) and finished tied for
eighth at the 1997 NCAA Championships. The Prof
men claimed 23 NJAC titles. For men’s track and field,
Fritz guided 43 Division III outdoor champions and 10
Division III indoor champions. Four women won national
titles. Fritz has coached more than 265 All-Americans,
including men and women, indoor and outdoor.
2016 HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES
KRETCHMAN
COACHING AWARD
DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI
EDDIE CLARK
earned a
Bachelor of
Science in
Education from
NSU in 1989. As
a student at NSU,
Clark wrestled from
1984 to 1988. He recorded over
100 career wins, was an NSIC
Champion, a four-year letterman
and a four-year starter at 134
pounds. He was also an NAIA
All-American at 134 pounds
and received the Clark Swisher
Outstanding Male Athlete Award
in 1988. He is a physical education
teacher and head wrestling coach
at Star Valley High School in
Afton, Wyo. Eddie has coached
seven state championship teams
and has also been named State
Coach of the Year seven times. He
was the 2003 Region 7 National
Wrestling Coaches Association
Coach of the Year and the 2011
NHSACA National Wrestling
Coach of the Year. His career dual
record is 362-59-1. He resides in
Afton, Wyo., with his wife, Kristi,
and two sons, Trevor and Trent.
JEFF “MILO”
WEPKING
earned a
Bachelor of
Science in
Secondary
Education
Industrial Arts
with Physical Education in 1976.
As a student at NSU, Wepking
played basketball for four years
and accumulated 1,261 points
and 1,076 rebounds individually.
In 1994, Wepking was inducted
into the South Dakota Amateur
Basketball Hall of Fame, and in
2011, he was inducted into the
Sioux Falls Washington High
School Athletic Hall of Fame.
In 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2011,
Wepking was chosen as the
Region 7 Assistant High School
Basketball Coach of the Year
while coaching in Avon. Wepking
was awarded the South Dakota
State Technology Program of the
Year in 2013 and 2015. Wepking
retired in June 2015 after 39 years
of teaching and 30 plus years of
coaching. He resides in Avon,
S.D., with his wife, Monica. They
have three children: Jonathan,
Jennifer and Nikki.
MEMORY
JOHANNSEN,
a Tolstoy, S.D.,
native, graduated
Magna Cum
Laude from NSU
in 2001, receiving a
Bachelor of Science
in Biology and a minor in athletic
training. Johannsen is one of 12
women’s basketball players to
record over 1,300 points and over
600 rebounds. She is among the
leaders in career assists, with 400.
She was named to the NSIC All-
Conference team her senior year.
Johannsen received a Master of
Science in Physical Therapy from
Des Moines University in 2003. In
2012, “The Date Book” awarded her
Best Physical Therapist in the Des
Moines Area. In 2014, Johannsen
started her own clinic, Maximum
Physical Therapy, in Adel, Iowa.
Johannsen has run marathons in
Des Moines and San Francisco and
participated in Waukee Crossfit
Gym competitions. She lives in
Clive, Iowa, with her children:
Samantha, 10, and Tate, 8. Her
favorite activity is coaching and
watching them play sports.
LORI
(BURKHARDT)
HARTMAN
earned a Bachelor
of Science in
Recreation and
Business in 1981. At
Northern, Hartman
participated in basketball, softball,
intramural volleyball and track.
In basketball, Hartman recorded
1,434 points, 772 rebounds and was
a 76 percent free-throw shooter.
Her single season school records
in 1980-81 included: most points
(543), most field goals (234) and
most free throws (75). Hartman
was the career leading scorer upon
graduation. In 1981, Hartman was
all-tournament first team at the
NAIA Women’s National Basketball
Tournament; “Exponent” Player of
the Year (1980-1981); and American
Women’s Sports Foundation
Division II honorable mention
All-American. After graduation,
Hartman was a member of state
championship women’s softball
teams, superintendent of recreation
in Yankton, and a certified day care
instructor. She retired in 2010 and
resides in Hortonville, Wis., with
her husband, Bill. They have three
children: Tim, Kara and Brett; and
three grandchildren: Sully, Mira and
Liesel.
Retired Judge
SANDRA
COLEMAN
began her
life-long mission helping
the disadvantaged at
NSU. She earned a
Bachelor of Science in
Sociology with a minor in
Criminology in 1978, magna
cum laude. During her time at Northern,
she was involved with many campus
and community activities and volunteer
outreach. She co-founded the first
resource center for women in Aberdeen
that focused on counseling, job skills, and
providing a safe shelter
for abused women. She also co-founded
the Non-Traditional Student organization
on campus for older and/or married
students. As a student, Judge Coleman
originated a juvenile diversion program
with the city police of Aberdeen and
Northern students that provided mentors
to area youth to divert them out of the
criminal justice system.
After graduating law school, Judge
Coleman began her legal career with the
U.S. Dept. of Justice in the prestigious
U.S. Attorney General’s Honors Graduate
Program. She spent the majority of her
professional career in the United States
Justice Dept. first as a trial attorney
with the Civil Rights Division then as
a high level government executive in
USDOJ. Subsequently, she served as a
White House Attorney/Advisor to former
President Clinton. In 1997, she was
appointed as a Federal Immigration Judge.
After retiring from the bench, the Seneca
native is still heavily involved in politics
and advocacy in Florida. She has studied
art with renowned artists all over the
world and adds an award-winning artist
to her long list of personal and career
accomplishments. She lives in South
Florida with her husband, Paul Hancock,
an attorney with the international law
firm of K&L Gates LLP. They have one
daughter and a granddaughter.