Eight to be inducted into Augsburg Athletic Hall of Fame on Thursday night

MINNEAPOLIS (10/4/00) -- Eight former Augsburg College athletes will be inducted into the college's Athletic Hall of Fame at an induction banquet Thursday (10/5) at the college's Christensen Center. A reception will be held at 5:30 p.m., with the dinner and ceremony starting at 6:30 p.m.

Cost for the banquet is $15. For more information or to make reservations, contact Irene Steenson in the Augsburg athletic office at (612) 330-1245.

Inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame will be the following former Augsburg athletes: Jon Bergherr (men's hockey and baseball, Class of 1976); Dave Cornell (men's basketball, Class of 1977); Darcy Debing (men's soccer, Class of 1977); Jane Helmke (softball, Class of 1983); Kim Olson Miklya (gymnastics and women's track and field, Class of 1982); Jeff Nessler (baseball and men's basketball, Class of 1976); Cal Peterson (football, Class of 1965); and Scott Smith (men's hockey, Class of 1976).

The Athletic Hall of Fame banquet marks the beginning of Augsburg's Homecoming weekend. This year, Augsburg's Homecoming is celebrating the 100th anniversary of Old Main, the oldest academic building on campus. The college is beginning a two-year celebration of the building, culminating in a celebration marking the 100th anniversary of the building's dedication on Jan. 1, 2002.

Augsburg will host St. Thomas in the annual Homecoming football game on Saturday (10/7) at 1 p.m. at Anderson-Nelson Field. The men's soccer team will also have a Homecoming game, hosting Hamline at 6 p.m. at Anderson-Nelson Field. For other events surrounding Homecoming weekend, check out Augsburg's website at www.augsburg.edu/alumni/homecoming/.

Biographies of each of the Hall of Famers:

JON BERGHERR '76 -- A three-time All-MIAC first-team selection, Bergherr was a member of Augsburg men's hockey teams that appeared in the NAIA national tournament three times. A defenseman and team captain in his senior year, 1975-76, Bergherr earned All-American honors as the Auggies reached the national tournament and head coach Ed Saugestad earned National Coach of the Year honors for the first time. Bergherr ended his career scoring 17 goals and contributing 80 assists for 97 points. Bergherr was also a member of the Augsburg baseball team when it won the MIAC title in 1975. After graduating from Augsburg, Bergherr worked for two years as a physical education teacher and football, hockey and baseball coach at Breck High School in Golden Valley, Minn. For the past 17 years, Bergherr has worked in the paper industry for Wilcox Paper, Nationwide Papers and currently Plainwell Paper, selling commercial papers to the printing industry. He and his wife, Kirsten Sateren '78, have two children, Ben and Sara, and live in Eagan, Minn.

DAVE CORNELL '77 -- A member of Auggie men's basketball teams that won three straight MIAC titles (1974-75 to 1976-77) and accumulated an 81-33 record during his tenure, Cornell was considered one of the best "big men" to ever play at Augsburg. A two-time All-MIAC selection, the Auggie center also earned NAIA All-District and Lutheran Brotherhood honors his junior and senior years. Cornell was voted the MIAC's Most Valuable Player in the 1976-77 season, the season Augsburg participated in the NAIA national tournament in Kansas City, Mo. Cornell finished his career with 1,338 points (sixth in school history) and 653 rebounds (sixth in school history). For the past 13 years, Cornell has worked in the yearbook printing industry, most recently for the Lifetouch Publishing company in the Twin Cities. He and his wife, Amy, have two daughters, Sara (16) and Kaitlyn (13), and live in Savage, Minn.

DARCY DEBING '77 -- A member of Auggie teams that won the first three MIAC men's soccer championships in school history, Debing was the first Auggie men's soccer player (with Phil Olson) to earn All-MIAC honors three times. He was awarded All-MIAC honors in the 1974, 75 and 76 seasons, while the Auggies won MIAC titles in 1973, 74 and 75. Auggie teams finished 49-12-4 during Debing's career. He was a team captain in 1976 and was a member of the U.S. Region III men's soccer team in 1975. Since graduating from Augsburg, Debing has stayed active in soccer, coaching teams at Richfield, Eastview (Apple Valley), Eagan and Cottage Grove, Minn., and is a member of the Eagan, Minn., Soccer Board. He is also the chairman of education at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church. Debing has worked as a store manager, a part-owner of the "Now You See It" video stores, a district manager for Funcoland and is currently the director of store operations for Second Swing stores. He and his wife, Roxann, have three sons, Anthony, Andy and Adam, and live in Eagan, Minn.

JANE HELMKE '83 -- A member of Augsburg softball teams that won the MAIAW Division III state championship three times and earned a second-place regional finish and 13th-place national championship finish in 1982, Helmke was a key player at second base for the Auggies for three seasons. Teams Helmke played on finished 63-27 during her career. Helmke was also a key "behind-the-scenes" worker, promoting Augsburg's women's athletics program through her work in the college's sports information office, as a student assistant in the women's athletic department, as a student representative to the MAIAW, and as a writer for the Augsburg Now, student newspaper and the yearbook. After graduating, she helped develop the Augsburg Women's Athletic Club (AWAC) for alumni. After a year internship at WTCN Television (now KARE-11) in 1983, she was hired by the station as a sports producer and occasional reporter/anchor. She was later promoted to a special projects producer in 1989 and was named the station's managing editor in 1996. She has earned numerous state, regional and national awards for her television work, and has produced two documentaries on girls and women in athletics that have been incorporated into curriculum in Minnesota schools. This summer, she was honored as a "Pioneer in Women's Sports" by the Minnesota Lynx WNBA team. Helmke and her partner, Teresa Sterns, have a son, Keegan, and live in St. Paul, Minn.

KIM OLSON MIKLYA '82 -- Augsburg's women's Honor Athlete in 1982, Miklya participated in both gymnastics and track and field at Augsburg. In gymnastics, Miklya earned regional honors in 1981 and 82. She also qualified for the AIAW national championships in 1982, when her all-around average of 27.76 points ranked her among the top 60 gymnasts in the nation. She was a team captain three seasons and was a member of a team that finished fifth in the region in 1980-81, when she averaged 27.35 in the all-around and helped the Auggies earn a school-record team finish. Since graduating, she has taught and coached at Apple Valley High School for 15 years. She has been a head coach for the gymnastics team and an assistant coach (jumpers) for the track and field team. Her gymnastics team won the state championship in 1989 while finishing second in the state in 1988 and 1998, and fourth in 1994. She has coached four individual state champions, 35 All-Conference, All-State and All-American gymnasts, as well as four state champion long jumpers in track and field. She has also helped develop step aerobics and basic self defense programs at Apple Valley HS, and is a co-coordinator for the school's Fellowship of Christian Athletes group. She and her husband, John Miklya '84, have two children, Jonathan (15) and Matthew (5), and live in Apple Valley.

JEFF NESSLER '76 -- Augsburg's men's Honor Athlete in 1976, Nessler was a four-year member of Augsburg's men's basketball and baseball teams that earned three MIAC titles during his tenure. In basketball, Nessler's Auggies earned MIAC crowns in 1974-75 and 1975-76, compiling a 78-34 career record and finishing no lower than second in the league standings. Nessler was team captain and an All-MIAC selection his senior year. He also earned All-MIAC honors in baseball and was part of a team that won the league title in 1975. In basketball, Nessler played in 112 games, second-most in school history, finishing his career with 1,094 points (11th best in school history). His 340 career free throws made are the fourth-most in school history, and his .778 career free-throw percentage is ninth-highest in school history. Since graduating, he worked as a division manager for St. Paul Book and Stationery's Mankato, Minn., office for 19 years, before joining the Taylor Corporation as a contract negotiation department manager in 1999. He is also very active in youth sports in Mankato. He and his wife, Vicki, have three children, Andy (21), Jay (18) and Scott (13), and live in Mankato.

CAL PETERSON '65 -- A member of Auggie football teams that finished 17-15-1 during his career and came within a point of contending for the MIAC championship in 1964, Peterson was a key two-way player (running back/defensive back) for the Auggies. His Auggies consistently improved throughout his career and reached a peak in 1964, when the Auggies finished 6-3 overall and 5-2 in the MIAC. He earned team Most Valuable Player and team captain honors in 1964, as well as being named All-MIAC and All-Region first team (defensive safety). He also ran on Augsburg's track and field team. After graduating from Augsburg, Peterson joined the Air Force, receiving his officer's commission in 1966 and his pilot wings in 1967, serving his country in Okinawa and the Vietnam War. He resigned his commission in 1973 to join Braniff Airlines, and when that airline went bankrupt in 1982, he and a small group of other Braniff employees, along with Mainline Travel, founded Sun Country Airlines. He served as the airline's vice president of operations until the airline was sold in 1988. He returned to the cockpit as a DC-10 captain, and he is currently a B-727 captain. Peterson and his wife Haydee have two daughters, Kelly and Christina, and several grandchildren, and live in Shorewood, Minn.

SCOTT SMITH '76 -- A three-time All-MIAC first-team selection, Smith was a member of Augsburg men's hockey teams that appeared in the NAIA national tournament three times. He was the team's scoring leader in 1974-75 and 1975-76, and earned All-American honors as a team co-captain in his senior season, as the Auggies reached the national tournament and head coach Ed Saugestad earned National Coach of the Year honors for the first time. Smith finished his career with 86 goals, second-most in school history, and 161 points (86-75), fourth-most in school history. His 29 goals in 1974-75 are the fourth-most in a single season in school history. He was also a member of Augsburg's men's soccer team in 1973 and 74, years when the Auggies won two MIAC championships and finished 24-5-1. After graduating, he moved to Anchorage, Alaska, where he has taught physical education in the Anchorage School District for 23 years. He coached varsity hockey at Anchorage West High School for four seasons, and continues to play adult hockey, as well as running the Rollerblade Hockey Camp in Anchorage for the past 10 years. He has a daughter, Sabrina (14), and lives in Anchorage.