Four Augsburg student-athletes named 1999 Honor Athletes

Honor athlete history, 1926-present

MINNEAPOLIS (5/17/99) -- Four Augsburg College students who have excelled in both the classroom and the athletic fields were named Honor Athletes by the Augsburg men's and women's athletic departments recently.

Scott Hvistendahl (Sr., Cannon Falls, Minn./Randolph HS) and Jim Peterson (Sr., Eyota, Minn./Dover-Eyota HS) were named Men's Honor Athletes, and Tasha Hamann (Sr., Perham, Minn.) and Jodie West (Sr., Menagha, Minn.) were named Women's Honor Athletes. The highest honor Augsburg gives to its senior student-athletes, Honor Athletes are selected on a vote of coaches in the men's and women's athletic departments.

In addition, the men's athletic department honored Devean George (Sr., Minneapolis, Minn./Benilde-St. Margaret HS) as the recipient of the department's first Male Athlete of the Year award for his achievements this season for the Auggie men's basketball team.

Below is information on each of Augsburg's Honor Athletes:

Scott Hvistendahl -- Hvistendahl, a wide receiver for the Augsburg football team, set NCAA records for career receiving yardage (4,696 yards) at both the Division III and all-divisions level, the latter breaking a 14-year-old mark previously held by Jerry Rice. Hvistendahl was named the recipient of the 1998 Gagliardi Trophy, given to the Division III football national player of the year, in addition to being named the most valuable player in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. In addition to setting nearly every record for receiving at Augsburg, Hvistendahl also was a three-year starting centerfielder for the Auggie baseball team, leading the team in hitting each season he played for the Auggies. A marketing/management information systems major, Hvistendahl has a grade-point average of 3.148. He earned GTE Academic All-America honors twice in his career.

Jim Peterson -- Peterson earned three All-America honors as a middleweight for the Augsburg wrestling team, including the NCAA Division III national championship at 167 pounds in 1998. Peterson also finished second in 1999 and seventh in 1997. Peterson finished his wrestling career with a record of 129-36, the 10th-most victories in school history. Teams Peterson wrestled on never finished lower than second in the NCAA Division III national championships. In addition, Peterson was a three-year starting fullback for the Auggie football team. A management information systems major, Peterson has a 3.534 GPA. He earned National Wrestling Coaches Association Scholar All-America honors three times and GTE Academic All-America honors once.

Tasha Hamann -- Hamann, a four-year starting setter and two-year captain for the Auggie volleyball team, rewrote the school's record book for assists, setting both the single-season (1,193 in 1997) and career (3,926) school marks, the career mark among the top 20 all-time in the history of NCAA Division III volleyball. Named an All-MIAC setter three times, she also had 1,071 digs, 375 kills, 168 service aces and 114 blocks in her career, playing in all but one game of every match during her collegiate career (123 matches, 448 games). She also played women's golf her first two years at Augsburg. A biology major, she carries a 3.766 GPA and will graduate Magna Cum Laude from Augsburg. She received MIAC Academic All-Conference honors three times in her career and GTE Academic All-District honors once.

Jodie West -- West, a four-year starter at second base and team captain in 1999 for the Augsburg softball team, ended her career on the top-10 career record list in numerous statistical categories, including stolen bases (44, third-best), base hits (137, third-best), batting average (.362, fifth-best). She earned All-MIAC honors three times in her career (first team in 1999) and National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-Midwest Region third-team honors three times. A biology major, West carries a 3.448 GPA and will graduate Cum Laude from Augsburg. A dean's list and multiple honor society member, she was named MIAC Academic All-Conference this season, in addition to earning NFCA Scholar All-America honors in 1998 and GTE Academic All-District honors this season.

1999 Men's Athletics -- Augsburg Male Athlete of the Year
Devean George -- George was considered one of the best players in Division III men's basketball this season, finishing third in the nation in scoring (27.5 points per game) and eighth in rebounding (11.3 per game), making him one of only three Division III players nationally to average a double-double in scoring with at least 20 points per contest. He ended up second in school history in career scoring (2,258 points) and rebounds (868), in addition to setting a school and MIAC record for single-game scoring with 52 points in a game at Carleton. He was named a Division III All-America by no less than nine organizations and publications in the preseason and postseason. He is a prime candidate to become the first Division III player drafted by an NBA team since 1991.

1926--Oswald Oudal
1927--Oswald Oudal
1928--Luther Sletten
1929--John Kolesar
1930--John Kolesar
1931--Otto Rortvedt
1932--Arthur Amundson
1933--George Kolesar
1934--Donald Olson
1935--Ralph Bergstrom
1936--Ernie Anderson
1937--Ernie Anderson
1938--Edor Nelson
1939--Henry Chapman
1940--Roy Gordon
1941--Maynard Bahre
1942--Victor Miller
1943--Stanford Nelson
1944--Marvin Sulsdorf
1945--Clair Strommen
1946--Clair Strommen
1947--Jeroy Carlson
1948--Duane Lindgren
1949--Arnold Henjum
1950--Ernie Hone
1951--Richard Martinson
1952--James Kottom
1953--Donald Reimer
1954--Erling Huglen
1955--Richard Stensrud
1956--Luther Olson
1957--Stan Baker
1958--Richard Green
1959--Larry Junkermeier
1960--Paul Casperson
1961--Oscar Blegen
1962--Bruce Gildseth
1963--Lloyd Raymond
1964--Guy Reuss
1965--Dan Meyers
1966--Paul Zimmerman
1967--Gerald Peterson
1968--Lynn Gunderson
1969--Daryl Miller
1970--Al DeWolf
1971--Mike Good
1972--Pat Marcy
1973--Brad Olson
1974--Ray Dahlof
1975--Jim Sviggum (men), Nancy Soli Mollner (women)
1976--Jeff Nessler (men), Cindy Schendel (women)
1977--Rod Jonas (men), no women selected
1978--Jim Peterson (men), Connie Lamon Priesz (women)
1979--Jeff Swenson (men), Maggie McDonough (women)
1980--John Sorenson (men), Peggy Kyllonen Meissner (women)
1981--Steve Grinde (men), Dana Rae Holmes McIntyre (women)
1982--Dan Roff (men), Kim Olson Miklya (women)
1983--Bob Adams (men), Julie Goldstein Yeazle (women)
1984--Bruce Arvold & Jim Finch (men), Terese Taylor (women)
1985--Brian Ammann, Mike Berry & Steve Gilva (men), Lisa Svac & Sue Thompson (women)
1986--Greg Chmelik (men), Anne Richter (women)
1987--no men selected, Karen Sterner Engel (women)
1988--no men selected, Steph Stolte & Melanie Herrera (women)
1989--Donny Wichmann (men), Carolyn Ross & Michelle Boyer (women)
1990--Terry Mackenthun & John Beatty (men), Deb Zieman (women)
1991--Tim Tousignant (men), Andrea Haight (women)
1992--Mike Pfeffer (men), Julie Stepan & Tracy Tomforde (women)
1993--Dave Carlson & Gary Kroells (men), Julie Hanson (women)
1994--C.J. Beaurline (men), Bonnie Koerner (women)
1995--Eric Betterman (men), Kristi Ockuly (women)
1996--Cliff Casteel (men), Kara Seibel (women)
1997--Dan Lewandowski (men), Rebekah Ormsby (women)
1998--Ted Schultz & Henry Gerten (men), Stefanie Lodermeier & Stephanie Simones (women)
1999--Scott Hvistendahl & Jim Peterson (men), Tasha Hamann & Jodie West (women)