The UW-Whitewater Athletics Hall of Fame class of 2012 includes eight inductees. The group includes Dennis Bogacz, Jeff Cavanaugh, Mira Hamilton, Darrell Rupnow, Sara Gonzales, Stacey Lueptow, Lori Nelson Ross, and James Toennies.
The 2012 induction ceremony will take place at a banquet on the UW-W campus Saturday evening October 20. The inductees will also be honored at halftime of the Whitewater and UW-Oshkosh football game Saturday afternoon, with kickoff at 1:00.
For tickets to the banquet or additional information about the UW-W Athletics Hall of Fame contact:
Joyce Follis, 262-473-2360 or follisj@charter.net
or Jim Miller, 262-472-5649 or millerjb@uww.edu
A short description of each honoree, in alphabetical order, follows.
Dennis Bogacz quarterbacked the UW-W football team in 1990 and 1991, earning First Team All-Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference honors in 1990 and honorable mention in '91 when he was also a team captain. Although he played just two years for the Warhawks, at the time of his graduation Bogacz ranked highly in the school career record book, including third in touchdowns (33), sixth in career completions (276), and sixth in attempts (544). He also held the top spot in career passing yards with 4,071, and his 2,074 yards in 1991 was second on the school's season record list at the time. (He is still in the top ten in all of these categories.) He helped UW-W go undefeated in league play in 1990 and earn a NCAA Division III playoff berth. After graduation he played professional football in Italy in 1992. Bogacz was also a member of the Warhawk baseball team. He is a physical education teacher at Pulaski (WI) High School
Jeff Cavanaugh was a three-year letter winner on the UW-Whitewater baseball team from 1972-75. A two-time all-conference pick in 1974 and 1975, Cavanaugh was named team captain in 1974 as a junior and earned NAIA All-America honors in 1975. He posted a .397 batting average with 27 runs scored and 27 runs batted in in 1974. Cavanaugh graduated from UW-W in 1976 with a degree in special education. A Franklin (WI) resident, he retired from teaching at Cudahy (WI) High School and is currently working part-time at Milwaukee Area Technical College in their disability specialist support program.
Sara Gonzales was a setter on the women's volleyball team from 1993-96. A three-time all-conference pick, Gonzales was also named American Volleyball Coaches Association All-Midwest Region in 1994 and 1996. Her 4,142 career assists is the second best in UW-Whitewater's record book and the 224 service aces posted in her four year tenure is third best in school history. Gonzales' name can also be found in the top ten in two season categories including service aces with 105 and assists with 1,515 in 1995. Gonzales helped the volleyball team to conference titles in 1993 and 1996 and NCAA Division III tournament appearances four years. The team recorded over 25 wins in each of her four years including a 36-4 mark in 1995 when the team placed third in the NCAA Division III tournament. Gonzales, a Waukesha, Wisconsin resident, is assistant merchandise planner, better dresses and suits, for BonTon Inc.
Mira Hamilton qualified for every national championship, eight (four indoor, four outdoor), in his UW-W track career. When he left he held the school records in the 55 meters indoors, and the 100 and 200 meters outdoors. In 1992, as a sophomore, Hamilton picked up his first All-America honors with a sixth place finish in the 100 outdoors. In his senior year he won the 55 indoors and 100 outdoors at the WIAC championship and qualified for both national meets again, racing to third place in the 55 meters indoors at the NCAA III championship -- then winning the 100 meter dash at the '94 NCAA III outdoor meet. In all he finished among the top ten in an event at a NCAA III championship six times. Hamilton, a Menomonee Falls resident, is a enterprise monitoring project manager for the Washington (D.C) Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority.
Stacey Lueptow excelled for the Warhawk track and field team. In 1989 she set school records in the 60 hurdles indoors and the 100 hurdles outdoors and went on to qualify in both events in NCAA III championships. She placed eleventh indoors and ninth outdoors that season. In 1990 she earned a second place in the WIAC indoor meet, and a second and third outdoors. In 1991 she capped her string of accomplishments with All-America honors, placing eighth in the 100 hurdles at the NCAA III outdoor meet. Lueptow was the team captain and was named top sprinter for the 1991 UW-W team. She left with the school indoor and outdoor hurdle records in hand, and still owns a piece of the 4x100 hurdle relay record (1:09.54 in 1991). Lueptow is a lieutenant in the Wauwatosa, Wisconsin fire department.
Lori (Nelson) Ross was a member of the Warhawk softball team from 1983-86. In her four year tenure at UW-Whitewater she compiled a 30-10 pitching record while helping the team to a conference title in 1986 and four National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III tournament appearances including third and fourth place finishes in 1985 and 1984 respectively. Ross was a pick on the NCAA Division III Central Region All-Tournament team in 1984. As the team's ace and MVP in 1985, Ross lead the team in innings pitched with 124.1, strikeouts with 34, least walks issued with just nine, least number of hits allowed with 93, was tied for the lowest number of runs allowed with 31 and threw one of the school's few perfect games in history. She was the recipient of the Warhawk Award in 1985 and 1986 and was a co-captain in 1986. Ross still holds numerous records in UW-W's record book including having pitched the longest game in Whitewater's softball program history, an eighteen inning contest against UW-Parkside March 29, 1985. Additionally, Ross holds six top ten season marks including second for least walks (9), tied for third for least runs allowed (31), tied for fourth in least number of earned runs allowed (19), tied for fourth with two saves, seventh with a 1.07 earned run average and tied for the seventh best mark for least number of hits allowed (95). Ross' name can be found under four more career categories in the school's record book including second with a 1.05 career earned run average, also the sixth best mark in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference record book, and the sixth highest save count (6). Ross graduated from UW-Whitewater in 1987. She currently resides in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin and is the associate director of nutritional chemistry and food safety at Covance Laboratories Inc.
Darrell Rupnow pitched for the Warhawk baseball team from 1989-1990. A two-time all-conference pitcher, Rupnow was also named to the All-Midwest Region team in 1989. He helped UW-Whitewater to two NCAA Division III tournament berths and was named team captain and most valuable player in 1990 while earning pitcher of the week honors four times. Rupnow's seven complete games in both 1989 and 1990 tie for third most in the school's record book and his 85.2 innings on the mound in 1989 is sixth in UW-W history and tied for sixteenth best in the conference record book. Rupnow compiled a 9-3 win loss record in 1989, the eighth best in school history to go along with two more career records including fourteen complete games that ties for fourth and two career shutouts which ties for the eighth best in Warhawk baseball history. Rupnow graduated in 1992 with a Bachelor of Science in Education and currently resides in Sussex, Wisconsin. He is a territory sales manager for Jaeckle Distributors.
James Toennies is the 2012 recipient of the Distinguished Service Award. Hired in 1962, Toennies served UW-Whitewater for thirty-one years. With a doctorate in health and safety from Indiana University, he taught physical education and health at UW-W for all thirty-one years. He was the campus intramural sports director 1962-68, and the health education coordinator 1974-81 and 1983-90. Toennies also served as the Williams Center facilities coordinator 1974-82. While handling this variety of duties he also coached men's cross country 1963-66 and both cross country teams in 1977-78, and he was an assistant track coach 1971-74. His cross country teams won the WIAC championship in 1964 and 1965, also adding the state AAU title and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics District 14 title. UW-W went on to finish fifteenth in the '74 NAIA national meet, moving up to eighth place in 1975. Toennies coached Phil Nordgren and Tom Hoffman, standouts in Whitewater cross country annals.
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