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Schmidt heralded at Hall of Fame ceremony The accomplishments of former Briton football coach Pete Schmidt were honored during the 2000 induction ceremony for Albion’s Athletic Hall of Fame Oct. 6, 2000. Schmidt, who led Albion to the 1994 NCAA Division III national championship, passed away just one week prior to the Hall of Fame festivities where he was to be inducted into the Hall of Fame and receive a Lifetime Achievement Award. His wife, Becky, and children, Amy, ’97, Peter, ’98, and Sarah, ’99, accepted the awards on his behalf. Ten other individuals and two athletic teams were also inducted into the Hall of Fame, and they are recognized below. Athletic director Beth Lincoln served as master of ceremonies for this year’s banquet, and Hall of Fame member David Neilson, ’66, presented the Lifetime Achievement Award winners. Frank Joranko, ’52, spoke on behalf of the inductees.
Lifetime Achievement Awards The Lifetime Achievement Award honors those individuals who have provided outstanding service to Briton athletics or who have brought national recognition and distinction to Albion College. Recipients of this award will usually be previously inducted members of the Hall of Fame.
Charlotte A. Duff Char Duff served as a faculty member, coach and administrator at Albion from 1956 to 1990. A driving force in women’s athletics for the state of Michigan and nationally, she is a founder of the Ann Arbor Field Hockey Association and the Michigan College Field Hockey Association, and is a past president for both organizations. She also served the Michigan Association for Health, Physical Education, and Recreation as president. In 1977 Duff received the Distinguished Honor Award from that organization. Her service on numerous women’s athletic association boards included a stint as a member of the NCAA National Field Hockey Committee, and as chair for the Great Lakes Field Hockey Committee. In her 34 years at Albion, Duff was head coach for field hockey, women’s tennis and women’s basketball. Her career wins in field hockey rank first among all MIAA coaches in that sport. From 1976 to 1980, Albion field hockey teams captured five straight league titles. Now retired, Duff lives in Albion and continues to be active in campus and community affairs.
Frank L. Joranko, ’52 After earning Michigan High School Football Coach of the Year honors for leading Ferndale High School to the 1972 Michigan state championship, Joranko returned to Albion in January 1973 as baseball and football coach, and
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later became athletic director. Compiling a 49-39-1 record as head football coach, Joranko led his 1976 team to the first nine-win season in school history, while topping NCAA Division III in total defense. The 1977 team was the first MIAA football squad to compete in Division III postseason play. On the baseball diamond, Joranko-coached teams won nine MIAA championships, and reached the Division III playoffs in 1979 and 1982. He is the first MIAA baseball coach to record 200 league wins, posting a 200-95 league record in 23 seasons as Briton baseball coach. Athletic director from 1975 to 1991, he also served as professor of physical education until his retirement in 1995. Joranko was tournament director for the NCAA Division III baseball championship from 1990 to 1994 while the tournament was held in Battle Creek. Joranko lives in the Lansing area with his wife, Joyce Weiss Joranko, ’55. They have three children, James, Dan and Tim.
Peter J. Schmidt As assistant head coach for football at Indiana University, Pete Schmidt turned the Hoosier offense into one of high energy. Before going to Indiana, Schmidt did the same with Albion College, developing one of Michigan’s best college football programs in the late 1980s and 1990s. He posted a 104-27-4 record at Albion. His football teams at Albion won conference championships in 1985 and then 1989 through 1996, and appeared in NCAA postseason competition five times. In 1994, Schmidt coached the Britons to the NCAA Division III football championship, the first time an MIAA team had won a national championship in that sport. Albion’s record that season was 13-0. He earned numerous coaching honors that year, among them Coach of the Year recognition from the American Football Coaches Association. Albion athletes excelled academically during the Schmidt years with five NCAA Postgraduate Scholars in football from 1993 through 1997. Every senior football player earning a letter also earned a degree from Albion, including eight first-team Academic All-America selections and 10 first-team Division III or small college AllAmerica picks. Schmidt’s wife, Becky, continues to live in Bloomington, Ind. Their three children are Amy, ’97, Peter, ’98, and Sarah, ’99. Pete Schmidt was also inducted as a member of the Athletic Hall of Fame. Under the leadership of Paul Ungrodt, ’52, Albion has established the Peter J. Schmidt Education Scholarship. Proceeds from this endowed fund will assist deserving students in the College’s Fritz Shurmur Education Institute. For more information, contact Ben Hancock, vice president for institutional advancement, Albion College, 517/629-0242.
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2000 Athletic Hall of Fame inductees The Albion College Athletic Hall of Fame recognizes those individuals who have made exceptional contributions to the achievements and prestige of Albion College in the field of athletics, either by their performance on athletic teams representing the College or by meritorious efforts in years after graduation. The criteria for selection to the Hall of Fame are listed with the nomination form that accompanies this article.
Individuals Douglas C. Barcy, ’79 Doug Barcy claimed All-MIAA honors for his pitching as a sophomore and senior, and he was chosen as the MIAA MVP in 1979. He served as cocaptain of the baseball team that captured the 1979 MIAA league title and finished the year with a 10-2 record. Barcy’s earned run average that season (.39) put him in fourth place on the MIAA lowest ERA list. Since graduation he has played on several national champion amateur baseball teams. Barcy is president of the First National Acceptance Company of North America in East Lansing.
Melody Janson, ’85 A basketball stand-out, Melody Janson was named to the AllMIAA team as a senior and helped lead Albion to a 15-5 record and third place in the conference. She also earned team MVP honors. In softball, she captured the team MVP award as well as AllMIAA honors. Janson’s .385 batting average made her the MIAA batting champion as a senior. She is a business zone technician for Verizon Technology in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Wendy Lombardi Kohlhepp, ’84 Wendy Lombardi Kohlhepp dominated her track events, securing the MIAA championship in the 800m and 1500m runs as both a junior and senior and setting league records in both events as a senior. She was also a member of the MIAA championship mile relay team in 1983. As a senior, she was selected to the All-MIAA track team. She was named to the All-MIAA cross country team in 1982. Kohlhepp is a senior information specialist at Electronic Data Systems in Fairborn, Ohio.
Darwin L. Christiansen, ’63
Steffanie Lundstrum Laven, ’82
A three-year varsity starter at slotback and defensive cornerback, Dar Christiansen was chosen as the football team’s co-captain in 1962, received AllMIAA honors and was chosen as Albion’s MVP. He also played catcher for the Briton baseball team in 1963. After Albion, he went on to become the winningest coach in Flint High School history. He also was chosen the Michigan High School Coaches Association Regional Coach of the Year from 1974 to 1977. He is currently an education specialist at Bloomfield Hills Lahser High School.
Gary W. Nichols, ’80
Mary Jane Lang Grunden, ’79 As senior captain of the tennis team, Mary Jane Lang Grunden was the runner-up in the All-WMIAA tennis singles championships and was also the AllWMIAA champion in doubles ccompetition. She received the WMIAA Sue Little Sportsmanship Award in 1979. Goalie for the 1978 WMIAA champion field hockey team, she was named to the AllWMIAA first team and to the All Great Lakes Section team in 1977. Grunden is the director of volunteer services for Genesys Regional Medical Center in Grand Blanc.
Competing for Albion in the butterfly, backstroke and freestyle, as well as individual medleys, swimmer Steffanie Lundstrum Laven qualified for Division III national championship meets in 1979, 1980 and 1982, and was named an AllAmerican in the 400-freestyle relay. She was named to the All-MIAA teams in 1979, 1980 and 1982 and held the MIAA and the Albion College records in the 50-yard butterfly. Laven is a certified public accountant in Marietta, Ga.
A track standout, Gary Nichols made the All-MIAA team in the triple jump, the long jump, the 200-meter dash and the 4x100 relay as a sophomore. On the basketball court, he played on the 1978 NCAA Division III Final Four team, and in his senior season, served as co-captain and leading scorer. Albion’s MVP that year, he was also named to the All-MIAA team. As basketball coach for Austin (Texas) High School, he led his team to the state 5A basketball championships in 1994 and was named the Texas High School Basketball Coach of the Year. Nichols won his 300th game as a coach this year in Houston.