UWRF Athletics Updates With 101 years of combined experience, the Falcon Athletic Department marked three important retirements this year: Athletic Trainer Gary “Stump” Eloranta, Sports Information Director Jim Thies, and Softball Coach Faye Perkins.
Gary “Stump” Eloranta
Faye Perkins
Eloranta retired Aug. 4 after more than 40 years as the face of UW-River Falls athletic training. He first came to UWRF in 1968 as a student and later made it his career home. During his time at the university, he had been not only an athletic trainer but also a mentor, role model, and friend to thousands of students and staff. Eloranta is also well known and respected in the community, serving as a longtime member of the River Falls Fire Department and as an emergency medical technician with the River Falls EMS.
Following the conclusion of the 2015 softball season, Faye Perkins stepped down from her role as head softball coach, a position she has held for the last 22 years. She will remain at UWRF, however, as the chair of the Health & Human Performance Department.
Eloranta was elected to the Wisconsin Athletic Trainers Association Hall of Fame in 2010 and to the UWRF Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007. He earned the UWRF Chancellor’s Award for Excellence for Academic Staff in 1990. The UWRF Athletic Department’s “Gary Eloranta Falcon Award” is given each spring to a student who exhibits the department’s core values: strong work ethic, integrity, leadership, national recognition and overall impact on the team, all of which Eloranta personified during his time on campus.
Jim Thies Jim Thies retired from UWRF June 10, having served as Sports Information Director (SID) for 39 years. His career at UWRF began in 1976 when he became UWRF’s second SID in school history, having replaced his predecessor after one year. During his time at UW-River Falls, Thies mentored hundreds of students and student-athletes and, with help from a student, created the first website for the UWRF Athletic Department in 1995 -- the first of its kind in the state. Athletics at UW-River Falls has been greatly enriched by the stats, games and events Thies has documented over the years. Thies also worked with the national media during the Kansas City Chiefs Summer Training Camp held at UW-River Falls from 1991-2009. He was responsible for the Summer Training Camp intern program and assigning stories, editing and mentoring of the students’ work. Thies was also responsible for the university’s national award-winning Kansas City Chiefs Summer Training Camp website. In 2012, Jim was recognized with the Chancellor’s Award for Academic Staff for his exceptional service to the university community. Jim has served on several College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) committees over the years. He has also been active in organizations in the local community including Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Northwest Wisconsin, American Diabetes Association, Hudson Hockey Association, Hudson Lion’s Club, and St. Patrick’s Church.
No one has had a bigger influence on UW-River Falls Falcon softball than Perkins, who led the team to some outstanding achievements during her tenure. Perkins is the winningest coach in UWRF softball history, finishing with a 479-402-2 record. With a 523-422-2 career coaching record, she won her 500th career game in the team’s 9-1 win over UW-Platteville in the spring of 2014. Her teams have competed in WIAC division championships, won WIAC championships and WIAC playoff championships, and competed in the NCAA Div. III National Playoffs. Perkins was named the WIAC Coach of the Year in 1996, set a record number of wins in 2012 (with a 34-15 season) and, along with the rest of the Falcon coaching staff, was named as part of the NFCA Great Lakes Regional Coaching Staff of the Year in 2012. Perkins has coached 65 All-American Scholar-Athletes and her 1993-94 team had the second highest overall grade point average in all of Div. III softball. Most importantly to Perkins, six of her athletes have won the coveted WIAC Scholar-Athlete award: Kim Zarling, ’91; Amy (Stenson) Kujawski, ’97; Amy (Brooke) Shafer, ’03; Anna Poulter-Hendrickson, ’05; Rose Tusa and Ashley (Goettl) Hanley, ‘13. Perkins has coached two AllAmericans and 16 Regional All-Americans and 68 of her student-athletes have been named to All-WIAC teams. “It’s developing life-long relationships with my student-athletes and coaching staff that I am going to miss the most,” said Perkins. “I am especially proud of all my players who have become coaches. I hope that my passion for softball and the life lessons they have learned from Falcon softball have carried over to their lives and into the lives of their players.” On June 11, U.S. Representative Ron Kind (Wisconsin) made remarks on the congressional floor honoring Perkins’ service as softball coach at UWRF. The new softball head coach is UWRF alumna Amber Dohlman.
FALCON FEATURES FALL 2015
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