MENOMONIE (July 20, 2012) – Five former UW-Stout athletes will be inducted into the UW-Stout Athletic Hall of Fame, Saturday, Oct. 13.
Volleyball player
Stacy (Stoddard) Lenz, softball player
Angie (Pinnow) Johnson, baseball player
Brad O'Connell, swimmer
Steve Kostrova and administrator
John Wesolek will be inducted. Football player Tony Beckham, who was selected to the Hall in 2011 but could not attend due to a family emergency, will also be honored.
Terry Eikamp will receive the UW-Stout Athletic Distinguished Service Award.
The Class of 2012 will be honored at halftime of the 2 p.m. UW-Stout/UW-Whitewater football game. The Hall of Fame banquet, which will be held at the newly remodeled UW-Stout Memorial Student Center, gets underway at 5:30 p.m. with a reception. Dinner is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. and the ceremony is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Tickets for the event are $30, $15 for 12-years-old and under.
Tickets and additional information can be obtained by calling the UW-Stout athletic office, 715-232-2224, or by going to
Shoppes@Stout to register on-line.
Brad O'Connell – Baseball
A two-time first team all-WIAC and all-region player, Brad O'Connell is the only Blue Devil baseball player to earn first team All-America honors when he led the country in batting average (.524) in 2001. The 2001 WIAC baseball player of the year, O'Connell had 12 home runs with a slugging percentage of .984. O'Connell had a 37-game hitting streak that stretched from 2000 into the 2001 season, still the longest in WIAC history. For his career, O'Connell holds school record batting average of .422 and a school record slugging percentage of .810. His school record nine career triples was surpassed by his younger brother, Brandon, who has 10. O'Connell is tied for the school career record in home runs with 30 and is second all-time in stolen bases with 43. O'Connell is originally from Elk Mound and currently resides in EauClaire.
Steve Kostrova – Swimming
Throughout his career from 1984-88, Steve Kostrova set five individual swimming school records (100 butterfly, 200 butterfly, 200 individual medley, 400 individual medley, 100 backstroke), and three as a member of relay teams (400 free, 400 medley, 800 free). At one time, Kostrova held the conference records in the 100- and 200-yard butterfly. Kostrova qualified to the NCAA Division III Championships as a freshman. He advanced to the NAIA nationals all four years, both individually and as a member of relay teams. Kostrova holds 12 total NAIA All-America awards, six individually and six as a member of relay teams. Kostrova is originally from Ashwaubenon and currently resides in Lindenhurst, Ill.
Stacy Stoddard – Volleyball
A two-time all-WIAC volleyball selection in 1997 and 1998 and a second team All-American in 1998, Stacy Stoddard's name litters the UW-Stout volleyball record book in kills, blocks and hitting percentage. She is first in single season kills (541) and second in all-time kills (1365). Stoddard is first in career block solos (185), a career mark she had set after her sophomore season when she set a school mark for single season blocks with 76. With a career hitting percentage of .276, she ranks third and has the second-best single match hitting percentage of .800 when she recorded 25 kills in 30 attacks with only one hitting error on Sept. 12, 1997. Stoddard is originally from St. Paul, Minn., and currently resides in Coon Rapids, Minn.
Angie Pinnow – Softball
A three-time all-WIAC first team softball selection and the 2001 West Division Player of the Year as a senior, shortstop Angie Pinnow owned the career section of the UW-Stout record book when she graduated. Upon graduation, Pinnow held career records for at-bats (508), runs scored (139), hits (193), doubles (41), home runs (17), walks drawn (49) and triples (13). She still tops the career list in at-bats, runs, hits, triples and walks. As a senior, when she was also the WIAC scholar-athlete, Pinnow led the conference in batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, hits, home runs, total bases, stolen bases and plate appearances. Pinnow is originally from Bruce and currently resides in Holcombe.
John Wesolek – Administration
John Wesolek, a die-hard Blue Devil supporter for more than 50 years, was a Blue Devil athlete in the mid-1960s who went on to serve the athletic program admirably throughout his tenure at UW-Stout as an instructor and administrator. The director of the Stout Vocational Rehabilitation Institute (SVRI), Wesolek served as the men's faculty athletic representative to the WIAC from 1994-99, then oversaw the athletics program when he became dean of the College of Human Development from 2001-09. During those years, Wesolek saw the addition of men's hockey and men's and women's golf to the sports module. He also was involved in the planning process and completion of Don & Nona Williams Stadium, as part of the overall Recreation/Athletics Complex. Wesolek resides in Menomonie.
Tony Beckham – Football
Tony Beckham was a three-time All-WIAC defensive back, a two-time All-American, earned the right to play in the Blue-Grey All-Star game - the first Division III player since the 1980s - and was drafted in the fourth round by the NFL's Tennessee Titans. Beckham was an integral part in the Blue Devils' 2000 WIAC championship season, Stout's first since the 1965 season. Beckham was selected to the UW-Stout Athletic Hall of Fame in 2011, but a last minute family emergency prevented him from attending. Beckham is originally from Ocala, Fla., and currently resides in Port St. Lucie, Fla.
