UNK Alumni Association, 308.865.8474
Five individuals will be inducted into the University of Nebraska at Kearney Athletic Hall of Fame as members of the Class of 2006.
The five are Steve Altmaier of Kearney; Ginger Keller Marx, Seibert, Colo.; Jerry Stine, Bertrand; Hylke Van der Wal, Dalmeny, Saskatchewan, Canada; and Bill Windhorst, Elkhorn.
The inductions will take place during Homecoming weekend, Oct. 27-28.
Steve Altmaier , Class of 1978, of Kearney spent 24 years as the voice of the Lopers for Kearney radio stations KGFW-AM and KQKY-FM before relinquishing those duties in 2005. During his career he called nearly 2,500 events.
Covering UNK athletics was no easy task with the travel schedule of the Central State Intercollegiate Conference, as an independent and the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference for the final 11 years.
Broadcasting nearly 100 live events a year meant traveling more than 250,000 miles to bring Loper athletics into the homes of fans.
Altmaier was sports director of the station from 1981 until 2005. He is now associate news director. In 2005, he was named the Nebraska Coaches Association Media Person of the Year.
Ginger Keller Marx , Class of 1994, of Seibert, Colo., is the all-time leading scorer of the women’s basketball program. She also holds a number of other career and season records.
The 6-0 center scored 1,895 points for her career and had the single highest season total of 647 when she graduated. Her 37 points against Western State was also a record. When she graduated, she had four of the top five individual performances for points in a single game.
Marx set the career rebounding record with 894 and the highest average rebounds per game with 8.36. Her other records were career points per game (23.1), field goals made (684), free throws attempted (805), free throws made (536) and field goal percentage for a career (53.7).
She started 96 of 197 games during her career and was the team’s most valuable player all four years.
Jerry Stine , Class of 1967 and master’s degree in 1976, is a retired coach and athletic director who was a four year letterman in track. He lives in Bertrand.
As an athlete, Stine competed on teams for Coach Charlie Foster that won NCC titles all four years. He earned All-American honors by running on the mile relay team that finished fifth in the 1965 NAIA National Meet. He was a member of the two-mile relay team that set a KSC indoor record of 7:54.5 in 1965.
Stine was a coach and athletic director at Wheeler Central High School and Bertrand Community School for 37 years before retiring in 2004.
Stine was president of the Nebraska Coaches Association (NCA) in 1990, a board member of the Nebraska High School Sports Hall of Fame and the National High School Athletic Coaches Association. He was creator, author and secretary of the NCA Career Milestone Award and served on both boys and girls track advisory committees.
Stine has been inducted into the National High School Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame and has received the Binnie and Dutch Award for meritorious service to track in Nebraska and the Boys Track Coach of the Year Award by the Nebraska Coaches Association.
Stine coached boys state champion teams in track at Wheeler Central twice and boys state runner-up teams at Bertrand twice. As a basketball coach he compiled a 384-186 record and was Coaches Association Head South Coach for the Girls All-Star game in 1989.
Hylke “Hike’ Van der Wal , Class of 1962, was the NAIA National Steeplechase champion in 1962, an event that he finished second in the year before. In that 1962 national meet, Van der Wal, helped the Antelopes finish third as a team, its highest finish ever. More than 25 years later, Van der Wal, who lives in Dalmeny, Saskatchewan, Canada, still held college records in several events, including the indoor 800 meter with a time of 1:53.6 and the outdoor 1500 with a time of 3:52.6.
In 1961, he helped Kearney State College to the Midwest AAU championship. In one of his races at a major meet, Van der Wal finished second in the Milwaukee Journal Track Games in the 1,000 meter run, beaten only by Jim Beatty, the first to run a sub four-minute mile indoor. As a senior, he was named the AAU Midwest Athlete of the Year.
Bill Windhorst , Class of 1978, of Elkhorn was a four-year letterman as an offensive lineman from 1974 to 1977. He capped his career by earning first team NAIA All-American honors as a senior. He also was a first team all conference selection. Windhorst also earned all-academic honors all four years prior to graduation.
Windhorst was a member of Coach Claire Boroff’s 1977 team that finished fourth in the nation. It is the highest ever ranking for the Lopers at the end of the season. As a junior, Windhorst helped the football team compile a 9-1 record and a number six NAIA national ranking.
The five will be honored at the Homecoming Awards banquet on Friday, Oct. 27. Tickets are $20 and are available by contacting the UNK Alumni Office at 308-865-8474 or email jrundstrom@nufoundation.org.
