'M' Club Hall of Fame induction set for Oct. 26

Chris Greisen (left), quarterback of the championship 1998 Bearcats football
team, is among this year's "M" Club Hall of Fame inductees. Joining him in the
Hall on Friday, Oct. 26, will be Ron "Jesse" James (wrestling), Kathy Kearns
Behounek (cross country/track), Russ Miller (basketball), Scott Spurgeon
(baseball) and the 1980 volleyball team.

Northwest Missouri State athletics will hold its annual "M" Club Hall of Fame banquet and induction ceremony at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Oct 26, in the J.W. Jones Student Union Ballroom.

The banquet falls on the evening prior to the Northwest football Homecoming contest against Washburn University. Tickets for the event cost $17 and can be purchased by calling Michele Steinmeyer at 660.562.1977.

Members of the 2007 Hall of Fame class are Chris Greisen (football), Ron "Jesse" James (wrestling), Kathy Kearns Behounek (cross country/track), Russ Miller (basketball), Scott Spurgeon (baseball) and the 1980 volleyball team.

Including the 2007 class, the Hall will now comprise 83 individuals and 35 teams. The first year for individual inductions was 1980, and teams were inducted beginning in 1989.

A brief description of each inductee follows:

Chris Greisen was the starting quarterback for the Bearcats during the 1997 and 1998 seasons. He compiled a record of 27-1, including a 15-0 mark in leading Northwest to its first NCAA national championship in 1998. Greisen was a consensus first-team All-American in 1998 and graduated holding nine program passing records.

Drafted by the Arizona Cardinals upon graduation, Greisen is currently the starting quarterback for the AFL's Georgia Force. He was a candidate for the Most Offensive Player award this past season when he set the league's single-season touchdown mark at 117.
Ron "Jesse" earned All-America honors in 1966 and 1967 and is a two-time MIAA conference champion. He compiled a 74-8 record on the mat at Northwest, including a school-record 37 pins. His 30 wins in a season were also a school record. Upon graduation, James coached championship high school teams in both Iowa and Oregon. He was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2004.
Kathy Kearns Behounek is a two-time All-America cross country performer who in 1996 became the first Bearcat to win the MIAA conference championship. A superb distance runner, Kearns is a six-time conference champion in track and field and helped lead the Bearcats to the 1997-98 triple crown of racing (winning cross country and indoor and outdoor track and field titles).

Kearns is also an Academic All-American and was named the 1998 State of Missouri NCAA Woman of the Year. She was a finalist for the national Woman of the Year award, the second MIAA athlete to ever obtain that honor. The third finalist for that award was announced this past fall.
Russ Miller played basketball for the Bearcats 1977-'80 and remains the second-leading rebounder and seventh-leading scorer in program history. His 1.8 blocks-per-game average remains a school record. Miller recorded 837 rebounds and scored 1,282 points in his career at Northwest. He was the first Bearcat to legally dunk after the dunk was reinstated in college basketball. He earned all-conference honors in both his junior and senior seasons.
Scott Spurgeon was the first first-team All-America baseball player in Northwest history. He hit .432 with 30 home runs and 102 RBIs in his two seasons with the Bearcats (1987-88). He was named the MIAA's Most Valuable Player in 1987 as a catcher and the MIAA Hitter of the Year in 1988 as a third baseman.

Following his career at Northwest, Spurgeon was drafted by the Houston Astros as a first baseman. Following his playing career, Spurgeon became an educator. He currently serves as an Assistant Superintendent of Schools for Curriculum and Instruction in High Ridge, Mo.
Then known as the Bearkittens, the 1980 volleyball team won its first 23 matches en route to a 52-win season. Prior to 1980, no Bearkitten volleyball team had won more than 30 matches. The squad won four tournaments, including the MAIAW or State Tournament, and beat Missouri Western five times in addition to topping Division I foes Oklahoma State, Missouri and Kansas.

For more information, please contact:

Anthony Brown,
News Bureau Manager
E-Mail: abrown@nwmissouri.edu
Phone (660) 562-1704
Fax (660) 562-1900

Northwest Missouri State University
219 Administration Building,
800 University Drive
Maryville, MO 64468

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