Six former UW-La Crosse athletes were inducted into the campus Wall of Fame for their great achievements as student athletes last Saturday, Oct. 15. The six athletes include Richard W. Trickel (1958-1962), Doreen Ludlow-Groshan (1981-1985), Jodi Smiley (1981-1984), Drew Peterson (1990-1992), Mike Maslowski (1993-1996) and Kari DeLong (1996-2000).

The Wall of Fame was created in 1969 to recognize the athletic excellence within the UW-L community. With the new batch of inductees, there are now 195 athletes on the Wall of Fame. Every year, a selection committee comprised of present and past staff members selects qualified previous UW-L athletes to add to the Wall of Fame. This committee has the difficult task of comparing athletes from different sports and deciding which ones deserve to be inducted.

The same committee also decides when it is appropriate to award the Donald "Sandy" A. Gordon Jr. Athletic Merit Award, which is more commonly known as the Sandy Gordon Award. The Sandy Gordon Award was first given in 1979 with the purpose of honoring "friends of UW-L who have actively promoted and supported the welfare and development of athletic programs and activities," as the plaque states. This award is not actually given yearly like the Wall of Fame, but only when found appropriate. This year's Sandy Gordon Award winner was Joseph F. Bolwahn who worked in the physical education and athletic equipment room from 1973-2007.

Brief biographies of this year's inductees:

Richard "Dick" Trickel was a cross country runner from 1958-61 and a track runner from 1959-62. He lettered in both sports every year he participated. Trickel graduated UW-L with a physical education degree in 1962. After college, Trickel joined the U.S. Air Force and served until 1968. Following his service, Trickel became a pilot for Northwest Airlines where he worked until retirement in 2000. At age 42, Trickel ran the Boston Marathon in two hours and 35 minutes. Today, Trickel lives in Crosslake, Minn. with his wife Janie.

Doreen Ludlow-Groshan was an All-American track runner in 1983 and 1984 as well as being an All-American cross country runner in 1984. In 1984 the UW-L cross country team finished second in the nation. Ludlow-Groshan was also on the 1983 indoor distance medley relay national championship team. Her highlight as an athlete was placing second in the outdoor 1500m while breaking a UW-L record at the same time. Ludlow-Groshan graduated UW-L in 1985 with a bachelor's in community health education. Today, Ludlow-Groshan is studying in a physical therapy assistant program.

Jodi Smiley was a three-sport athlete. In track and field, Smiley was an All-American in 1983 and 1984. Also in 1984, Smiley co-captained the team, won national and conference championships and made records in the javelin event. In volleyball, Smiley was named most dedicated player in 1983. In badminton, Smiley was a national competitor in 1981 and was the vice-president of the club in 1984. She graduated from UW-L in 1984 with a bachelor's in physical education. Today, Smiley teaches and coaches in Davenport, Iowa.

Drew Peterson won every regular season and conference diving meet he ever competed in, except for nationals. Peterson was named an All-American five times in total. At nationals, he finished fifth on the one-meter and three-meter boards twice and ninth on the three meter once. Peterson graduated from UW-L in 1993 with a bachelor's in recreation management. Today, Peterson is a director of leisure services in the City of Prattville, Ala. where he lives with his wife Liza and their two children.

Mike Maslowski earned a letter all four years of his college career on the football team (1993-96), and was selected captain of the team his junior and senior year. The team won conference titles all four years of Maslowski's career, and they were the NCAA Division III champions in 1995. The team also had a playoff berth in 1993 and 1996. After college, Maslowski played Arena Football and also played in the NFL Europe league and was eventually picked up by the Kansas City Chiefs in 1999. Maslowski was the team captain every year until his retirement in 2005, which was caused by injury. Today, Maslowski owns his own sporting goods

company called MB2 Sports based in Overland Park, Kan. where he lives with his wife Heidi and their three children.

DeLong was on the 1997 and 1999 National Collegiate Gymnastics Association championship teams and also won the all-around national championship when she was only a freshman, after overcoming an injury to her ACL. DeLong graduated from UW-L in 2001 with a bachelor's in physical education with a concentration in coaching. After college, DeLong served as an assistant coach for the gymnastics team from 2003-2009. Today, DeLong teaches and coaches at Holmen Middle School where she lives with her husband Ryan (UW-L class of 2000) and their two children.

Bolwahn was the chief washer of UW-L's athletic uniforms for more than 34 years. Bolwahn was awarded the Sandy Gordon Award for his hard work ethic and dedication to UW-L athletics while also serving UW-L as the equipment counter coordinator from 1973-2007. He also led a team for the annual cancer walk on campus and even today is involved in the local Adopt-a-Highway program. Today, Bolwahn lives in West Salem with his wife Christine.