Northwood Announces Eleventh Athletic Hall of Fame Class

Posted: Jul 27, 2016

Courtesy of Travis McCurdy, Northwood Sports Information Director

MIDLAND, MICH. – The Northwood University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics has announced the members of the 11th class of the Athletic Hall of Fame.

Ed Clements - Baseball, Dick Harmon – Contributor, Kyle Kolbe – Football, Ronnie McCoy – Football/Track & Field, Megan Starnes – Women's Basketball and Oskars Vaskis – Men's Tennis join 53 other inductees into the Athletic Hall of Fame.

The 11th annual Hall of Fame ceremony will take place October 22 in the Hach Student Life Center, following the Northwood football game at 1 p.m. The reception for the event will begin at 5:30 p.m., followed by the dinner and program at 6 p.m.

Admission to the reception and dinner will be $30.00. Net proceeds from the event will fund a Northwood Athletic Hall of Fame scholarship in the name of the inductees. People interested in attending the event should contact Robin Yancer in the Northwood Alumni office at (989) 837-4350 or at yancer@northwood.edu.

The inductees were selected based on their athletic prowess, contributions to the athletic programs, success and character as well as their positive representation of Northwood University.

"We are excited to be able to honor these outstanding individuals and to pay tribute to the long history of Northwood Athletics, said Dave Marsh, Northwood Athletic Director. "Each of the inductees was a pioneer in their sport and in the development of our athletic program. Without them we would not be enjoying our current success."

	ED CLEMENTS Baseball 1995-97 Ed Clements was a three-year standout for the Northwood University baseball team. He earned First Team All-Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) all three seasons at Northwood, which is tied for the most in school history. He remains the lone player in Northwood history to be named the GLIAC Player of the Year, earning the honor following his sophomore season when he hit .369 with nine home runs and 36 runs batted in. His best statistical season was his senior campaign, when Clements hit .369 with 10 home runs and 45 runs batted in. Over his Northwood career, Clements batted .366 with 22 home runs and 111 runs batted in. He stands at NU's all-time leader in career on-base percentage (.503) while ranking second in slugging percentage (.654). Clements also stands fourth in Northwood history in home runs and sixth in career RBIs.
	DICK HARMON Contributor 1991-Present Fans who have been to a Northwood basketball or football home game during the past 25 years will recognize the voice of Dick Harmon. He has been the public address announcer at Northwood home games since 1991. Harmon has had a remarkable attendance record over the years, announcing nearly every game over that span. A former teacher at Bay City Western High School, Harmon also has been the long-time public address announcer for the BCW Warriors athletic events. He retired as a teacher from Bay City Western in 2008 after more than 40 years. For his dedication to the Timberwolves, Harmon was awarded the Northwood Athletics "Key to the Campus." He has been a part of some of the biggest and most memorable moments in Northwood Athletics. Harmon's passion, dedication and loyalty to the Timberwolves have been a constant over his career.
	KYLE KOLBE Football 2003-06 Kyle Kolbe is the winningest quarterback in the history of Northwood football. A three-year starter for the Timberwolves, Kolbe finished his career with 3,125 yards rushing. At the time, it was the most rushing yards for any quarterback in the history of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Kolbe ranks third in school history in rushing yards, sixth in points scored (192) and is in the top-10 in all passing categories. Over his three years as a starter for the Timberwolves, Northwood went 28-7, reached the NCAA Playoffs three times and won the GLIAC Championship in 2004. Kolbe was the quarterback for nine team offensive records set, including rushing yards in a season (3,925), points scored in a season (483) and total offense in a season (5,138). He earned Honorable Mention All-GLIAC honors three times as well as Academic All-GLIAC honors four times in his career.
	RONNIE MCCOY Football/Men's Track & Field 1979-83 Ronnie McCoy is one of the finest two-sport athletes to compete at Northwood University. A four-year starter for the football team, McCoy played cornerback and also served as a kickoff/punt returner. In his senior season, McCoy registered 758 all-purpose yards from the return game. In track & field, McCoy was a standouts in the sprints. A member of the 1980 GLIAC Championship team, McCoy was a two-time champion in the 60 meter dash at the GLIAC Indoor Championships. He also was a national qualifier for the NAIA National Championships in the 100 and the 4X100 meter relay. McCoy was also named the MVP at the Ferris State Invitational, where he was the winner of the 100, 200 and the 4X100 meter relay. McCoy was a part of the outdoor 4X400 meter relay that still holds the outdoor Northwood school record (3:09.27).
	MEGAN STARNES Women's Basketball 2005-09 Megan Starnes was the leader of the Northwood University women's basketball team that had one of the greatest turnarounds in the history of the GLIAC. Entering her junior season, Northwood had won less than 28 percent of their games over the previous 15 years. Over her final two years at Northwood, Starnes led NU to a 39-17 overall record and a 29-11 GLIAC record. Northwood reached the GLIAC Tournament for the first two times in program history and went to the NCAA Tournament for the first time. Starnes became the first Division II All-American in school history following the 2008-09 season. A two-time First Team All-GLIAC honoree, Starnes is one of four players to finish their career with 1,000 points and 700 rebounds. (1,246 points, 707 rebounds). A three-year captain, Starnes earned All-Region honors twice, was named CoSIDA Academic All-District and claimed two GLIAC Commissioner's Awards.
	OSKARS VASKIS Men's Tennis 1999-2002 In the best era of Northwood University men's tennis, Oskars Vaskis stands as one of the best players in program history. A four-year player for Northwood who won over 150 matches in his career, Vaskis was named First Team All-GLIAC in every season of his career. He was a key player on the best team in school history, leading Northwood to a third-place national finish in 2002 during his senior campaign. A two-time All-American, Vaskis teamed with fellow Hall of Famer Markus Kaempfer to earn a pair of top-10 national rankings in doubles (No. 6 – 2001, No. 3 – 2002). He also finished his senior season ranked No. 18 nationally in singles. The 2002 ITA Midwest Region Senior Player of the Year, Vaskis was a part of Northwood teams that won the GLIAC Championships all four years of his career without dropping a single match in conference play.