ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME
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Class of 2008: Chris Marinucci, Ron McClure,
Chris Neumann, Jodi (Swenson) Becker and Darrel "Lefty" Warner
In October 2008, Hobey Baker Memorial Award winner Chris Marinucci, two-time
NCAA II wrestling All-American Ron McClure, NCAA Division II national
high jump champion Jodi (Swenson) Becker and three-time all-conference
selections Chris Neumann (basketball) and Darrel “Lefty” Warner
(football) were paid a lasting tribute when the University of Minnesota
Duluth Athletic Hall of Fame held its 11th enshrinement ceremony.
Chris Marinucci
Marinucci became UMD’s third Hobey Baker Memorial Award recipient
(most outstanding player in college hockey) in 1993-94 and received two
other prestigious honors -- the Western Collegiate Hockey Association
Player of the Year and USA Hockey College Player of the Year -- that winter
in addition to securing a spot on the NCAA I All-American first team.
The Grand Rapids, Minn. product paced the WCHA in both points and goals
as a senior team captain and had a hand in a league-leading 43.1 percent
of his club’s regular season goals en route to being named to the
All-WCHA first team. Marinucci, who is the only one among the 28 Hobey
Baker Memorial Award winners to have come from a team with a below .500
record (UMD was 14-21-3 overall and placed seventh in the 10-team WCHA
standings), collected more points during his final two collegiate seasons
(138, including 61 in 1993-94) than any other collegian in the nation.
He also eclipsed the 30-goal mark on two occasions (1992-93 and 1993-94)
-- just the fourth Bulldog to ever do so and closed out his UMD career
by skating in a then record-tying 149 consecutive games. In the spring
of his senior year, Marinucci participated in the 1994 East-West College
Hockey Classic in Bangor, Maine and in the 1997 International Ice Hockey
Federation World Championship as a member of the U.S. National Team. He
was subsequently named UMD’s Co-Outstanding Senior Male Athlete
for 1993-94. A fifth round draft pick of the National Hockey League’s
New York Islanders in 1990, Marinucci went on to suit up in 12 games with
that club and one game with the Los Angeles Kings in 1996-97. His professional
hockey resume includes International Hockey League stints with the Denver/Utah
Grizzlies (1994-97), the Phoenix Roadrunners (1996-97) and the Chicago
Wolves (1997-2000). Marinucci spent his last two professional seasons
(2002-04) skating for the Idaho Steelheads of the East Coast Hockey League/West
CoastHockey League after playing the prior two years in Japan (Kokudo)
and Europe (Berlin Polar Bears).
Ron McClure
McClure, a native of Golden Valley, Minn., is the only Bulldog to ever
attain NCAA II All-American wrestling honors on more than one occasion.
(He was so recognized in both 1994 and 1993 when he placed fourth at the
national tournament). During his farewell collegiate season in 1993-94,
he amassed a 27-1-0 record -- his lone defeat came in the 142-pound title
match at the NCAA II Championships – his last bout as a Bulldog
-- for a school-record .964 winning percentage. McClure, who laid claim
to the 142-pound crown at the 1994 NCAA II Midwest Regionals in Duluth,
became, at the time just the eighth individual wrestler overall –
and the first from UMD -- to win four Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference
championships (134 pounds in 1991 and 142 pounds in 1992-94). He closed
the books on his remarkable collegiate career with a 108-17-0 record with
40 pins and won his final 27 dual meet matches (going back to his freshman
year). In all, McClure qualified for three NCAA II national tournaments
and one NAIA Championship event (in 1991) and was chosen UMD’s Most
Valuable Wrestler an unprecedented three times.The two-year team captain
shared t UMD’s Outstanding Senior Male Athlete Award for 1993-94
with fellow 2008 Hall of Fame inductee Chris Marinucci.
Chris Neumann
Neumann, who starred at guard and forward with the Bulldogs from 1980-84,
started in a then-school record 115 consecutive games and helped UMD post
a 93-22 overall record during his four-year stay. As a senior, he scored
499 points -- the highest scoring total by a Bulldog in 19 years -- while
captaining UMD to a share of its third straight NIC title. For his efforts,
Neumann was named the NIC’s Most Valuable Player in addition to
attaining NAIA All-American (honorable mention), NAIA All-District 13
and All-NIC recognition. The Milwaukee, Wis. native was a three-time All-NIC
honoree and UMD’s leading point producer as a sophomore, junior
and senior. Neumann held down the No. 3 spot on the Bulldogs’ all-time
scoring charts (1,708 points) when he left the UMD basketball program
(he's now fifth in that category) and was selected to UMD’s All-75th
Anniversary Team in 2006. He spent one season (1984-85) as a UMD student
assistant coach after his playing days were over.
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Jodi (Swenson) Becker
Becker, a Crosby, Minn. native, holds the distinction of being the first
-- and only -- female NCAA II individual titleholder UMD has ever produced
in any sport. She reigned as the NCAA II indoor high jump champion in
1990 and placed second in that same event later that year at the national
outdoor meet. The following spring, Becker turned in another runnerup
finish at the NCAA II outdoor championships as a senior to land All-American
recognition for a fifth time. In addition, she captured the Northern Sun
Conference outdoor high jump title three of a possible four years (1989,
1991 and 1992) and the indoor crown twice (1990 and 1991).. Becker, whose
school records in both the indoor and outdoor high jump still stand, was
the co-recipient of UMD’s Outstanding Female Senior Athlete award
in 1991-92.
Darrel "Lefty" Warner
Warner, who arrived on the UMD campus from Grand Rapids, Minn. in 1953,
started all four years with the Bulldogs at halfback/quarterback and safety
and was also one of UMD’s primary return specialists and punters.
The three-time All-Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference honoree
(first team in 1954 and 1956 and second team in 1955) paced UMD in total
offense and scoring four straight seasons and set then-UMD career records
in each of those two departments. He was also named the Bulldogs' Most
Valuable Player as both a junior and senior. A member of the Bulldog freshman
basketball team in 1953-54, Warner was bestowed with the 1956-57 Anderson-Dahle
Award as UMD’s top scholar-athlete
The addition of this distinguished group brings the UMD Athletic Hall of Fame membership to 88. For more information contact Bob Nygaard at 218-726-8191.
UMD home page editor, Cheryl Reitan, creitan@d.umn.edu
NEW RELEASES, UMD media contact,
Susan Latto, slatto@d.umn.edu,
218-726-8830