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Contents
Augustana Magazine | Summer 2004
15
This blessed plot…
The ‘lilies of the field’ may have it made, but Augustana’s 115-acre
campus needs a little help to stay so photogenic. Meet some of the
people who provide it.
18
The Calling of a college
A year-old initiative is doing more than encouraging students to reflect
on vocation; it’s challenging leaders across campus to deepen their
defi nitions of Augustana’s calling to nurture servant leaders.
25
Hail to the chief(s)
The selection of Al Bowman ’75 to lead Illinois State University means
Augustana’s alumni rolls have produced yet another college president.
Ann McGlynn of the Quad-City Times
reports.
In the news…
President’s message (page 2) • About campus (page 3) • Sports desk (page 7)
• Faculty matters (page 11) • Alumni news (page 32) • Final shot (page 48)
On the cover
The spire of Ascension Chapel (photo by Rachel Gustafson ’92)

Message from President Steven C. Bahls
An eye-full
The most memorable day of my first year
at Augustana College was clear and crisp,
as many are here in January. I had just
completed my open office hours in our library
coffee shop, Java 101. The students with whom
I met had, as always, much on their minds,
and our conversations were invigorating—
discussions of how our campus might become
more diverse, concerns about admission to
graduate schools, questions about my vocation
walk and thoughtful discourse about the role
of athletics and the Greek system at the College.
Feeling energized by the discussion, I
bundled up for a brisk walk back to my office in
Founder’s Hall. As I walked across the head of
the pond, I looked up the ravine and noticed a
great horned owl, swooping low over the water.
I had never seen a great horned owl before and
it was a thrill. How appropriate, I thought. The
owl, a symbol of wisdom, residing on the
campus of a liberal arts college.
As I turned to complete my walk to my office,
I saw a bald eagle gliding on thermals above Old
Main. Because bald eagles have returned to this
region in great numbers, I was accustomed to
seeing the majestic birds in the area, but I had
not seen one on campus. I thought about a
recent conversation I’d had with leaders in the
local Native American community about the
return of the eagles. For many Native American
communities, the eagle is symbol of vision. How
appropriate for a liberal arts college to serve as
home for both an owl and an eagle, symbolizing
knowledge and vision.
A few minutes later I approached my office.
Several members of our staff were standing
outside gazing up to the top of the cross above
Ascension Chapel. A faculty member had
identified the raptor perched there as a peregrine
falcon. As with the great horned owl, I had never
seen a peregrine before. In many cultures, a
falcon—especially the falcon’s eye—is a symbol
of spirituality. In one day, birds representing
wisdom, vision and spirituality were all present
on the Augustana campus.
The owl, the falcon and the eagle all have
sharp eyes. Professor Rivka B. Kern Ulmer, of
Bucknell University, recently wrote an article
in the Journal of Religion and Society
about the
“divine eye” as a religious symbol. She observes
that in many religious traditions eyes “serve as
a religious symbol signifying clarity and light,”
as well as “all-seeing and omnipresent divinity.”
At the center of Augustana’s seal is an eye, which
is particularly appropriate for a church-related
college. The seal and the raptors on campus
serve to remind us of our mission—to help
students see clearly.
Seeing clearly speaks to the development of
wisdom by fostering habits of the mind. Seeing
clearly also entails developing vision which both
suffuses and transcends the mind. Our students
develop vision through vocational reflection—by
linking their passions and talents with the needs
of society. This, in turn, helps our students learn
to see clearly by exploring and deepening their
spirituality.
For those familiar with this place, it will
come as no surprise that one of the most
inspiring memories from my fi rst year at
Augustana came as the result of a brief walk
across the campus. Many years ago, Conrad
Bergendoff, president of the College from 1935 to
1962, asked a question which has yet to be
answered: “Who can estimate the silent influence
a beautiful campus can make on the
hundreds of young people who daily walk over
it?” Since my January stroll under the eyes of
an owl, an eagle and a falcon, I am more
convinced than ever that the answer may
never be fully plumbed.
2 Augustana Magazine | Summer 2004

Aboutcampus
Jeff Abernathy
New dean, new plan
Dr. Jeff Abernathy has been named dean
of the College at Augustana, where he will
administer the academic program and lead
the work of 180 faculty members in the
College’s 27 academic departments.
Abernathy—formerly dean, vice president
for academic affairs and professor of English
at West Virginia Wesleyan College—will
also oversee implementation of the new
Augustana General Education Studies
(AGES) program, which represents a major
reshaping of the way the College effects its
mission of providing a liberal arts education.
Abernathy was selected from a field of
nearly 100 candidates from across the U.S.
and five foreign nations, including executives
of higher education consortia, sitting
deans and even college presidents. The tenmember
search committee forwarded his
name to President Steven Bahls, whose
selection of Abernathy was based on his
accomplishments as a teacher and scholar,
as well as his extensive background in the
liberal arts. “His record demonstrates that
he is an accomplished academic leader, who
is uniformly praised by his colleagues. The
ultimate consideration in hiring a dean is
fit. Dr. Abernathy is, in my judgment, the
right person for Augustana,” Bahls says.
A published author (whose To Hell and
Back: Race and Betrayal in the Southern
Novel was released by University of Georgia
Press last year), Abernathy succeeds Dr.
Ellen Hay, who had served as dean of
academic services and as interim dean of
the College. After a decade of distinguished
administrative service, Hay will return to
full-time teaching within the Department
of Speech Communication.
Abernathy says he was attracted to
Augustana as a school “poised to take its
place as one of the nation’s premier liberal
arts colleges. I look forward to working
with all of my colleagues on the faculty
and staff in pursuing that goal.”
After spending part of the summer
at Harvard’s Institute for Educational
Management—an intensive two-week
colloquium similar to the Harvard Seminar
for New Presidents for which Bahls was
selected last year—Abernathy will lead the
faculty’s implementation of the new AGES
curriculum. Designed to introduce students
to perspectives on the past, the arts, the
natural world, the individual and society,
literature and text, and human values and
existence, AGES will account for one-third
of the graduation requirement at Augustana,
the other two-thirds split between major
and electives.
Four of the nine courses taken during a
student’s fi rst year at Augustana will come
from a new liberal studies sequence which
provides the foundation for AGES. All of
the courses [see ‘Sampler’] feature collaboration
by multiple faculty members on
reading selection, writing and speaking
assignments, as well as community events
which bring students and faculty together
outside of class.
In a brochure designed to introduce
students to the first-year sequence and
the larger AGES program, Dr. Heidi Storl,
associate professor of philosophy, wrote
words which might be as tenuous to
teenagers as they are attestable by alumni:
“Though the riches of the studies offered
may not be apparent for many years to
come, they will come. They will nourish
heart and mind, body and spirit, and
perhaps form the cornerstone of a life
well-lived.”
An AGES
sampler
Among the courses this fall’s first years
will have to choose from:
Soul and Science
Emergence of Rational Thought
Christian Traditions: Sin and Salvation
Heroes
Origins of Morality
The Geology of Myths and Legends
…and what worth-its-salt list could omit:
Introduction to the Vikings
3

Aboutcampus
Conference breaks new ground
Fifty alumni returned to campus in
February for Augustana’s fi rst-ever African-
American Alumni Conference, which set a
new tone for alumni gatherings on campus
through its interaction not just with current
students, but those yet to arrive on campus.
One of the conference’s primary components
involved small-group sessions in
which participants shared reflections on
their life-journeys before and since college.
The proceedings were recorded and are
being indexed for use by Augustana’s new
Center for Vocational Reflection, in its work
helping both current and future students
discern their callings in life. Another aspect
of the conference involved meetings with
senior administrators to hear updates on the
College, while still another gave participants
the chance to share experiences and concerns
related to Augustana.
Leadership in organizing the gathering
Katie Derner ’05
was provided by two members of the
Augustana Board of Trustees, Dr. Millicent
Knight ’82 and Dr. Willie Rucker ’79.
“This represents a great beginning, with
many positive responses and an expectation
that good things will come of it,” Dr.
Knight says.
Many of the participants voiced
concerns over the recruiting and retention
of African-American students, which
generated numerous ideas for involvement
by alumni in addressing them. In a postconference
survey, one participant noted:
“I was quite impressed with the genuine
effort to reach out and foster open and
honest dialogue regarding the challenges
the institution has faced in attracting,
admitting, and retaining students of color
down through the years. In addition, I
believe that efforts to create a ‘safe’
environment for alumni to express their
frustrations and hurts, along with fond
memories of our time at Augustana, were
much appreciated.”
In addition to holding a second event
in 2006, ideas discussed at the conference
include holding gatherings for alumni and
students in the Chicago area, and a reception
on the Friday of Homecoming weekend.
Additionally, an e-mail address list of
African-American alumni is being compiled
for future communication among current
and former students.
Based on the success of the February
meeting, the Alumni Office is currently
planning a similar conference for Latino
graduates next year. Since the College does
not track alumni based on race or ethnicity,
those interested in learning more about
either endeavor are asked to contact Melissa
Muehler in the Alumni Office (by phone
at 800.798-8100 or e-mail at advmm@
augustana.edu).
Hullett announces retirement
In the 144 -year history of Augustana, few
persons have enjoyed a career with accomplishments
as richly varied as those of Jack
Hullett, who announced in March his plans
to retire at summer’s end after 39 years of
service to the College. Whether as a
member of the psychology faculty, as a
dean of students or of enrollment management,
as a leader of Asian term programs
or as vice president of the College, Hullett
Joy Prowell ‘85 West, Valerie Brown ‘83 Wilder and
Amber Brown ‘88 Washington reconnect during
February’s African-American Alumni Conference
has fulfi lled each responsibility with what
President Steve Bahls called “great distinction”
in relating the announcement to the
campus community.
Hullett came to Augustana in 1965 from
the University of Denver, where he’d been
awarded fellowships by the Ford Foundation
and NASA
while completing graduate
studies there. By 1976, he had risen from
instructor of psychology to department
Jack Hullett
4 Augustana Magazine | Summer 2004

chair, editing, writing and co-authoring
numerous publications along the way.
In 1977, he served as co-director of
Augustana’s Asian Foreign Study Program,
the fi rst of four such tours he helped lead.
Joining the administration full-time in
1981, Hullett served as dean of students
until 1991, when he was asked to pioneer a
new position at the College, that of dean for
enrollment management. At the time, then-
President Thomas Tredway said the goal
was “to create a single process by which
students are attracted to and kept enrolled
at Augustana until they complete their
work here.”
Since then, the record of enrollment
success at Augustana has spoken for itself.
While the size of the student body has—by
design—remained relatively stable, in the
13 years since Hullett took charge, the
annual field of applicants grew by more
than a thousand, and Augustana’s four-year
graduation rate is consistently well above
both state and national averages.
While a national search is undertaken
for a successor, longtime director of admissions
Marty Sauer will serve as acting dean
of enrollment. Hullett, who was also named
vice president of the College in 1998, will
remain active as a consultant during the
transition.
Art Museum gets “All Shook Up”
A teenager named Vinje Dahl had two
things going for him when he entered the
Mary E. Sawyer Auditorium in La Crosse,
Wis., on May 14, 1956 —gumption and a
great camera. A sophomore in high school,
Dahl made his way down to the front of
the stage with his Rolleiflex camera and
snapped four dozen pictures of a young
rockabilly performer from the South who’d
recently broken onto the national stage. In
the spring of ’56, Elvis Presley’s regional
fame—built on five hit singles recorded
on the Sun label—exploded with his fi rst
national hit, Heartbreak Hotel.
“I developed the pictures that night,
took them to school the next day, and was
mobbed by kids wanting copies,” Dahl
remembers. “So I started selling them
almost as fast as I could make them, and
I’m not sure how much money I made, but
it was enough to buy a nice pair of water
skis that I used all that summer.” Dahl,
owner and president of Dahl Ford, an automobile
dealership in Davenport, says he
then put the pictures away in such a safe
place it took him almost 45 years to fi nd
them again.
Thankfully, he did fi nd them, and Dahl
has now given a collection of ten pictures
from that remarkable day to the Augustana
Art Museum. Dahl had earlier shared the
photos with archivists at Graceland, the
museum located in Presley’s former home
in Memphis, Tenn. That earned him an
invitation to attend a recent memorial
anniversary, where Dahl says he was surprised
to fi nd he’d become a celebrity
among Presley fans since such photographs
from the ’50s are quite rare.
Fin-splints?
In many ways, Greg Choyke ’05 is a lot
like most other Augustana students. He’s
not totally sure about which future plans
sound best, he’s indulging in many hobbies,
and he’s trying out new things which test
what he’s learned in three years of higher
educa tion. Yet no amount of college life,
coursework in biology, nor even working
previously for Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium
could fully prepare him for a spring term
internship at the Mote Marine Laboratory
in Sarasota, Florida.
Working for Shedd Aquarium during
breaks helped Choyke gain valuable
contacts in the field of marine biology.
These led him to the Mote Marine Lab’s
Dolphin and Whale Hospital, where he
served an internship in animal care.
Whether preparing feeds and medical care
for the animals, transporting and assisting
in treatment, or putting in 80 -hour workweeks,
Choyke says he didn’t mind the hard
work and long hours, “because it is through
those experiences that I got to gain the
most knowledge and utilize my Augustana
coursework the most,” he says.
While Choyke maintains a profound
love of marine biology, he’s keeping his
options open by continuing work toward
his goal of becoming a dentist. Still, he says
his admiration for the pioneering developments
and innovative research at Mote Labs
“will make marine biology a continued focus
in my life.” [Story by Teresa Kurtenbach ’03]
Poet hits for the cycle
When it comes to competition, artists have
at least one edge over athletes. No matter
how talented, no single athlete could conceivably
nab the gold, silver and bronze
medals in any individual event. And while
it’s within the realm of possibility for one
person to win all three top honors in a
writing contest, doing so still represents
a remarkable achievement.
Woody Loverude ’04 managed just such
a feat in winning the top three prizes in
the 2004 Vázquez-Valarezo Poetry Contest
at Augustana, coordinated by the Women’s
and Gender Studies Program. The contest
was created in 1997 by Dr. Jeanneth
Vázquez in memory of her parents,
Honorato Vázquez and Angelica Valarezo,
whose professional lives were spent as
PHOTO BY VINSE DAHL
5

Aboutcampus
Isaac
Blood flaked under my nails,
we took the same route back—past
the mossy boulder, around the tree
I once saw a man hanging from.
I still slid down the gravel hills,
still steadied father, but only when
he reached for me.
There was, as always, a bout of thunder,
a scratch of lightning. This time,
the story is true. When he dropped it,
the knife sparked stone
and the ram bent around the corner.
Only—the way one hair swung
like the hanged man, his knuckles wrinkled
and white, his mouth forming O.
The gray sky pulling down
as the rains came harder.
At home, days later, I ran and ran
and kept running until I reached the river.
—woody loverude
Brian Greene
writers and educators in Ecuador.
Dr. Ann Boaden, associate professor
of English, judged this year’s entries with
Virginia Johnson from Augustana’s
Reading/Writing Center. “Poetry proves
itself on our pulses, and Woody’s poems
meet that test. He gives us clear images that
focus and distill complex experience. His
lines have power and music,” Boaden says.
Loverude, who says he came to
Augustana “with the idea that I wanted
to write, but not be a writer,” leaves with
majors in English and education, as well
as a slot in the graduate creative writing
program at New York University. Although
his So Much Unravels Like Life Itself
and
How We Manipulate Our Myths and Thus
Make Them Ours won second and third
places, respectively, the top prize went to
Isaac, reprinted here.
‘Elegant Universe’ comes
to campus
Brian Greene’s search for a unified theory
of the cosmos brought him to Augustana
in the spring, as the author of The Elegant
Universe
and lead scientist on the Nova
(PBS) television series of the same name
delivered the 2004 Roys Lecture in Science
at the College. After a public lecture and
informal meetings with students and
faculty, Greene offered a no-holds-barred
Q&A session with students in which he
challenged them to push the bounds of
the latest thinking on ‘Life, the Universe
and Everything.’
Topics ranged from the theory of eleven
dimensions of reality (rather than a measly
three or four) to a consideration of the
chicken-and-egg conundrum through the
lens of the Second Law of Thermodynamics.
Most of the session dealt with String Theory,
of which Greene is among the world’s most
eloquent communicators. Essentially, the
concept holds that if we were to dissect
such fundamental particles as electrons,
neutrinos and quarks, we’d find that they
consist of incomprehensibly tiny, onedimensional
loops, or strings, the nature and
function of which are tied to the manner in
which each oscillates and vibrates.
Rose, Kirn retire
One of the longest-serving employees of
Augustana has retired, one of two administrative
retirements this spring. After
coming to campus in 1962 as school nurse
(such was the title at
the time) Dora Rose
retired this spring as
Augustana’s director of
safety. Rose’s tenure
with the College was
such that it stretched
from treating students
in the Infi rmary once
located in the basement
of Carlsson Hall,
to the preparing of
detailed campus
response plans in the
event of all manner
of emergencies.
Dr. Michael Kirn,
meanwhile, began his
time at Augustana
teaching philosophy
and political science, then gradually moved
into the administration fi rst as director of
advising and orientation, then director of
records, jobs which he balanced while maintaining
his classroom work until 1991. Since
then, in addition to leading the Office of
Records, Kirn has lent his leadership to
numerous College initiatives; most recently,
this included the committee charged with
creating Augustana’s new general education
curriculum.
Dora Rose
Michael Kirn
6 Augustana Magazine | Summer 2004

desk
For complete stats and schedules, visit Sports
Team highlights by Dave Wrath ’80, sports information director / Photos by Steve Woltmann
For complete stats and schedules, visit Sports
Chuck Gordon
‘I’m a Division III guy’
Chuck Gordon, the architect behind Emory University’s
rise to prominence in NCAA Division III athletics, is the
new athletics director at Augustana, becoming the first
sole director since 1975, when the position was split into
part-time men’s and women’s ADs. Former men’s leader
Greg Wallace will continue as the Vikings baseball coach
(now atop the school’s wins list with a 200-97 mark),
while Liesl Fowler—who’d been splitting her time with the
academic dean’s office—has been named to replace the
retiring Mike Kirn as Augustana’s director of records.
“I’m very happy to be joining an institution with a rich
tradition of excellence in academics and athletics,” says
Gordon. “Augustana has long had its priorities straight
in placing the student first in ‘student-athlete.’”
Prior to Emory, Gordon had served at Washington
University in St. Louis and Rhodes College in Memphis.
“I’m a Division III guy and I’ve always been one,” he says.
During a news conference introducing Gordon to local
media, he took time to offer a special message to the
roughly 750 athletes among the Augustana student body.
“It may take me a while, but I’m looking forward to getting
to know all of you and seeing each of you in practice and
competition.”
Quartet added to honor roll
The number of Vikings to reach the lofty heights of
Academic All-America status grew by four this spring, with
the addition of Steve Broski (baseball), Manda Geerts
(track), Nick Johnson (track) and Maura Milas (swimming).
Milas, who was all-conference in three events in
each of the last two seasons, now sets her sights on the
University of Iowa Dental School after graduating in just
three years with a major in biology. She was twice named
the team’s MVP, and earned a place on the Swim Coaches
Association’s academic all-star team each of the last two
years.
Broski, a junior who fanned 32 batters in 34 innings
of work, maintains a 4.0 grade point average as a premed,
and still finds time to head-up fundraising for Best
Buddies, a program which matches students with persons
with disabilities.
For Geerts and Johnson, the honors represent repeat
performances. Geerts also became the 17th Viking to
earn the prestigious NCAA Post-graduate Scholarship, in
addition to her second straight selection to the Academic
All-America first team. While setting a new school record
in the 400 intermediate hurdles, she graduated with a 4.0
grade-point average majoring in communication sciences
and disorders.
A junior math major, Nick Johnson likewise makes a
return visit to the All-America ranks, winning back-toback
conference titles in steeplechase. This spring he
was chosen to represent Augustana at the NCAA Student
Leadership Conference.
The selections bring to 110 the number of Augustana’s
Academic All-Americans. The College is fifth in the nation
in its number of such honorees, named by the College
Sports Information Directors of America.
Salutare, Vikings!
Though jet-lagged and weary from seven days of sightseeing
in Italy, the Augustana football team made easy
work of the Laszio Ostia Marines in a 50-6 exhibition
game played just outside of Rome. No fewer than ten
Vikings added to the scoring, despite the fact the team
had spent the morning of game-day touring the Coliseum,
Vatican City and the Roman Forum. No doubt that last
stop included some insights from head coach Jim Barnes,
a 1981 Augustana grad who holds a law degree from the
University of Illinois.
Back on this side of the Atlantic, the Vikings open
their 2004 campaign with a September 4 game in Pella,
Iowa, against Central, a team which also competed in a
European scrimmage this summer against the Poppenroth
Knights in Germany.
EWinter E
Sports
MEN’S BASKETBALL
N’S BASKETBALL
All-time scorers’ list grows
As the first full recruiting class for fifth-year head coach
Grey Giovanine left the Carver hardwood for the final
time in February, two did so as members of Augustana’s
elite 1,000-point club. Drew Carstens—a pre-season
All-American and member of the all-conference first
team—wrapped up his career with 1,813 points, leaving
Steve Broski
Drew Carstens
7

Sportsdesk
him second in all-time scoring behind John Laing ’73. Shawn
Clements, meanwhile, became the 20th Viking to reach the
mille-stone with 1,021. Joined by classmates Bill Goehrke, Brad
Novak, Jim Thomas and Aaron Thompson, the seniors reached
a 70-30 four-year record with this season’s 16-9 mark, good for
second place in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin.
Carstens also iced his career with school records for free throws
made (577) and attempted (720).
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Romolo, Ryl pace conference
“R & R” was a dominant theme this season, thanks to recordsetting
efforts by seniors Kristin Romolo and Kendra Ryl. Romolo
graduated in May with single-season and career records in
assists (112/373), and
Ryl did likewise in
Kristin Romolo and Kendra Ryl
blocked shots (113/
266). Both Vikings
led the CCIW in those
categories, joined by
classmates Jasmine
Daniels—second in
shooting percentage
(.562)—and Julia
Selzer—fourth in pointsper-game
(13.6)—among
conference leaders.
Junior Kristy Pence is
now just 99 points shy
of becoming the eighth
Viking to reach 1,000 points. Although a pair of road losses
knocked the team out of contention for a return to the CCIW
tourney, head coach James Black can now boast of three straight
winning seasons in three years at the helm, thanks to a 15-9
finish.
52'101⁄4" at the CCIW meet, more than six feet
farther than the previous conference record, set
in 2002 by Gonzalez. Other standouts on Paul
Olsen’s men’s squad included Micah Kelsey, Joe
Mastrino, Jason Myers and Dillon Smith, who
won top CCIW honors in the 800 relay.
WRESTLING
Granell goes 4 for 4
Aaron Granell accomplished something that’s
only been done a dozen times before: graduate without ever
having to know what it feels like not to win a CCIW title. For
the fourth straight time, Granell took top honors in the 197 lb.
weight class at the conference meet, which the Vikings won for
the seventh straight year (36th time overall). Joining Granell on
the winner’s stand were sophomores Larry Amedio (141) and
Brian Daly (165) and first-year Ryan McMurray (149). Augustana
finished second at the NCAA regional meet, where Amedio,
Daly, senior Pat Healy (184) and sophomore Dan Stanton (125)
qualified for nationals. In four years at the helm, head coach
Pat Marsh has won four straight CCIW titles while coaching 15
individual champions and three All-Americans.WIMMING &
Aaron Granell
INDOOR TRACK & FIELD
Voiland earns All-American honors
First-year standout Meghan Voiland pole vaulted to the first
of two All-American laurels [see p. 10] with a fifth place finish
at the NCAA Division III national meet, clearing 11'51⁄4", one of
several highlights for this year’s indoor squad. Women’s coach
Fred Whiteside also saw sophomore Jodi Stanton set a new CCIW
meet record with a 41'7" shot put toss, adding to first-place
conference finishes by Jennifer Smith Paul in the 800 and 1500.
Meanwhile, assistant men’s coach David Gonzalez ’03 spent
the winter working with Augustana’s throwers, and what thanks
did he get? Sophomore Tom McIntire pitched the 35 lb. weight
8 Augustana Magazine | Summer 2004

Softball coach Kris Kistler was named Coach of the Year in the Great Lakes region by
the National Fastpitch Coaches Association, capping a stellar 36-9 season in which the
Vikings played to third place in the NCAA Division III regional tourney. Kistler is now fivefor-five
in winning seasons at the College since inheriting a program which had just one
.500+ season in the previous eight. Her career record at Augustana is 142-73-2.
average with .341, while Nelson and junior Jorge Acosta led the
team in hits with 46 apiece.
DIVING
SWIMMING & DIVING
Milas, Simcock lead the way
Maura Milas’ year-early departure from Augustana
for dental school meant she only had three years
in which to etch her name in the record books.
She did so, earning Academic All-America honors
while finishing the season as the top pointscorer
for coach Gary Ackerson’s Vikings. On the
school’s all-time record lists, Milas is second in
the 50 free, third in the 100, and sixth in the 100
butterfly. Junior Kristin Beil now has the fourth
best 200 backstroke, while sophomore Michelle
Chao is sixth in the 100 free. On the men’s
side, Matt Simcock capped a stellar career with
school records in the 50 and 100 free, and 100
backstroke. He was also part of a 200 freestyle
relay team which nabbed third place at the CCIW
meet, joined by first-year Carl Jannusch and
juniors Ryan Kinslow and Troy Munson.
Spring Sports
BASEBALL
Wallace is winningest
Playing on the pristine Brunner Field at Swanson Stadium, the
Vikings made their coach, Greg Wallace, the winningest skipper
in College history, their 25-15 record giving Wallace a 200-97
mark and seven straight 20+ win efforts in as many tries. That
put Wallace past Barry Bilkey, under whom he played before
graduating in 1988. The Vikings were 15-4 at their new home
this season, the final win picked up by Jeremy Brunner on the
field which shares his family’s name. Seniors Jeff Boyer and
Chris Nelson were joined on the all-CCIW team by junior Derek
DeClerck, while junior Steve Broski was an Academic All-America
selection. Sophomore Bryan Phillips paced the team in batting
SOFTBALL
How ’bout them Vikings!
A 36-9 record, ten new school records, a first-ever CCIW title, a
strong showing at NCAA regionals and a slough of post-season
honors all add up to one of the most remarkable seasons in
Viking history. Head coach Kris
Greg Wallace
Kistler—CCIW and regional Coach of
the Year—finished her fifth season
with a team that ranked 15th in the
nation in a season-ending NCAA poll.
Junior Heidi Hallstrom gained her
third straight all-conference honors,
joined on the all-CCIW first team by
junior Leann Barber, senior Kristen
Cerone, first-year Samantha Knox
and ace pitcher Jilian Widick, whose
183 Ks, 0.85 E.R.A., and 20-4 record
also earned the junior a spot on the
all-region first team. Team records
fell for most hits (354), most homers
(15), lowest E.R.A. (0.99), victories
(36) and winning percentage (.800)
en route to a third place finish at the
NCAA Great Lakes Regional.
MEN’S TENNIS
Feehan named all-conference
Junior John Feehan fought his way
through a rugged number-one
singles season to earn a spot on the CCIW’s all-conference
team. Feehan finished with an 8-9 singles record, sending him
into his senior season with a mark of 31-26. He also notched a
9-8 record at number-one doubles with classmate Dan Rooney.
Under new head coach Brad Dietzel, the Vikings entered a
CCIW tournament which featured a new dual-meet team format
replacing the former flighted layout. The Vikings lost in the
opening round to hosting Wheaton by a margin of 6-1—first-year
Pete Sakash providing the lone point with a win at number-six
singles. That was followed by Augustana’s 7-0 blanking of North
Central, which helped secure a fifth place finish in the league.
WOMEN’S TRACK & FIELD
Four new records set
Two individual and two relay records fell as the Vikings of coach
Jillian Widick
9

Home, Sweet (new) Home After spending the past four decades as baseball nomads, playing home games in such disparate settings as
elementary schoolyards, public parks, and Davenport’s venerable John O’Donnell Stadium, the Vikings can once again enjoy a true home field advantage.
Thanks to the generosity of several benefactors, notably Duane Swanson ’61 and Kim ’71 and Donna Huber ’75 Brunner, the Vikings now play in comfort and
style on Brunner Field at the 250-seat Swanson Stadium. Located about one-half mile east of Trinity Medical Center along Moline’s John Deere Road, the
lighted ballpark boasts a center field wall 375 feet from home plate…which wasn’t quite far enough to trap a towering blast by junior Jorge Acosta, who gets
the credit for the first home run at the new facility. Earlier that same day in the field’s inaugural game, Derek DeClerck threw the first ball, then strike, then
strike-out against Monmouth College’s lead-off hitter.
Meghan Voiland
Fred Whiteside ran, leapt and threw their way to a second
place finish in the CCIW. First-year Meghan Voiland
earned her second All-American honors in pole vault
(the first coming in the indoor season) with a seventh
place finish at nationals, and her season-high clearance
of 12' at the Western Illinois Open bested the school
mark. Other record rewrites include senior Manda Geerts
in the 400 intermediate hurdles (1:03.85), the hurdle
shuttle relay team of first-years Trina Kainz and Theresa
Suwannapal, sophomore Laura Kendall and Voiland (1:
03.38), and the distance medley squad of sophomore
Karina Carson, Geerts, and seniors Jennifer Smith Paul
and Melanie Round (12:18.47). Geerts, Paul, Voiland and
senior Kim Nelson shared the team’s MVP award.
MEN’S TRACK & FIELD
Quartet of CCIW crowns
Head coach Paul Olsen capped his 36th track and field
season at Augustana in fine style, with four individual
conference champions and two steeplechasers running
off to nationals. Helping the Vikings to a second place
finish were sophomore Tom McIntire, who set a new
CCIW record in the hammer throw (159'8"), while senior
Ken Larson won the triple jump. Senior Jason Williams
won the 800, besting classmate Mike Bartlett by twohundredths
of a second. Junior Nick Johnson repeated
as 3000 steeplechase winner at conference, then took
ninth at nationals, followed less than six seconds later by
senior Randy Bill, who took 11th in the nation. Bill shared
Most Valuable Runner honors with Williams, while Larson
and McIntire were co-winners of the Most Valuable Field
Athlete award.
MEN’S GOLF
It’s in the hole!
Before it met Trent Martin, the CCIW championships had
never known a hole-in-one. But the first-year Martin
was more than happy to make the introductions on day
one of the tourney, which he followed by proceeding to
win the individual title after hanging on to a one-stroke
lead and carding a 148 as the Vikings of head coach
Grey Giovanine played to a second place finish in the
conference. Another first-year, Stuart Steenhoek, was
named the team’s MVP with the lowest average of 76.7,
and senior Mitch Heckencamp picked up all-conference
honors with a ninth place showing at the conference
tourney. The team’s best round of the year came at the
opening of its own Augustana Invitational in April with
a score of 288 on the hills of Highland Springs.
10 Augustana Magazine | Summer 2004