Chico State Athletics

Chico State Director of Athletics Anita Barker is used to handing out plaques at the annual Chico State Athletic Hall of Fame banquet. Liz Belyea flipped the script Saturday night, inviting Barker to the stage to present her with a plaque.
 
Honored for her outstanding leadership and service over decades of coaching, teaching, and administration with the Mac Martin Award, Belyea wrapped up her speech by saying: "My experience at Chico State taught me how to teach others."
 
She then presented Barker with a plaque that reads: "Thank you to the faculty and staff at Chico State for providing me with the knowledge and skills to positively affect young people through sport. The dedication and effort of all of you is very much appreciated."

Her remarks amplified a common refrain from Saturday evening's ceremony at the Bell Memorial Union. Each of the nine Class of 2019 inductees, Belyea, and University President Dr. Gayle Hutchinson, spoke of how vital coaches, mentors, and parents were to their successes in life and as student-athletes. Some of the inductees shared that their Chico State coach filled more than one of those roles in their lives.
 
Tyler Cornell was overcome with emotion as he revealed his heartbreak over the fact that his father, who recently passed away, was not with him to celebrate his induction. His parents had spent many years as his biggest supporters. Cornell also credited men's soccer coach Mike O'Malley for helping him reach a level of play he did not know he could achieve.
 
David Fluker said that Chico State basketball coach Puck Smith was like a father to him and three times expressed his love for his coach.
 Lauren Himmelspach described the role her parents played pushing her to succeed and keeping her grounded at the same time. She then recounted a story of Chico State Athletics Hall of Famer Debbie Doman, then her fourth-grade basketball coach, teaching her how to shoot with a game called "piece of cake" that Himmelspach now utilizes while coaching the sixth-grade team at Durham Intermediate School.
 
Tyler Graff praised his single mother for the sacrifices she made and guidance she provided, and called Wildcats cross country coach Gary Towne a father figure, praising him for his patience.
 
Towne's patience was also a theme for Jen (James) Serna, who also thanked her mother for driving the car alongside her while she put in miles at night to avoid the summer heat.  

Chelesea Lundberg spoke of her parents' sacrifices that allowed her to pursue her passion for softball from the age of six, how their support and belief propelled her forward, and how she is now following their lead as a parent.
 
Mary Anne Ruedrich praised a half-dozen coaches and faculty members who gave the Chico State women of the late 1960s and early 1970s opportunities to compete as part of a team, which she described as the best part of being a student-athlete.
 
Brian Grover illustrated how his parents taught him the value of service, and described how his pitching coach at the time, current head baseball coach Dave Taylor, helped him fuse his various skills to become a First Team All-American and NCAA Champion.
 
Honorary Inductee Rocky Raquel, a mentor and friend to so many Chico State student-athletes over the years, received a standing ovation from the 1997 and 1999 baseball teams, who were honored at the ceremony.
 
It was a night in which many amazing memories were shared, and also a reminder that while Chico State student-athletes are working hard, competing, and creating memories, they are also discovering ways to move and live in the world—many times thanks to their coaches, mentors, and parents—that go on to impact those around them for the rest of their lives.  
 
CLASS OF 2019 INDUCTEES
Tyler Cornell: Soccer, 1996–99
One of 11 All-Americans in the storied history of the men's soccer program, Cornell led the Wildcats through a wildly successful start to the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) era. Cornell earned First Team All-West Region honors while leading the Wildcats to the postseason in 1989 and 1999—their first two seasons in the CCAA. One of eight in the program's history to earn two First Team All-West Region honors, Cornell ranks seventh in program history with 18 career assists.
 
Cornell and his family—wife, Jewels, and two sons, Legend and Rebel—live in Seal Beach. In 2016, they launched Global Blank, an online apparel company.


David Fluker: Basketball, 1990–91 & 1991–92
The 1991­­­–92 Northern California Athletic Conference (NCAC) Player of the Year, Fluker was a catalyst during some of the most successful seasons in the men's basketball program's history. After transferring to Chico State for the start of his junior season, Fluker led the NCAC in rebounding while helping lead the Wildcats to their first of four consecutive conference titles and their first NCAA Tournament appearance in a decade. As a senior, Fluker averaged 16.1 points, 8.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.8 steals per game while leading the Wildcats in points, rebounds, and blocked shots on the way to a 22-win campaign. Despite playing just two seasons, Fluker still ranks ninth in double-doubles, 12th in steals, and 14th in rebounds in school history.
 
Fluker has five children—David, Devin, Jas, Davion, and Dakota—and works at General Motors in Detroit.
 

Tyler Graff: Cross Country, 1999–01 & 2003; Track & Field, 2000–02 & 2004
Graff was present at the birth of the Chico State distance running program's dominance. In fact, he pushed the team to the start of many of its historic streaks. The first Wildcat to compete in four straight NCAA Cross Country Championships, Graff's 20th-place finish at the 2003 NCAA Championships led the team to its first of many NCAA Championship podium finishes. The 2003 All-American, West Region Championships runner-up, and CCAA Champion and Runner of the Year, Graff earned three All-West Region and All-CCAA honors. On the track, he was a two-time All-American, finishing fourth in the 10,000 meters and fifth in the 5,000 meters at the 2004 NCAA Championships, which marked his final races as a senior. A three-time CCAA 5,000-meter champion, Graff started a streak of 18 straight CCAA 5K titles for the Wildcats, which is still alive today.

After earning his teaching credential at Chico State, Graff has spent 15 years in education, first as an elementary school teacher, and after attending the Harvard Graduate School of Education, a principal. He is currently the assistant director of professional development for San Rafael City Schools.
 

Brian Grover: Baseball, 1999–2000
In the biggest moments, on the biggest stage, no relief pitcher in the history of Chico State baseball has shone brighter than Grover. The program's postseason record holder in single-season (5) and career (8) saves, Grover pitched the final four innings of the 1999 NCAA Championship title game to earn the biggest save in the program's history. He also pitched the final two innings of the team's West Region title game that season and earned First Team All-America, All-West Region, and All-Conference honors. One of only nine First Team All-Americans in the history of the program, Grover made 34 appearances in 67 games that season, fashioning a 4-1 record, nine saves, and a 2.56 ERA while posting the lowest walk ratio (0.90 per nine innings) and highest strikeout-to-walk ratio (9.43) in school history. He still holds both records. In 2000, Grover collected saves in both ends of a doubleheader sweep of Cal Poly Pomona to complete the Wildcats' run through the losers' bracket to win their first CCAA Championship Tournament title and finished that season with a 4-1 record and seven saves in 31 appearances in 57 games.
 
Grover currently resides in Hawaii with his wife, Jessica, and sons, Brooks and Bradley. He is the general manager of Chuck's Cellar, an acclaimed steakhouse in the Waikiki neighborhood of Honolulu.
 
Lauren Himmelspach: Basketball, 2004–05 & 2005–06
Himmelspach was at the center of perhaps the two greatest seasons in Chico State women's basketball history. After spending one year at Butte College and another at the University of Portland, Himmelspach transferred to Chico State and immediately made a momentous impact, leading the Wildcats to the NCAA Championship Tournament Sweet 16 for the first time in program history while setting school records—still standing today—in scoring (19.8 points per game) and steals (101). In the Wildcats' two NCAA Tournament victories, Himmelspach averaged 31.5 points and 5.5 steals per game, including a school-record-tying 37-point effort in their NCAA Tournament opener. As a senior, Himmelspach helped lead the Wildcats to their first NCAA Championship West Region title and the NCAA Championship Tournament Final Four as the team's sixth woman, earning All-CCAA honors. She ripped 68 steals, the eighth most in school history, and still ranks first among two-year players in program history in points (954) and steals (169).
 
Himmelspach is currently a senior account manager at Build.com and coaches sixth- and eighth-grade girls' basketball at Durham Intermediate School.
 

Chelsea Lundberg: Softball, 2005 & 2007–08
Throw a softball at the career batting records page in the Chico State Softball Media Guide and you are bound to hit Lundberg's name. In just three seasons with the Wildcats, Lundberg set school records in batting average, home runs, and slugging percentage. Her batting average record (.373) still stands. That is one of nine categories in which her name can still be found, including RBIs, hits, slugging percentage, doubles, home runs, and extra-base hits. A three-time All-Conference selection, Lundberg earned All-West Region honors in her first campaign as a Wildcat, leading the team in nearly every hitting category and into the NCAA Championship Tournament. She led the team in batting average, hits, and home runs in each of her three seasons.
 
Lundberg and her husband, former Chico State baseball player Kris Krise, have a daughter, Kennedy, and son, Keaton. They recently relocated to Rocklin where Lundberg works as an HR services manager at Oracle.
 

Mary Anne Ruedrich: Field Hockey, Basketball, and Track & Field, 1966–67 through 1970–71
If participating in three different sports for all five years seems like a lot, keep in mind that Ruedrich would have loved to have done more had the seasons not overlapped. Her mission, she recalls, was to play every sport possible. She certainly had the athleticism to do it. At the 1971 University convocation, Ruedrich was presented with the President's Outstanding Female Athlete and Scholastic Achievement awards. Even with the incomplete records from that era, we know that Ruedrich was a decorated student-athlete. On the track, she set numerous meet records and owned the program's long-jump record for several seasons. She set three meet records at the 1968 Chico State Women's Invitational in winning the 70-meter hurdles (10.6 seconds), long jump (16-feet-2.5), and as a member of the 440-meter relay team. One year later at the same meet, Ruedrich won the long jump, 80-meter hurdles, and anchored the winning 440-meter relay team in helping the Wildcats win, while matching fellow Hall-of-Famer Deanne Kurth for high-scoring individual honors. On the hardwood, Ruedrich helped lead the Wildcats to an unbeaten conference record in 1970–71 and the program's first ever conference title. According to former coach Fran Coslet, Ruedrich was a talented defender, thanks to her speed and quickness, and strong rebounder. "Her nose for the ball started many fast breaks," Coslet said.
 
Ruedrich and her partner, Susan, share the love and affection of their two Welsh Corgis at their Bay Area home. After many years as a landscape contractor, Ruedrich is now doing specialty pruning.
 

Jen (James) Serna: Cross Country, 2002–05; Track & Field, 2003–06
A five-time All-American and four-time CCAA Champion, Serna is best remembered for helping the Wildcats claim their first CCAA titles in both cross country and track and field. She earned three All-America honors in the steeplechase (finishing eighth at the NCAA Championships in 2004, third in 2005, and fifth in 2006) and won three CCAA titles on the track, winning the steeplechase in 2004 and 2005 and the 3,000 meters in 2006. She broke the school's steeplechase record as a sophomore in 2004 and held it until 2013. She still ranks fifth. Her win in the steeplechase and sixth-place finish in the 3,000 meters at that season's CCAA Championships helped lead the Wildcats to their first ever CCAA track and field title. On the trails, Serna is one of five two-time All-Americans in program history and the only one with two finishes of 26th or better at the NCAA Championships. The 2004 CCAA Champion and Runner of the Year, Serna helped lead the Wildcats to four top-six finishes at the NCAA Championships, three NCAA West Region titles (the first three in program history), and three CCAA titles (the first three in program history).
 
Serna and her husband, Eddie, who was also a member of the Wildcats' cross country program, have two children, Olivia and Mateo. After spending three years as an assistant coach with the cross country team and seven years working in the Office of the Registrar at Chico State, Serna spent seven more years working in education at various colleges. She now works in retail as a buyer and planner.
 

HONORARY INDUCTEE
Rocky Raquel
During his 32-year tenure in Chico State's Office of Admissions, perhaps no one touched the lives of more of the University's student-athletes than Raquel. As Admissions' main point of contact with the Athletics Department, Raquel helped guide thousands of student-athletes through the admissions process and developed many lifelong friendships with many student-athletes and coaches that continue today. During his tenure, Raquel served as the associate director of Admissions and the school relations officer in charge of general student recruitment prior to retiring after fall 2013.
 
A former member of the Chico Rugby Club, Raquel continues to serve former student-athletes as a member of the planning committee for the annual Chico State football reunion and served on the planning committee for the celebration of "50 years of Chico Rugby," held in October 2018.
 
Raquel has special relationships with many members of tonight's Hall of Fame Class, and in 1999, traveled with the baseball team to Montgomery, Alabama, and was on hand to witness and celebrate the team's NCAA Championship.
 
Raquel, and his wife, Joline, have been married for 29 years.


MAC MARTIN AWARD RECIPIENT
Liz Belyea
Belyea is the fifth winner of the Hall of Fame Committee's Mac Martin Award, reserved for a former Chico State student-athlete who has distinguished themself in their post-collegiate career. Belyea has distinguished herself by paving the way for others to succeed every step of the way, bringing honor to the University, community, and her vocation, just as Mac Martin did.
 
During her third year as a student-athlete on Chico State's Women's Soccer Club Team—a team she played a vital role in forming—Belyea was also the first president of the California Collegiate Women's Soccer Conference North Division and served in that position for five years. She also directed the Chico State Women's Intramural Sports Program, another way in which she played a critical role in the evolution of women's athletics at Chico State.
 
Belyea's influence grew far beyond Chico State. After earning her master's degree in 1980, she dove into coaching and directed teams at UC Santa Cruz, Wheaton College, the University of Rhode Island, and Cosumnes River Community College. During the 1982 season at UC Santa Cruz, Belyea became the first woman in the United States to coach a men's collegiate team.
 
Belyea was also a professor during many of those stops, and following her 10-year stint as the head coach at Cosumnes River, she was named the chair of the Physical Education, Health, and Athletics Department. She became dean of those three areas in 2007, and worked in that capacity until her retirement in the summer of 2016. While overseeing many upgrades to the facilities and coaching staff at Cosumnes River, Belyea is most proud of the work she did to inspire student-athletes to learn.
 
In 2005, Belyea was the first inductee in the California Community College Soccer Coaches Hall of Fame.
 
 
HONORED TEAMS
1997 NCAA Championship Baseball Team
The 1993 Chico State baseball team won seven games and finished 4-31 in conference play. Four years later, while playing in the last non-scholarship conference in Division II, a group of dirtbags (the most affectionate of all baseball descriptors) put the Chico State baseball program on the map for good.
 
That team went 52-11, won the program's first NCAA Championship West Region title, and went on to win the national title in walk-off fashion with two runs in the bottom of the ninth. The Wildcats' 13-12 win capped arguably the most improbable NCAA Baseball Championship run in history.
 
Team Roster:
  1 David Mallas
  3 Mike Koepp
  5 Brian Baisch
  9 Bryan Burchit
11 Bryan Lefevers
13 Rocko Moreno
14 Ryan Sasser
19 Tyrus Acoba
20 Mark Baker
21 Josh Osborn
22 Shane Howell
23 Doug Goff
25 Craig Tacla
26 Don McCormack
27 Brian Carlson
28 John Soldate
29 Ramon Jara
30 Jason Kicherer
31 Duane Dinnocente
35 John-Eric Hernandez
40 Richard Gregory
44 Oscar Hirschkorn
45 Jamie Harper
48 Orin Hirschkorn
51 Eric Christensen
52 Chris Devlin
Coaches/Staff:
Lindsay Meggs
Dave Taylor
Jason Bedrosian
Tim Brockway
Tom Wigton
Chris Smith
 
1999 NCAA Championship Baseball Team
This June marked the 20th anniversary of the Chico State baseball team's second NCAA title in three years. After dropping seven of its first 13 games that season, the Wildcats turned things around in a big way, winning 44 of their final 54 games. They claimed the program's first CCAA title in their first season in the conference, the program's third straight NCAA West Region crown, and then rolled through the Division II College World Series, winning four straight games by a combined score of 39-14.
 
Team Roster:
  1 Carlos Fletes
  3 George Pena
  5 Bao-nhan Vinh
  9 Shanin Veronie
11 Robb Rehfeld
13 Kirk Mayer
14 Matt Daisa
15 Mike Hartman
17 Steve Guerrero
19 Jason Freitas
20 Doug Thomas
21 Jimmy Stout
22 Dan Pierce
24 Jason Cly
25 Graig Merritt
26 Brian Grover
28 Luke Neel
30 Alex Carbajal
31 Gabe Foster
33 Luis Sanchez
34 Eric Bettger
35 John-Eric Hernandez
36 Casey Glynn
38 Dane Reckers
40 Christian Franco
42 Phil Derryman
44 Darren Lopez
48 Alec Adame
51 Jared Josephson
52 Derek Cordell
Coaches/Staff:
Lindsay Meggs
Dave Taylor
Tim Hairston
Mike McCormick
Tom Wigton
Gilbert Estrada
 
 
About the Chico State Athletic Hall of Fame
Established in 1985, the Chico State Athletic Hall of Fame's mission is to recognize and honor the outstanding achievements of its former students and the meritorious efforts of coaches, staff, alumni, and friends on behalf of the University's athletic department.
 
Induction to the Chico State Athletic Hall of Fame is based on an individual's varsity athletic accomplishments at Chico State. Each must meet the following criteria: completed at least two years with "unusual distinction" in one or more varsity intercollegiate programs, completed their collegiate athletic participation at Chico State, and completed their collegiate athletic eligibility at least 10 years prior to induction.
 
Honorary members of the Chico State Athletic Hall of Fame are individuals or teams that have contributed to the athletic department with distinction.