UW-La Crosse Announces Wall of Fame Inductions

NEWS RELEASE
Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
Matt Stanek * Sports Information Director * 780 Regent Street * Madison, WI 53715 * Phone: (608) 265-6406 * www.uwsa.edu/wiac/

RELEASED: Tuesday, October 11, 2005

UW-La Crosse Announces Wall of Fame Inductions

La Crosse, Wis.--Four University of Wisconsin-La Crosse student-athletes from the ’30s, ’50s, ’70s and ’80s and two long-time supporters of the athletic program will be inducted into the university’s Wall of Fame during Homecoming activities.

The athletes include: Ernest J. Gershon,1933-1937; Daniel Raymond Heinritz, 1973-1977; Mary (Kastelic) Miller, 1982-1986; and Annette (Stopka) Wimmler, 1954-1956. Gershon also coached gymnastics on campus from 1949-1966. Roger Bjorge and Jim Lund, owners of Crescent Printing in Onalaska, will receive the Gordon Merit Award.

The Wall of Fame pays tribute to former athletes and coaches for their exceptional ability and enhancement of school tradition. The Gordon Merit Award honors those who have actively supported athletic programs and activities. This year’s inductees will be honored during a brunch at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 16, in the Cleary Alumni & Friends Center.

Ernest J. Gershon
Ernest “Ernie” Gershon was a four-time letter-winning gymnast on campus before returning and carrying the program to new heights. Along with being on the gymnastics team, Gershon participated in a variety of intramural sports, drama and music. After earning a bachelor’s degree in 1937, he taught at Spooner (Wis.) High School and Maple Park School (Middletown, Ohio) before joining the Navy during World War II. When he got out of the military in 1946, he returned to campus where he taught in the physical education department until retiring in 1983. During that time, he’s credited with beginning the first post-WW II men’s gymnastics team on campus in 1948. He coached the team until 1966. His teams earned an NAIA district championship in 1965, four conference championships during the four years a conference title holder was named, 30 team championships and 145 individual titles. In 1982, the university’s gymnastics invitational was named in his honor. Gershon lives in La Crosse with his wife, Olive.

Daniel Raymond Heinritz
Dan Heinritz excelled at baseball at Appleton East High School in the early 1970s, earning three letters, along with three more in football and two in basketball. He brought that talent to La Crosse, where he played football his freshman year and lettered in baseball all four years, 1974-77. The team was conference champs his junior and senior years, and won the district title his senior year. Heinritz continued that success following graduation in 1977. He taught and coached at Appleton Xavier from 1978-1982 and was a supervisor at Artfaire from 1982-87 before returning to teach physical education and coach baseball at Appleton East. At East for 20 years, his overall record is 233 wins and 148 loses — which includes the 1996 state Division I championship, seven regional titles and six state appearances. He and his wife, Jill, live in Appleton. They have three children.

Mary (Kastelic) Miller
Mary Miller ran to numerous records and championships during her years on the cross country and track and field teams from 1982-86. Miller earned letters all four years on both teams. In 1983 and 1984, both teams brought home national titles. Miller also brought home an individual national championship in the 800 meters. The four-time All-American set seven school records and four conference records. Her senior year of college, she received the Mary Katherine Batten Teacher Education Scholarship, which paid tuition for the year. Miller was a physical education teacher and coach in Coulee Catholic Schools, La Crosse, from 1988-2005. She currently is an in-home child-care provider. Miller and her husband Tim, a custodian in the university’s Recreational Eagle Center, live in La Crosse. They have four children.

Annette (Stopka) Wimmler
Annette (Stopka) Wimmler was a successful gymnast on campus in a time before women competed competitively against those from other colleges. Instead, women met and competed in statewide meets. In 1956, UW-L hosted the Amateur Athletic Union Gymnastics Meet. Wimmler competed in all four main events — sidehorse vault, parallel bars, balance beam and floor exercise — and captured first place in each. Her coach was the men’s coach at the time, Ernie Gershon. A physical education major, Wimmler also participated in modern dance and Tumbling Club, which she served as the club’s president her junior year. Wimmler and her husband had five children. She died in Pensacola, Fla., in February 2003.

Roger Bjorge
Roger Bjorge has been an avid supporter of UW-L athletics for more than three decades. Bjorge, an owner and president of Crescent Printing Co. in Onalaska, has stepped up to the plate many times as a sponsor for athletic teams. As a Quarterback Club member, Bjorge served as president and on the board of directors for the football team booster club. He continues to coordinate bus trips to the team’s away games and works the food tent. With his support, Crescent Printing has donated design and production of programs and posters for numerous teams. Over the years, the company has also supported other campus printing projects, such as the Racquet student newspaper and programs from the International Student Banquet. Bjorge, who has been involved in many community projects, was honored as Riverfest Commodore in 1996. He and his wife, Kay, live in La Crosse. They have a son and a daughter who is deceased.

Jim Lund
If you’ve ever attended a UW-L football game during the past three decades, you probably saw Jim Lund. He’s one of the avid sideline photographers, continuously shooting film (most recently, digital cards) to get the perfect shot to run in an upcoming football program. Lund, an owner and vice president of Crescent Printing Co. in Onalaska, has been an important contributor to team publications — both as a contributing photographer and graphic designer. Many football programs he helped produce with the university’s Sports Information Department were not only appreciated by UW-L fans watching the game, but also received recognition in national competition. With Lund’s guidance, Crescent Printing has donated countless hours of design and production for a variety of printed materials for numerous teams. He and his wife Jean, a ’70 and ’75 graduate, live in Onalaska. They have a son and daughter.

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