News - Lakeland College, Sheboygan WI

Lakeland College to induct three into Athletics Hall of Fame on Friday

Athletics - posted on 10/1/2012

Three Lakeland College athletes will be inducted into the college's Athletic Hall of Fame during Homecoming weekend.

Stacey Remington, a 1997 graduate, and a pair of 2002 graduates, Jill Dewane and Chris Thousand, will be inducted on Friday, Oct. 5, during the Hall of Fame Banquet. They will bring the membership in Lakeland's Hall of Fame to 145 members.

Lakeland will also honor the 2002 baseball team, which advanced to the NCAA Division III College World Series and finished fifth in the nation, and the 2001-02 women's basketball team, which won the Lake Michigan Conference regular season and tournament championships and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament.

The banquet is open to the community, but reservations are required. To reserve a seat, contact Karen Westley at (920) 565-1512.

Remington, a Green Bay native, finished her Lakeland athletic career with seven varsity letters in women's basketball, softball and cross country. She was named Lakeland Female Athlete of the Year in 1997 and was known for her outstanding work ethic and leadership.

She was named first team All-Lake Michigan Conference in both basketball and softball as a senior, and earned honorable mention honors in both as a junior. She led the softball team to the 1997 LMC Tournament title, leading the team with a .476 batting average and .670 slugging percentage. She was the team's starting catcher, and caught many of the top pitchers in the program's history.

She led the 1996-97 basketball team in assists and steals, and was among the conference's leaders in free throw percentage and assists.

She is still among career leaders in assists and steals in basketball and doubles, hits and runs in softball. After graduating, she served stints as the softball program's head coach and assistant coach, including helping guide the 1999 team to the LMC regular season title, for which she was named conference Coach of the Year.

She is currently continuous improvement coordinator and engagement coach at Kohler Co.

Dewane, a Denmark native, was one of the most decorated athletes in Lakeland history. She was a consensus first team All-American and finalist for the Josten's Division III National Player of the Year award, two of the many honors she earned in putting together a memorable basketball career.

She is Lakeland's all-time leading scorer in basketball with 2,154 points and the program's all-time steals leader with 252. She helped lead the 1995-96 team to a school-record 26 wins and the second round of the NCAA Tournament while finishing third in the country in scoring (23 points per game).

She was LMC Player of the Year three times and first team All-LMC all four years. The Muskies record during her four years was 96-14, including 45-3 in conference play with four regular season titles, three conference tournament titles and three NCAA Tournament appearances. She was named Lakeland Female Athlete of the Year as a junior and senior.

Thousand, a native of Barneveld, Wis., was a leader during Lakeland's storybook 2002 baseball season.

He smacked a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 10th inning to beat top-seeded UW-Stevens Point to win the NCAA Midwest Regional and propel the unheralded Muskies into their only appearance in the NCAA College World Series. Lakeland finished 34-16-1 and fifth in the country and was ranked No. 8 in the nation in the final Division III national poll.

Thousand was 2002 LMC Player of the Year, first team All-LMC as a junior and senior and honorable mention all-conference as a sophomore. The Muskies won the LMC regular season title his junior and senior seasons.

He closed out his playing career listed in 14 categories in the Lakeland record book and is still the school's career leader in games played (43), games started (40) and innings (253.2). He is second in strikeouts (175) and wins (18).

He served several seasons as a coach in the baseball program, including head coach from 2007-11. The 2010 team finished with 21 wins, the first 20-win season since 2005, and Thousand was named Northern Athletics Conference Coach of the Year. His teams hold several offensive records.

The Thousand family is closely connected to the college. His wife, Danielle, is a 2004 Lakeland graduate, and two sisters, Casey and Connie, both graduated from Lakeland. Casey is married to Steve Plucinski, one of Chris' former Lakeland teammates, and Connie is married to Mitch Heinemeyer, who played for Chris and was one of his assistant coaches.

Chris is currently working as a counselor in his hometown school district in Barneveld.