Induction Program
Photo Gallery
Carthage College inducted six outstanding athletes, along with current Carthage President F. Gregory Campbell into its athletic hall of fame on Oct. 21, 2011. The six athletic inductees were baseball first baseman Mark Beyer (Menasha, Wis.), women's track and field sprinters Almoug “Muffy” Israel-Thomas (Bolingbrook, Ill./Romeoville) and Shea'na Grigsby (Minneapolis, Minn./Breck), women's tennis player Kelly Mikkila (Waukegan, Ill./Gurnee-Warren Township), men's tennis player Dane Schmidgall (Peoria, Ill./Richwoods) and football running back Dante Washington (Glendale Heights, Ill./Glen Ellyn-Glenbard West).
The induction and recognition ceremonies took place at a banquet at Carthage's Todd Wehr Center. Details follow below on each of the inductees' Carthage athletic highlights.
Mark Beyer, 1996
A native of Menasha, Wis., Mark Beyer was named American Baseball Coaches Association first-team All-American first baseman and CCIW “Baseball Player of the Year” in 1996 with a .411 batting average, 20 home runs (first in NCAA Division III) and 61 RBI. He earned first-team All-CCIW honors in 1993, 1994 and 1996, He is ranked seventh on Carthage's career batting list (.378), second in RBI (207), second in bases on balls (103), third in on-base percentage (.462), fourth in base hits (238), fourth in home runs (39), fourth in slugging percentage (.657), sixth in doubles (54) and tied for seventh in runs scored (164). Beyer tied a CCIW season record with 12 home runs in conference play in 1996.
F. Gregory Campbell
F. Gregory Campbell is the 18th president of Carthage. Since his arrival in August 1987, full-time student enrollment has grown from 800 to 2,500, and total enrollment now exceeds 3,400 students. In 2011, nearly 7,000 high school seniors applied for 720 positions in the freshman class.
Mr. Campbell came to Carthage from The University of Chicago, where he had been special assistant to the president, secretary of the Board of Trustees, and senior lecturer. Before his time at Carthage, Mr. Campbell held administrative and/or faculty positions at Yale University and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
One of Mr. Campbell's legacies surely will be the transformation of the Carthage athletic program into a nationally-recognized leader. Since 1987, Carthage has constructed four major athletic facilities, including the Carthage Softball Field in 1997, the Smeds Tennis Center in 1999, the N.E. Tarble Athletic and Recreation Center in 2000 and Tarble Arena in 2009. The new Student Union, opened in 2011, includes permanent seating for Carthage fans at Art Keller Field and a new press box. Upcoming projects include renovation of the Carthage Baseball Field and the Carthage Softball Field.
Mr. Campbell has also overseen a dramatic increases in the number of students participating in varsity and intramural athletics, along with a growth in coaching and athletic staff to support these activities.
Nearly 30 percent of Carthage undergraduates participate in athletics, with more than 700 students involved in 24 NCAA intercollegiate sports. Seven sports have been added during Mr. Campbell's tenure: men's and women's soccer, women's golf, men's volleyball, women's water polo and both men's and women's lacrosse.
These advances have led directly to Carthage's ascent into the upper tier of NCAA Division III athletics. Since 1987, the Red Men or the Lady Reds have won 66 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin titles and placed in the top-eight in nation 20 times.
Almoug “Muffy” Israel-Thomas, 2005
A Bolingbrook, Ill., native, Almoug “Muffy” Israel-Thomas earned NCAA All-America citations in 17 events over her four-year career. As a freshman in 2002, she won the NCAA Division III national title in the outdoor 100-meter dash, while finishing fifth in the 200-meter dash, seventh as part of a 400-meter relay team, fifth in the indoor 55-meter dash and fourth on the indoor 1,600-meter relay team. In 2003,she was third in the 100-meter dash, eighth in the 200-meter dash, a member of a national-championship 400-meter relay team, fourth in the indoor 55-meter dash and fifth as a member of the indoor 1,600-meter relay team. In 2004, Israel-Thomas was the national runner-up in the 100-meter dash while finishing fifth in the 200-meter dash, seventh as part of a 400-meter relay team and second in the indoor 55-meter dash. As a senior in 2005, she finished fifth in the 100-meter dash, second as a member of the 400-meter relay team and fifth in the indoor 55-meter dash. Israel-Thomas won 16 individual CCIW titles, including four-straight titles in the outdoor 100-meter dash, four-straight titles in the outdoor 200-meter dash, four titles in the indoor 55-meter dash and three indoor titles in the 200-meter dash. She was named the “most valuable performer” at the 2005 CCIW Indoor Track and Field Championship.
Shea'na Grigsby, 2006
A native of Minneapolis, Minn., Shea'na Grigsby won eight national championships over her four-year career, including three-straight titles in the outdoor 100-meter high hurdles from 2004 to 2006, three-consecutive titles in the indoor 55-meter high hurdles from 2004 to 2006 and the 2006 title in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles. Grigsby was also part of a national-championship 400-meter relay team in 2003. She earned 17 NCAA All-America citations, 12 outdoors and five indoors. Grigsby was named United States Track Coaches Association “NCAA Division III Women's Outdoor Performer of the Year” in 2004 and named CCIW Outdoor Track and Field Championship MVP in 2003, 2005 and 2006. She won 11 individual CCIW titles, including four-straight titles in the outdoor 100-meter high hurdles, four-straight in the outdoor 400-meter intermediate hurdles and three-straight titles in the indoor 55-meter high hurdles.
Kelly (Mikkila) Schmidgall, 2005
A Waukegan, Ill., native, Kelly (Mikkila) Schmidgall was named the CCIW's “Most Outstanding Women's Tennis Player” three times by winning the league's number-one singles championship in 2001-02, 2002-03 and 2003-04. Schmidgall was named Intercollegiate Tennis Association All-America in both singles and doubles in 2004-05. In her senior year, she was ranked 12th in the final Intercollegiate Tennis Association's NCAA Division III singles listings and third in doubles. Schmidgall is ranked second on the Carthage career singles wins list (95), fifth in winning percentage (.792) and tied for second in career doubles wins.
Dane Schmidgall, 2005
A native of Peoria, Ill., Dane Schmidgall was named Intercollegiate Tennis Association All-America in both 2004 and 2005. Schmidgall was named CCIW “Men's Tennis Player of the Year” three-straight seasons from 2003 to 2005 and advanced to the singles quarterfinals at the 2004 NCAA Division III Men's Tennis Singles/Doubles Championship. In his senior year, Schmidgall was ranked 10th in the final Intercollegiate Tennis Association's NCAA Division III singles listings and eighth in doubles. He is ranked ninth in Carthage career singles wins (66) and fifth in winning percentage (.825).
Dante Washington, 2005
A Glendale Heights, Ill., native, running back Dante Washington was named “D3football.com” third-team All-America and first-team All-CCIW in both 2003 and 2004, College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) second-team All-America in 2003 and received the CCIW's Art Keller Award in 2004 as the league's “most valuable offensive player.” In 2004, Washington set an NCAA Division III season record with 463 rushing attempts and set an NCAA Division III Football Championship record with 56 rushing attempts versus Alma College. He set both Carthage and CCIW single-game records with 57 rushing attempts against Wheaton College (Ill.) on Oct. 30, 2004, falling one carry short of matching an NCAA Division III mark of 58 carries. Washington set Carthage season records in 2004 with 1,990 rushing yards and 2,036 total offensive yards. He also lettered four times on the track and field team as a hurdler and jumper.
