The UND Letterwinners Association will induct four individuals and two teams into the UND Athletic Hall of Fame this fall in its 34th annual Athletic Hall of Fame ceremonies.
The dinner and ceremony will be Sept. 13 during Potato Bowl weekend.
Individuals to be inducted this year are Colleen Chaske (1987-89 basketball), Scott Guldseth (1989-93 basketball), Craig Ludwig (1979-82 hockey) and Kris Presler (1988-91 wrestling).
Teams to be inducted include the 1934-35 men's basketball team and 1989-90 men's basketball team. Other honorees are longtime North Dakota high school and Lake Region State men's basketball coach Mark Graupe (Tom Clifford Award) and Al Pearson (honorary letterwinner).
This year's four inductees bring the total number of individuals in UND's Athletic Hall of Fame to 222. The two teams bring the number of teams to 28.
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The Sept. 13 banquet, sponsored by the UND Alumni Association and Foundation, will be held in the Alerus Center, with a social beginning at 6 p.m., and a dinner to follow at 6:45 p.m.
Tickets are $25 per person. To reserve tickets call (701) 777-4078 or register on-line at http://www.undalumni.org/ .
A capsule look at the honorees:
n Colleen Chaske (1987-89): A native of Devils Lake, Colleen Chaske, a 6-foot-5 center, was an all-North Central Conference player in both of her seasons as a member of the women's basketball team at UND (1987-88 and 1988-89). Her career field goal percentage of .584 is third-best all-time at UND, and Chaske is still tied for the school single-game record in both field goals made (16) and attempted (32). As a senior, Chaske scored 431 points (15.4 ppg) and had 229 rebounds (8.2 rpg) in 28 games. As a junior, Chaske scored 489 points (18.1 ppg) and had 255 rebounds (9.4 rpg) in 27 games. She transferred to UND from Lake Region State.
n Scott Guldseth (1989-93): A native of Edinburg, N.D., Scott Guldseth is the all-time leading scorer (2,190 career points) in UND men's basketball history. He also still ranks as UND's all-time career leader in field goals made (806), attempted (1,634) and steals (178). A 6-5 forward who averaged 17.4 points per game during his career, Guldseth was a two-time NABC All-America selection, earning third-team honors as a junior and first-team honors as a senior. He played on some of the greatest teams in Sioux history. UND went 103-28 in Guldseth's career. As a freshman and sophomore, he was a member of UND's 1990 and 1991 NCC champion and NCAA Division II Elite Eight teams. A three-time all-NCC selection, Guldseth also was the North Central Conference most valuable player in 1993.
n Craig Ludwig (1979-82): A native of Eagle River, Wis., Craig Ludwig came to UND as an un-recruited walk-on to the men's hockey team. He ended up as one of the most successful players in school history. In three seasons as a defenseman with the Sioux, the 6-3 Ludwig lettered every year and was a member of NCAA championship teams in 1980 and 1982 and WCHA championship teams in those same seasons. In 114 games at UND, Ludwig scored 10 goals and added 42 assists for 52 points. A third-round draft choice (61st overall) by the Montreal Canadiens in 1980, Ludwig left school after his junior season to sign an NHL contract with the Canadiens, for whom he played eight seasons. He also played one season with the New York Islanders, two with the Minnesota North Stars and, when Minnesota moved to Dallas, Ludwig played an additional six seasons with the Dallas Stars. During a 17-year NHL career, Ludwig played on two Stanley Cup championship teams, with Montreal in 1986 and with Dallas in 1999. Ludwig retired after the 1998-99 season.
n Kris Presler (1988-91): A native of Brooten, Minn., wrestler Kris Presler came to UND after graduating with highest honors from Willmar Community College in 1988. Presler was a two-time All-America selection at 142 pounds, finishing his UND career with an 89-34-3 record. At the time he graduated, he ranked seventh on UND's all-time wrestling victory list, and he shared UND's quickest fall mark of 17 seconds. As a senior, Presler was 34-9-1 and qualified for the NCAA Division II national tournament. A knee injury ended his dreams of a title, but he still finished eighth and earned All-America honors. Presler was 27-12-1 as a junior, when he finished second in the nation in his weight class. Presler finished his course work with a perfect 4.0 grade point average.
n 1989-90 men's basketball team: Coach Rich Glas was in his second season in 1989-90 and was coming off an 8-20 record and last-place conference finish. UND was looking for a big turnaround and the Sioux got just that, finishing 28-7 overall and 14-4 en route to the North Central Conference title, which was the school's 16th at that time. UND was undefeated (16-0) at home, the first of two consecutive undefeated home seasons for the Sioux. UND advanced to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight and finished third in the nation. Returnees from the 1988-89 season included junior center Dave Vonesh, senior guard Mike Boschee, senior forwards Solomon Ayinla and Jim Kerr, sophomore guard Matt Wilkie and several newcomers -- two North Dakota Mr. Basketball Award winners -- guard Ben Jacobson and center Chris Gardner, forward Dave Robertson and Steve McAndrew and junior college transfer guard Terry (Rico) Burkett. Also waiting in the wings was Scott Guldseth, North Dakota's 1988 Mr. Basketball, who had transferred to UND in January 1989 from Louisiana State. After finishing third in the NCC postseason tournament, UND beat Alaska Anchorage in the regional semifinals and then downed Metro State in the final. That put the Sioux in the Division II Elite Eight tournament in Springfield, Mass. UND defeated Jacksonville (Ala.) State in the first round before losing to eventual national champion Kentucky Wesleyan in the semifinals. In the third-place game, the Sioux topped Morehouse (Ga.) College.
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n 1934-35 men's basketball team: The 1934-35 UND men's basketball team was nearly all victorious, as coach Clem Letich's ninth team raced through to a 19-1 season record, losing only at the University of Nebraska (34-21). The Sioux won the first of four straight conference championships with a 9-0 record. They were undefeated at home (8-0) and 11-1 on the road. The starting five included senior Herman Witasek of Lankin at center, sophomores Bob Finnegan of Bismarck and Emmet Birk of Park River at the wings and senior Weston Booth of Grand Forks and junior Gordon Aamoth of Bismarck at the guard spots. Witasek averaged 11.6 points per game, and Finnegan and Birk each averaged 9.7 points per game. Those three ranked first, second and fourth in North Central Conference points totals. Witasek later went on to play with the Milwaukee-Oshkosh pro team that played in a league that was the forerunner of the NBA. UND played four games against NDAC (now NDSU) in 1934-35 and won all four.
