GUNNISON, Colo. – Three individuals and one team will enter the as the 24th class inducted into the Mountaineer Sports Hall of Fame this fall. The highest distinction awarded by Western State Colorado University Athletics, these inductees will be placed into the MSHOF at the annual banquet and ceremony on Sept. 14 in the Mountaineer Field House on Western's Campus.
The 2018 MSHOF Class includes the 1966-68 men's swimming and diving teams, football coach Casey Coons, football player Ted Wayne Stites and distance runner Sheila Winegardner (Barrett).
The induction ceremony will take place at the Mountaineer Field House in Gunnison. The social hour begins at 5:30 p.m. with the banquet at 7 p.m. The ceremony will begin after the banquet and presentation of citation winners of current Mountaineer coaches and student-athletes from the 2017-18 year.
1966-68 Men's Swimming & Diving Team
The 1966-67 and 1967-68 seasons were some of the most memorable in Western men's swimming and diving history.
The program was started just three years prior, but eventually led to a Rocky Mountain Faculty Athletic Conference League Championship in 1967. During the conference meet, the Mountaineers set seven conference records out of 17 events at the meet under coach Tom Muhic.
That same year, three Mountaineers competed at the NCAA College Division Championships in Long Beach, California. Those swimmers scored 38.5 points, finished 14
th as a team, and took home five All-American honors.
Angel Kalehuawehe finished eighth in the 100-yard butterfly, while Nelson Shibasaki placed second in both the 200-yard and 100-yard backstroke. James Leong placed eighth in the 1-meter dive and 12
th in the 3-meter competition.
"This unique group of young men came from very diverse backgrounds, yet came together and became a very cohesive team and a powerhouse, representing Western and the city of Gunnison in a very special way," Muhic said in his nomination letter.
The following season, 1967-68, Western placed second at the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Championships and qualified nine for the National Championships under new head coach Ric Hutterly.
At the NCAA College Division Nationals in 1968, the Mountaineers scored 50 points to secure a top-ten finish, placing ninth.
Five Mountaineers recorded seven All-American honors that season. Kalehuawehe earned his second career All-American honor in the 100-yard butterfly, finishing seventh. Leong also earned another All-American title, placing 12
th in the 1-meter diving competition. Fellow Western diver Rick Bunger placed 12th, also earning All-American honors in the 1-meter dive.
Freshman Ron Koch earned two All-American honors for the Mountaineers. His first came in the 200-yard medley, where he finished 12
th. Koch then placed third in the 400-yard medley.
Shibasaki earned another All-American title in the 100-yard backstroke, with a fourth-place finish. In the 200-yard backstroke, Shibasaki became Western men's swimming and diving's first national champion. His time of 2:01 set a new NCAA College Division national record and qualified him for the NCAA University Division Championships and the Olympic Team Trials.
Along with their athletic merits, these men's swimming and diving teams offered a lot more to the campus and Gunnison community. The swimmers formulated the first campus group dedicated to multiculturalism, with the Hawaiian Club.
"In addition to being great swimmers, the Western swimming and diving men were outstanding people, and had a big influence on the student body of the college, making it much more cosmopolitan," Duane Vandenbushe said in his nomination letter. "They started a Hawaiian Club, taught Polynesian dancing and helped spread the word about the little school in the Rockies."
Casey Coons
Casey Coons came to Western in 1977 to play football from Lincoln High School in Denver, Colorado. At LHS, Coons participated in track and field and was an all-conference performer on the football field and on the wrestling mat.
As an offensive lineman for the Mountaineers, Coons was an All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Second Team selection and was named the 1980 RMAC Scholar Athlete. Coons also helped the Mountaineers to three conference titles and two NAIA Playoff appearances under Mountaineer Sports Hall of Fame coach Bill Noxon.
Coons graduated from Western in 1980, but stayed in the game of football through coaching.
After coaching stints at Black Hills State University and Western Oregon University, Coons made his way back to Gunnison as an offensive line coach and strength and conditioning coordinator for the Mountaineers in 1988 under Mountaineer Sports Hall of Fame coach Duke Iverson.
In 1991, Coons was promoted to Assistant Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator. That season, the Mountaineers went 10-2 and 7-0 in conference to win the first RMAC title since Coons was playing in 1979. The Mountaineers also made the NAIA Playoff semifinals that season, defeating Carson Newman University 38-21 in Gunnison.
Coons stayed at Western for the following three seasons, winning two more conference titles and making the NCAA Playoffs in both those championship seasons.
From 1991-94, the Mountaineers had a record of 35 wins and 10 losses.
"Coach Coons created a well-bonded defense and team mentality that focused on hard work, grit, and an unbreakable ideal that we always stood together, as a team," Brent Tollar said in his nomination letter. "The only thing that mattered was the name on the front of the jersey. The very foundation that I believe Mountaineer Football stands for comes from someone like Casey Coons."
Coons continued coaching and was head coach at Arvada West High School from 2002-11. His Arvada West teams made the 5A state semifinals four times and were 5A Academic State Champions twice.
Cons continues to teach at Arvada West and lives in Arvada with his wife Sarah.
Ted Wayne Stites
T.W. Stites came to Western in 1993 after graduating from Fowler High School in Fowler, Colorado earlier that spring. At FHS, Stites was twice named to the All-State First Team Defense, and in 1992 was named the 2A Player of the Year by the Rocky Mountain News.
Stites helped FHS football to runner-up finishes at state as a freshman and sophomore, but led the Grizzlies to undefeated state title campaigns as a junior and senior.
At Western, Stites played linebacker alongside Mountaineer Sports Hall of Fame inductee Shane Carwin. These two helped the Mountaineer defense become one of the most feared in the RMAC and the nation.
He was an All-RMAC First Team selection as a senior and a Second Team selection as a junior.
During his tenure at Western, Stites helped guide the Mountaineers to three RMAC titles and two NCAA Playoff appearances.
"T.W. was a great student of the game as well as a team leader," MSHOF Coach Duke Iverson said in his nomination letter. "T.W.'s senior season was a fitting climax to a great career with wins over UNC, who eventually won the national championship, the RMAC Championship and selection to play in the NCAA Division II National Playoffs."
While he helped his team towards titles, Stites' tackling ability left an indelible mark on the Western record book.
Stites recorded 384 tackles during his career, third most all-time in school history. The only two players with more, Josh Hotchkiss (504) and Pat Stewart (398), have also been inducted into the MSHOF. He also has the fifth most career tackles for a loss in school history with 39.
Stites recorded 22 tackles against Fort Hays State University in 1997, which ties for the most in a single game in program history. His five tackles for a loss against Colorado School of Mines in 1997 is tied for second most in a single game.
During the 1997 season, Stites' 155 tackles ranks second all-time, just ahead of his 154 tackles in 1996. He is also tied for the second most tackles for a loss in a season with 24 in 1997, and the seventh most sacks in a season with nine that same year.
Upon graduating from Western with a degree in business, Stites began a successful career in digital marketing analytics and currently resides in Evergreen, Colorado with his wife Kristi.
Sheila Winegardner (Barrett)
Sheila Winegardner (Barrett) moved from North Quincy, Massachusetts to Gunnison in 1983. Winegardner competed in both cross country and track & field between 1983 and 1988. During this period, Winegardner became a four-time All-American. In that regard, she was a pioneering female athlete at Western paving the way for a proud tradition of Mountaineer women's distance running.
While Winegardner accumulated three All-American performances in cross country, highlighted by a 12
th place finish, she was no stranger to the track either. She was an All-American at 10,000 meters and set the Western school record in the event during her career.
As the school record holder at 10,000 meters, Winegardner also impressed in the middle distances. She was the school record holder at 1,500 meters during her career – a unique combination in the distance running ranks.
In recounting her prowess on the track, MSHOF Coach Duane Vandenbusche described her as "one of the most versatile runners I ever coached."
Across her track & field career, Winegardner routinely scored in events ranging from the mile run to the 10,000 meters at the conference championships. Vandenbusche specified that in one conference championship alone, Winegardner scored in the Mile, 3,000 meters, 5,000 meters, and 10,000-meter events – an accomplishment that simultaneously speaks to her dedication, talent, and mental fortitude.
During her career at Western, Winegardner set multiple school records and helped her Western team begin a near decade of domination in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference as the team would win nine-of-10 outdoor track & field championships.
She also helped lead the Western women to a seventh place team finish at the 1986 NAIA cross country championships. The year prior at the NAIA Championships, Winegardner finished 19
th overall, giving her two top-20 finishes at the national championships.
Winegardner graduated from Western in 1988 with a degree in Elementary Education. She went on to a multi-decade-long career in education. She continues to work as a special education para-professional in the Grand Junction District 51 school district. Winegardner remains an active parishioner of St. Joseph Catholic Church.
