By Doug Zaleski—
DELAWARE COUNTY, IN—The Delaware County Athletic Hall of Fame will induct 11 new members this month in its 2022 class.
Bill Bower, Allyson Morey Castine, Dane Cook, Tim Courtney, Lauren Kaminsky Dunham, Marc Foreman, Joe Gasser, Ryan Kerrigan, Chris Powers, Taylor Unroe and Morgan Wallen Wijay will be honored on July 23, 2022 in Cardinal Hall at the LA Pittenger Center at Ball State.
A reception will begin at 5:30 pm., the banquet is at 6 and induction will be at 7. Tickets can be purchased for $30 for adults and $20 for children through the Hall’s web site at delcohof.org.
GOLF TOURNAMENT
The 24th annual Hall of Fame golf tournament, sponsored by Pizza King, to help fund scholarships will be at 1 p.m. July 22 at Crestview Golf Club in Muncie. Four-player scramble team entries are $200 (individuals can be placed on a team for $50). For entry, contact Joey O’Connor (765-760-2830), Mike Bush (765-286-1640) or Jim Mansfield (765-284-9662).
SCHOLARSHIPS
The Delaware County Athletic Hall of Fame awarded five major academic scholarships this year. Wayne Bilby received the Francis Lafferty Hall of Fame Scholarship for $2,500, Ashtyn Zickgraf received the Hill Family Scholarship for $2,000, Ben Edwards received the Falls Memorial Scholarship for $1,000, Jack Mulkey received the DeBord Memorial Scholarship for $500, and Toby Abbott received the Cartwright Scholarship for $500.
Each year a Hall of Fame member or team is recognized for having brought honor to the group and community. This year’s honoree is Dick Falls, who was inducted in golf in 1985 and in 2021 was awarded the prestigious Lightbody Award.
The Delaware County Athletic Hall of Fame also annually awards two $300 scholarships, one to a boy and one to a girl, at each of the eight high schools in the county. Those honors were presented in May.
The 2022 Delaware County Athletic Hall of Fame class, plus the Lightbody Award honoree
BILL BOWER
Bower was a four-year varsity player on the Wes-Del boys basketball team. He graduated in 1989 with 12 letters in four varsity sports.
He was a freshman in 1985 when the Warriors won the Delaware County basketball tournament and a sectional title. He finished his career as the leading scorer in Wes-Del history with 1,063 points. He averaged 24.6 points per game as a senior, and led Delaware County in rebounding his final two seasons. Bower was selected to All-County and All-Mid-Eastern Conference teams his final two seasons.
Bower also excelled in golf as a four-year varsity player. He was sectional medalist in 1989 and was named All-County and All-MEC as a junior and senior. He graduated fourth in his class, and earned a degree in biology in 1993 at Indiana University.
Bower attained PGA membership in 1996 and has served as director of golf at Oxmoor Valley on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail in Alabama and also at the prestigious Bonita Bay Club in Florida. He currently is vice president for Troon, a golf management company. He and his wife, Heather, live in Naples, Fla., and have two children, Claire (22) and Luke (18), and he has a stepson, Caleb (23)
ALLYSON MOREY CASTINE
Castine won county volleyball championships in junior high at Yorktown, then became a stellar part of four state championship teams at Burris. She was named All-State and All-American during her senior season with the Owls. She was featured in the Sports Illustrated Faces in the Crowd section in December 2009.
She went on to star at the University of Dayton, where the Flyers won three Atlantic-10 Conference championships and participated in three NCAA Tournaments. Castine set the record for most aces in a match and most aces in a conference tournament at Dayton.
Castine is married to Jonathan Castine and they live in Livonia, Mich.
DANE COOK
Cook was a fixture in the Delta football lineup, beginning when he started every game as a freshman in 2002, and ending with his senior season in 2005 that led to a scholarship to play at Ball State.
He played safety for the Eagles, helping them to an 8-2 record and a state ranking during most of the 2002 season. Cook earned All-State recognition as a sophomore, and as a junior helped anchor an Eagles defense that allowed just 8.7 points per game and was unbeaten in the regular season. Delta won its first sectional title in five years when Cook was a senior, and he also rushed for 1,000 yards. He was picked All-State as a defensive back.
The Eagles had a 37-8 record during Cook’s four seasons and registered nearly 300 tackles with 12 interceptions. He also won the 100 dash as a senior in the track sectional, and helped Delta win the county track title as a freshman. He went on to play four seasons of football at Ball State, where he contributed to two Mid-American Conference West championships and two bowl appearances for the Cardinals.
Cook participated in ROTC at Ball State, and in 2012 was commissioned as an infantry officer. He continues to serve as a company commander in Fort Wayne with the rank of captain. He and his wife, Erica, live in Delaware County. Cook is an agent with Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance and coaches middle school football at Delta.
TIM COURTNEY
Courtney was a champion swimmer at Northside High School, where he qualified for more state championship appearances than any athlete from Muncie. His pool records at Northside remained in effect when the school closed as a high school in 1988.
As a senior in 1980, Courtney went to state in the 50 freestyle, 100 backstroke and 200 medley relay. He bettered the state record with a time of 53.861 in the 100 back but finished second in the event. His 200 medley team won the 1980 state title.
Courtney signed to swim at North Carolina State, where he contributed to two ACC championships for the Wolfpack. After an injury, he transferred to Indiana University and earned degrees in business and advertising.
He has been a sales associate in healthcare technology for 38 years. He married Lisa Kambich in 1991, and the couple has two children, Christian (25) and Celeste (22). They live in Lincolnshire, Ill.
LAUREN KAMINSKY DUNHAM
Dunham was a four-time state champion in volleyball while starring at Burris during the 2002-05 high school seasons. She was All-State, All-Mid-Eastern Conference and team captain during her junior and senior seasons. The Owls during her junior season were named national champion by prepvolleyball.com. She also won the State Farm Mental Attitude Award at the 2005 IHSAA state finals.
Dunham earned a scholarship to play volleyball at Xavier University, where she competed for four seasons. She ranked in the top 10 all time at the school in digs and sets played. She helped the Musketeers reach the NCAA Tournament in 2007, and was on the Atlantic-10 commissioners honor roll all eight semesters of her career.
She also competed in track at Burris, earning four varsity letters and winning MEC championships in the 100 and 200 dashes and long jump. Dunham was the Owls’ MVP/outstanding runner each of her final three seasons. She is married to Matthew Dunham and has a 1-year-old child (Francis).
MARC FOREMAN
Foreman received All-American honors in 1990 when he won a state wrestling championship at Southside High School. His performance helped the Rebels win the 1990 Indiana high school state championship.
He qualified for the IHSAA state finals three times, and also won three sectional titles, two regionals and two semistates as well as three Olympic Conference championships. Foreman ranks 10th on the Southside career wins list with a record of 116-16-1. He finished fifth in the National High School Wrestling Tournament in 1990 and earned All-American status. He also was a state runner-up in judo in 1994.
Foreman was an assistant coach at Wapahani 1992-93 and assisted at Delta 2014-20. He lives in Muncie and has two children, Danielle (25) and Grady (20).
JOE GASSER
Gasser competed in several sports as a youth but turned his focus to golf and basketball entering high school at Yorktown. He lettered three years in basketball but his best accomplishments occurred on the golf course for the Tigers.
He lettered four years in golf and was the team MVP three times. Gasser helped the Tigers win the sectional three times and enjoyed regional success, too. He played in the IHSAA state tournament three times with a personal best finish of a tie for seventh place. He won 10 individual tournament championships in high school, including the Delaware County tourney title twice. He compiled a 74.5 stroke average in high school, with a top mark of 72.8 as a senior.
Gasser competed in national events as a junior player and also played in the Indiana Amateur four times and the Indiana Open twice. After graduating from Yorktown in 2009, he played collegiately at Ball State four years and averaged 74.36 with three top 10 finishes as a senior. Gasser is a 6th grade social studies teacher at Creekside Middle School in Carmel, Ind., and recently became engaged to Michell Mezzanotte.
RYAN KERRIGAN
Kerrigan was a three-year football standout at Central High School. The 2006 graduate was a two-time All-State selection and was Indiana’s Defensive Lineman of the Year in Mr. Football voting. He led the state in sacks with 19. As a tight end, he caught 67 passes for 1,232 yards his final two seasons.
He received a scholarship to play at Purdue and found huge success with the Boilermakers. Kerrigan won the team’s Pitbull Award and was the defensive MVP as a junior. During his senior season he was team co-captain, defensive MVP, Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and Defensive Lineman of the Year, and Purdue’s first unanimous All American since 1980. He also was runner-up for the Ted Hendricks Award as the nation’s top defensive end, led the nation in tackles for loss with 26 and was third in the country in sacks with 12.5. In 2011, he was selected in the first round of the NFL draft, No. 16 overall, by Washington.
Kerrigan has enjoyed a stellar career in the NFL after becoming a starting outside linebacker in Washington. He is the team’s all-time leader in sacks with 95.5, and is the all-time leader in the NFL for consecutive starts by a left outside linebacker. Kerrigan was a member of the NFL’s All-Rookie team in 2011 and has been selected for four Pro Bowls. All three of his career interceptions have been returned for touchdowns. In 2013, he formed Ryan Kerrigan’s Blitz for the Better Foundation to provide opportunities, support and resources to children and families in need in the Greater Washington D.C. area.
Kerrigan played his first 10 seasons in Washington and the 2021 season in Philadelphia. He is currently a free agent. He and his wife Jessica have three daughters, Lincoln, Hayes and Carter.
CHRIS POWERS
Powers was one of the top distance runners to come out of Delaware County while setting numerous records at Central High School and across the state. He won the Robert S. Hinshaw Mental Attitude Award at the 1999 IHSAA state track and field meet.
At Central, he won five North Central Conference titles (2 in cross country, 3 in track), eight individual sectional crowns (2 in CC, 6 in track) and three individual regional titles (2 in CC, 1 in track). He earned five All-State honors (2 in CC, 3 in track). Powers set the freshman, junior and senior Bearcat cross country records and also the overall record with a time of 15:27. He eclipsed school marks in track in the 1,600 and 3,200 runs.
Powers continued his running career at Indiana University, where he qualified for the NCAA cross country and track national championships, earning two first-team All-American honors. In 2004, he received the Big Ten Medal of Honor as the top male athlete at IU. He graduated with honors from Indiana in 2004 with three majors: computer information systems, international business, and business management. His mother, Debbie, was inducted into the Delaware County Athletic Hall of Fame in 1986 as a coach/contributor.
TAYLOR UNROE
Unroe was a four-time Indiana high school state champion volleyball player at Burris from 2007-2010 and enjoyed enormous success at the University of Florida. She also won two national championships as a player in Munciana Volleyball.
After achieving four state titles with the Owls, her Florida teams compiled four straight seasons of at least 25 victories while winning two Southeastern Conference championships, earning two NCAA regional final appearances and getting four straight NCAA Tournament bids. The Gators were 110-19 overall and 70-6 in the SEC during her career. Unroe ranks second at the school in career digs, ninth in aces and fifth in sets played. In 2013, she was the first Florida player to be named SEC Libero of the Year.
Unroe began a career as an assistant volleyball coach in 2015 at George Mason, and had future stops at High Point University, Mississippi State and Memphis. She became the associate head coach and recruiting coordinator at Clemson in 2021.
MORGAN WALLEN WIJAY
Wijay was a three-sport athlete at Wes-Del and earned a scholarship to play volleyball at the University of Houston. She was a four-time MVP for the Warriors and was named All-State twice. She was a Fab 50 top national recruit.
At Houston, she finished second in season assists, third in career assists and seventh in career aces. She helped the Cougars reach the NCAA Tournament four times. Wijay also excelled in basketball and softball at Wes-Del, and was offered a basketball scholarship at Houston. She was a three-time All-Delaware County player in basketball for the Warriors, and was named All-County four times in softball. She was a member of the Delaware County softball championship team in 1995, the first one for Wes-Del.
Wijay also has coached several schools in California, winning numerous championships. She and husband, Indi, moved to Los Angeles in 2008 and formed Supernova All Stars, one of the largest volleyball clubs in Southern California. They have two children, Indiana (17) and London (16).
MIKE BUSH (LIGHTBODY AWARD RECIPIENT)
Bush, the president of the Delaware County Athletic Hall of Fame, has been selected for the Lightbody Award. The honor is bestowed upon an individual by the Delaware County Sports Heritage Foundation. It recognizes the contributions of an individual who has excelled in the participation, support or promotion of athletics in Muncie and Delaware County.
Bush played football, basketball and baseball at Southside High School, winning nine letters. He coached baseball 1978-85 at Wes-Del, was basketball coach for the Warriors from 1985-88, and also coached boys golf 1985-91, and started the girls golf program in 1989.
Bush became athletic director at Central High School in 1991, moved to Jay County Schools as Technology Director, returned to Wes-Del in 1995 to become Curriculum/Technology Coordinator, and later became Superintendent of Wes-Del, where he retired in 2018. He has been an official with the Delaware County Athletic Hall of Fame since 1989.
He credits most of his success to his wife and family. His wife, Stella, was the consummate athlete and coach’s wife. She attended almost all of his games and spent hours in the bleachers watching other people’s children participate, and has been supportive of his work with the Hall of Fame.
