Induction Ceremony - February 21, 2009

Dan DeMent | Baseball (1996-1998)

“The guy who makes us go,” as Coach Rich Campbell described him, was destined for the Hall of Fame from the get-go.

⭐ Shortly after his arrival, the second baseman from upstate Frankfort, IL (Providence Catholic H.S.) stepped into the Warrior batter box and hit .395.

⭐ Hit .410 that spring, .408 overall (97-238) as a freshman; split-season totals as a sophomore (.467 Fall / .410 Spring) amounted to a .422 average (97-230).

⭐ The latter mark fell just shy of the Warrior single-season standard of .430, but his .415 career composite ranks as the best all-time and helped merit First-Team All-America distinction in 1998.

⭐ Consider: for teams which produced eight NCAA D-I signees and eight other four-year recruits, the go-to guy led RLC all four distinct seasons in runs scored (137 total) and triples (school-record 29); he led three of the four in hits, RBIs (125), average, games played (140) and at-bats.

⭐ As a soph, he was No. 1 in all but one offensive category, including home runs (10).

⭐ Other totals: 35 2B, 16 HR, 25 SB and 60 BB. Reduced Ks from 43 first year to 17.

⭐ Warriors were 39-19 Region XXIV champs – for the second time – advancing to Great Lakes District finals in ’97 and 33-17 in ’98.

⭐ Two-time All-Region, All-GRAC and team MVP starred at Alabama-Birmingham and played professionally eight seasons with Devil Rays and Nationals, advancing to Triple-A.

Angela Robinson | Softball (1995-1997)

Boasts the distinction of being the first (and only) RLC pitcher to win a game in the NJCAA Championship finals. That came May 16, 1996, when she allowed one earned run, struck out five and walked no one in 3-2, complete-game triumph over South Suburban (IL) in Women’s National Fast-Pitch Softball Tournament debut by Lady Warriors.

⭐ Set single-season mark for mound wins with 26 as freshman (10-2 Fall / 16-5 Spring), then topped that the following year with 29 (14-1 Fall, 1.33 ERA / 15-9 Spring, despite 1.13 ERA).

⭐ Departed with career records for wins (55-17), appearances (77), innings pitched (466), complete games (64) and shutouts (16). Finished No. 2 all-time with 1.44 ERA and 262 Ks.

⭐ One-half of dynamic pitching duo with Amanda Perjenski helped Coach Dave Ellingsworth’s team capture Region XXIV title and finish 46-21 in ’95-96 and 61-21 in ’96-97 (29-5 Fall). Teammates also included Hall-of-Famer Jaymie Cowell.

⭐ Other records included 34 CG, 42 appearances and 248 2/3 IP as soph. Fastball / riseball specialist allowed one base on balls every 10.4 innings, with 5.8:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

⭐ Johnston City product faced one over minimum in 13-strikeout, 8-0 no-hitter vs. SIC April 8, 1996.

⭐ Two-time All-GRAC, All-Region XXIV and All-Region Tourney.

⭐ All-MIAA pitcher for Central Missouri State University as a junior.

All below: Induction Ceremony - November 7, 2009

NJCAA National Fast-Pitch Qualifier and Region XXIV Softball Championship Team (1995-96)

Freshman-dominated team captured first Region XXIV title in dramatic fashion over perennial power Illinois Central and then won opening game in first-ever appearance in NJCAA National Fast-Pitch Championships in Hutchinson, KS, behind well-balanced lineup featuring First-Team All-America OF/IF Jaymie Cowell (Brazil, IN, Northview), Second-Team All-America CF Nicole Murray (Herrin) and fellow All-GRAC and All-Region Tournament Pitchers Angela Robinson (Johnston City) and Amanda Perjenski (Mt. Vernon).

⭐ After limiting all three Sectional foes to one run, the Lady Warriors were undefeated in Region XXIV play before dropping a 2-1 decision to defending champ/host ICC, winner of 10 of the last 11 Regionals. A six-run third inning led to a 9-2 RLC triumph in the double-elimination finale, however, as the clock approached midnight.

⭐ Coach Dave Ellingsworth’s squad wasted no time proving it belonged in the 16-team national finals, beating upstate South Suburban, 3-2, before losing to 33-3 Lakeland (OH), 4-2. Elimination (and ninth-place) came via a 6-5, extra-inning setback to 60-9 Indian Hills (IA), with the potential tying run stranded at third base in the bottom of the ninth. Cowell, who homered in the seventh to tie the game, was a collective 9-for-11, including three hits in all three games, three HR, four RS and three RBI. A sixth-inning sacrifice fly from Jaime Bernard (Wayne City) led to the 3-2 decision, RLC’s seventh one-run spring win; C Shanna Tolbert (Johnston City) added three hits in the 6-5 setback.

⭐ Lady Warriors were 15-8 in fall, but started off 4-6 in spring before winning 14 in a row and going 26-5 overall entering the NJCAA finals (31-13 Spring). Their 46-21 mark was an all-time record until most of the same freshmen returned to go 61-21 the next year (29-5 / 32-16).

⭐ Robinson finished the combined season 26-7; Robinson-Perjenski or vice-versa finished 1-2 in the record book in almost every pitching category.

⭐ Five players boasted batting averages of .300 or better – Cowell, .427; Murray, .354; Tolbert, .330; RF Kelley McCree (Herrin), .302, and Perjenski, .300. Cowell set single-season records for hits (95), doubles (24) and home runs (17, nine more than previous high). Cowell and Murray had 55 and 54 RBI, respectively.

⭐ PICTURED (L-R): Front, Assistant Coach Ronnie Ressel, Tolbert, McCree, Murray and Cowell; middle, Perjenski, C Gena Atchison (Sesser-Valier), SS Tanya Bird (Pinckneyville) and 3B Kimmy McNeal (Herrin); back, Region XXIV “Coach of Year” Ellingsworth, OF/D.H. Tamzen Montgomery (Marion), Assistant Coach Wayne Arnold, Robinson, OF Theresa Sumner (Pinckneyville) and Bernard.

Mike Breyman | Baseball (2000-2002)

If he were to be defined by nothing more than the prodigious home runs he hit as a Warrior sophomore, consider: the single-season record 18 dingers mashed by the left-handed OF/1B came in 50 spring games, half the number of combined fall/spring games for the previous standard-bearer 14 years before. He hit a homer every 7.56 official at-bats; more than a third of his hits during that team-high .390 season were round-trippers, and half were for extra-bases for a slugging percentage of .860 and .564 on-base rate.

⭐ But 6-2, 240-pound “Big Mike” was so much more. The NJCAA Second-Team All-America pick and two-time All-GRAC honoree led both springs in runs scored (89 total), RBI (84), walks (80) and average (.385 in ’01). Also led 34-25 squad as freshman with 66 hits and 21 doubles.

⭐ Described affectionately as “a big bull,” the Attica (OH) Seneca product made nine relief appearances as soph (1.50 ERA) for 30-20 team.

⭐ Last two years at Kentucky produced .315 and .326 averages, with 22 HR and 86 RBI, .412 OB%, .565 SLG%.

⭐ Called one of Frontier League’s “greats” when he retired at age 26 after five minor league seasons with Gateway Grizzlies on “Mike Breyman Day” in Sauget (career: .325 BA; league marks with 458 H, 312 RBI and 815 total bases, second with 82 HR; team marks in ’05 with 72 RBI, .365 BA, .432 OB%, .618 SLG%).

Todd Green | Track and Field (2001-2003)

To be honest, this Wayne City product was one of the biggest flops in the history of RLC athletics. So what is he doing in the RLC Sports Hall of Fame? The high-jumper perfected the Fosbury Flop technique well enough to soar a Warrior-record 6 feet 10.25 inches – 2.09 meters – and claim the 2003 NJCAA Indoor Track and Field Championship individual title.

⭐ Green arrived Fall 2001, a year after his graduation from high school, and placed fifth Indoors and third Outdoors. The following year, he made it four All-America Awards in four tries by finishing fifth Outdoors.

⭐ Thanks to his efforts, the Warriors finished runner-up for the first time as a team Indoors 2003 and seventh Outdoors, a best at the time.

⭐ Outdoors, Warrior P.R. was 6 feet 9.5 inches (2.07m) at the Alabama Relays as a soph. That was a school record until surpassed the following spring by Mike Petrone’s 6-10.75 (2.10m).

⭐ Won three Region XXIV titles.

⭐ After helping Junior High team to unexpected state title, the 6-foot-2 competitor jumped 6-8 (an inch higher than the large-school winner) as a senior to win 2000 IHSA Class A title.

⭐ Green returned to SIUC, where he first enrolled but was not eligible to compete, for last two seasons but was slowed by injuries.

⭐ All-time best of 7-2 accomplished at summer camp sponsored by ex- Salukis great Cameron Wright.

NJCAA Division II Men's Cross Country National Championship Team (2002-2003)

We repeat, “Twice is nice.” Rend Lake College was the NJCAA Division II National Champion for the second straight fall season. Ditto for individual winner Ian Hornabrook, the Warriors’ unassuming Australian import. Same goes for NJCAA “National Coach of the Year” Brent McLain. And the Warriors with Wings doubled their pleasure in a most convincing fashion, with the 90 points by runner-up Johnson County (KS) C.C. twice as many as that for the defending champs (45). Pre-meet favorite Paradise Valley C.C. (AZ) was third among 11 teams with 97 points.

⭐ The same team that became the first Southern Illinois Juco team in any sport to win a national title in Fall 2001 likewise became the first to repeat as newcomer Thomas McQuade (Barrie, Ontario, Canada) joined Hornabrook (Queensland) as First-Team All-America honorees by placing third overall, :14 off the winning time of 26:16. Three teammates were bunched in 17th, 18th and 23rd overall – gutty Sophomore Robert Duncan (Seipio, IN / Jennings County) in 28:14, Freshman Justin Crain (McLeansboro) in 28:16 and Freshman Chris Herren (Harrisburg) in 28:26. Freshman Travis Redden (Benton) did not figure in the scoring in 50th-place at 29:58. Both Duncan, who had to shed crutches and a walking cast while overcoming a late-season stress fracture for the second year in a row, and Crain received Honorable Mention recognition by placing among the top 15 American runners in the race. Crain was recognized as an Academic All-American in the spring.

⭐ “Last year was a great feeling, I can tell you that,” McLain said. “But this year provided even more of a sense of accomplishment. I really believe it was a lot more satisfying.” “Our strategy was to run as a pack the first two miles, so we could be stronger the last three miles, and that is exactly what they did. We were getting beat pretty bad at that point (two-mile), but by the three-mile point I was starting to get excited the way they were making up ground. By the fourth mile, I probably had a smile from ear to ear. By the fifth mile I was getting pretty emotional.”

⭐ The finals were run in the dry, dusty air of Levelland, TX, with 40-mile-per-hour winds testing the runners on November 9. Hornabrook outkicked runner-up Kevin Billington (Phoenix, AZ) in the final 100 meters, then savored the moment by easing through the victory tape to win by a second.

⭐ PICTURED (L-R): Crain, Redden, Kyle Jahns (Arnold, MO), Hornabrook, Duncan, Herren, McQuade and Coach McLain. Not shown, Volunteer Assistant Coach Roger Smith.

Ian Hornabrook | Cross Country & Track (2001-2003)

Call him “King Ian,” with good reason. Long before he officially earned the title as 2003 RLC Homecoming King – elected by his peers – the amazing Aussie (Queensland) had become the first Warrior to win an individual National Championship (Fall 2001 NJCAA Division II Cross-Country) and the first to win a second (Fall 2002 NJCAA D-II Cross-Country). More importantly, he led his team to the college’s first two NJCAA crowns in any sport.

⭐ All told, Hornabrook was a six-time All-America honoree individually and twice as a member of relay teams, including the first-place 2002 Indoor Track and Field DMR quartet. Also becomes the first to enter the Hall of Fame as an individual and as a member of two teams.

⭐ Other All-America credentials – Soph, second in Indoor 5000-Meter (14:52.47*) and Outdoor 3000M Steeplechase, third in Indoor Mile (4:14.04*), second with Outdoor 4x800M Relay; Freshman, third in Indoor Mile.

⭐ Claimed first title by :05 in 26:09 at East Lansing, MI; repeat came in 26:16 in Levelland, TX, to become eighth repeat winner in 43 years of D-I / D-II competition.

⭐ Other PRs – Outdoor, 800M (1:53.69), 1500M (3:49.22*), 5000M (14:40.53*), Steeple (9:17.44*), DMR (10:06.07*); Indoor, 800M (2:00.06), 1500M (3:59.83*), 3000M (8:34.52*).

⭐ 53rd in ’01 World Jr. X-C Championships.

⭐ Competed last two years for Florida State U. * RLC record.

Meredith Ramsey | Softball (1999-2001)

If it is true a person is known by the company he or she keeps, the Lady Warrior first sacker deserves all of the accolades – NJCAA Third-Team All-American in 2001 after hitting over .400 for the second spring, repeat All-GRAC and All-Region XXIV honors and now the fifth individual softball player to be inducted into the RLC Sports Hall.

⭐ She was a leader on talented teams that captured RLC’s second Great Rivers Athletic Conference title in a then-record 34-13 Spring 2000 season, advanced to Region Final Four and placed third both years and boasted four separate winning campaigns.

⭐ The company she kept in the record books immediately after her career concluded – Hits (166), second to Hall-of-Famer Jaymie Cowell; RBI (136), second, two shy of H-of-F April Long; Doubles (33), behind only Cowell and H-of-F Jennifer Calandrilla; Home Runs (9), tied for third. Ramsey also ranks high among season leaders, including the third- (71 as a soph) and fifth-best (65) RBI totals; tied for third with 95 H and fifth in 2B (20) in 2000-01.

⭐ Career .383 average (166-433) – 78 RS, six 3B and 38 BB – built on .435 freshman spring (44-101) and .415 the next (69-166), with 40 runs, 42 RBI and 22 extra-base hits the first combined fall/spring seasons and 5 HR and 49 RBI in Year Two.

⭐ West Frankfort product outstanding defensively, later played for U.T.-Martin.

NJCAA Division II Men's Cross Country National Championship Team (2003-2004)

There were tears of joy streaming from three-time “National Coach of the Year” Brent McLain both during and after the Fall 2003 NJCAA Division II Men’s Cross-Country National Championships at Rim Rock Farm near the Kansas University campus on November 8. “It was great to see all seven Rend Lake College guys running together like they did. The crowd was amazed. It was just an unbelievable feeling,” McLain admitted after his team’s third consecutive NJCAA D-II title.

⭐ Unable to crack a South African-Kenyan monopoly at the forefront, the Winged Warriors bunched seven runners between sixth-place overall finisher Rey Alvarez (Danville), second as far as team standings were concerned, and the No. 7 RLC finisher, 16th overall (12th team-wise) to run away with the championship. The 2003 National Champs finished with a team-best 23 points, thanks to Rey Alvarez in 25 minutes 50 seconds over the five-mile Lawrence, KS, layout in chilly, less-than-ideal conditions; seventh-place Justin Kunz (Lebanon) in 25:51 (third, team); ninth-place Tim Clark (Indianapolis, IN / Franklin Central H.S.) in 26:04 (fifth, team); 10th-place Ricardo Alvarez (Danville) in 26:06 (sixth, team), and 11th-place Thomas McQuade (Berrie, Ontario, Canada) in 26:15 (seventh, team). Close behind, but not figuring in the team total, were 15th place Justin Crain (McLeansboro) in 26:24 (11th, team) and 16th-place Jeremy Kunz (Lebanon) in 26:28 (12th, team).

⭐ McLain called it “the best race we have run all year. On a cold day – nasty, really – they just got themselves ready to run and went out and did it. It was something to see. We cried after we won. It was a great feeling.”

⭐ Paradise Valley C.C. (AZ) settled for second with 50 points behind fourth-place Kenyan Dan Kanyaruhuru, fourth overall. Lansing (MI) C.C. was third with 92. The top three spots all went to foreign athletes representing Cloud County C.C. (KS), but the team’s other competitors were nonexistent at the finish line, not unexpectedly. South African Marc Rodrigues was first in 25:12. The No. 1 American-born runner was Thomas Ruddy of Mott C.C. (MI) in fifth.

⭐ RLC Freshman Jason Phillips (Lafayette, IN, Jefferson) was third when the Warriors swept Region XXIV laurels with the top seven runners, minus McQuade.

⭐ PICTURED (L-R): Front, Justin Crain, Rey Alvarez, Ricardo Alvarez, Thomas McQuade and Coach Brent McLain; back, Tim Clark, Jeremy Kunz, Justin Kunz, Lucas Roethlisberger (Scheller / Nashville), Jason Phillips, Bryce Smith (Brazil, IN) and Chris Herren (Harrisburg).