Central adds three NCAA standouts to athletics hall of honor
PELLA—Three former student-athletes who shined on the national stage and even more brightly in their academic careers as well as now in their professions are the newest members of the Central College Athletics Hall of Honor.
An NCAA Division III women’s track and field heptathlon champion, Raegan Schultz Wagner ’04, will be inducted along with a pair of former men’s golfers, all-America honoree Tim White ’02 and Dr. William Spurbeck ‘87, a three-time NCAA Division III Championships participant.
A banquet for the honorees is set for 6:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 27 in the Harry and Bernice Vermeer Banquet Hall in the Graham Conference Center while the induction will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 28 in the Pacha Family Lobby within P.H. Kuyper Gymnasium. Both events are open to the public. Cost of the banquet is $25 and reservations are required. There is no admission charge for the induction ceremony. Contact the athletics department at 641-628-5226 for more information.
Established in 2002, Central’s hall of honor is intended to recognize those who were not only exceptional performers in the athletics arena as a student-athlete, coach or administrator, but who have distinguished themselves in life after graduation through service and leadership. To be eligible for consideration, a nominee must have graduated or served as a Central coach/administrator at least 15 years earlier. Current Central staff members are typically not considered. This year’s inductions will raise the hall’s membership level to 60.
A rotating nine-member selection committee includes alumni from four different eras (prior to 1980, 1980-89, 1990-99 and 2000-09) as well as four other alumni, along with athletics director Eric Van Kley.
Spurbeck a practicing pediatric surgeon, former league MVP—Spurbeck turned in one of the most dominant performances in Iowa Conference men’s golf history in 1987, winning the league title by a record 14 shots. He shattered the league scoring mark, finishing with a tourney record 6-under-par 68-70—138 at the Pheasant Ridge Golf Course in Cedar Falls. A two-time team MVP, Spurbeck was a member of four conference championship teams for the Dutch, who were in the midst of a 16-year league title string. He placed third individually in 1986 and tied for fourth in 1984, earning all-conference distinction three times. Spurbeck was with the squad for three NCAA Division III tournaments, helping the Dutch to their best-ever fifth-place national finish in 1985 before taking 12th and sixth, respectively, in 1986 and 1987. Twice he was named to the All-America Scholars team by the Golf Coaches Association of America.
Following graduation, Spurbeck received an optometry degree from the University of Houston College of Optometry in 1992, then returned to school to receive a medical degree from Texas Tech University in 1996. From 1996-2003 he completed general surgery residency training at the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center in Memphis, with a postdoctoral research fellowship at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital from 1999-2001. He was a fellow in pediatric surgery there and at LeBonheur Children’s Medical Center from 2003-05. He is board-certified in general surgery and pediatric surgery.
In 2005, Spurbeck was named a clinical assistant professor at the Texas Tech University Department of Surgery, also becoming pediatric surgery division chief in 2008. In 2018 Spurbeck joined El Paso Children’s Physician Specialists as surgery department chief and medical director.
Spurbeck has received several professional honors including two Harwell Wilson Surgical Society Resident Awards for Original Research. He has authored work published in numerous medical journals and made 16 research presentations.
A Waverly, Iowa native, Spurbeck is the third Waverly-Shell Rock High School graduate to join the hall of honor. He and his wife, Dr. Maria Victoria Spurbeck, live in El Paso and have three sons.
Wagner a national champ—Wagner received all-America distinction five times, capping her Central track and field career by setting an NCAA Division III record with 4,943 points in winning the 2004 heptathlon crown after finishing second in 2003 and third in 2002. She also placed sixth in the 2004 indoor 55-meter hurdles and in the 2002 javelin.
Wagner was an 18-time league placewinner, setting conference records in the heptathlon (4,717 points) and 100-meter hurdles (14.60 seconds). She set school records in the heptathlon and indoor 200-meter hurdles and helped set relay marks in the shuttle hurdles and indoor 4×200-meters and 4×400-meters.
A team co-captain in 2004, Wagner was Central’s MVP in 2002 and 2003. In 2004, she received an NCAA postgraduate scholarship and was a first-team CoSIDA Academic All-American. She was a two-time USCA Scholar All-American. She received the 2004 Central College Student-Athlete Award as the female student-athlete with the highest grade point average.
Wagner was also a three-time letterwinner in volleyball. She participated in two NCAA Division III tournaments and was a member of Central’s 2000 Division III championship squad as well as four conference title teams. She was a three-time academic all-conference honoree.
In 2004 Wagner was the NCAA Woman of the Year Award winner for the state of Iowa, representing the state’s colleges and universities at the awards presentation in Indianapolis. The award is based on excellence in academics, athletics and community leadership.
She served as a financing consultant with Principal Global Investors in Des Moines for 11 years. In 2015 she became a financial advisor at Morgan Stanley, with offices in Des Moines and Fort Dodge.
Wagner was involved in numerous service activities while on campus. Since 2008, she’s served as board member on the Iowa State 4-H Equine Advisory Committee. In 2009 she became an executive board member of the Iowa Associated Saddle Club. She’s also active with her church, Hope Ankeny, serving as an elementary Sunday school teacher.
Wagner has some unique family distinctions in the NCAA multi-event competitions. Her twin sister, Lindsay Schultz Janke ‘04, finished second in the Division III heptathlon behind Wagner in 2004. And Wagner’s husband, Peter Wagner ‘03, captured the NCAA decathlon crown for Central in 2001 and 2003.
A Barnum, Iowa native, Wagner now lives in Cambridge with Peter and their daughter Reese, and sons Nathan and Will.
White on University of Colorado faculty—The 2002 Iowa Conference men’s golf MVP, White later earned all-America distinction that year by finishing eighth at the NCAA Division III Championships.
A two-time team co-captain, White received Central’s Ryerson MVP Award in 2002 and posted the team’s low scoring average in 2001 and 2002. He was a member of three league championship squads at Central and finished second individually in 2001, carding a first-round 67, the school’s best-ever conference tourney score. White helped lead the Dutch to a 22nd-place NCAA team finish in 2001 and a tie for ninth place in 2002. He was a two-time Golf Coaches Association of America All-America Scholar.
White received a doctoral degree in philosophy in chemical and bioengineering from the University of Iowa in 2006. He received the school’s Karl Kammermeyer Research Award and Vetter Service Award and was named the Outstanding Graduate Student Mentor. In 2006, White joined the research staff at the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory in Dayton, Ohio, where he ultimately served as the lead of the structured optical materials and processes team.
In 2018, White was named the first Gallogly Professor of Engineering at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Recognized for his research of polymeric and liquid crystalline materials, he has published more than 150 research articles in peer-reviewed journals, including Science, and Nature. He received early career awards from the U.S. Air Force, the International Society for Optics and Physics (SPIE) and the Materials Research Society (MRS). White was recently honored with lectureships by Harvard University and the Royal Society of Chemistry.
Originally from Princeton, Illinois, White now lives near Boulder, Colorado with his wife Jaymie, a 2002 Central graduate, and children.
Central College Athletics Hall of Honor inductees
2002
Vern Den Herder football, men’s basketball
Dr. Camilla Ratering McCalmont women’s cross country, track and field
Ron Schipper football coach, athletics director
Dick Schultz baseball, men’s basketball, football
Richard “Babe” Tysseling baseball, men’s basketball, football, track and field; football coach; athletics director
Jeff Verhoef men’s basketball
2003
Dr. Richard Dykstra football
Gertrude Beintema athletics department office manager
Marcie Thurn Rohach track and field
Clarence Wilkins basketball
Brian Goldsworthy men’s golf
2004
Denise Boll women’s basketball
Dr. Kenneth Weller Central president
Dana Snoap women’s basketball
2005
Tom Stone football
Nancy Cisar Wright women’s track and field
Scot Storjohann football, wrestling
2006
Laurie Sutten Flynn softball, women’s basketball
Joe Jaspers men’s golf, basketball
Scott Lindell football
Lori Nolte women’s cross country, track and field
2007
Eldon Schulte.football, baseball, basketball, track and field
Lisa Broek women’s track and field
Rich Thomas football
2008
Bruce Heerema football, baseball, track and field
Harold De Bie men’s basketball
Christi Van Werden softball, women’s basketball
2009
Dick Bowzer football, men’s basketball, baseball, tennis, coach
Kim Doyle women’s golf
Mark Muyskens men’s cross country, men’s track and field
Jamie Mahnke Zyzda softball
2010
Jeff Blythe football
Gary Boeyink baseball, men’s basketball, coach
Emilie Hanson Brown women’s basketball
2011
Shannan Mattiace women’s tennis
Rich Kacmarynski football, coach
Kevin Sanger men’s track and field, football, coach
2012
Tim Hackel wrestling
Jon McGovern wrestling
Emily Grimes Rottinghaus softball
Jack Walvoord men’s basketball, coach
2013
John Bermel men’s golf
Mark Kacmarynski football
Brian O’Donnell football
Cindy (Kline) Olson women’s golf
2014
Megan Clayberg coach
Rick Sanger football, men’s track and field
Jeff Schneekloth men’s tennis
2015
Randy Busscher football, men’s track and field
Jason Christenson wrestling, coach
Chris Hulleman football
Abbie (Brown) Sogard volleyball, women’s basketball
2016
Candace Wilson DuRegger volleyball
Al Dorenkamp football, athletics director
Rick Perry, football, men’s basketball
2017
Donell Hotze Kvaal softball
Molly Parrott women’s basketball, softball
Angie Nielsen Sears volleyball
2018
Tony Brownlee men’s track and field, football
Libby Hysell Carlton softball
Andrew Paulsen men’s track and field, football
2019
Dr. William Spurbeck men’s golf
Raegan Schultz Wagner women’s track and field, volleyball
Tim White men’s golf
