Minot State Athletic Hall-of-Fame additions
Minot State Athletics is honored to present its Hall of Fame Class of 2024, all of whom will be inducted this coming September during Homecoming.
Joining more than 200 current members of the Minot State Athletic Hall of Fame will be former star Beaver student-athletes in football player Bart Archdekin, women’s basketball player Jennifer (Sundahl) Becker, baseball player Joe Engler, cross country and track runner Nolan Taylor, and track & field jumper Tina Kirkpatrick, along with Special Achievement Award honoree Robert Sando, and the 1972-73 Beaver men’s wrestling team.
The Class of 2024 will be inducted into the Minot State Athletic Hall of Fame on Friday, September 13, in a special ceremony at 5 p.m. at the Sleep Inn located at 2400 10th St. SW in Minot. The Class of 2024 also will be special guests at the Minot State Homecoming parade on Saturday, September 14, starting at 11 a.m., and will be honored at halftime of the Beavers’ Homecoming game that day with kickoff scheduled for 2 p.m. against Northern State at First Western Bank Field at Herb Parker Stadium.
A four-year starter on the offensive line and a 2009 team captain, Archdekin was named to the Victory Sports All-American Team following the 2007 and 2008 seasons. The native of Calgary, Alberta who played for Minot State from 2006-09 was a three-time All-Dakota Athletic Conference (DAC) 1st Team performer for a Beaver football team that went 24-17 during his playing career, won the 2009 Dacotah Bank Bowl, 38-21 over Jamestown, and the 2009 DAC title to advance to the 2009 NAIA Playoffs.
Following his playing career with the Beavers, Archdekin signed with the British Columbia Lions in 2010 and with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2011 to play professional football in the Canadian Football League (CFL).
Becker, formerly Sundahl, was named an NAIA All-American as well as the DAC Most Valuable Senior in 2005-06, and the Co-Defensive Player of the Year that season with teammate Kendra Meyer. A two-time All-DAC performer who played from the 2002-03 season through the 2005-06 campaign, Sundahl is No. 4 all-time in Minot State women’s basketball history with 591 career rebounds, No. 6 all-time with 169 career steals, and tied for No. 9 playing in 114 career games. Her team-highs of 69 steals and 142 defensive rebounds during her senior season rank No. 7 and No. 9 all-time in Beaver single-season history, and she led Minot State in rebounding her junior season averaging 11.0 rebounds per game.
During her playing career, Minot State compiled a 67-56 record and twice qualified for the NAIA National Tournament, advancing to the NAIA quarterfinals in 2003-04. A product of Mohall High School, she graduated from Minot State with a bachelor’s degree in Business Finance and a minor in Accounting with a cumulative GPA of 3.4.
Engler, who played baseball for the Beavers from 2002-05, was named an NAIA All-American in 2004 and 2005, was twice named to the NAIA All-Region III team, and was a two-time 1st Team All-DAC performer.
During his career, which included a freshman season using wood bats, he hit .372 in 255 career at-bats and holds the No. 2 all-time single-season record at Minot State hitting .455 in 2005. He also drew 67 career walks.
Currently, Dr. Engler is an associate professor of Psychology at Gonzaga University.
Kirkpatrick, who competed in track and field from the 1998-99 season through the spring of 2001-02 is a 5-time NAIA All-American, earning the honor in the high jump at the 1999 NAIA Outdoor Championships as she was runner-up national champion, at the 2000 NAIA Indoor Championships where she finished fifth, and at the 2002 NAIA Outdoor Championships, where she again finished as runner-up national champion. In the triple jump, Kirkpatrick earned All-American honors as national runner-up champion at the 2001 NAIA Outdoor Championships, and she was 4th at the 2002 NAIA Outdoor Championships, competing in two events that spring.
A native of Bismarck, North Dakota, Kirkpatrick holds the all-time indoor Minot State records in the triple jump with a mark of 38 feet, 11.5 inches, and in the high jump clearing 5 feet, 8 inches. She also holds the Minot State all-time outdoor records in both events with a mark of 38 feet, 11 inches in the triple jump, and 5 feet, 8 inches in the high jump.
Taylor was a member of the Beavers’ 2002 and 2003 NAIA National Champion cross country teams and a 7-time All-American who competed for Minot State from the 1999-2000 season through the spring of the 2002-03 academic year.
In cross country, he finished 26th at the 2002 NAIA National Championships, which was third for the Beavers, and led Minot State finishing 12th at the 2003 NAIA National Championships, earning All-American honors both years for the Beaver National Championship teams.
In track and field, he was part of the Beavers’ 4th-place distance medley relay team at the 2003 NAIA Indoor Championships and individually finished 3rd in the 3,000 meters, earning All-American honors for both, and he finished 3rd in the 3,000-meter steeplechase to earn All-American honors at the 2003 NAIA Outdoor Championships.
Taylor finished as runner-up national champion and earned All-American honors at the 2004 NAIA Indoor Championships and was 5th in the 3,000 steeplechase at the 2004 NAIA Outdoor Championships, once again earning All-American honors.
Sando has been both a long-time supporter of Beaver Athletics, as well as playing an integral role as a Faculty Athletic Representative (FAR), as a conference representative, and assisting with a variety of gameday operations.
During his involvement with Minot State Athletics, he started the Winter Beaver Booster Party, and with the permission of then-MSU president Dr. Erik Shaar, started tailgating prior to Beaver football games. He also has served for 14 years on the Beaver Booster Board of Directors and was president for the 1991-92 year, he served a decade as the FAR at Minot State and as representative to the North Dakota College Athletic Conference (NDCAC) and DAC, helping form the DAC.
Along with his work with committees and as FAR, he coordinated funding for the Sertoma-funded walking and running path on the 3rd floor of the Minot State Dome, built the Minot State Athletic Christmas display at Sertoma’s annual Christmas light show in Oak Park, established a scholarship endowment for business students at MSU with preference given to student-athletes that has been award to more than 70 students to date, and has assisted Minot State coaches by driving vans, setting up for cross-country races, and serving as timer at track and field meets.
Sando has previously been honored with Minot State’s Alumni Association Golden Award (2003) and the Minot State University Distinguished Lifetime Educator Award (2006), along with the Burlington Northern Foundation Faculty Achievement Award (1985).
The final member of the Class of 2024 is the 1972-73 Minot State men’s wrestling team, a group of 14 student-athletes and their coach, Dean Bachmeier, who went 13-3 on the season in dual meets and claimed the North Dakota College Conference (NDCC) championship.
Members of the 1972-73 Beaver championship team include Ted Brinkman, Rich Christen, Tom Christen, Kevin Dougherty, Tom Dougherty, Dan Holwegner, Paul Jacob, Terry Mathson, Lowell Romfo, Milo Schmeichel, Nick Schmit, Dave Stuart, Ken Vetter, Iggy Weigel, and Coach Bachmeier.
Along with winning the NDCC championship, Ted Brinkman won the individual conference crown at 126 pounds, Ken Vetter won the 142-pound title, Dan Holwegner claimed the 150-pound crown, Terry Mathson won the 177-pound title, and Lowell Romfo won the 190-pound championship.