Oct. 28, 2011

Allendale, Mich. - Grand Valley State inducted six new members into its Athletic Hall of Fame Friday night (Oct. 28) at the Kirkhof Center on the campus of Grand Valley State. Tim Selgo, the Director of Athletics at Grand Valley State, presented the Hall of Fame Class of 2011 before a crowd of over 200. In addition to the Hall of Ceremony Friday night, the class of 2011 will be honored at halftime of the Grand Valley State-Michigan Tech homecoming football game.

The 2011 class includes, Amber Castonguay (Stevensville, Mich./Lakeshore), softball (1999-2002); Eric Cowles (Perry, Mich.), men's golf (1998-2001); Reggie Spearmon (Inkster, Mich./Westland John Glenn), football (1999-2002); Mirela Tutundzic (Wyoming, Mich./Rogers), women's soccer (2002-05); Matt Thornton (Centreville, Mich.) baseball (1996-98); and Jason VanElst (Middleville, Mich.), track & field (1999-2002). This year's class joins the 109 members previously inducted into the Hall of Fame. The first GVSU Athletics Hall of Fame class was inducted in 1986. Plaques honoring all inductees are on display at the Grand Valley State Fieldhouse Arena.

Following are thumbnail sketches of the 2011 inductees.

Amber Castonguay

Softball

Amber Castonguay ranks as one of the all-time great softball pitchers at Grand Valley State. Castonguay ranks in the Laker softball career and single-season record books 16 times in nine different categories. She is second all-time with 32 career shutouts, while her 476 strikeouts and 69 wins place her third and fourth, respectively, in GVSU history. Castonguay tossed 613 innings in her career, which featured 69 complete games, and tallied a 1.29 earned run average, all of which are sixth-best among Laker pitchers all-time. She won 22 games and hurled 10 shutouts in both 2000 and 2001, while also owning a 0.76 ERA in 2001. Castonguay is one of just two Laker pitchers to ever have 10 or more shutouts in a season twice. Her 179 strikeouts in 2000 is the sixth-most in a single-season. Amber notched a 69-16 career mark in the circle, while GVSU was 201-39-3 as a team during her career. GVSU appeared in four NCAA tournaments, captured one NCAA Midwest Regional crown and played in the 2002 NCAA DII National Championship game during her career. Castonguay was a Verizon DII Second-Team Academic All-American in 2002, while also earning Verizon Academic All-Region honors twice during her career. Amber capped her career by being awarded an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship in 2002.

Eric Cowles

Men's Golf

Eric Cowles finished his career as the most decorated Grand Valley State men's golfer. Cowles finished in the top-10 individually 25 times during his career, including 16 top-five tournament finishes. He took home medalist honors at the 1999 GLIAC Championships with a 54-hole score of 217 (+1) as GVSU also claimed its first-ever team title. In addition, Cowles also captured medalist honors at Northern Michigan in 2000 and Ferris State in 2001. Eric was a key figure in Grand Valley State's advancement to the NCAA Championship Tournament in 2000 where the Lakers finished 11th. Cowles then became the first Grand Valley State men's golfer to earn All-American honors in 2001 as awarded by Ping Golf.

Reggie Spearmon

Football

Reggie Spearmon closed his stellar career on the gridiron at Grand Valley State as one of the all-time greats to don a Laker uniform. Spearmon finished his career as the all-time leading rusher at GVSU with 3,847 yards, while ranking second in carries with 716. Reggie broke the 100-yard rushing mark 14 times in his career, a total that ranks third all-time, while his 288 career points scored is also third. Spearmon hit pay dirt 48 times during his career and his 42 rushing TD's is second in Laker annals. Reggie set the Laker single-season rushing mark in 2002 with 1,500 yards and 21 TD's on 291 carries. Spearmon eclipsed the 1,000-yard plateau in 2001 with 1,028 yards. His 3,985 career all-purpose yards ranks is seventh all-time. Spearmon was a Football Gazette First-Team All-American in 2002, while garnering second-team honors from D2Football.com and Daktronics. Reggie was a three-time All-GLIAC selection, earning first-team plaudits as a senior. Spearmon was a key figure in the Lakers' trip to the 2001 NCAA DII National Championship game and the school' s first-ever NCAA DII National Championship in 2002.

Mirela Tutundzic

Soccer

Mirela Tutundzic was at the forefront of a Laker soccer program that has become a perennial power nationally. Tutundzic, who finished her career as the all-time leader in every offensive category for the Lakers, now ranks second all-time in goals scored (75), assists (34), career points (174), game-winning goals (21), shots (279) and shots on goal (174). Mirela tallied single-season, career-highs in 2003 for goals (22), assists (14), total points (58) and game-winning goals (7) as the Lakers finished 17-2-2 and advanced to the NCAA DII tournament for the first time in school history. Mirela tallied 21 goals and 50 points en route to leading GVSU back to the NCAA tournament in 2004. Tutundzic was part of a much more balanced squad in 2005 that captured the Lakers' first-ever GLIAC and NCAA DII Midwest Regional crowns while compiling a 19-3 record. Mirela was a First-Team All-GLIAC honoree the final three years of her career.

Matt Thornton

Baseball

Matt Thornton began his career at Grand Valley State on the hardwood, but eventually found his way to the baseball field where he became a dominating lefthanded pitcher. Thornton notched 102 career strikeouts and averaged a GVSU career-record 12.3 strikeouts per nine innings. Matt was the 22nd pick in the first round of the 1998 Major League Baseball amateur draft by the Seattle Mariners. Thornton was selected to the 2010 Major League Baseball All-Star team, becoming the first former Grand Valley State student-athlete to participate in any major sport all-star game. Matt is the only pitcher in the American League to rank in the top-15 of holds each of the last five years and he currently ranks 18th among active MLB pitchers in career holds with 134. Thornton logged 3.1 innings in the 2008 MLB playoffs for the Chicago White Sox with an ERA of 0.00. Matt appeared in 79 career basketball games for GVSU, averaging 5.8 points and 2.4 rebounds per game. He shot 50.0 percent from the floor (180-for-360) for his career and the 1996-97 squad finished 23-6 and advanced to the NCAA DII basketball tournament.

Jason VanElst

Men's Track & Field

Jason VanElst is one of Grand Valley State's most celebrated track & field performers. VanElst recorded 15 top-four GLIAC Championship performances, including three GLIAC titles. Jason, who was a five-time All-American (3 indoors/2 outdoors) in the weight and hammer throws, owns more all-american honors in the throws than anyone else in Laker annals. VanElst finished fifth at the 2000 NCAA indoor championships in the weight throw (58-9.5 feet), while his toss of 60-9.5 feet in 2001 was good for sixth. He finished fifth in the hammer throw at the 2001 outdoor NCAA Championships with a toss of 182-08 feet and seventh in 2002 with a throw of 185-02 feet. The crowning moment of VanElst's career came on his final throw at the 2002 NCAA Indoor National Championships. Jason unleashed a toss of 65-9.5 feet that claimed the title and set a GVSU record that still stands today. He was Grand Valley State's first-ever track and field National Champion. VanElst owns the top two all-time hammer throws and five of the top-10 in Laker history. He has four of the top-10 throws in the weight throw and is fifth all-time in the discus.