Robert Eddy, Class of 1979
Bob Eddy was not your typical defensive tackle. He wasn't your typical track athlete either, but he had something that made him extra-special when it came to playing football and competing in track and field.
The Franklin, Wis., native was a multiple All-Midwest Conference selection and an All-American in football. In track and field, he was consistently one of the conference's top performers in the high jump, shot put, and discus.
Eddy stood 6-foot-4 and weighed 225 pounds and started his football career as a defensive end. He moved inside to man the defensive tackle spot and flourished. He earned first-team All-MWC honors as a junior and senior and honorable mention on the Associated Press All-America team in 1978. As a team captain, he helped the Vikings to a 30-6 record over four seasons and the 1975 MWC championship. A four-year starter, he won the team's "Mr. Defense" award.
Eddy's combination of power and pure athletic ability made him a standout in track and field as well. His height and bulk were misleading when he stepped up to compete in the high jump. He placed in the high jump at the MWC championships, both indoors and outdoors, every time he competed and never finished lower than fourth. He won the title at the 1978 indoor meet while still employing the old "western roll" style of jumping when most others had gone to the "Fosbury flop." Eddy, who also served as track team captain, then stepped into the ring for shot put and discus and was equally adept at those events where power and explosiveness are a must. He placed five times in the shot put and twice in the discus at MWC championships.
Eddy, an economics major, is the president of EP Sales, Inc. He lives in Bloomington, Minn., with his wife, Cindy Arneson '79, and their two daughters.
Paul Elsberry, Class of 1951
Paul Elsberry was a main cog in the powerhouse Lawrence cross country and track teams of the late 1940s and early 1950s.
A Chicago native, he was habitually the top runner for the Lawrence cross country team and an All-Midwest Conference (MWC) honoree from 1947 to 1950. Lawrence won conference championships in 1949 and 1950.
Elsberry got his athletic career going in the fall of 1947 when he led the Vikings to a third-place finish at the conference cross country championships. He took third place in the individual standings and was Lawrence's highest finisher. Elsberry moved up one spot to second place the following season, pulling the team up one place as well. He was part of "one of the biggest upsets in Midwest Conference history," as the Appleton Post-Crescent called it, in 1949. Running against a heavily favored Cornell College squad at the conference championships in Chicago, the Vikings beat the Rams by one point (40-41) to win the school's first league title since 1936. Elsberry, who was the team captain, again earned all-league honors by taking fifth place.
Elsberry then helped the Vikings repeat as conference champions in 1950. He led the team by running to third place, as Lawrence won the title with 34 points, the lowest team score in Midwest Conference history to that point. The season wasn't quite over for the Vikings, as they traveled to East Lansing, Mich., for the NCAA Championships. Running against large schools like Penn State and Notre Dame, Elsberry paced the Vikings by taking 30th place. He completed the four-mile course in 22 minutes, 23 seconds, and Lawrence finished eighth in the team standings.
As a track athlete, he competed in events ranging from the 880-yard run to the one-mile and two-mile, was a two-time placewinner in Midwest Conference track competition, and helped the Vikings win the 1947 conference championship by placing second in the one-mile run. In 1949 he took fourth in the two-mile run.
Elsberry went on to graduate school at Yale University and studied art and architecture. He lived in New Haven, Conn., and worked as an architect until his death in February 2002. He is survived by his wife, Charlotte, and their two sons.
Christopher Lindfelt, Class of 1988
Chris Lindfelt was a run-stopping, pass-rushing monster of a linebacker during his football career at Lawrence.
He piled up 586 tackles, 34.5 sacks, and five interceptions during his career and earned All-America honors three times and All-Midwest Conference accolades four times. The native of Colorado Springs, Colo., helped Lawence to a 20-16-1 record and the 1986 Midwest Conference championship during his four seasons.
Lindfelt was the heart of Head Coach Rich Agness' "stack tough" defensive scheme, and he made opponents pay for not putting some pads on him. As a freshman in 1984, he earned honorable mention all-conference honors after posting 101 tackles, to lead the team, and six quarterback sacks. He also played catcher on the baseball team as a freshman in 1985.
The 1985 season saw Lindfelt establish himself as the premier linebacker in the conference. He had 152 tackles and 10.5 quarterback sacks, leading the team in both categories; two interceptions; and five fumble recoveries. He was a first-team all-conference selection and earned second-team Pizza Hut All-America honors. The team went 7-2, and the defense allowed only 62 points, an average of 6.9 points per game, on the season.
Lindfelt's style was described almost poetically in the Post-Crescent: "The bone-rattling hits that had become his trademark, the satisfying pop of linebacker meeting ballcarrier — followed closely by the thud of ballcarrier meeting ground — those are the sweet sounds of Lindfelt."
That music kept on playing in Lawrence's conference championship season of 1986. Lindfelt amassed 161 tackles and ten quarterback sacks to lead the team, and he earned first-team all-conference and honorable mention Associated Press All-America honors. The Vikings went 8-2 and finished the season on a seven-game winning streak. The streak, which saw the Lawrence defense give up only 37 points and post three shutouts, was capped by a 14-10 win over Coe College in the conference championship game.
Lindfelt was looking to end his stellar career with a fine senior season in 1987 and was drawing the attention of NFL scouts when he suffered a severe knee injury. He missed all of the 1987 season but returned to play in 1988.
A two-year team captain, he didn't miss a beat in 1988, piling up 172 tackles and eight sacks and earning first-team honors on both the All-MWC team and the Pizza Hut All-America team. He was a third-team Associated Press All-American and received honorable mention on the Don Hansen's Football Gazette All-America Team.
A psychology major at Lawrence, Lindfelt works as a clinical psychologist for Mental Health Systems. He lives in Redlands, Calif., with his wife, Dawn, and their three sons.
Steven Neuman, Class of 1976
Steve Neuman was a rare athlete at Lawrence, in that he earned 12 letters while competing for the Vikings.
The Appleton native was a four-year letterwinner in football, wrestling, and track. He starred on the offensive line for the football team, wrestled at heavyweight, and threw the shot put and discus for the track team.
Neuman played tackle for the football Vikings and earned All-Midwest Conference honors for three consecutive seasons. He was a second-team selection as a sophomore and junior and earned first-team honors as a senior. The Post-Crescent had high praise for Neuman, commenting that he was "rated as the Vikes' best blocker and made the running game go." Neuman, who had a stint as the team's fullback as a sophomore, helped the Vikings to a 20-13-1 record during his four years, as well as the 1975 conference championship.
Neuman, who served as team captain, put together a solid career on the wrestling mat. He compiled a record of 48-13-1, which made him the school's career wins leader when he graduated, and he now ranks 21st on that list. His .782 winning percentage places him ninth on Lawrence's all-time list. He rolled up a phenomenal 27 pins in only 62 matches, and he is third in career pins, trailing only All-American Mike Hoskins '98, and fellow Hall of Famer Bob Smith '61.
Part of one of the strongest groups of field athletes ever to compete at Lawrence, he threw the shot put, discus, and javelin alongside All-American Ron Wopat '78, Bob Eddy '79, and Gary Weiss '77. Neuman placed five times in those two events at the conference championships — three times in the discus, including a third-place finish in 1974, and twice in the shot put.
Neuman's contributions to athletics at Lawrence didn't end with his playing days. As head coach of the wrestling squad from 1979-84, he coached ten MWC place-winners and had one NCAA Division III championships qualifier. As an assistant football coach, he mentored the offensive line during one of the most successful stretches of Lawrence football. The Vikings posted a 40-7 record with Neuman as the offensive line coach from 1979-83, an era that saw Lawrence win three MWC championships and reach the semifinals of the 1981 NCAA Division III playoffs.
Neuman, who majored in geology and currently is pursuing a master's degree in engineering management, is a consultant in the fields of paper converting and packaging. He lives in Green Bay with his wife, Karen, and their two children.
Gina Seegers Szablewski, Class of 1992
Defining moments occur in the history of any collegiate sports program, and the women's basketball team got one the day Gina Seegers Szablewski arrived on campus in 1988. A Kimberly native, Szablewski was a key player in turning around the fortunes of that team, which, more than a decade removed from the end of her career, remains one of the top squads in the Midwest Conference.
Szablewski joined another future Hall of Famer, Sarah O'Neil '92, to form the backbone of the revamped women's basketball team. Under the direction of new head coach Amy Proctor, Seegers helped the Vikings to two conference championships and four consecutive conference tournament appearances.
A 5-foot-9 center, Szablewski was second on the school's career scoring list with 942 points when she graduated and is now fifth. She remains third on the career rebounding list with 609. No player in Lawrence history, male or female, has played in more games than Szablewski, who took the floor 97 times for the Vikings, including 89 times as a starter.
She made an immediate impact as a freshman by leading the team in scoring and rebounding to earn All-Lake Michigan Conference honors. She averaged 14.1 points and 8.3 rebounds in her first season and led Lawrence to a 13-12 record and the Lake Michigan Conference championship. Seegers poured in 20 points and grabbed 19 rebounds, her career high, in a 72-70 overtime win over Lakeland College in the conference title game.
The Vikings went strictly to Midwest Conference play the following season, and Szablewski helped the team to an 18-6 record and another conference title. She averaged 9.3 points and 5.8 rebounds on the season, which culminated in a 53-50 win over Grinnell College for the Midwest Conference championship.
Szablewski, who served as team captain as a junior and senior, had another superb season as a junior. The Vikings posted a 16-8 record and a third-place finish in the conference, as Seegers averaged 10.5 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.
Joel Ungrodt, Class of 1964
Looks were deceiving in the case of Joel Ungrodt. As a skinny 5-foot-10 glasses-wearing guard for the Lawrence basketball team, he didn't look the like the kind of player who could rip an opposing defense to shreds, but that's exactly what he did.
A native of Wausau, Ungrodt was feared around the Midwest Conference for his ability to score from anywhere on the floor. He was the school's career scoring leader with 1,260 points when he graduated, and he currently ranks fourth on that list. Ungrodt piled up those impressive numbers in only three seasons because he played during an era in which freshmen were not eligible for varsity competition.
Appleton Post-Crescent sports writer John Paustian often referred to Ungrodt as the "bespectacled sharpshooter." He also noted that Ungrodt was a great jump shooter from all distances and could run the fastbreak as well as anyone in the league.
Ungrodt, who averaged 19.4 points per game in his career, earned second-team all-conference honors during his sophomore season. He poured in 446 points during his junior season, an average of 20.3 points per game to set a single-season school record.
Ungrodt had a night to remember against Coe College during his junior season of 1962-63. He set Lawrence's single-game scoring record when tallied 41 points against the Kohawks. Ungrodt hit on 17 of 28 shots from the floor and 7 of 12 free throws for his 41, which also tied the Alexander Gymnasium record. He again earned second-team all-conference honors.
Ungrodt, who served as team captain, capped his career by having a superb senior season in 1963-64. He broke his own season record by scoring 450 points, a record that would stand until 1990. Ungrodt averaged a career-high 20.4 points as a senior, but he also showed how much more than scoring there was to his game. He also led the team with 74 assists and 29 steals. For his efforts, he was named first-team All-Midwest Conference.
Ungrodt studied psychology at Lawrence and serves as the executive director of Family Works, a Madison-based treatment foster care agency serving at-risk youth throughout Wisconsin. He lives in Madison with his wife, Lyn, and they have two sons.
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