South Dakota State University Athletics
FIVE SELECTED FOR JACKRABBIT SPORTS HALL OF FAME
8/31/2022 1:00:00 PM | General
A national champion in wrestling, a pair of student-athletes who excelled on the diamond and record-setting performers in soccer and volleyball make up the 2022 class of the Jackrabbit Sports Hall of Fame.
The five newest members of the Jackrabbit Sports Hall of Fame, who will be formally inducted during ceremonies Oct. 1 at South Dakota State University, include:
JENNIFER (BRIGGS) KESSLER (2000-02)
A member of SDSU's inaugural women's soccer team, Briggs remains the Jackrabbits' all-time leader with 39 goals and 94 points in a career from 2000-02. She holds three of the top five goal-scoring season in program history, tallying 12 goals in 2000, 14 in 2001 and 13 in 2002. Briggs, who posted 10 multi-goal games in her three seasons, also ranks in the SDSU top five for career assists with 16.
Briggs holds the distinction of scoring the first goal in program history and established Jackrabbit single-game records that still stand today later in the 2000 season with five goals and 11 points in a victory over the University of Sioux Falls. She received honorable mention All-North Central Conference recognition in both 2000 and 2001, and was a second-team NCAA Division II All-Central Region honoree in 2001.
A native of Osseo, Minnesota, Briggs began her collegiate athletic career as a member of the SDSU women's basketball team during the 1998-99 season. She transferred to Jamestown University in 1999 to play both soccer and basketball, but returned to Brookings a year later to help lead the upstart Jackrabbit women's soccer program.
DONNA (HANSEN) MERTZ (1994-97)
Hansen was instrumental in a Jackrabbit turnaround on the softball diamond and finished a standout career as South Dakota State's career hitting leader with a .381 batting average from 1994-97.
After being limited to one game during her first season due to injury, Hansen came back strong during the 1995 campaign by batting .461 (53-for-115) en route to being named North Central Conference Freshman of the Year and earning first-team All-Midwest Region honors.
SDSU reached the NCAA postseason for the first time in 1996, hosting the NCAA Division II Central Regional. An infielder from Marcus, Iowa, Hansen batted .357 and stole a team-high 17 bases for a Jackrabbit team that compiled a 43-22 record during the 1996 season, then posted a .353 average with a team-best 33 runs batted in during her final season as a Jackrabbit in 1997 for a squad that finished 31-19.
Hansen continues to hold top-10 placings on the SDSU career charts for hits (182), runs (112), slugging percentage (.531), doubles (32), RBIs (96), stolen bases (30), on-base percentage (.429) and assists (323).
TRAVIS KING (1995-98)
King won three consecutive North Central Conference individual titles and capped his collegiate wrestling career as an NCAA Division II national champion.
A Rapid City native, King ended his career fifth on the Jackrabbits' career victories chart after compiling a 106-26-4 record from 1995-98. His first two NCC titles came in the 142-pound division in 1996 and 1997 before moving up to 150 pounds as a senior. King also earned the first of his two All-America awards in 1996 with fourth-place finish at 142 pounds.
During his senior season, King posted a 34-1 overall record, including a 15-0 mark in duals. After winning his third NCC title, King swept the 150-pound division at the national meet and was honored as the Most Outstanding Wrestler of the 1998 NCAA Division II Championships.
RYAN KROGMAN (1991-94)
Krogman was a consistent performer behind the plate and in the middle of the Jackrabbit baseball lineup for teams that made won three consecutive North Central Conference titles from 1992-94 and made NCAA Division II regional appearances each season. SDSU set and then matched a school record record with back-to-back 39-win seasons in 1993 and 1994.
The Brookings native was honored as North Central Conference Most Valuable Player in 1993, when he shared the NCC lead with 23 hits in league play. He also was an All-NCC selection as an infielder in 1991 and at catcher for the second time in 1994. Krogman led league with seven home runs during conference play in 1994, including tying the SDSU record with three home runs in a game against South Dakota.
For his career, Krogman started 187 of the 188 games in which he played, and batted .347, collecting 211 hits. He still ranks in SDSU career top 10s for runs scored (160), runs batted in (154), bases on balls (100) and putouts (814).
Krogman will join his father, Dean, in the Jackrabbit Sports Hall of Fame, becoming the first father-son duo to be enshrined. Dean Krogman was a 2000 inductee after excelling in both baseball and football for the Jackrabbits from 1969-72
ANGIE (RIME) WILSON (1999-2002)
Rime (pronounced RYE-me) was the court leader for Jackrabbit volleyball teams that claimed the first conference title in program history and made three consecutive appearances in the NCAA Division II postseason.
A native of Columbia Heights, Minnesota, Rime set — and continues to hold — the Jackrabbit career lead for assists with 5,905 from 1999-2002. She topped the 1,000-assist mark all four seasons, including a school-record 1,775 as a senior. Rime also ended her career fourth on the SDSU all-time charts with 1,337 digs and tied for eighth with 207 block assists.
With Rime in the lineup, the Jackrabbits won at least 22 matches in each of her four seasons, compiling a combined record of 107-26. The Jackrabbits earned a share of the North Central Conference title in 2000 and reached the finals of the NCAA Division II North Central Regional. A year later, SDSU won the regional title and advanced to the NCAA Division II national championship match before falling to Barry (Fla.) and finishing with a 28-6 record. The Jackrabbits returned to postseason play for the third consecutive year in 2002.
Rime earned second-team AVCA All-America honors in both 2001 and 2002. She also was a three-time All-NCC and all-region selection.
The 2022 recipient of the Ralph Ginn Award for Coaching Excellence will be announced Thursday.
The five newest members of the Jackrabbit Sports Hall of Fame, who will be formally inducted during ceremonies Oct. 1 at South Dakota State University, include:
- Jennifer (Briggs) Kessler – soccer;
- Donna (Hansen) Mertz – softball;
- Travis King – wrestling;
- Ryan Krogman – baseball; and
- Angie (Rime) Wilson – volleyball.
JENNIFER (BRIGGS) KESSLER (2000-02)
A member of SDSU's inaugural women's soccer team, Briggs remains the Jackrabbits' all-time leader with 39 goals and 94 points in a career from 2000-02. She holds three of the top five goal-scoring season in program history, tallying 12 goals in 2000, 14 in 2001 and 13 in 2002. Briggs, who posted 10 multi-goal games in her three seasons, also ranks in the SDSU top five for career assists with 16.
Briggs holds the distinction of scoring the first goal in program history and established Jackrabbit single-game records that still stand today later in the 2000 season with five goals and 11 points in a victory over the University of Sioux Falls. She received honorable mention All-North Central Conference recognition in both 2000 and 2001, and was a second-team NCAA Division II All-Central Region honoree in 2001.
A native of Osseo, Minnesota, Briggs began her collegiate athletic career as a member of the SDSU women's basketball team during the 1998-99 season. She transferred to Jamestown University in 1999 to play both soccer and basketball, but returned to Brookings a year later to help lead the upstart Jackrabbit women's soccer program.
DONNA (HANSEN) MERTZ (1994-97)
Hansen was instrumental in a Jackrabbit turnaround on the softball diamond and finished a standout career as South Dakota State's career hitting leader with a .381 batting average from 1994-97.
After being limited to one game during her first season due to injury, Hansen came back strong during the 1995 campaign by batting .461 (53-for-115) en route to being named North Central Conference Freshman of the Year and earning first-team All-Midwest Region honors.
SDSU reached the NCAA postseason for the first time in 1996, hosting the NCAA Division II Central Regional. An infielder from Marcus, Iowa, Hansen batted .357 and stole a team-high 17 bases for a Jackrabbit team that compiled a 43-22 record during the 1996 season, then posted a .353 average with a team-best 33 runs batted in during her final season as a Jackrabbit in 1997 for a squad that finished 31-19.
Hansen continues to hold top-10 placings on the SDSU career charts for hits (182), runs (112), slugging percentage (.531), doubles (32), RBIs (96), stolen bases (30), on-base percentage (.429) and assists (323).
TRAVIS KING (1995-98)
King won three consecutive North Central Conference individual titles and capped his collegiate wrestling career as an NCAA Division II national champion.
A Rapid City native, King ended his career fifth on the Jackrabbits' career victories chart after compiling a 106-26-4 record from 1995-98. His first two NCC titles came in the 142-pound division in 1996 and 1997 before moving up to 150 pounds as a senior. King also earned the first of his two All-America awards in 1996 with fourth-place finish at 142 pounds.
During his senior season, King posted a 34-1 overall record, including a 15-0 mark in duals. After winning his third NCC title, King swept the 150-pound division at the national meet and was honored as the Most Outstanding Wrestler of the 1998 NCAA Division II Championships.
RYAN KROGMAN (1991-94)
Krogman was a consistent performer behind the plate and in the middle of the Jackrabbit baseball lineup for teams that made won three consecutive North Central Conference titles from 1992-94 and made NCAA Division II regional appearances each season. SDSU set and then matched a school record record with back-to-back 39-win seasons in 1993 and 1994.
The Brookings native was honored as North Central Conference Most Valuable Player in 1993, when he shared the NCC lead with 23 hits in league play. He also was an All-NCC selection as an infielder in 1991 and at catcher for the second time in 1994. Krogman led league with seven home runs during conference play in 1994, including tying the SDSU record with three home runs in a game against South Dakota.
For his career, Krogman started 187 of the 188 games in which he played, and batted .347, collecting 211 hits. He still ranks in SDSU career top 10s for runs scored (160), runs batted in (154), bases on balls (100) and putouts (814).
Krogman will join his father, Dean, in the Jackrabbit Sports Hall of Fame, becoming the first father-son duo to be enshrined. Dean Krogman was a 2000 inductee after excelling in both baseball and football for the Jackrabbits from 1969-72
ANGIE (RIME) WILSON (1999-2002)
Rime (pronounced RYE-me) was the court leader for Jackrabbit volleyball teams that claimed the first conference title in program history and made three consecutive appearances in the NCAA Division II postseason.
A native of Columbia Heights, Minnesota, Rime set — and continues to hold — the Jackrabbit career lead for assists with 5,905 from 1999-2002. She topped the 1,000-assist mark all four seasons, including a school-record 1,775 as a senior. Rime also ended her career fourth on the SDSU all-time charts with 1,337 digs and tied for eighth with 207 block assists.
With Rime in the lineup, the Jackrabbits won at least 22 matches in each of her four seasons, compiling a combined record of 107-26. The Jackrabbits earned a share of the North Central Conference title in 2000 and reached the finals of the NCAA Division II North Central Regional. A year later, SDSU won the regional title and advanced to the NCAA Division II national championship match before falling to Barry (Fla.) and finishing with a 28-6 record. The Jackrabbits returned to postseason play for the third consecutive year in 2002.
Rime earned second-team AVCA All-America honors in both 2001 and 2002. She also was a three-time All-NCC and all-region selection.
The 2022 recipient of the Ralph Ginn Award for Coaching Excellence will be announced Thursday.
-GoJacks.com-
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