(Editor's note: MSUB media release)
BILLINGS - Six former Montana State University Billings Yellowjacket greats were enshrined into the Athletics Hall of Fame & Distinction on Friday night in the 32nd annual induction ceremony which took place at the Northern Hotel.
Former All-Americans Kayleen (Goggins) Schultz and Robert Peterson, women’s soccer stars Jaucelyn Richter and Jennifer (Larsen) White, and coaches Craig Carse and Don Trentham were adorned by family and loved ones to receive the athletic department’s top honor.
The largest Hall of Fame & Distinction induction ceremony since six individuals were recognized in 2008 featured an audience upwards of 200 spectators to take in the event. Sports director Scott Breen from KTVQ Television was the emcee for the evening, and first-year Yellowjacket director of athletics Michael Bazemore welcomed the latest class of inductees.
Three Yellowjacket athletic directors were in attendance on Friday, with Bazemore being joined by his predecessor Krista Montague, who was in charge from 2012-21, and Dr. Gary Gray, who led Yellowjacket Athletics for 18 years beginning in 1993.
The three women’s soccer additions to the hall of fame took up the first half of the event, with Coach Trentham beginning the evening by introducing his former center back White. Richter was next to speak, and was introduced by her former teammate Courtney (Harvey) Unruh, who was on the 2010 team that advanced to the NCAA D2 West Region Championships. Trentham chose Dr. Gray as his introducer, after being hired by the former Yellowjacket AD in 2002 and becoming the winningest women’s soccer coach in school history.
Dave Coppock, who led the Yellowjacket cross country and track and field programs for 27 years before his retirement in 2016, took the stage next to introduce the first All-American in the history of the program in Peterson. Coppock paid homage to Peterson’s school-record mile time of 4:07 minutes with an introductory speech matching the time.
Former men’s basketball star Ty Elkin never played for Coach Carse, but he delivered a moving speech introducing his mentor and former co-coach upon the conclusion of his playing career at MSUB in 1994. Elkin spoke of Carse’s impact – which has spanned more than 50 years in the coaching world – of all those he has coached, namely his son Tate.
Two coaches introduced the evening’s final award winner in tandem, with Bill Lepley of Shepherd High School and Yellowjacket head coach Kevin Woodin each providing perspective into the remarkable career of Schultz.
The six hall of fame inductees will be recognized on Saturday evening during halftime of the Yellowjacket men’s basketball game against University of Alaska Fairbanks. Saturday’s doubleheader tips off at 5:15 p.m. with the women’s game, followed by the men at 7:30 p.m. at Alterowitz Gym. Live video with play-by-play commentary for the games and the halftime ceremony will be available online here. [youtube.com]
The MSUB Athletics Hall of Fame and Distinction was founded in 1990 and has since inducted 162 members with this year's induction class to bring the total number of Hall of Famers to 168.
2022 Hall of Fame Inductee Capsules
The second-winningest men's basketball coach in program history, Carse completed his 13-year tenure at MSUB in 2008 with a final record of 211-147 (.590). Carse's career spanned across three different conference affiliations, as he began in the PacWest Conference, competed in the Heartland Conference, and navigated the Yellowjackets into their inaugural year in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference in his final season. His combined coaching record in conference play stood at 99-83 (.538) Carse led the Yellowjackets to the PacWest Conference title in his initial season in 1995-96, and went on to guide the team to three more league championships during his tenure. MSUB advanced to the NCAA D2 West Region Championships four times under Coach Carse.
Carse is the fifth men's basketball coach to be selected for the MSUB Hall of Fame, joining Mike Harkins, Pat Douglass, Dr. Harold Alterowitz, and Oscar Bjorgum.
After redshirting as a true freshman in 2011, Peterson put together the top career in MSUB cross country history. As a junior in 2014, Peterson earned a spot in the NCAA Championships, after taking 13th place in the NCAA regional meet hosted by MSUB. He helped lead the Yellowjackets to their best two finishes at the GNAC Championships during the decade, with a third-place finish his redshirt freshman year in 2012 and a fourth-place finish during his junior year in 2014. Peterson finished in 15th place at the conference meet in 2012, just one spot behind team leader Clint Choquette. He earned all-conference honors in 2014 by taking fourth, and was also an all-region selection. Peterson again placed 13th at the regional meet during his senior year, this time posting his personal-best 10k time of 30:15.1 minutes. That mark stands as the program record, along with his 31:29 time he posted in 2014. Peterson is also the MSUB record holder in the 8k distance, with a time of 24:53. He holds the No. 3 time at 24:59 and the No. 6 time at 25:13 in the 8k distance as well. Among Peterson's accolades were five GNAC runner of the week awards, he was twice named the MSUB Male Athlete of the Year, and he was a three-time MSUB Men's Cross Country Runner of the Year. The most decorated runner in school history, Peterson's success on the track reached the same heights as it did during his illustrious cross country career. The MSUB Men's Cross Country Runner of the Decade was the first Yellowjacket track athlete to garner All-American honors, when he placed 10th at the NCAA D2 National Championship with a mile time of 4:11.29 minutes. It was his first of three trips to the NCAA national meet, as he returned to the indoor championships his senior year in 2016 and ran an even better mile time of 4:09.15 to place 14th. He capped off his collegiate career by taking 13th place in the 3,000-meter steeple chase at the 2016 NCAA D2 Outdoor Track & Field Championships. That performance came after he won the Great Northwest Athletic Conference title in the event, running a personal-best time of 8:59.23 minutes. Peterson owns the indoor school records in both the mile as well as the 3,000-meters, with a time of 8:28.68. His school outdoor records include the 800 meters at 1:53.18 minutes, and the 1,500-meters in 3:51.58 minutes. He is a four-time conference champion and a nine-time all-conference selection. Peterson is the third male and fourth overall cross country runner to be selected for the Hall of Fame, and is the ninth track & field athlete selected.
Richter was one of the top players not only in MSUB but in Great Northwest Athletic Conference history. Richter scored 28 goals and added 24 assists throughout her brilliant four-year career with the 'Jackets, with her 80 total points ranking No. 2 in school history behind only Hall of Famer Ally Stroup who played from 2003-06 (109 points). Richter's point total also holds up as No. 17 in GNAC history, while her 28 goals are fifth most in school history. Richter led the Yellowjackets to their only NCAA regional appearance of the decade, helping the team go 13-6-1 as a sophomore in 2010. Helping the team to perhaps its biggest win of the 2010s, Richter played 86 minutes in MSUB's 1-0 NCAA first-round victory over Cal State Los Angeles on Nov. 11, 2010 in Seattle. Richter's career was special from the start, as she earned GNAC Freshman of the Year accolades after a 10-goal performance as a freshman in 2009. She was a three-time, first-team all-conference pick – one of just 20 players in the 20-year history of the conference to make the league's top team three times. Richter was also a first-team all-region selection during her junior season in 2011, after leading the GNAC with 11 goals and contributing five assists. Richter also holds the all-time GNAC record for shots per game with 3.95.
The defensive antithesis in all regards to Player of the Decade Jaucelyn Richter, White's name stands out as one of the top players in MSUB history. Starting 74 matches in her career and missing just four of MSUB's games in four seasons, White ranks fifth in school history in starts. Her 6,569 minutes played remain as the school record. Despite anchoring MSUB's best defensive teams of the decade, White also ranks No. 9 in school history with 44 points, including ranking eighth in school history with 19 career goals while adding six assists. MSUB ranked in the top-four in the GNAC in goals allowed in each of her three seasons in the decade, posting a team goals-against average of 0.83 during that span with White as a center back. While playing all 1,830 minutes of the season and starting all 20 matches during the 2010 regional run, White also ranked second on the team with five goals and third on the team with 11 points during the campaign. White's finishes oftentimes came at crucial moments in games, with four of them being game-tying goals. White was a two-time all-region selection, and four-time all-conference pick including first-team honors during her senior year. She also twice earned academic all-district honors, and became the second player in school history to earn first-team Academic All-American honors.
Richter and White are the seventh and eighth women's soccer players to be selected for the Hall of Fame.
An All-American during her senior season in 2014-15, Schultz was the preeminent post scorer during her career with the 'Jackets. She scored 1,456 points in her four seasons to rank No. 8 in school history, and that was the third-highest total by any player of the 2010s decade. Schultz was a key starter on MSUB's 2013-14 NCAA regional tournament team, starting all 33 games and averaging north of 11 points per game as a junior. She followed that up with a remarkable senior season, ranking second in the GNAC with 20.0 points per game and earning honorable mention All-American honors. Schultz also ranks No. 8 in school history with 538 made field goals, and tied for 15th with 595 rebounds. She started 116 of the 118 games that she played, and as a senior was selected as the MSUB Female Athlete of the Year. Schultz was a three-time all-conference selection including a first-team pick during her senior season. Schultz is the 26th women's basketball player to be selected for the Hall of Fame.
The winningest women's soccer coach in program history, Trentham led the Yellowjackets to their first and only NCAA D2 West Region Championship appearance during the 2010 season. Trentham went 85-75-10 (.529) in his nine seasons in charge of the Yellowjackets and his 170 games coached are also the most ever at MSUB. Trentham twice led the Yellowjackets to the best record in program history, as the team went 13-6-1 in 2006 and repeated the feat during the 2010 campaign. After placing third in the GNAC, MSUB claimed an at large bid into the regional championship before knocking off Cal State Los Angeles in the opening round for the most significant win in the history of the program. Trentham coached fellow 2022 Hall of Fame inductees Richter and White for their first two seasons as Yellowjackets. He is the first soccer coach to be selected for the Hall of Fame.
