The St. Croix Valley Sports Hall of Fame welcomed its 22nd class of inductees during a this year’s banquet on Thursday, Sept. 26 at The Grand Banquet Hall in downtown Stillwater.
A total of 10 individuals and four Stillwater Area High School state championship teams were inducted, including athletes Adam Berkhoel, Jeff Kogl, Dana Kurttila, Lancer Lumby, Cassie (Deeg) Paseka and John Schmidt.
This year’s class also featured coaches Bob Beedle and Marilyn Forseth, and sports activists Bob Bielenberg and Don Jahnke. Stillwater’s 1986 and 1987 state champion girls golf teams and the 2004 and 2005 state champion adapted soccer teams (CI Division) and the 2004 state championship adapted softball team (PI Division) were also inducted.
Michael Miller served as the master of ceremonies for the Hall of Fame Banquet, which is sponsored by the St. Croix Valley Athletic Association.
Here’s a brief look at the achievements of this year’s Hall of Fame inductees.
Adam Berkhoel is a 1999 Stillwater graduate and standout goaltender in hockey for the Ponies before winning a national championship at the University of Denver and eventually a professional career that included playing nine games in the NHL for the Atlanta Thrashers.
He was an all-conference and all-state performer in hockey and soccer for the Ponies. While competing at Denver, he was named the Frozen Four MVP after leading the Pioneers to the NCAA Division I National Championship in 2004. In addition to receiving the team’s Bill Masterson MVP Award, he was also named the University of Denver Athlete of the Year in 2004.
Cassie (Deeg) Paseka was a six-time All-Suburban East Conference performer for the Ponies in girls golf. She enjoyed a prolific career for the Ponies before graduating in 2012.
Paseka was the individual state champion in 2011 and placed among the top 20 in the state tournament five times. She also placed third at state in 2012 while leading Stillwater to consecutive runner-up finishes in the team standings. She was also the Minnesota State Women’s Amateur Champion in 2014, which was one of several junior and Minnesota Golf Association titles she captured through the years.
Paseka also competed for the University of Nebraska women’s golf team, earning seven career top-10 finishes and receiving Academic All-Big Ten honors in 2014, 2015 and 2016.
Dana Kurttila is one of three Stillwater boys players to win the prestigious Minnesota Mr. Soccer Award. The 1998 Stillwater graduate contributed to two state championships during a four-year prep career. He earned All-American honors and received the Mr. Soccer Award as a senior during the 1997 season when he served as a captain and was named the team’s Most Valuable Player. That team was ranked No. 1 nationally before eventually having the program’s state-record 62-game unbeaten streak stopped in the state quarterfinals.
Kurttila started as a freshman for the Ponies in 1994 and contributed to state championships in 1995 and 1996. He was an All-Metro and All-State selection his junior and senior season. He also played soccer at Fairfield University in Connecticut, a Division I program where he earned Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference All-Academic honors.
Lancer Lumby was a three-sport athlete before graduating from Stillwater in 1998. He earned a total of eight letters while competing in football, basketball, and track and field. On the track, he earned his first all-conference recognition in the 400 meters as a freshman to spark a career that included earning all-state honors six times and All-American honors in 1998. He was a three-time state champion, with a best individual showing a runner-up finish in the 800 meters as a senior. He held five school records for the Ponies when he graduated and contributed to all-time state records in the 4x400 and 4x800 relays.
Lumby contributed to True Team state championships in 1995 and 1997 and MSHSL state team titles in 1996, 1997 and 1998. In addition to those championships, Lumby was a member of Stillwater’s football team that won a state title in 1995 and advanced to the state semifinals before having a 26-game winning streak snapped in 1996. He was also a member of Stillwater’s state runner-up boys basketball team in 1997.
He also competed in track and field at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, where he was a member of two Division III national championship teams. Lumby has served as a teacher and coach in District 834 over the past two decades.
Jeff Kogl was a two-time Most Valuable Player for the Stillwater boys soccer team and a four-time letter winner for the Ponies on teams that compiled a 61-19 record with 46 shutouts from 1987 to 1990. The 1991 graduate contributed to teams that qualified for the state tournament in 1988, 1989 and 1990, earning all-conference honors three times. Kogl served as a captain for the Ponies, was a two-time all-state selection, was named the Metro Player of the Year and received All-American honors in 1990.
After scoring 16 goals and providing 15 assists for the Ponies, he spent started 71 games in four seasons at Stanford University.
John Schmidt won two individual state diving championships for the Ponies before graduating from Stillwater in 2002. In addition to setting the state record while winning the gold medal as a senior, he was a four-year letter winner who received all-conference and all-state honors all four seasons. He served as a captain for the Ponies and was named the team’s Most Valuable Athlete in 2002, contributing to three conference championship teams.
Schmidt went on to compete at the University of Minnesota, where he earned Academic All-American honors and also contributed to Big Ten championships in 2004 and 2005.
Bob Beedle is one of two coaches included in this year’s induction class. He was previously inducted into the Minnesota Fastpitch Coaches Association Hall of Fame. He guided the Stillwater softball team to two state championships and a runner-up finish in 15 seasons at the helm. Including stints at White Bear Lake and St. Croix Preparatory Academy, Beedle racked up more than 300 coaching victories in his career.
The 1969 Stillwater High School graduate competed for the Ponies in baseball, basketball, football and cross country. In softball, he guided the Ponies to a 212-135 record from 2006 to 2020 with five section titles and state championships in 2012 and 2018.
Marilyn Forseth was a teacher in the Stillwater school district for 30 years and also served as gymnastics head coach for 15 seasons, compiling a 94-22 record in dual meets. Her 1982 team that placed third at state behind Burnsville and Edina stood as the program’s best-ever showing until claiming a state title in 2018.
Forseth guided the Ponies to another state appearance when they placed seventh in 1997. Her team’s captured conference championships in 1981, 1982 and 1998.
Bob Bielenberg was the voice of Stillwater soccer for four decades. He also served as the public address announcer for hockey, football and lacrosse.
Bielenberg, who died in August at the age of 86, was recognized by Hall of Fame Chairperson Lowell Lindstrom before his passing. Bielenberg was a charter member of the VAA and the St. Croix Valley Hockey Association and long-time supporter and contributor to the Ponies in a number of ways. He received the VAA’s George W. Olsen Award and the hockey association’s Lester Thompson Award.
Don Jahnke was active in the SCVAA and influential in the organization’s growth and evolution while coaching and officiating youth basketball and football. He also spent five years as the VAA football commissioner. Along with friend and fellow inductee Terry “Doc” Giebler, the duo designed and manufactured the Outstanding Volunteer plaques distributed by the association.
Jahnke also kept statistics and announced at basketball games and also joined former Gazette columnist and fellow hall of fame inductee Jim McLaughlin in conducting sports interviews on WAVN radio. He was presented the George W. Olsen Award for his contributions to the VAA in 1979 and was also a recipient of the WCCO Good Neighbor Award in 1980.
• The St. Croix Valley Sports Hall of Fame honors athletes and coaches of Stillwater Area High School and community supporters who have made a major contribution to the sports culture within the boundaries of School District #834.
To nominate an athlete, sports activist, or coach for the Hall of Fame, check out SCVAA.org under the General, Awards, and Hall of Fame tabs.
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