Former Rockford Lutheran standout basketball player Stephanie Raymond is among the athletes who will be inducted in the the Northern Illinois University Athletics Hall of Fame Class in October.
The 2019 class includes six individuals and one team. The individuals are Kristina Campos (Women’s Gymnastics, 2002-05), Larry English (Football, 2004-08), Ashley Morrow (Women’s Track and Field, 2004-07), Jerry Pettibone (Football Head Coach, 1985-90), Raymond (Women’s Basketball, 2003-07) and Allison Wade Shepherd (Women’s Soccer, 1996-97). They are joined by the 1990-1991 men’s basketball team.
The 2019 Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place on Friday, Oct. 25 as part of NIU’s 113th Homecoming celebration. Information on tickets to the ceremony will be made available later this summer.
Kristina Campos, Women’s Gymnastics, 2002-05
A four-time NCAA Regional participant, Kristina Campos is one of the most accomplished student-athletes in the history of NIU women’s gymnastics. The Gladstone, Mo., native holds the NIU school record for the all-around and is also tied for the school record on the balance beam.
In her first season at NIU in 2002, Campos won the first of her four team Most Valuable Performer awards and competed in the NCAA Regionals, where she finished 17th. As a sophomore, Campos set the school record in the all-around with a 39.550 in the Illinois Classic on March 23, 2003. In that same meet, Campos also tied the school record on the balance beam with a score of 9.950 and had a mark of 9.925 on the floor exercise, which is tied for the sixth-best score in school history.
Campos went on to be named the 2003 Mid-American Conference Gymnast of the Year and tied for 10th in the all-around at the NCAA Regionals with a then school NCAA Regional record score of 38.950.
During her junior season, Campos earned Second Team All-MAC honors and finished 19th in the all-around at the NCAA Regionals. As a senior in 2005, Campos once again claimed All-MAC Second Team recognition and earned a 12th-place finish at the NCAA Regionals in the all-around, including a mark of 9.800 on the floor exercise, which was a then Huskie NCAA Regional record. Campos concluded her NIU career holding four of the five best marks in school history in the all-around.
Larry English, Football, 2004-08
A two-time Mid-American Conference Most Valuable Player and the highest NFL Draft choice in NIU football history, Larry English was one of the most imposing defensive players in the history of Huskie football. A native of Aurora, Ill., English still holds the NIU records for career sacks (31.5) and tackles for loss (63).
As a redshirt freshman in 2005, English started nine games and totaled 78 tackles, the most by a Huskie defensive lineman that season. The following season, English earned the first of his three First Team All-MAC honors with a dominating season that included a then school-record tying 12 sacks. He totaled 51 tackles during his sophomore campaign, including 16 tackles for loss, while earning sophomore All-America honors from College Football News.
In 2007, English posted 10.5 sacks and 17 tackles for loss while becoming the first defensive player to win the MAC’s Vern Smith Leadership Award as the league’s most valuable player since 1982. English, who earned national player of the week honors following a five-sack performance against Idaho, garnered All-America honors from Phil Steele and was also named to the Lombardi Award, Bronko Nagurski Trophy and Ted Hendricks Award watch lists.
English concluded his spectacular Huskie career with eight sacks and 16 tackles for loss as a senior in 2008 while collecting the Vern Smith Leadership Award for the second consecutive season, becoming the first defensive player to win the award twice. English was named an All-American by Phil Steele and Pro Football Weekly and became just the fifth player in NIU history to participate in the Senior Bowl.
Following the conclusion of his remarkable NIU career, English was selected 16th overall by the San Diego Chargers in the 2009 NFL Draft. He went on to play five seasons in San Diego (2009-13) and one with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2014), recording 103 tackles and 12 sacks in 64 career games.
Ashley Morrow, Women’s Track and Field, 2004-07
The NIU record-holder in the both the shot put and the hammer throw, Ashley Morrow was a four-time NCAA Regional Qualifier and competed in the 2007 NCAA Championships in the shot put. A native of O’Fallon, Ill., made an immediate impact on the Huskie track and field program when she set a school record in the indoor shot put (45-06.50) at her first collegiate meet, the Illinois State Redbird Open (Dec. 3, 2003). Morrow went on to earn All-MAC Second Team honors both indoors and outdoors during her freshman campaign and, along with Margaret Gorski, became the first NIU women’s track and field athletes to qualify for the NCAA Regionals, where she finished 30th in the shot put.
The following season, Morrow again qualified for the NCAA Regionals in the shot put, where she finished 16th. She also set a school record in the hammer with a throw of 178-01 (54.28m) at the 2005 MAC Championships, a mark that remains the best in NIU history.
As a junior in 2006, Morrow won the MAC Championship in the shot put with a still school record mark of 51-10.50 (15.59m) and earned her third consecutive trip to the NCAA Regionals. Morrow completed her Huskie career in 2007 with a trip to the NCAA Championships in the shotput. After finishing fourth at the NCAA Mideast Regional, Morrow went on to a 27th-place finish at the NCAA Finals.
Along with the outdoor school records in the shot put and hammer throw, Morrow still ranks sixth in school history in the discus and second indoors in both the shot put and weight throw.
Jerry Pettibone, Football Head Coach, 1985-90
The head coach of the NIU football team for six seasons from 1985-90, Jerry Pettibone is tied for fifth in Huskie football history with 33 wins, including a 9-2 record during the 1989 campaign. After leading the Huskie for one season in the Mid-American Conference, Pettibone’s final five seasons came with the Huskies competing as an independent.
On September 17, 1988, Pettibone led NIU to its first victory over a Big Ten opponent as the Huskies defeated Wisconsin, 19-17, at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison. In 1989, NIU’s nine-win season included a victory at Kansas State and a five-game win streak to finish the season as the defeated UNLV, Temple, Louisiana-Lafayette, Toledo and Cincinnati.
Pettibone’s Huskies became the first team in school history to defeat a nationally-ranked opponent when they trounced 24th-ranked Fresno State, 73-18, on October 6, 1990. NIU produced an astonishing 806 yards of total offense in the contest, including 733 rushing yards. Stacey Robinson gained a then school-record 308 rushing yards and scored five touchdowns, his 287 first half rushing yards is still a NCAA record for yards gained in a half. The 1990 Huskies led the nation in rushing as they averaged 344.6 yards per game.
In Pettibone’s six seasons, 10 different Huskies earned All-America recognition. Seven Huskies were selected in the NFL Draft during Pettibone’s tenure, with three players being selected in the 1986 Draft (Scott Kellar, Curt Pardridge and Steve O’Malley) and three more chosen in 1987 (Doug Bartlett, Clarence Vaughn and Todd Peat).
Following his six seasons as head coach of the Huskies, Pettibone went on to be the head coach at Oregon State from 1991-96.
Stephanie Raymond, Women’s Basketball, 2003-07
The first Huskie ever selected in the WNBA Draft, Stephanie Raymond’s name can be found all over the NIU women’s basketball record book. The Rockford Lutheran grad is ranked sixth in Huskie history in scoring with 1,719 career points, second in career steals with 271 and third in career assists with 497.
As a freshman in 2003-04, Raymond averaged 8.9 points per game and earned MAC All-Freshman Team honors. The following season, the Huskie guard scored 15.5 points per game, along with 5.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists per contest, while earning All-MAC honorable mention recognition. Raymond recorded 107 steals during the 2004-05 season, which remains the Huskie single-season record.
Raymond reached the 1,000-point plateau during her junior season, hitting the century mark in a 14-point performance against Kent State on February 11, 2006. Raymond went on to average 16.4 points, 4.4 assists and 4.0 rebounds per game in 2006-07, earning All-MAC Second Team honors.
During the 2006-07 season, Raymond earned First Team All-MAC recognition as she averaged 18.9 points, 6.5 assists and 4.5 rebounds per contest. The Huskies won 19 games that season, reaching the MAC Tournament Semifinals as Raymond became just the third Huskie to received MAC All-Tournament honors.
The Huskie career free throw percentage leader at 83.9 percent, Raymond became the first Huskie selected in the WNBA Draft when she was taken 20th overall by the Chicago Sky. Raymond appeared in 20 games for the Sky during the 2007 season before finishing her professional basketball career overseas.
Allison Wade Shepherd, Women’s Soccer, 1996-97
In just two seasons, Allison Wade wrote her name into the NIU women’s soccer record book as one of the most prolific goal scorers in school history. After beginning her collegiate career at Indiana University, where she spent two seasons, Wade burst onto the scene in DeKalb during the 1996 season, setting then school records with 12 goals and 28 points. The Huskie forward earned First Team All-Midwestern Collegiate Conference honors and was also named the MCC Newcomer of the Year.
As a senior in 1997, Wade built upon her spectacular first season as a Huskie, scoring 19 goals with 45 points, both of which remain NIU school records today. Wade helped NIU to a 12-8-1 overall record, including 6-1 mark in MAC play to win the conference regular season crown. In the MAC Tournament, Wade scored the game-winning goal in a 2-1 semifinal victory over Ohio and then tallied a pair of goals, including the overtime winner, in the conference championship match against Eastern Michigan.
Wade was named the MAC Player of the Year and earned First Team All-MAC honors in 1997, she also earned Second Team All-Region recognition from Soccer Buzz and Third Team All-Region honors from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.
In just two seasons, Wade scored 31 goals and tallied 71 points, both marks still rank second in NIU history.
1990-1991 Men’s Basketball Team
Winning a school record 25 games, the 1990-91 Huskie men’s basketball team, led by Jim Molinari, is one of just three teams in school history to have earned a trip to the NCAA Tournament. Beginning with a December 4 victory over Evansville, the 1990-91 Huskies went on an 11-game win streak, tying the longest in school history. The streak also included a victory over DePaul, 70-61, on January 15 in Chick Evans Fieldhouse. After seeing its 11-game win streak snapped, the 1990-91 team won another eight consecutive games as the Huskies began the season 20-2.
The Huskies won the Mid-Continent Conference regular season title with a 14-2 mark in league play. Following a victory over UIC in the conference quarterfinals and an overtime win against Northern Iowa in the league semifinals, the Huskies had to play Green Bay on its home floor in the conference title game.
Despite losing in the final, the Huskies still received an invitation to the NCAA Tournament, earning the No. 13 seed in the Midwest Region. In the NCAA Tournament First Round, the Huskies pushed fourth-seeded St. John’s right to the final buzzer, falling 75-68.
Donnell Thomas led the 1990-91 Huskie in scoring and rebounding with 17.0 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. Donald Whiteside also scored in double figures at 11.7 points per game while dishing out a team-best 3.5 assists per contest; both Thomas and Whiteside were named to the All-MCC First Team and the MCC All-Tournament Team. Molinari was named the MCC Coach of the Year while Mike Lipnisky was named to the MCC All-Newcomer Team.
Members of the 1990-91 team include: Stacy Arrington, Brian Banks, Randy Fens, Antwon Harmon, Mike Hidden, Mark Layton, Mike Lipnisky, David Mitchell, Brian Molis, Steve Oldendorf, Donnell Thomas, Andrew Wells, Donald Whiteside, head coach Jim Molinari, assistant coaches Rob Judson, DeWayne Kelly and Pat Donahue, and graduate assistant Phil Leib.