Oct. 21, 2002

Five 2002 Truman Athletics Hall of Fame Inductees Re-Announced

On Saturday, five former Truman student-athletes will be inducted into the Truman State University Athletics Hall of Fame in honor of their athletic achievements.

The 2002 inductees will be recognized and introduced during halftime of the football game against Northwest Missouri that begins at 1 p.m. A pre-banquet reception in their honor will begin at 6 p.m. in the Student Union. Following the reception, the banquet and induction ceremony will begin at 7 p.m. in the Georgian Room at the Student Union. Banquet tickets are $15 each and are available through the Athletics Office, Pershing Building 213, (660) 785-4235, by Sept. 20.

Since 1983, the year the Truman Athletics Hall of Fame began, 182 persons have been enshrined. This year's class was held over after the events of Sept. 11 last year forced the induction ceremony to be postponed until this coming weekend. This year, the following athletes will be inducted:

Felicia (Sutton) Baker (Holt, Mich.) was a standout on the basketball and volleyball courts from 1987-91, arriving from University City (Mo.) High School and pacing the squad with 13.0 points and 11.2 rebounds per game her first season. Baker was named second-team all-MIAA and to the conference's all-freshman team. In 1988-89, Baker averaged 14.8 points and 12.2 rebounds per contest, and grabbed a career-high 27 boards vs. Missouri-Rolla. She was again named second-team all-MIAA.

In 1989-90, Baker averaged 10.3 rebounds per game, to go along with 14.4 points per game and 55.1% shooting from the floor, and was an honorable mention all-MIAA pick.

Her senior season, the squad racked up the first winning season since 1981-82, going 16-10 overall and making a trip to the MIAA postseason tourney. Baker averaged 13.2 rebounds per game, tops in the conference and seventh in all of NCAA Division II, and had 17.9 points per game for second in the MIAA. She was named first-team all-MIAA to conclude her career.

Baker played in 105 career games, made 630 field goals, had a 52% shooting percentage, scored 1,578 points, averaging 15.0 per game, and grabbed 1,235 rebounds to average 11.8 per game. She is second all-time in scoring at Truman, despite playing before the initiation of the three-point shot.

Baker still holds Bulldog career marks for field goal percentage, rebounds and rebounding average, and single-season marks for rebounds and rebounding average (356 and 13.2, respectively, in 1990-91).

Among Truman career leaders, she is second in points and field goals and third in field goal attempts (1,211), free throws made (318) and free throw attempts (573). She holds league records for career rebounds and rebounding average, and single game marks for rebounds and offensive rebounds (13).

Baker established new Bulldog volleyball records for kills (478), attempts (1,201) and block solos (138). She recorded double figure kills in 26 matches and was named first-team all-MIAA.

She is married to Greg Baker and they have four children, two boys, Akili, who is 8-years-old, and Maalik, who is 4-years-old, and two daughters, Khadeja, who is six, and Imania, who was born last January. Baker is working with the Temple Street Family Practice as medical assistant after attending Ross Medical School in Lansing.

Stan Dippel (Mason, Mich.) came to the University in 1986 from Southwest High School in St. Louis. As a goalkeeper for the men's soccer team, Dippel recorded five shutouts in his first season, including back-to-back whitewashes, after which he became the first Bulldog soccer player to be named MIAA player of the week. He was named honorable mention all-MIAA at the season's end, thanks to 161 saves, five shutouts and only 16 goals allowed. Dippel was selected co-MVP and rookie of the year for a squad that recorded a 5-8-3 mark, including the first MIAA victory.

During Dippel's sophomore campaign the team improved to 10-6-2, and earned a share of the MIAA championship. He made 113 saves, recording six shutouts and allowing a stingy 1.0 goals per game average. Dippel was named first-team all-MIAA and the National Soccer Coaches Association of America selected Dippel to its Division II all-Midwest and all-America teams, making him the first Bulldog soccer player to achieve all-America status.

As a junior, the team posted a 9-6-1 record and captured the school's first outright MIAA soccer championship. Dippel made 118 saves, allowing 22 goals in 15 games, with four shutouts.

In 1985, Dippel made 68 saves, allowing just 15 goals over 15 games. He was named honorable mention all-MIAA to conclude his career.

Dippel owned 15 school records at one time, and is still first by more than 100 in career saves (453), as well as single-season saves (154). Dippel is second on the Bulldog career list of shutouts with 19.

He graduated from Truman in 1986 with a bachelor's degree in business and is married to the former Lisa Nolte ('89). They have three children, Brooke who is 9-years-old, Sydney who is seven, and Holden who is 4-years-old. Dippel has worked for Edward Jones & Co., Inc., since 1989.

Andre Gillespie (Florissant, Mo.) is a Pagedale, Mo., native and attended Normandy High School.

In the fall of 1982, Gillespie become a key reserve on a Truman football team that went undefeated in the league and 9-2 overall, rising to as high as fourth in the national Division II poll. Gillespie carried the ball 27 times as a rookie for 126 yards and three TDs, contributing to an offense that racked up 425.6 yards (fourth in NCAA) and 40 points (best in the nation) per contest. He was the team's top rusher, with 41 yards on 10 carries, in the team's NCAA postseason playoff loss to Jacksonville State (Ala.), Truman's first NCAA postseason appearance.

Gillespie was injured in the seventh game of his sophomore season. However, he carried the ball 87 times for 355 yards and three touchdowns.

Gillespie pounded out 795 yards on 175 carries, and three TDs as a junior. He notched four 100-yard games, the biggest being a 126-yard effort, and was named second-team all-MIAA.

In 1985, the team captain blazed the way for an offense that led Division II in total offense (471.4 ypg) and that finished fourth in the nation in scoring (32.5 ppg) on the way to an 8-3 record, an MIAA championship, and a No. 11 ranking in the final DII poll. Gillespie amassed 1,201 yards on 215 rushes and scored eight touchdowns. His 109.2 yards per game was good for sixth in the nation, and he reached 100 yards in nine games, including a career-best 158-yard day. Gillespie's 78 points scored was the 13th-most in the nation.

He was again a first-team all-MIAA pick and was also named to the Football News' first all-America team and was an honorable mention pick on the Associated Press Little All-America team.

Gillespie finished his career as the fifth-most productive rusher in Bulldog history, amassing 2,477 yards on 504 carries and scoring 17 TDs, which still ranks seventh all-time at Truman. Gillespie was one of 14 running backs chosen to the 1900-1999 Truman All-Century football team last year.

He has worked for the University City Public School system in St. Louis for the past six years, and has been an Operations Supervisor for five years. Gillespie and his wife, Jeanette, have a son, Andre, Jr., who is 9-years-old, and another sun, Curtis, who was born this past September.

Michael Harris (Apple Valley, Minn.) transferred to Truman from Porterville (Calif.) Junior College prior to the 1977 season. The Lebanon, Pa., native rushed for 751 yards on 134 carries and six touchdowns that year. When Steve Powell was sidelined with an injury, Harris stepped up his production, having his finest game of the season against Northwest Missouri, gaining 176 yards and scoring a pair of TDs. For his junior season efforts, Harris was named second-team all-MIAA.

His senior season, he rushed for 100 or more yards in eight contests, highlighted by a 256-yard spectacle against Central Missouri and a 232-yard performance at the expense of Lincoln. Those performances still rank sixth and 11th, respectively, on the Bulldog list of single game rushing performances.

He also enjoyed his longest run against Lincoln, a 78-yard scamper. By season's end, Harris re-wrote Truman and MIAA records with his 1,598 yards and 329 carries. His 145.3 rushing yards per game led all of NCAA Division II, his 44 carries against Southwest Missouri established a school record. His 329 carries remains a Truman single season record to this day. The conference coaches selected him the MIAA's most valuable player and the Associated Press named him to its Little All-America second team.

Harris signed as a free agent with the Kansas City Chiefs, but was placed on waivers during the preseason. He later played briefly in the Pennsylvania Semi Pro League and the USFL.

Harris is currently the director of security for Powers Investigations, a worldwide private investigation firm. He has a 10-year-old daughter, Ashley.

Kerry Knepper (Martelle, Iowa) came to Truman from Cascade (Iowa) High School. In her first season, she finished first in two cross-country meets and was in the top 10 five times. At the Great Lakes regional race, Knepper claimed second-place and earned her first trip to the NCAA Division II championships where she finished 45th. In 1987, she was the top finisher in all six cross-country races and finished second overall at the MIAA meet. Knepper was first in the regional race to again qualify for nationals where she improved with a 19th-place finish and earned her first all-America honors.

In 1988, she charted with the highest national finish in school history with a fifth-place finish at the NCAA championships. Knepper sat out the 1989 cross-country campaign while battling anemia. She completed her career in 1990, finishing third at the regional meet and a 28th-place finish in the 5K DII championship race (17:56.1), despite a torn hamstring.

On the indoor track in 1987, Knepper earned her first MIAA championship by winning the mile (5:06.8). She qualified for her first NCAA indoor track championship as a sophomore, finishing seventh in the 3,000-meters. Knepper again qualified for nationals in the 3,000 as a junior, improving her finish to fourth and earning all-America accolades. The team repeated as champions in 1990, as Knepper won the mile and the 3,000-meters. She is still the Truman standard-bearer in the 3,000-meters (9:52.84), mile (4:58.07) and two mile (11:05.98), as well as the 4x800 (9:21.89) and the two-mile (9:24.09) relays. Knepper's highest national finish was third in the 3,000-meters, which also garnered her all-America status as a senior.

As a senior on the outdoor track, she claimed MIAA championships in the 3,000-, 5,000- and 10,000-meters. Knepper finished second in the 10K at the DII outdoor track championships, and advanced to the NCAA Division I championships where she charted a 10th-place finish. Knepper owns the outdoor Bulldog standards in the 1,500- (4:36.54), 3,000-(9:49.21), 5,000- (16:49.44) and 10,000-meters (34.28.6).

She graduated from Truman in December of 1991. Kerry is married to Paul Knepper and they have a son, Paulie, who is 6-years-old.