ABERDEEN, S.D. (Press Release) – Five Northern State University alumni and one Wolves Athletics team will be honored at the 2019 NSU Hall of Fame Banquet.
The banquet is set for 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 11, at Aberdeen’s Dakota Event Center. This year’s inductees are Micah Arnold, Todd Ford, Matt Hammer, Carolin (Becker) Magstadt, Kira (Wannebo) Swenson and the 1993-94 women’s basketball team.
For more information about the Hall of Fame Banquet, please contact the NSU Foundation at 605-626-2550.
Bios for the 2019 Hall of Fame inductees are below:
Todd Ford is the 2019 Kretchman Coaching Award winner. Ford, who earned his B.S. in 1984 and his M.S. in 1986, competed in NSU wrestling from 1981 to 1984. He was a three-time NAIA National Qualifier; team captain in 1983-84; and assistant coach in 1984-85, with a third place team finish in the NAIA national tournament.
Ford was the 1983 Region 8 Runner UP, 1982 NSIC Third Conference, and 1983 NSIC Runner-up.
Since moving to Arizona in fall 1986, Ford has been involved in developing wrestling programs at new and old schools. He has been able to join the coaches association and help build a great clinic and association over the years. He has also helped Arizona USA Wrestling develop a national and international program that produces many All-Americans each year.
From 1986 to 1988, he was the wrestling coach at Arizona’s Maricopa High School – starting a new program from scratch and finding success in year one with crowning one state champion. In year two, he qualified six wrestlers for the state tournament and a second place region finish.
From 1988 to 1992 he was Tempe (Ariz.) High School head wrestling coach, coaching two state champs and eight state placers, with two top 10 finishes.
From 1992 to 1995, he was Mountain Pointe High School head assistant coach, assisting in the development of the new school wrestling program, and developing and coaching a freestyle program and summer wrestling camps.
From 1995 to 2006, he was head wrestling coach at Desert Vista High School. He started and developed a brand new school and wrestling program. Over a 12-year period, he developed a state contending team each year, reaching a state runner-up finish in 2002 and five top 5 finishes in nine years as a varsity program. A total of nine team tournament championships occurred during this period, including three regional titles and three runner-up finishes. Ford coached four individual state champs and another 35 state placers.
Other wrestling affiliations include: Arizona USA Wrestling; Juniors state director (1992-2006); 1998 USA Wrestling Person Of The Year; National teams apparel provider/designer (1992-2014); best uniform awards (1995, 2000, 2012); USA New Zealand cultural exchange (team leader/coach); USA/Arizona cultural exchange coach (Canada exchange); founder, Buffalo Wrestling Club; founder, Thunder Wrestling Club; Arizona USA Wrestling board (1992-2006); Arizona Wrestling Coaches clinic director (1988-2006); Arizona Wrestling Coaches Association president (1990-1994); Arizona wrestling coaches board (1990-2006); AIA wrestling representative and advisor; and wrestling camp clinician (1992-2006) at numerous camps, including NSU, Thunder wrestling camps and Sundevil wrestling camps.
Ford now lives in Chandler, Ariz., with his wife, Lesley. They have three children: Marcie, 38, MacKenzie, 32, and Mason, 23; and two grandchildren: Brooklyn, 5, and Emerson, 3. Ford works as a real estate agent with Berkshire Hathaway Home Services.
Micah Arnold, who earned a Bachelor of Science with a coaching minor in 2004, competed in two years of football and three years of track and field for the Wolves. He set school records in the 55m, 60m, 55m and 60m hurdles; 100m, 200m indoor and outdoor; 110 high hurdles; 400m; and 4×1 relay. He still holds the 100m, 200m outdoor and 4×1 records.
In football, Arnold played both offense and defense and in 2003, he led the secondary in tackles and tied for the team lead in interceptions.
Arnold was named 2003-04 Clark Swisher Athlete of the Year, 2003-04 State of S.D. Honor Athlete of the Year, 2008 All-American, 2003-04 NSIC Men’s Indoor Track and Field Athlete of the Year, and 2003-04 NSIC Men’s Outdoor Track and Field Athlete of the year.
He earned 17 All-NSIC Conference selections, was a three-time team MVP (2001-02, 2002-03, 2003-04), and was on the 2001 NSIC Indoor Championship team.
Arnold obtained a master’s degree from North Dakota State University in 2007. He competed professionally in track and field for two years, was an NFL camp participant with the Oakland Raiders, and played arena football professionally for three years. He was named to the UIF All-Rookie Team and was league record holder in total return yards and average. He was also Rookie of the Year runner-up with 1,267 total yards and nine touchdowns.
Arnold has been wide receiver and return specialist coach for the West Fargo High School football team for the last 13 seasons, and was the state of North Dakota’s honorary coach in 2017.
Arnold currently lives in Fargo with his wife, Dani, and two children, Jordan, 10, and Jacoby, 7. He works as an American Family Insurance agency owner of The Micah Arnold Agency Inc.
Matt Hammer earned his bachelor’s degree in health and physical education in 2007 and his master’s in health and physical education in 2010. He played basketball from 2002 to 2006.
Hammer finished his career 1,686 points, sitting 12th all-time, and 663 rebounds, sitting 11th all-time. He was a 3-time All-NSIC pick (2003-04, 2004-05, 2005-06), 3-time NSIC All-Tournament team member (2003-04, 2004-05, 2005-06), the 2005 NSIC Player of the Year, and a member of the Daktronics North Central All Region Team (2004-05, 2005-06). In addition, Hammer participated in the inaugural NCAA DII All-Star game played at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
The Wolves recorded four consecutive 20-plus win seasons; were regular season NSIC Champions in 2002-03; NSIC Tournament Champs 2003-04 and 2004-05; NCAA D2 National Tournament participants (2003-04, 2004-05, 2005-06); and NCAA D2 Sweet Sixteen in 2006.
Hammer was the Head Coach at Sheridan College from 2014 to 2019, compiling a 117-43 coaching record. His team was Region IX North regular season champs in 2017-18 and 2018-19. He was Region IX North Coach of the Year in 2018 and 2019; Region IX Quarterfinalist in 2016-17; Region IX Semifinalist in 2017-18; Region IX Runner-up in 2018-19; and received an at-large bid to the NJCAA National Tournament in Hutchinson, Kan., in 2019. He was announced as the head men’s basketball coach for NCAA Division II Colorado State University Pueblo in April of 2019.
Hammer now lives in Pueblo, Colo., with his wife, Mallery, and their five children.
Carolin (Becker) Magstadt attended NSU from 2003 to 2007, earning a degree in business management and fitness management. Magstadt played women’s basketball all four years.
She currently sits 27th all-time in points (1,172); 15th all-time in rebounds (667); 10th all-time in field goals made (462); seventh all-time in field goal percentage (51.9 percent); 10th all-time in free throws made (237); and ninth all-time in games played (118). In addition, Magstadt ranks fifth in single season field goal percentage, shooting 56.6 percent from the floor in 2003-04.
Magstadt received All-Conference honors (2006-07); honorable mention All-Conference (2005-06); Academic All District Team (2007); and NSIC All-Tournament Team (2006).
She now lives in Waconia, Minn., working as general manager of Exos. She and her husband, Valdie Magstadt, have two children: Abram, 7, and Elliot, 5.
Kira (Wannebo) Swenson received a B.S.Ed. in elementary and special education in 2009. She played soccer for the Wolves from 2004 to 2007.
Swenson was named to the 2006-07 All-NSIC First Team; 2007 NSIC Defensive Player of the Year; Daktronics All-Central Region First Team; NSCAA/Adidas All-Central Region First Team; NSCAA/Adidas Scholar All-Central Region Second Team; and NSCAA/Adidas Scholar All-America Second Team. She was the first NSCAA/Adidas All-American in program history, earning third team honors.
In 2007, Swenson was an anchor to an NSU defense that shut out 12 opponents and allowed only 15 goals that season, including just two through NSIC play and the conference tournament. She was named the 2008 Northern State Hildred Wolfe Award recipient, graduating as one of the most decorated soccer players in program history.
Swenson and her husband, Dan, live in Pierre, where she works as a second-grade teacher at the Pierre Indian Learning Center.
The 1993-94 NSU Women’s Basketball Team was the most successful team in program history, going 32-1 overall and 12-0 in NSIC play. Among the many records set in the season was most wins (32), best winning percentage (97.0 percent) and most consecutive wins (32).
After losing their first game of the season to Wayne State College, the Wolves cruised through the remainder of the year and became the NAIA Division II National Champions. This was the third straight National Tournament appearance for the Wolves and the second time in three years that Northern State took home the crown. NSU was ranked No. 1 in the nation the entire season and was led by head coach Curt Fredrickson.
Julie Jensen and Jenny Seesz were named to the All-Region and All-Northern Sun Conference teams in 1993-94. Jensen was the Player of the Year in both the region and the NSIC and made the NAIA II All-America First Team for the second straight year.
For her efforts at the National Tournament, Paula Stolsmark was named to the All-Tournament First Team and was declared Tournament Most Valuable Player. Jensen made the All-Tournament Second Team.
The 1993-94 squad scored 2,758 points for an average of 83.6 points per game, which is second all-time. The Wolves held the best shooting percentage all-time at NSU, shooting 48.1 percent from the field. As a team, the Wolves reached the century mark with 100+ points four times on the season. The Wolves had 621 assists on the 1993-94 year, averaging 18.8 assists per game, which is second all-time in NSU history.
The Northern State defense was also key to the success of the season. The Wolves pulled down 44.5 rebounds per game compared to their opponents’ low 30.2 game for a rebounding margin of +14.3. They recorded 166 blocks on the season, which is also best in school history, averaging 5.03 per game. NSU held its opponents to just 37.7 percent from the field.