All-Americans in the sports of football, wrestling , track and field and cross country and one of the top women’s basketball players make up the 2015 class of the Jackrabbit Sports Hall of Fame at South Dakota State University.
The Hall of Fame class includes: • Perry Fink, wrestling; • Christy (Young) Mettler, cross country/track and field; • Kevin Tetzlaff, football; • Deb (Veldkamp) Van Klei, basketball
Induction ceremonies are scheduled for Oct. 10 at the McCrory Gardens Great Hall. The inductions of Fink, Mettler, Tetzlaff and VanKlei will bring the roster of inductees in the Jackrabbit Sports Hall of Fame to 76 since its inception in 1967.
PERRY FINK Fink finished a standout wrestling career second on the Jackrabbits’ all-time victories list with a 119-32-1 record from 1986-89 — a total that currently stands fifth in program history. He became only the second South Dakota State wrestler to win four individual North Central Conference crowns, claiming the 142-pound division in both 1986 and 1987, followed by back-to-back 150-pound titles in 1988 and 1989. He also earned All-America honors three times, placing sixth at 142 pounds as a freshman and turning in consecutive fourth-place finishes at 150 pounds as a junior and senior.
A native of Cottage Grove, Minnesota, Fink posted a pair of 30-win seasons, compiling a 33-9 record during the 1987-88 season, followed by a 34-4-1 mark during the 1988-89 campaign.
CHRISTY (YOUNG) METTLER Mettler excelled in distance running for the Jackrabbits, winning four individual North Central Conference titles and earning All-America honors six times between cross country and track and field.
A Custer native, Mettler claimed individual conference titles in the 3,000 meters both indoors (1988) and outdoors (1989), while also winning both the 5,000-meter outdoor title and individual cross country championship in 1989 to lead the Jackrabbits to the team title. She was a two-time All-American in cross country, placing 21st in 1989 and 12th in 1990 as SDSU recorded back-to-back third-place finishes at the NCAA Division II Championships.
In addition, Mettler was a two-time All-American both indoors and outdoors in track and field. Her indoor All-America honors came in the 3,000-meter run, where she place fourth in 1988 and sixth in 1989. Outdoors, she placed sixth in the 10,000 meters in 1989 and third in 1991 to close out her collegiate career.
Mettler also was honored for her work in the classroom as an NCC Scholar-Athlete and NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship recipient.
KEVIN TETZLAFF Tetzlaff anchored the Jackrabbit defensive line from 1988-91, leading the squad in sacks in consecutive seasons with 6.5 in 1988 and six in 1989. A two-time first-team all-North Central Conference selection, his career totals included 259 tackles, 29 tackles for loss and 15 sacks.
After missing the entire 1990 season due to injury, Tetzlaff responded with a dominant senior season in which he earned first-team Little All-America honors from the Associated Press and the Football Gazette. He tallied 96 total tackles , including seven for loss and 2.5 sacks during the 1991 campaign, after which he was selected to play in the Kelly Tire Blue-Gray All-Star Game.
Tetzlaff was named the recipient of the Stan Marshall Award as the top male scholar-athlete in the North Central Conference during the 1991-92 season and also earned GTE Academic All-America honors as a senior. In addition, he was a three-time Academic All-NCC honoree.
Originally from nearby Hayti, Tetzlaff will be the second member of his family to be inducted into the Jackrabbit Sports Hall of Fame, joining his older brother, Mark, who was an All-America basketball player on SDSU’s 1984-85 squad which finished as runner-up in NCAA Division II.
DEB (VELDKAMP) VAN KLEI Van Klei helped lead a resurgence in women’s basketball at South Dakota State as a member of the Jackrabbits from 1986-89. A native of Edgerton, Minnesota, VanKlei set a Jackrabbit career record with 517 assists (since broken), while finishing second all-time in points (1,621) and steals (245), as well as third in rebounds (734). A four-year starter, she averaged 14.2 points and 6.4 rebounds per game for her career and still ranks in the SDSU career top 10 for points, field goals, free throws made, rebounds, steals and assists.
Van Klei earned all-North Central Conference honors her junior and senior seasons. The Jackrabbits finished second in the NCC with an 11-3 mark in league play during the 1987-88 season and qualified for the NCAA Division II postseason for the first time before ending the year with a 25-5 overall mark. During her senior season, Van Klei helped lead the jackrabbits to a 22-6 overall record, including a 9-5 ledger in conference games.
She also was a two-time Academic All-NCC selection
