By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
The 2023 St. Joseph Area Sports of Hall of Fame Class was officially inducted during an enshrinement ceremony at the Stoney Creek Hotel and Conference Center on Sunday.
The ceremony, the third ever of its kind in St. Joseph, was attended by over 400 people and put on by the St. Joseph Sports Commission.
The 2023 Hall of Fame class is comprised of nine individuals, one team inductee and a Special Olympics Athlete of the Year.
To be eligible for the Hall, the individual or team must have been born in Buchanan County, must have made their sports career or accomplished their feat in Buchanan County, or must be contributing to sports in Buchanan County currently.
This class includes College Football and NFL tight ends Dwayne Blakley and Martin Rucker, Elite Track & Field/Cross Country Runner Ann Marie (Brooks) Chappell, tennis legend Kathleen (Heckman) Winegardner, Olympic Weightlifter Pete Kelley, World Class Amateur Golfer Brad Nurski, High School Coaching Legend Paul “Pop” Springer, NFL assistant coach Chris Tabor, Major League Baseball Pitcher and Coach Jim Wright, the 1976 Lafayette High School Boys Basketball State Championship team and Special Olympics Area Athlete of the Year Jane Wood.
An anonymous three-person committee selects each year's class. The St. Joseph Area Sports Hall of Fame was established in November of 2020, and this was the third ever class to be enshrined.
The Hall of Fame committee selected these 10 inductees in a field of 54 nominations. This year's committee was chaired by Patsy Smith.
Other committee members included Steve Booher, Dave Elms, Mike Halloran, Melody Prawitz, Ron Hook, Marci Bennett, Chuck Kempf, Bob Roth, Bob Slater, and Mary Supple.
Bishop LeBlond girls' basketball coach Jackie Steltenpohl was also presented with the Bill Snyder Woman of Impact Award during the ceremony on Sunday.
The Woman of Impact Award, established in 2022, recognizes a female athlete, coach, administrator or contributor who achieved an outstanding season or accomplishment over the past year.
Steltenpohl led the Golden Eagles to a 28-4 record in 2022-23 , a district championship and a runner-up finish in the Class 2 Final Four in Springfield.
LeBlond advanced to their first Final Four since 1986, and it was their first state title game appearance since 1983.
This year's Hall of Fame ceremony was held a month earlier than normal, because the inaugural St. Joseph marathon comes up on September 23.
You can read about each member of the 2023 Hall of Fame Class here.
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