Six Former Athletes Inducted Into Cobber Hall of Fame

MOORHEAD, Minn. (10/13/12)— Concordia inducted six former athletes into the Athletic Hall of Fame on Saturday during the annual Homecoming celebration.

This year’s inductees included men’s golfer Paul Sanderson ‘64, men’s basketball player Darwin Kreft ’76, football player Mark Heysse ’80, baseball player Kent Kuball ’85, and former women’s track and field teammates Mary (Line) Sloan ’88 and Tammy (Krell) Anderson ’88.

Sanderson never lost a MIAC golf match while playing for the Cobbers from 1961 to 1964. He placed third in the 1961 NAIA national tournament and also won the Resorter’s Golf Tournament in 1961.

Kreft was a two-time All-MIAC basketball player and the team's most valuable player in 1975 and 1976.

Heysse 80 was a member of three MIAC football championship teams, the 1978 national championship team, and was the all-conference and second team All-American in 1980.

Kuball was a four-year letter winner in baseball and a member of the All-MIAC teams in 1984 and 1985. He holds records for career stolen bases and career runs scored. He was a member of the 1981 national championship football team and holds Cobber career records in punt and kick returns.

Sloan earned All-MIAC honors in track from 1985 to 1988, and was a seven-time All-American competing in the long jump, 400-meter run, heptathlon and the 1600-meter relay team. She was a member of the Cobber’s MIAC championship track team in 1988 and a two-year captain.

Anderson earned All-American honors in track seven times and All-MIAC honors 18 times from 1985 to 1988. She competed in the NCAA National Meet in the 400-meter hurdles, high jump and 1600-meter relay, and set Cobber records in four individual and two relay events during her career.    

Paul Sanderson '64
Paul Sanderson has the unique distinction of never losing a golf match in conference play while playing for the Cobbers from 1961 to 1964. While still in high school, he tied for 11th place in the National Junior Golf Tournament, posting lower scores than future professionals Tom Weiskopf, Johnny Miller and Hale Irwin.

As a Concordia freshman, he finished in third place after leading the 1961 NAIA national tournament with nine holes to go at Shawnee, Okla. Later that year, he won the Resorter’s Tournament in Alexandria, Minn., and in 1962 he set the course record in Worthington, Minn., with an 18-hole score of 59 during the club championships.

Sanderson entered the University of Washington Medical School after graduating magna cum laude from Concordia, and completed an ophthalmology residency at the University of Iowa in 1970. From 1972 to 1974 he did research at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., where he published numerous scholarly papers in peer-reviewed professional journals. He discovered that cystinosis was associated with macular degeneration and presented his findings at a national meeting of ophthalmologists.

Sanderson practiced ophthalmology in Edina, Minn., for 25 years and was planning a medical mission to Brazil with Doctors Without Borders before being stricken with a medical condition that has left him unable to practice. Sanderson has been an active member of Normandale Lutheran Church, serving on the education board. His service also includes the board of the Minnesota Academy of Ophthalmology and the Edina hockey board. Along with his wife, Janet ‘66, Sanderson’s greatest source of pride is their four children and 10 grandchildren.

Darwin Kreft '76
An all-around student and athlete at Sac City, Iowa, high school, Darwin Kreft possessed great athletic skills combined with insatiable intellectual curiosity that would take him around the world.

His odyssey began at Northwest Missouri State University and continued to the basketball court at Bismarck (N.D.) Junior College before joining the Concordia basketball team, where he earned all-conference and most valuable player honors in 1975 and 1976. He was an All-NAIA District 13 and first team All-Lutheran selection his senior year with an 18 points per game scoring average.

It was at Concordia where Kreft began to experience the world, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro on a trip to Kenya and Tanzania; and doing abroad seminars in Italy, Greece and Israel. He graduated magna cum laude with degrees in history, political science and psychology and began high school teaching at Anoka and Osseo (Minn.) high schools while attending graduate school at the University of Minnesota.

For three years he taught and coached at the American Embassy School in New Delhi, India, and later at the International School in Manila, Philippines. At both schools he helped coach teams to league championships. He is currently a high school counselor in Maple Grove, Minn. He and his wife, Dinna, are the parents of three children, including one son serving in the Peace Corps.

Mark Heysse '80
Mark Heysse transferred to Concordia in 1978 with the ambition of playing football while also earning an education that would make him marketable in the work world. As an athlete and student, he succeeded at both and today remembers well the lessons learned from some of Concordia’s all-time coaching legends.

As a sophomore, Heysse played defensive tackle on the 1978 Cobber football national championship team. He was an all-conference selection in 1979 and 1980, and an all-district and second team All-American in 1980. During his three seasons as a Cobber athlete, Heysse played an important role on three Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship football teams.

Since graduating, he has stayed involved in football as a high school coach for 30 years, leading teams at Fergus Falls, Minn., and St. Cloud Tech to the state tournament five times. As a track coach, he helped nine different athletes earn trips to the state meet.

Heysse is active in the United Cursillo Movement, has held multiple positions on his church council, and volunteers his time as a youth football and basketball coach. He actively lives his mission in life of working with kids. He and his wife, Susan ‘80, are the parents of three children.

Kent Kuball '85
Kent Kuball was a record setting, two-sport athlete, playing Cobber baseball and football from 1981 to 1985.

In baseball he holds career records for stolen bases, runs scored and bases on balls, and a season record for stolen bases. He was a four-year letter winner, a member of the all-conference teams in 1984 and 1985, and the all-region team and captain of the 1985 team. The 1985 Cobbers won the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship for the first time in 23 years. Kuball also played an instrumental role as a return man for the 1981 national championship football team, and is a season and career leader in punt and kick return yards.

He received a Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from the University of Minnesota in 1989 and served three years as a Navy dentist. Since then, he has operated his own dental practice, Parkview Dental, in Hutchinson, Minn. A passionate family man, Kuball is very active in church and community service and coaching youth baseball. He and his wife, Chris, are the parents of three children.

Mary (Line) Sloan '88
Mary (Line) Sloan was a multi-sport, all-conference athlete from Verndale, Minn., in volleyball, basketball and track. For three consecutive years, she competed in the state track meet in four events and earned All-state honors in 1984.

As a Cobber track athlete, Sloan earned all-conference honors from 1985 to 1988 and was a seven-time All-American. During that time, she competed in the long jump, 400 meters, heptathlon and the 1600-meter relay team at the national meet and helped lead the Cobbers to the 1988 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship. Her teammates demonstrated their respect for her abilities and leadership by twice electing her team captain in 1987 and 1988.

Graduating with a degree in physical education and health, she taught and coached at Wadena-Deer Creek and Hastings (Minn.) high schools. In 2006, Sloan became a personal trainer and group fitness instructor. Mary and Dean Sloan live in Inver Grove Heights and are the parents of three boys.

Tammy (Krell) Anderson '88
As a Cobber track athlete, Tammy (Krell) Anderson was a record-setting member of the 1988 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship team. She earned All-American honors seven times and All-MIAC honors 18 times during her track career from 1985 to 1988.
At the national meets, Anderson earned points and set records in multiple events, including the 1600-meter relay, 400-meter hurdles and high jump. She set four individual and two relay records for the Cobbers in the 55- and 100-meter hurdles, high jump, 400-meter hurdles and 1600-meter indoor and outdoor relay.

Anderson earned a degree in business administration and organizational communication and works in auto claims at State Farm Insurance. Married to fellow Cobber Ross Anderson ’89, they are the parents of two sons and live in Sartell, Minn.

Anderson is active in her community as a volunteer for youth basketball, football and track programs. She has participated on a worship team at her church, where she is a volunteer chaperone for youth events and fundraising activities.