NCC will be honoring nine former Cardinal athletes as they have named the 2022 induction class to its Athletic Hall of Fame.
This induction class is the second biggest in NCC Hall of Fame history behind 2004’s class. The nine inductees are Bob Walker, ’75, (baseball), Steve Holden, ’06 ,(football), Maggie Kelly Eckburg, ’08, (women’s volleyball), Dan Benton, ’11, (men’s track & field), Michael Spain, ’11, (men’s cross country/track and field), Landon Gamble, ’14 ,(men’s basketball), Mary Kate Rohn Walsh, ’14/M ’16, Kari Kluckhohn (head women’s track and field coach) and Heidi Matthews (athletic training).
Bob Walker
Walker was the first baseball player from NCC to be drafted into Major League Baseball. He was drafted in the 35th round of the 1975 MLB Draft by the Baltimore Orioles. During his time at NCC, he was the first player to earn multiple First Team-All CCIW accolade, set an NCC single-season record for ERA with 0.85 in the 1973 season and threw two-no hitters, the first two in program history.
Steve Holden
Holden finished his career at NCC as the all-time leader in rushing yards with 3,898, 34 touchdowns and 206 points scored and remains the Cardinals’ all-time leader in rushing attempts with 764. He is one of three, four-time All-CCIW selections in program history. He led NCC to its first NCAA Division III postseason appearance in 2005.
Maggie Kelly Eckburg
Eckburg helped lead the volleyball program to two of the most successful seasons in program history in 2006 and 2007, winning 26 consecutive matches in back-to-back years. She was honored as NCC’s first volleyball All-American in 2007 and set program records with 640 kills in a season and a career record with 1,632 kills.
Dan Benton
Benton won four individual national titles and was a member of four Division III national championship teams for the Cardinals. He won twice in the 400-meter dash and twice in the 4-by-400-meter relay. He is a two-time Indoor Track Athlete of the Meet at the CCIW Indoor Championship while owning the CCIW Outdoor Championship record in the 400.
Michael Spain
Spain was also on four national championship-winning teams and won three individual national championships as a senior. He was a 10-time All-American winning three cross country, seven track & field and a four-time CCIW individual champion. At the 2011 outdoor national championships, he won the 5,000 and 10,000-meter events, contributing 20 points.
Landon Gamble
Gamble earned First Team All-CCIW honors for four straight years, the third member of the men’s program to do so. NCC won two CCIW championships and two CCIW tournament titles with Gamble. The program advanced to the 2013 national semifinals during his time as a Cardinal. He left NCC as the men’s basketball program record holder for games played with 112 while ranking third in field goals made with 618 and fourth in scoring with 1,616 points.
Mary Kate Rohn Walsh
Walsh became the second Cardinal to win the individual title at the CCIW Women’s Golf Championship in 2013. She is NCC’s program record holder for the lowest 18-hole score in a competition with 73. Walsh has also contributed to the team’s scoring records at 18, 36 and 54 holes. She was a part of the first Cardinal team to qualify for the national-championship competition.
Kari Kluckhohn
Kluckhohn has been North Central’s women’s track and field coach since 2002. During her tenure, the program has won 15 CCIW team championships, seven individual national championships, 101 All-American Awards and 131 CCIW individual and relay championships. She is a four-time United States Track & Field and Cross-Country Coaches Association Midwest Region Coach of the Year honoree. Under her leadership, NCC’s coaching staff has won 13 CCIW Coaching Staff of the Year awards.
Heidi Matthews
Matthews started at NCC as the head athletic trainer, director of sports medicine, and instructor of health and physical education in 1993. She taught most of the athletic training courses. She helped NCC to become the first athletic training program to gain accreditation in the Chicagoland area. In 2016, she was named the inaugural dean of NCC’s School of Education and Health Sciences. She was awarded the College’s Dissinger Award in 1998 and the Cleo Tanner Award for service to women’s athletics in 2009.
The ceremony honoring the newest inductees will take place on Oct. 1 during NCC’s homecoming weekend.
