General

UW-River Falls Announces 2023 Hall of Fame Class

**Release courtesy of UW-River Falls Sports Information

RIVER FALLS, Wis.--The University of Wisconsin-River Falls Athletics Hall of Fame Committee has announced the class of 2023 inductees – Natasha (Arnold) Jones (women's track & field), Earl Blodgett (positive contributor), AJ Bucchino (men's hockey), Patti Ford (coach) Michelle Kostick (women's basketball), Ashley (Peterson) Conrad (women's soccer), Alyssa (Rasmussen) Woitas (women's cross country/track & field), Amanda Ryder (women's hockey/softball), Rose (Tusa) Schmaedeke (softball), and the 1996 volleyball team.

Natasha Jones '10
Women's Track & Field
Jones, formerly Arnold, competed for UWRF women's track & field from 2008-10 and is a member of a trio of school relay record squads; the indoor & outdoor 4x400-meter relay times set in 2010, and the outdoor spring medley relay.
 
In 2010, Jones was the WIAC Indoor & Outdoor 400-meter Dash Champion and guided the 4x400m relay teams to WIAC Indoor & Outdoor titles. She went on to place seventh in the 400-meter dash at the NCAA Indoor Championships and eighth at the NCAA Outdoor Championships to earn All-America recognition and was again a member of the 4x400m relay teams that achieved All-American fourth place times at the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships.
 
Jones' indoor and outdoor 400m times (57.08 – 2010 indoor, 55.87 – 2010 outdoor) both rank second on the UWRF women's track & field record book, second only to fellow 2023 Hall of Fame class member Alyssa (Rasmussen) Woitas. She also ranks sixth all-time with an 800m indoor time of 2:22.25 and sixth in the outdoor 200m with a time of 25.48.
 
Earl Blodgett '80
Positive contributor (Former faculty member/athletic representative)
Blodgett is a 1980 UWRF graduate and was a four-year member of the men's cross country and track & field teams from 1976-80. He was a UWRF faculty member for 35 years as a professor of physics, earning a Distinguished Teacher award in 2014, and spent time as an advisor to the men's track club in years in which the varsity program was suspended.
 
From 2015-21, Blodgett served as an athletics faculty representative, and he continues to attend all UWRF cross country and track & field alumni events along with volunteer work for home meets. He has donated hundreds of road race t-shirts to Falcon cross country runners as a reward for student-athletes earning a personal record.
 
AJ Bucchino '09
Men's Hockey
Bucchino transferred to UW-River Falls after one season at the University of New Hampshire. He then spent two seasons at UWRF and established himself as one of the top goaltenders in Falcon men's hockey history. From 2005-07, Bucchino appeared in 47 games between the pipes for the Falcons with a 2.10 goals against average along with a .934 save percentage – the highest percentage in program history.
 
A two-time First Team All-Conference honoree, Bucchino had a standout final season with the Falcons in 2006-07, leading the team to a NCHA regular season title with 819 saves and 21 wins, both the second most in UWRF history. A team captain, he started in all but one game with a .933 save percentage and was named an AHCA First Team All-American and was selected Team MVP. His career .712 winning percentage is third highest in UWRF history while ranking among the top-10 in several additional Falcon goaltending statistical categories.

After his two seasons at UWRF, Bucchino played professionally for parts of three seasons in the East Coast Hockey League, Southern Professional Hockey League, and the Central Hockey League.

Patti Ford
Volleyball Head Coach
Coach Ford led UWRF volleyball for 30 years from 1992 to 2021 and is the winningest head coach in Falcon volleyball history.
 
During her 30 seasons at the helm of UWRF's volleyball program, Ford guided the Falcons to an overall record of 625-410, collecting four WIAC Championships and six NCAA Division III National Tournament appearances.
 
The longest tenured head coach in WIAC volleyball history, she ranks fifth in the WIAC in all-time career wins and was recently first among active WIAC coaches in wins. Ford was a three-time WIAC Coach of the Year.
 
Under Ford's direction, five Falcon volleyball players (Melissa Mattson, Melissa Tvrdik, Nina Petersen Kat Krtnick and Lexi Pingel) earned the prestigious WIAC Scholar-Athlete Award. Amy Holm, Cara Gustafson, Tvrdik and Krtnick were named CoSIDA Academic All-Americans. Mattson and Tvrdik were also named the WIAC Player of the Year in 2000 and 2003. Ford coached 41 Falcons to All-WIAC First Team honors, 29 athletes to AVCA All-Midwest Region, and 15 athletes to All-American status.
 
Michelle Kostick '88
Women's Basketball
A 1988 UWRF graduate, Kostick was a two-time All-WIAC guard for Falcon women's basketball, competing for the Falcons from 1984-88.
 
During her senior year in 1987-88, she helped lead the Falcons to a 22-6 overall record and 13-3 WIAC ledger to earn the conference championship while reaching the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history.
 
Throughout her career, Kostick compiled 339 assists, the third most in UWRF history, and a .396 three-point field goal percentage, the second-highest rate in program history. She also holds the program record for assists in a game with 14 and has the second-most assists in a season with 165, both set during the 1986-87 season.
 
Ashley (Peterson) Conrad '07
Women's Soccer
Conrad, formerly Peterson, was an All-WIAC First Team honoree in each of her four seasons as a Falcon women's soccer player from 2003-06 and totaled 99 career points off 37 goals and 25 assists in 77 games played, ranking fourth among the UWRF women's soccer career scoring leaders.
 
During her tenure at UWRF, the Falcons compiled a 51-20-6 overall record, including a 17-4 record her freshman season in 2003 along with a 6-2 conference mark to win the WIAC Championship, the first in UWRF women's soccer history.
 
A member of the WIAC All-Time Team and a NSCAA All-Region honoree in 2006, Conrad's 37 goals in the third most in UWRF history and her 25 assists is the second most. Her senior year in 2006, she led the Falcons with 43 points off 17 goals and nine assists, the fifth most points and fourth most goals in UWRF single-season history. Against UW-Superior in 2004, Conrad had a 10-point performance with four goals and is tied for the program single-game record with her four goals and ranks second with 10 points.
 
Alyssa (Rasmussen) Woitas '14
Women's Track & Field
Woitas, formerly Rasmussen, was a dual athlete on the UWRF women's cross country and track & field teams from 2010-13, excelling on the track as a six-time All-American and six-time WIAC Champion.
 
She wrapped up her career in 2013 placing sixth in the 200-meter dash and eighth in the 400-meter dash at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, a year in which she also took third in the 400m at the NCAA Indoor Championships and was the WIAC Indoor & Outdoor 400m Champion. Woitas was also a member of the 2010 indoor & outdoor WIAC Champion, All-American, and school record holder 4x400-meter relay teams.
 
In the UWRF women's track & field record book, Woitas holds top times in the indoor 400m (56.73), outdoor 400m (55.59), and 200m (24.58). Additionally, she ranks among the top-five in seven more events.
 
Amanda Ryder '14
Women's Hockey/Softball
A two-sport athlete, Ryder played four years of women's hockey as a defender from 2009-13 and was an outfielder on the softball team from 2011-12.
 
On the ice, Ryder was a three-time All-NCHA First Team honoree and was named an AHCA First Team All-American her senior year in 2013. She accumulated 20 goals and 56 points in 114 career games and helped lead the Falcons to a trio of NCHA regular season and playoff championship titles and NCAA tournament appearances, including the 2009 NCAA Final Four. She was also a three-time member of the NCHA All-Academic Team.
 
During the two seasons in which Ryder played on the UWRF Softball team, she helped guide the Falcons to back-to-back WIAC Tournament titles and NCAA Tournament appearances in 2011 and 2012. A two-time All-WIAC and All-Region award winner, she led the 2012 Falcons with a .431 batting average, which ranks ninth all-time in the UWRF single-season records.
 
Rose (Tusa) Schmaedeke '12
Softball
A four-year member of the UWRF softball team from 2009-12, Schmaedeke, formerly Tusa, is one of the most decorated pitchers in UWRF softball history. She is the program's career leader with a 1.68 earned run average in 697 innings pitched along with 741 strikeouts and 75 wins, to name a few.

In 2012, she set and still holds single-season records in pitching appearances (45), wins (27), complete games (21), shutouts (9), and strikeouts (245), leading the Falcons to their second consecutive WIAC Tournament Championship title and NCAA Tournament appearance.
 
A three-year All-WIAC First Team award winner, Schmaedeke was twice named the WIAC Pitcher of the Year, was a two-time All-Region honoree, and was selected to the NFCA All-America Second Team in 2012.
 
Successful on and off the diamond, Schmaedeke was named the WIAC Scholar Athlete and an Academic All-American her senior year.
 
1996 Volleyball Team
The 1996 UWRF Volleyball Team was the first conference championship team in program history, winning both the WIAC regular season and tournament titles.
 
Under head coach Patti Ford, the Falcons turned in a 34-5 overall record and 7-1 conference ledger, reaching the NCAA Tournament for the second time in program history and hosting a regional for the first time.
 
In UWRF volleyball history, the 1996 Falcons rank tied for third all-time with a .236 attack percentage and 107 solo blocks. Jennifer Frodl and Cara Gustafson earned AVCA First Team All-America accolades.
 
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