Northwestern Reveals Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2019
6/27/2019 11:00:00 AM | General
EVANSTON, IL. – A group of six remarkable Wildcats, including five student-athletes and one honorary inductee, comprise the 2019 Northwestern Athletic Hall of Fame class, it was announced Wednesday.
"Induction into the Hall of Fame is an honor reserved only for those who achieved at a truly elite level representing Northwestern Athletics," said Combe Family Vice President for Athletics & Recreation Jim Phillips. "This year's class is no exception. There is no doubt each of them are supremely deserving of the recognition, and we look forward to welcoming this group of six incredible 'Cats back to campus in September."
The 2019 class includes student-athletes Sarah Albrecht (lacrosse), Chelsea Armstrong (field hockey), Marisa Bast (softball), Amy Jaeschke (women's basketball), Sam Valenzisi (football) and honorary inductee, Bill Osborn, the chairman emeritus of Northwestern's Board of Trustees.
The distinguished group will be formally inducted on Friday, September 13, and recognized by the Northwestern community during the Wildcats football home-opener against UNLV the following day at Ryan Field.
2019 Northwestern Athletics Hall of Fame Inductees:
SARAH ALBRECHT (2002-06), Women's Lacrosse
Of the leaders of Northwestern's reestablished women's lacrosse program, Sarah Albrecht has the uncommon distinction of being a five-time captain of her team. Beginning as a freshman in 2002, Albrecht was a captain from the beginning all the way through NU's first two NCAA championships, earning a pair of All-America honors along the way.
Albrecht started all 15 games in her rookie year of 2002, leading the team in all scoring categories before succumbing to an injury that ended her sophomore campaign in a redshirt season. She came back to earn second-team All-American Lacrosse Conference honors in 2004.
Albrecht was a key component of NU's powerhouse 2005 team that started the program's national championship run. She was third on the team in assists, fourth in points and fifth in goals while earning an NCAA Championships All-Tournament team nod with 10 goals in the final three games of the Championship. She won an Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association All-America second-team honor for her efforts.
As a fifth-year senior in 2006, Albrecht dialed back the offense and led the team in other areas including ground balls and draw controls. Herwell-rounded game was good enough to be named an IWLCA first-team All-American in her final season.
CHELSEA ARMSTRONG (2009-12), Field Hockey
Chelsea Armstrong earned four first-team All-Big Ten and three All-America awards during her Northwestern career, graduating as the Wildcats' career leader in both points and goals.
Armstrong led the Big Ten in goals scored in all four of her seasons, finishing her career with exactly 100. At the time of her graduation, she was one of just nine student-athletes in NCAA history to collect 100 career goals. Armstrong's 238 career points made her just the fourth Big Ten student-athlete to ever reach the 200-point threshold.
A two-time Big Ten's Offensive Player of the Year selection, Northwestern honored Armstrong as both its Big Ten Medal of Honor and Female Athlete of the Year recipient during her career.
Armstrong won a National Field Hockey Coaches Association All-Region first-team accolade as a rookie in 2009 before going on to be a second-team All-American in 2010 and a first-team All-American in each of her final two seasons.
MARISA BAST (2011-14), Softball
A four-time All-Big Ten selection and 2012 All-American, Marisa Bast went on to become Northwestern Athletics' first-ever top-9 finalist for the NCAA Woman of the Year award as a senior.
In her All-America season of 2012, Bast finished one home run shy of winning the Big Ten's triple crown after leading the league in batting (.414), RBIs (63) while blasting 13 home runs. She finished the season ranked ninth in the NCAA with 1.17 RBIs per game and second in NU single-season history with 68 RBIs.
She went on to have two more All-Big Ten seasons, including earning the nod at third base on the first-ever Big Ten All-Defensive team in 2014. That season, she recorded an incredible .988 fielding percentage, with just two errors in 164 chances at the hot corner.
Off the field, Bast was a two-time Academic All-American, a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar and an Academic All-Big Ten honoree. She also founded ROARR, a student-based initiative to combat bullying in local schools. Those efforts combined with her All-America prowess on the field made her NU's Big Ten Medal of Honor winner and a Woman of the Year finalist. Each year, three student-athletes from each of the three NCAA divisions are chosen as finalists; Bast was one of three Division I student-athletes to be a finalist in 2014.
AMY JAESCHKE(2007-11), Women's Basketball
One of the most dynamic student-athletes in the modern era of Northwestern Women's Basketball, Amy Jaeschke graduated as the school's leading shot blocker and remains third in program history in scoring and fourth in rebounding. She earned four All-Big Ten awards, an AP All-America honorable mention and was a finalist for the Wooden Award in her senior season.
Jaeschke won honorable mention and All-Freshman team All-Big Ten awards in 2007-08, leading the team in scoring, rebounding and blocks despite breaking her hand in the first game of the season. After a second-team All-Big Ten campaign in 2008-09, Jaeschke averaged 16.2 points and 7.2 rebounds per game as a junior in 2009-10 while ranking sixth in the entire nation with 3.21 blocks per game. Her All-Big Ten first-team selection was the Wildcats first in 11 years.
Owner of 33 career double-doubles and one triple-double, Jaeschke recorded 14 of her double-doubles in her senior season alone. She averaged 21.4 points and 9.0 rebounds en route to being named All-Big Ten first team for a second time in addition to being a candidate for the Wooden Award, the State Farm Wade Trophy, the Naismith Trophy and the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award.
Jaeschke ended her career with 357 blocks, which ranked in the top-20 all-time in NCAA Division I history at the time of her graduation. A third-round WNBA draft pick of the Chicago Sky, Jaeschke went on to play professionally overseas in both China and Russia.
SAM VALENZISI(1992-95), Football
Sam Valenzisi began his career as a walk-on and finished it as an All-America kicker for the most storied team in Northwestern football history.
Valenzisi walked out of the stands and onto the sideline to begin his career. He attended games in 1991 as a fan before earning a spot on the roster during walk-on tryouts in January of 1992. He won the team's place-kicking duties one game into the 1993 schedule and proceeded to convert 24 field goals during his sophomore and junior seasons.
He earned enough respect from his teammates to be elected a team captain—as a kicker—for the 1995 season that would end in a Big Ten championship and a Rose Bowl berth. That year, he set a school record by converting on 13 consecutive field goals attempts, making 15 total in just seven games before an injury derailed the remainder of his season. Still, he was named a first-team All-American and graduated as the ninth-leading scorer in program history with 169 points.
In the classroom, Valenzisi was named a CoSIDA Academic All-America first-team selection following the 1995 season.
BILL OSBORN, Honorary Inductee
Bill Osborn was elected Chair of the Board of Trustees of Northwestern University in 2009, succeeding long-time Chair Patrick G. Ryan. His tenure continued previous momentum and included some of the most transformational years in Northwestern Athletics history.
He received an undergraduate degree in 1969 from Northwestern's Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences and an MBA degree from Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management in 1973.
Osborn was elected to Northwestern's Board of Trustees in June of 1996 and currently serves as one of the Vice-Chairs of the Board. He has been Chairman of the Budget Committee since 2002 and serves as a member of the Executive, Nominations, and Compensation Committees. In 2008, he chaired the university's Presidential Search Committee. He also serves on the Advisory Board of the Kellogg School of Management. His wife, Cathy, is a 1972 graduate of Northwestern's Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences.
"Induction into the Hall of Fame is an honor reserved only for those who achieved at a truly elite level representing Northwestern Athletics," said Combe Family Vice President for Athletics & Recreation Jim Phillips. "This year's class is no exception. There is no doubt each of them are supremely deserving of the recognition, and we look forward to welcoming this group of six incredible 'Cats back to campus in September."
The 2019 class includes student-athletes Sarah Albrecht (lacrosse), Chelsea Armstrong (field hockey), Marisa Bast (softball), Amy Jaeschke (women's basketball), Sam Valenzisi (football) and honorary inductee, Bill Osborn, the chairman emeritus of Northwestern's Board of Trustees.
The distinguished group will be formally inducted on Friday, September 13, and recognized by the Northwestern community during the Wildcats football home-opener against UNLV the following day at Ryan Field.
2019 Northwestern Athletics Hall of Fame Inductees:
SARAH ALBRECHT (2002-06), Women's Lacrosse
Of the leaders of Northwestern's reestablished women's lacrosse program, Sarah Albrecht has the uncommon distinction of being a five-time captain of her team. Beginning as a freshman in 2002, Albrecht was a captain from the beginning all the way through NU's first two NCAA championships, earning a pair of All-America honors along the way.
Albrecht started all 15 games in her rookie year of 2002, leading the team in all scoring categories before succumbing to an injury that ended her sophomore campaign in a redshirt season. She came back to earn second-team All-American Lacrosse Conference honors in 2004.
Albrecht was a key component of NU's powerhouse 2005 team that started the program's national championship run. She was third on the team in assists, fourth in points and fifth in goals while earning an NCAA Championships All-Tournament team nod with 10 goals in the final three games of the Championship. She won an Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association All-America second-team honor for her efforts.
As a fifth-year senior in 2006, Albrecht dialed back the offense and led the team in other areas including ground balls and draw controls. Herwell-rounded game was good enough to be named an IWLCA first-team All-American in her final season.
CHELSEA ARMSTRONG (2009-12), Field Hockey
Chelsea Armstrong earned four first-team All-Big Ten and three All-America awards during her Northwestern career, graduating as the Wildcats' career leader in both points and goals.
Armstrong led the Big Ten in goals scored in all four of her seasons, finishing her career with exactly 100. At the time of her graduation, she was one of just nine student-athletes in NCAA history to collect 100 career goals. Armstrong's 238 career points made her just the fourth Big Ten student-athlete to ever reach the 200-point threshold.
A two-time Big Ten's Offensive Player of the Year selection, Northwestern honored Armstrong as both its Big Ten Medal of Honor and Female Athlete of the Year recipient during her career.
Armstrong won a National Field Hockey Coaches Association All-Region first-team accolade as a rookie in 2009 before going on to be a second-team All-American in 2010 and a first-team All-American in each of her final two seasons.
MARISA BAST (2011-14), Softball
A four-time All-Big Ten selection and 2012 All-American, Marisa Bast went on to become Northwestern Athletics' first-ever top-9 finalist for the NCAA Woman of the Year award as a senior.
In her All-America season of 2012, Bast finished one home run shy of winning the Big Ten's triple crown after leading the league in batting (.414), RBIs (63) while blasting 13 home runs. She finished the season ranked ninth in the NCAA with 1.17 RBIs per game and second in NU single-season history with 68 RBIs.
She went on to have two more All-Big Ten seasons, including earning the nod at third base on the first-ever Big Ten All-Defensive team in 2014. That season, she recorded an incredible .988 fielding percentage, with just two errors in 164 chances at the hot corner.
Off the field, Bast was a two-time Academic All-American, a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar and an Academic All-Big Ten honoree. She also founded ROARR, a student-based initiative to combat bullying in local schools. Those efforts combined with her All-America prowess on the field made her NU's Big Ten Medal of Honor winner and a Woman of the Year finalist. Each year, three student-athletes from each of the three NCAA divisions are chosen as finalists; Bast was one of three Division I student-athletes to be a finalist in 2014.
AMY JAESCHKE(2007-11), Women's Basketball
One of the most dynamic student-athletes in the modern era of Northwestern Women's Basketball, Amy Jaeschke graduated as the school's leading shot blocker and remains third in program history in scoring and fourth in rebounding. She earned four All-Big Ten awards, an AP All-America honorable mention and was a finalist for the Wooden Award in her senior season.
Jaeschke won honorable mention and All-Freshman team All-Big Ten awards in 2007-08, leading the team in scoring, rebounding and blocks despite breaking her hand in the first game of the season. After a second-team All-Big Ten campaign in 2008-09, Jaeschke averaged 16.2 points and 7.2 rebounds per game as a junior in 2009-10 while ranking sixth in the entire nation with 3.21 blocks per game. Her All-Big Ten first-team selection was the Wildcats first in 11 years.
Owner of 33 career double-doubles and one triple-double, Jaeschke recorded 14 of her double-doubles in her senior season alone. She averaged 21.4 points and 9.0 rebounds en route to being named All-Big Ten first team for a second time in addition to being a candidate for the Wooden Award, the State Farm Wade Trophy, the Naismith Trophy and the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award.
Jaeschke ended her career with 357 blocks, which ranked in the top-20 all-time in NCAA Division I history at the time of her graduation. A third-round WNBA draft pick of the Chicago Sky, Jaeschke went on to play professionally overseas in both China and Russia.
SAM VALENZISI(1992-95), Football
Sam Valenzisi began his career as a walk-on and finished it as an All-America kicker for the most storied team in Northwestern football history.
Valenzisi walked out of the stands and onto the sideline to begin his career. He attended games in 1991 as a fan before earning a spot on the roster during walk-on tryouts in January of 1992. He won the team's place-kicking duties one game into the 1993 schedule and proceeded to convert 24 field goals during his sophomore and junior seasons.
He earned enough respect from his teammates to be elected a team captain—as a kicker—for the 1995 season that would end in a Big Ten championship and a Rose Bowl berth. That year, he set a school record by converting on 13 consecutive field goals attempts, making 15 total in just seven games before an injury derailed the remainder of his season. Still, he was named a first-team All-American and graduated as the ninth-leading scorer in program history with 169 points.
In the classroom, Valenzisi was named a CoSIDA Academic All-America first-team selection following the 1995 season.
BILL OSBORN, Honorary Inductee
Bill Osborn was elected Chair of the Board of Trustees of Northwestern University in 2009, succeeding long-time Chair Patrick G. Ryan. His tenure continued previous momentum and included some of the most transformational years in Northwestern Athletics history.
He received an undergraduate degree in 1969 from Northwestern's Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences and an MBA degree from Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management in 1973.
Osborn was elected to Northwestern's Board of Trustees in June of 1996 and currently serves as one of the Vice-Chairs of the Board. He has been Chairman of the Budget Committee since 2002 and serves as a member of the Executive, Nominations, and Compensation Committees. In 2008, he chaired the university's Presidential Search Committee. He also serves on the Advisory Board of the Kellogg School of Management. His wife, Cathy, is a 1972 graduate of Northwestern's Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences.
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