HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE KAYLAN GAINES (#43) established himself as one of the premier pass rushers in Northern Athletics Conference (NAC) history. The Florida native became the first Warriors football player to receive a conference player of the year award, earning NAC Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2010. The NAC’s all-time sacks leader, Gaines finished his four-year (2007-2010) career as the program’s leader in sacks with 30.5. Today, Gaines is a recruiting manager for The Consortium for Graduate Study in Management, an organization that promotes diversity and inclusion in American business. He holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees from WLC and served as a graduate assistant coach for Warriors football. In an online article published by The Consortium, Gaines said: “When I committed to go to Wisconsin Lutheran College, I never thought about being inducted into the hall of fame; I just wanted to choose the best option for me.” He said he wanted to attend a college in a city with “social life offerings” and that boasted a football program where the coaches cared about the players’ well-being both on and off the field. “WLC checked off all those boxes for me,” Gaines noted.
HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2019 WLC enshrined five new members and its first team into the school’s Athletics Hall of Fame on October 12. Inductees are JIM DATKA ’89 (men’s basketball), GARRICK DAY ’14 (baseball), KAYLAN GAINES ’11 and ’16 (football), KAITLYN (STREHLOW) HALBERG ’13 (women’s tennis), CLARENCE JENKINS (women’s volleyball coach), and the 1995-1996 MEN’S BASKETBALL TEAM. They join the 23 existing members of the Hall of Fame, dating back to the inaugural ceremony in 2014. The purpose of the WLC Athletic Hall of Fame is to thank our Lord for those who by outstanding achievement in athletics, by service to athletics, or through significant contributions to athletics have made lasting contributions to WLC and its mission. Nominations are being accepted for the Hall of Fame Class of 2021. Visit wlcsports.com/history/halloffame to learn more.
GETTING BACK ON TRACK The Warriors track & field teams are excited to have “home-field advantage” once again, thanks to a generous donation that enabled WLC to resurface its track & field facilities. The Warriors will host three meets on the new CATALYST TRACK this spring: • Meet for Milwaukee - March 21 • Private College Championships - April 4 • NACC Championships - May 1-2 Attend a meet to see the new, advanced polyurethane running surface that was completed last fall. Visit wlcsports.com to learn more.
20 | Winter 2020
