The UP Sports Hall of Fame welcomed 10 new members over the weekend at the Island Resort and Casino. The first inductee was Katie Hoy Batten, hailing from Newbury, who won four sports letters during her time at Newbury High School. As a senior, she was a member of her UP Dream team and scored over 1,000 points in her basketball career. Joe Casagranda of Crystal Falls was the second inductee, having won 1,123 horse races as a jockey and building a reputation as a horse trainer. David Kuvengross from Wakefield, who played in five sports and won 17 letters during his time at Wakefield High School, was inducted as the third Hall of Famer. Jon Koskinen of Baraga, who won the 2002 UP men’s golf title and later served as an associate head coach of the University of Miami golf team for 12 years, was inducted as the fourth member.
Chris Rhett from Houghton was also inducted into the Hall of Fame, having won twice in U.P. and being crowned a cross-country champion. Lance’s late Jim Mattson was also inducted; he spent many years in education and sports as a coach and official and won his three UP truck titles during his time at Lance. Don MacDonald of Iron River who won 29 games as Stambaugh’s football coach from 1962 to 1967 and was named UP Coach of the Year in 1963, was also inducted. Ginger Polich from Ironwood was also inducted, having earned eight track letters during her high school years and won 12 literary awards in Amherst College. Lisa Twardzik from DeTour and Calumet was the ninth member of the Hall of Fame, having earned 11 representative letters while attending Detour High School, and had served as a volleyball coach at Calumet for 20 years.
Jeff Brahill of Sault Ste. Marie was the final inductee, unable to attend the event due to his commitments as head coach of the two-time Stanley Cup-winning Tampa Bay Lightning. Additionally, four UP high school students received scholarships, including Carney Salo of Escanaba with a GPA of 4.16 who planned to major in business administration, and Munsing’s Kane Nebel, who led the Mustangs to a state basketball championship and planned to attend the University of Michigan for a degree in sports management.