Highlander Athletic News – Summer 2025

Athletics Holds Induction for 2025 Hall of Honor Class

Ken German ’61 and the 1998 Field Hockey Team are the latest inductees into the Houghton Athletics Hall of Honor after a luncheon ceremony among friends, family, and Houghton staff on May third.

The honorees of this induction class join a Hall roster that now totals 71 alumni, coaches, teams, and contributors.

Ken German, Class of 1961

Described by his friend and classmate, Paul Mills, as “…the epitome of a scholar-athlete”, Ken German excelled in four sports during his years at Houghton College, while studying pre-med and zoology. In athletics, German was best known for his accolades on the baseball field and the basketball court, but he also participated in football and track & field. A native of nearby, Cuba, New York, German studied pre-medicine under Dr. George Moreland. While with the Highlanders, he would also serve as Vice-President of the Pre-Med Club, Business Manager of the Lanthorn, and as a member of his class cabinet and student senate.  German would eventually graduate with honors in the spring of 1961. Following graduation, German earned his medical degree from Temple University and practiced orthopedic surgery in Las Vegas, Nevada.  He and his wife Elaine eventually moved to LaGrande, Oregon, where he retired from a private medical practice in 1997. They had three children: Brian, Laura, and Robert.

1998 Field Hockey Team

The 1997 team, which produced an upset win over Bloomsburg University, set the stage for the successes of the 1998 team. Heading into the 1998 campaign, Head Coach Donna Hornibrook labeled her young squad as talented, fast, and well-balanced, but she was anticipating a rebuilding year. The team opened with a 4-1 preseason win over defending DIII champion William Smith, and knocked off Ithaca and Juniata to open the regular season. The third game of the year brought in DII Lock Haven, a team that had won three national championships over the previous six seasons and would go on to finish as national runners-up in 1998. The Highlanders got the 4-2 upset win with Judy Johnson tallying three goals. Houghton would win nine-straight games to open the season before losing to eventual DII national champion Bloomsburg, then closed the year with six more wins to finish with a 15-1 overall record.

Night of Excellence Gala Honors 2024-25 Student-Athletes, Teams

The department held its annual Night of Excellence Awards Gala in April, honoring student-athletes, teams, and moments that highlighted the 2024-25 season.

Among those honored were Noelle Linenfelser (cross country and track and field) and Evan Kurtz (track and field), who were the recipients of the Student-Athlete Excellence Awards that go to those who have regularly exhibited excellence in the areas of athletic performance, academic achievement and Christian character during their time as Highlander student-athletes.

Kanta Ueno (baseball) and Victoria Brewster (track and field) were selected as the 2024-25 Athletes of the Year, while Samuel Garay (tennis) and Alexa Belanger (track and field) were the Newcomers of the Year.

Track Athletes Earn All-America Honors 

Victoria Brewster and Alexa Belanger were the Highlanders’ first-ever participants at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field National Championships, with both claiming All-America honors at the March event in Rochester, N.Y.

Brewster, the Empire 8 champion and regional champion in the indoor 60 meters, finished as the national runner-up in the event and produced the No. 5 time all-time DIII mark of 7.49 seconds to earn First Team All-America recognition. Belanger, also a conference and regional champion, earned Second Team All-America honors in the high jump by finishing in Ninth place with a jump of 1.68 meters.