Jewell Announces 2024 Athletic Hall of Fame Class

07/23/2024

William Jewell College is pleased to announce the five individuals and one team that will be enshrined into the Athletics Hall of Fame on Oct. 3 as part of the 2024 induction class. Among the greats to be honored are Gary Beets, '68; Sara Shippy Clum, '12; Logan Pettz, '12; Sarah Franklin Stephenson, '14; Jon Ubbenga, '09; and the 2012 women's soccer team. The Hall of Fame induction will take place at on Thursday, Oct. 3, on the campus of William Jewell College.
 
Hall of Famers are selected by a two-thirds vote of the Hall of Fame Committee which consists of athletic alumni and current and former staff. A 10-year waiting period is required for all honorees and may be presented posthumously.
 
Below are brief summaries of the accomplishments of the 2024 inductees.
 
Gary Beets, '68 – Football
A key player during of the best runs in Cardinal football history, Gary Beets led his team for four consecutive Missouri College Athletic Union (MCAU) championships, culminating in the first undefeated season in 1967, going 10-0-1. For the Jewell defense, Beets led the team with 58 tackles in 1958 while posting 49 in 1967. He was a three-time All-Conference First Team honoree and picked up NAIA All-America honors as a senior. His 1967 team was inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fame in 2004.

Sara Shippy Clum, '12 – Track and Field
Perhaps the best women's multi-event athlete in program history, Sara Shippy won five Heart of America conference titles, with two in the heptathlon and one each in the pentathlon, 55-meter hurdles, and 100 meter hurdles. She earned All-America honors in 2011, finishing fifth in the 60-meter hurdles at the NAIA National Championships where she was also 16th in the heptathlon. She also qualified for the National Championships in 2010 in 100-meter hurdles and in the 60-meter hurdles along with the long jump in 2009. As a junior in 2011, she was selected at the HAAC Outdoor Most Valuable Performer after winning three individual titles. She made the transition to NCAA-II and the Great Lakes Valley Conference, earning All-GLVC honors in the pentathlon in 2012 with 3355 points. She was ranked among the top-25 in the NCAA in the pentathlon and 55-meter hurdles but was ineligible for National Championship selection due to NCAA transition rules. She continues to rank among the top-10 all-time performers in the 100-meter hurdles, 100 meters, high jump, long jump, triple jump, heptathlon, pentathlon, 60 meters, and 55-meter hurdles. 

Logan Pettz, '12 – Track and Field
Another outstanding multi-event athlete, Logan Pettz shined for the men's track and field team from 2008-2012. He was a five-time conference champion, winning three in the Heart of America in the decathlon (twice) and pole vault. When Jewell joined the Great Lakes Valley Conference, he quickly made his name known, capturing the 2012 indoor heptathlon and the outdoor decathlon titles while also placing seventh in the pole vault. During his career he set the school record for the pentathlon with 3,680 points. He qualified three times for the NAIA National Championships, including twice in the decathlon, placing 12th in 2010 before rising to 6th in 2011 to earn Outdoor All-America status. As a senior was ranked in the top-25 in NCAA-II in the same event, hitting a qualifying mark of 6428 at conference meet but was not eligible for the National Championships due to NCAA transition rules. Today, he is still ranked among the top-10 all-time performers in the 60-meter hurdles, high jump, 600 yards, decathlon, pentathlon, pole vault, long jump, 400 meters, 110-meter hurdles, and 300 meters.

Sarah Franklin Stephenson, '14 – Soccer
The best women's soccer player of the NCAA era and one of the top players all-time, Sarah Franklin was the first athlete in any sport to earn All-America status at the NCAA level, grabbing a spot on the Second Team as a junior in the fall of 2012. Another crossover athlete who played during the transitionary period, she was also a 2010 NAIA All-America Third Team performer as a freshman. She earned three All-Conference First Team honors, including two in the GLVC where she was selected the 2012 Offensive Player of the Year, the first Jewell athlete in any sport to receive a major award in the league. At the end of that season, she also earned the GLVC Women's Soccer Scholar-Athlete of the Year honor, another first for the Cardinals. During her career, she scored 68 goals, handed out 28 assists, to account for 164 points, 314 shots and 21 game winning goals. She is the NCAA era leader in career points, points per game, goals, goals per game, game winning goals, assists, shots, shots per game, shot on goal, and shots on goal per game. She recorded 17 multi-goal games and led her teams to a 48-24-6 record with two national tournament appearances during her career, including the first of the NCAA era (2012).
 
Jon Ubbenga, '09 – Baseball
A standout shortstop, Jon Ubbenga led the Cardinals to a 167-75 record during his four-year career, with a 2007 conference championship. He was a three-time All-Heart of America Athletic Conference selection, with First Team honors coming in 2009. During his final season he shined, hitting .401 with 83 hits, 29 doubles, 51 runs scored, and 49 RBI with a .967 fielding percentage. For his performance, he received NAIA All-America Honorable Mention honors and the 2009 NAIA Gold Glove for the shortstop position by the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA). Over the final three seasons of his career, he hit .341 with 52 doubles, 137 RBI and 129 runs scored. 
 
2012 Women's Soccer 
After making the transition to NCAA Division II, the women's soccer program wasted no time getting in on the action, becoming the first team in any sport to make an appearance in the NCAA-II National Tournament. The Cardinals, coached by Jefferson Roblee, went 15-3-3 overall and 11-1-3 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference to finish second in the regular season standings. Jewell won 11 of their first 12 games of the season and were 13-1 leading up to the GLVC Tournament. During their first run in the postseason tournament, they defeated Lewis and Bellarmine by identical 1-0 scores before falling by the same to top-seed and No. 21 ranked Quincy in the title game. Despite the loss, the Cardinals received at large bid to the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional where they took on Wisconsin Parkside, falling 2-0. This team was led offensively by Sarah Franklin's 16 goals and four assists while Kelli Sontag held down the goal to the tune of 90 saves and nine shutouts. Franklin was named the GLVC Offensive Player of the Year and Scholar-Athlete of the Year and was joined on the All-GLVC First Team by Justine Dover, Kate Beaver, and Ashley Licata. This team still holds NCAA era records for points, goals, assists, shots, shots on goal, shutouts, and goals against average and become the third women's soccer team inducted into the Hall of Fame, joining the 2003 and 2010 squads.