Central Michigan University Athletics
Standout Class Headed To Hall Of Fame
7/23/2018 12:00:00 AM | General
Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - Another outstanding class of Chippewa Athletics greats is slated to join the Central Michigan University Marcy Weston Hall of Fame.
The class comprises gymnast Bethany (Couturier) Cole, wrestler Wynn Michalak, softball player Amy (Hudson) Clark, football player Red Keith, track and field/cross country teammates Tristen Perlberg and Jake Flynn, and the 1987 Chippewa softball team.
The induction ceremony is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 12, at McGuirk Arena and the group will be introduced at halftime of the Chippewas' Oct. 13 football game at Kelly/Shorts Stadium against Ball State.
Bethany (Couturier) Cole, gymnastics: Couturier, a native of Grand Rapids, won Mid-American Conference championships on balance beam in 2002 and 2003, and earned All-MAC honors four times. Couturier helped lead the Chippewas to NCAA Regional berths four times and to victories in the MAC Championships in 1999, 2000 and 2003. She earned All-National Invitational Tournament honors in 2000 and in 2001 was selected to the National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches/Women Scholar-Athlete Team in 2001. Her career-best scores in the all-around, uneven bars and balance beam still rank among the top 10 in program history.
Jake Flynn, men's track and field/cross country: Flynn, a native of Benzonia, placed 35th in the NCAA Cross Country Championships in 2002, earning All-America honors and helping lead the Chippewas to a ninth-place finish, the best in program history. Flynn earned All-Mid-American Conference honors four times in his career, including three appearances on the first team. He twice finished runner-up individually at the MAC Cross Country Championships and also recorded a third-place finish as the Chippewas won consecutive team titles from 2003-05. He also helped lead CMU to three MAC track and field championships, earning a combined five top-eight individual finishes including a third in the 3,000 meters at the 2004 indoor championships. Was named Academic All-MAC in 2002.
Amy (Hudson) Clark, softball: Hudson, a native of Everett, Wash., hit .356 in her standout career, helping to lead the Chippewas to Mid-American Conference West Division titles in 2005 and 2008. Hudson's .414 batting average in 2006 remains the best in program history, and her career average ranks fourth among all Chippewas. When she graduated from CMU in 2008, Hudson ranked in the top 10 in program history in runs, hits, doubles, RBI, home runs and batting average; today, she remains among the program's top 10 in hits, doubles and RBI and she still holds the program single-game record with five hits. Hudson is one of four Chippewas to earn First Team All-MAC honors four times in her career and now joins the first three - Beth (Bull) Spencer, Pam Stanley and Tina (Kinney) Salley - in the hall. Hudson received an invitation to the USA Softball Selection Camp for the 2006 World University Games and signed a free agent contract with the Philadelphia Force of the National Pro Fastpitch League.
Red Keith, football: Keith, a linebacker from Franklin, Ga., was the linchpin of Central Michigan defenses, helping to lead the Chippewas to Mid-American Conference championships in 2006 and in '07. A four-year starter, Keith led the Chippewas in tackles in each of his seasons and remains second in program history with 474 tackles. In 2007, when he was named CMU's most valuable player, he made a MAC-leading 148 stops, which still stands as the third highest single-season total for a Chippewa. CMU capped that season with a win in the Motor City Bowl, the first bowl victory in program history. Keith was named First Team All-MAC in both 2006 and 2007 after earning second team honors in 2005. In 2004, he was named a Freshman All-American. Keith was a national finalist for the Awards and Recognition Association Sportsmanship Award and one of 22 student-athletes from across the nation named to the American Football Coaches Association Good Works Team. Three times Keith earned Academic All-MAC honors and twice was named to the College Sports Information Directors of America All-District team.
Wynn Michalak, wrestling: Michalak, a native of Caro, finished runner-up at the NCAA Championships in 2008 to earn All-America honors for the third time in his illustrious career at CMU. Michalak was a four-time Mid-American Conference champion, a three-time MAC Wrestler of the Year, and was named the MAC Freshman Wrestler of the Year in the 2005 when he became the first freshman in program history to earn All-America honors. Michalak twice earned the Chick Sherwood Award as the Chippewas' most valuable wrestler and he helped lead CMU to four MAC regular-season and four MAC tournament titles. He compiled a 128-24 career record with 50 falls and remains among the top 10 in program history in wins, win percentage, pins and consecutive wins. In 2007, Michalak earned the inaugural Dick Enberg Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award, was a four-time Academic All-MAC selection, a four-time National Wrestling Coaches Association All-Academic selection, was a Second Team Academic All-American in 2008, and was the recipient of an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship.
Tristen Perlberg, men's track and field/cross country: Perlberg, a Bay City native, was instrumental in the Chippewas' track and field and cross country success from 2000-05. He earned All-America honors by placing 31st at the NCAA Cross Country Championships in 2002, earned First Team All-Mid-American Conference cross country honors in three consecutive seasons, culminating with the individual conference title in 2004, and was a three-time NCAA All-Region honoree. He helped lead the Chippewas to three consecutive MAC cross country titles, two MAC outdoor track and field championships, and one league indoor crown. His team-best 31st-place finish in the 2002 NCAA Cross Country Championships led CMU to a ninth-place finish, the best in program history. Perlberg placed in the top eight a combined eight times at the MAC Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field Championships, topped by back-to-back third-place finishes in 2004 and in '05.
1987 softball team: One of the most successful teams - regardless of sport - in CMU's long and storied history, the '87 squad coached by Margo Jonker finished fifth in the Women's College World Series and won a fifth Mid-American Conference championship in a six-year span, finishing 37-14. Jonker was named the MAC Coach of the Year and earned regional and national coach-of-the-year honors as well. CMU's Cheryl Hein and Cathy Wylie earned all-region honors, while Kris (Tipmore) Popp and Beth Bull would eventually become All-Americans. The Chippewas went 5-0 that season against teams ranked in the top 20, and then dramatically knocked off Northwestern in a best-of-three NCAA Regional to earn a berth in the Women's College World Series in Omaha, Neb.
