KITNA, GILBERTSON HEADLINE CWU ATHLETICS HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES
Wildcats to Induct Nine Individuals, 1995 Football Team into Hall This Friday, May 19

ELLENSBURG - Former Seattle Seahawks and current Detroit Lions quarterback Jon Kitna and former University of Washington head football coach Keith Gilbertson are among nine individuals and one team being inducted as part of the 23rd class into the Central Washington University Athletics Hall of Fame this Friday, May 19.

The Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place on Friday, May 19, in the new Student Union Building on the CWU campus. A social hour will start at 6 p.m., followed by the dinner and program at 7 p.m. Admission is $25 and is open to the public, and those interested in purchasing tickets to the event can contact Nate Harris at (509) 963-2848. This year's ceremony will be the first time the event has been held as a stand-alone event after being combined with the university's Homecoming festivities in the fall in previous years.

Kitna, who starred at quarterback for the Wildcats from 1992-95 and has spent the past 10 seasons in the National Football League, will be inducted as both an individual and as a member of the 1995 CWU football team that won the school's only national championship in the sport.

Gilbertson, who has been head coach at three NCAA Division I institutions including Washington, and most recently has been a member of the coaching staff of the Seattle Seahawks, played football for the Wildcats for one season during the late 1960s.

Ellensburg natives Jason and Sandy Stevenson, who were both NAIA All-American wrestlers at Central Washington University during the early 1990s, will be inducted together. Jason is currently the head wrestling coach at Ellensburg High.

Other inductees into the 23rd class of the Hall of Fame include former track and field standouts Dick Clintworth and Lona Joslin Huck, former gridiron stars Bob Hibbard and Marc Yonts, and volleyball great Brenda Moore.

In addition, former football defensive lineman Mike (Estes) Patton, who was selected among the Class of 2004, will be inducted at this year's ceremony.

Below is brief biographical information on each of the 2006 inductees into the Central Washington University Athletic Hall of Fame:

DICK CLINTWORTH - Was a track and field standout at Central who competed in the pole vault from 1966-69 ... Is still listed sixth on the school's all-time list in the event with a career-best mark of 14 feet, 10 3/4 inches (set as a sophomore in 1967) ... Continues to excel in track and field today, competing in Master's events ... Has also been instrumental in the coaching profession, helping to educate youth and others involved with the sport of track and field ... Olympia (Olympia HS).

KEITH GILBERTSON - A former Wildcat football standout, has been head football coach at three NCAA Division I schools (Idaho, California, Washington) ... Is currently an assistant coach with the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League ... Also coached the Los Angeles Express of the United States Football League from 1983-85 ... Played football for the Wildcats in 1967 before transferring to Columbia Basin and Hawaii ... Earned his degree from Central in 1971 ... Snohomish (Snohomish HS).

BOB HIBBARD - Veterans' Committee selection ... Was a standout offensive lineman for the Wildcat football team during the early 1950s ... Was a two-time all-Evergreen Conference center during the 1952 and 1953 seasons ... Added honorable mention Associated Press All-American and second team Little all-West Coast accolades in 1953 ... Collected all-Northwest honors as a senior as well ... Also played linebacker ... Seattle (Garfield HS).

LONA JOSLIN HUCK - Competed in track and field at Central from 1982-85 ... Claimed NAIA District 1 championships in the women's heptathlon in 1982 and 1983 ... Remains the CWU school record-holder in the heptathlon ... Placed eighth at the NAIA National Championships with 4,486 points, just missing All-American honors ... Also qualified for nationals in 1983, placing eleventh ... Yakima (Naches Valley HS).

JON KITNA - Record-setting quarterback played at CWU from 1992-95 ... Will be beginning his 10th season in the National Football League in 2006, including his first with the Detroit Lions ... Has also played for the Seattle Seahawks (1997-2000) and Cincinnati Bengals (2001-05) ... Was a free-agent signing by the Seahawks prior to the 1996 season ... At Central, set numerous passing records that still stand today ... Threw for 12,353 yards and 99 touchdowns over four seasons with the Wildcats ... Helped lead Central to the 1995 NAIA National Championship, throwing for a school-record 4,616 yards and 42 touchdowns ... First team NAIA All-American as a senior ... Three-time All-CFA Mount Rainier League selection ... Tacoma (Lincoln HS).

BRENDA MOORE - Played four seasons of volleyball at Central, lettering in 1986-87 and 1989-90 ... First team all-NAIA District 1 as a senior ... Owns the CWU single-season record for digs with 454 as a senior ... Ranks among the all-time greats in Wildcat volleyball history in numerous other statistical categories ... Remains among the top 15 in single-season attempts (second, 1,093), digs per game (fourth, 3.98), and kills (eighth, 367) ... On the career lists, is eighth in hitting attempts (1,933), ninth in digs per game (3.17) and eleventh in total digs (765) ... Yakima (Eisenhower HS).

JASON AND SANDY STEVENSON - Arguably the two most successful wrestlers in CWU history of the sport ... Jason holds the school record with 118 career victories, while Sandy is second on the all-time list with 83 wins ... Sandy had also established a single-season record with 37 wins in 1990-91, a record later eclipsed by Jason (38 wins in 1993-94) ... Sandy finished fourth at the 1991 NAIA National Championships, while Jason placed third nationally in 1994 ... Both are Ellensburg natives ... Jason is currently the head wrestling coach at Ellensburg High School.

MARC YONTS - Was a two-year football standout for the Wildcats, and was a First Team NAIA All-American in 1990 ... Finished his career with 104 total tackles, including 15 quarterback sacks ... Two-time Little All-Northwest first team all-star ... First team All-Columbia Football Association Mount Rainier Division pick in 1990 ... Second team All-CFA Mount Rainier as a junior in 1989 ... Has been the head football coach at Walla Walla High School since 1996 ... Played for two seasons at Walla Walla College prior to joining the Wildcats for the 1989 season ... Kennewick (Kamiakin HS).

1995 FOOTBALL TEAM - Earned the university's only football national championship, tying the University of Findlay (Ohio) in the 1995 NAIA National Championship game at Tacoma ... Finished the season with a 10-3-1 overall record ... Overcame a three-point regular season loss to archrival Western Washington by defeating the top-ranked Vikings in the first round of the NAIA playoffs ... Went undefeated in final seven games of the season, with the last six contests being played away from Ellensburg ... Won three straight CFA games to end the league schedule and earn the final at-large berth to the NAIA playoffs.