Five former Eastern Michigan University athletic greats
will be inducted into the E-Club Athletic Hall of Fame
during a ceremony Saturday, Feb. 21, at the EMU Student
Center.
The Class of 2008 includes: Joy (Inness) Johnson (women's
track and field), Lindell Reason (men's basketball),
Jeff Reaume (men's golf), Sarah Willis (women's soccer)
and Chuck Wilson (men's track and field). Former EMU football
great Charlie Batch was voted into the Class of 2008, but
cannot attend the ceremonies. He will be included as part
of the Class of 2009 at next year's Hall of Fame ceremony.
In addition to the Hall of Fame ceremony, the E-Club will
honor former baseball coaching legend Ron Oestrike with
a Distinguished Service Award for his contributions to
the University and the letter winners club. A special presentation
will be made to Oestrike, a 1979 EMU Athletics Hall of
Fame inductee, during the Hall of Fame ceremony.
This year's class marks the 33rd anniversary of the E-Club
Athletic Hall of Fame. The E-Club is a group of former
EMU varsity athletic letter winners. The ceremony will
begin at 10:30 a.m., followed immediately by a buffet luncheon.
The Class of 2008 will then be honored between the women's
and men's basketball games in the Convocation Center later
that day. The EMU women's basketball game is slated to
begin at 2 p.m. against Northern Illinois, with the men
scheduled to host a BracketBuster game at 4 p.m. against
an opponent to be named later.
Tickets for the Hall of Fame ceremony, which includes
a ticket for both basketball games, are $45 each and can
be purchased by calling the EMU Athletics Department at
(734) 487-8236.
A brief synopsis of each inductee is as follows:
 |
Johnson |
Joy (Inness) Johnson, a 1994 EMU graduate,
earned four
individual Mid-American Conference titles and ran on five
relay teams that won MAC outdoor crowns in women's track
and field. Johnson won the triple jump in 1992, 1993 and
1994, and the long jump in 1994. She ran on the winning
4 x 100-meter relay team in 1993, and was a member of the
winning 4 x 400-meter relay teams from 1991-94.
 |
Reason |
Lindell Reason, a 1972 EMU graduate,
was an outstanding
point guard for the EMU men's basketball team from 1969-72.
During his three varsity seasons, he scored 1,454 points,
which ranks 10th in school history. Reason also hauled
down 330 rebounds and his 417 career assists is fifth best
in history. He helped lead EMU to two consecutive National
Athletic Intercollegiate Association (NAIA) National Tournaments
and the 1970-71 team made it to the NAIA championship game.
He also assisted the 1971-72 team to a final four NCAA-College
Division finish.
 |
Reaume |
Jeff Reaume, a 1972
EMU graduate, was a two-time All-American
golfer for the Hurons before turning professional. Reaume
finished 10th individually in the NCAA-College Division
nationals in 1971 with a team-leading round of 300 (74-71-75-80)
that helped his team to an 11th-place finish that year.
That same year, he led EMU with a 75.8 stroke average and
earned second-team All-American honors. Reaume came back
in 1972 to lead the team to a sixth-place finish at the
NCAA-College Division nationals where he shot 305 (77-72-76-80).
He won the Western Junior Golf Tournament in 1969 at the
University of Michigan. He also went on to capture the
Horton Smith Trophy and win the medal play portion of the
state tournament. Reaume won the Michigan Mid-Amateur as
a golfer in the early 1990s.
 |
Willis |
Sarah Willis, a 2000 EMU graduate, was
one of the most outstanding goalies in women's soccer in
EMU history. She recorded a 35-11-6 record as a goalie
from 1998-2000. During 1999, Willis garnered many honors,
including: NCSAA/Adidas All-American Third Team, All-Great
Lakes Region First Team, Mid-American Conference Player
of the Year and an All-MAC Tournament selection. She leads
the EMU record book for career saves (312), season-save
percentage (.918 in 1999), career save percentage (.817),
career goals against average (0.92) and minutes in a season
(1,963:11 in 1999).
Chuck Wilson, a 1991 EMU graduate, was a
four-time All-American
and six-time Mid-American Conference champion in track
and field. He finished third in the 400-meter dash in the
1991 NCAA indoor and outdoor championships, and led off
the 1600-meter relay team that finished fourth at the 1988
NCAA Outdoor Championships. That relay team set a varsity
record and Michigan Collegiate mark of 3:04.73.
 |
Wilson |
Wilson
won the 400-meter title at the MAC Outdoor Championships
three consecutive years: 1989 (:46.63), 1990 (:46.66).
and 1991 (:46.18). He also won several Central Collegiate
Conference titles. In addition, Wilson competed
for the U.S. in the World University Games and ran in the
1992 U.S. Olympic Trials.
Ron Oestrike, EMU's head baseball coach
from 1965-87, will receive the Distinguished Service Award.
Oestrike was the main force behind the rejuvenation of
the E-Letter Winners Club in the late 1980s. Oestrike began
his college career as a two-sport star, lettering in both
baseball and football at EMU. After graduating from EMU
in 1954, Oestrike went on earn a master's degree from the
University of Michigan, served a two-year tour with the
U.S. Army and become a high-school football coach at Trenton
High School.
 |
Oestrike |
Oestrike returned to EMU in 1963 and the rest was history.
He spent the next 24 years developing the EMU baseball
program into one of the very finest in the nation. During
his 22-year reign as head coach, "Oak" led the
baseball squad to unprecedented heights, including leading
the team to an NAIA national championship in 1970; a runner-up
spot in the 1976 NCAA College World Series; a fifth-place
finish in the 1975 NCAA College World Series; four Mid-American
Conference championships, and five NCAA Regional appearances
on the way to a 633-492-8 overall record.
Oestrike was singled out as the NCAA National Coach of
the Year in 1976 by The Sporting News and went on to become
the president of the American Baseball Coaches Association
(ABCA) in 1985. He was inducted into the E-Club Athletics
Hall of Fame in 1979 and was selected to the ABCA Hall
of Fame in 1990. In addition to his coaching prowess, Oestrike
took over the task of taking over a floundering E-Letter
Winners Club in 1990. Through his hard work and ability
to attract new leaders, he helped lead the E-Club to one
of the top alumni chapters at EMU.
