Four inducted into Ricks College

Athletic Hall of Fame

    

A former coach and three former athletes have been inducted into the Ricks College Athletic Hall of Fame at Brigham Young University-Idaho.

They include former head football coach Ron Haun of St. George, Utah, all-round athlete Rulon Callister of Howe, Idaho, football standout Stan Raass of Lehi, Utah, and softball pitcher Monika Hurley Colmenter of New Jersey. The Alumni Association awards were presented Friday, June 1, 2007, at a luncheon hosted by BYU-Idaho president Kim B. Clark.

Rulon Callister (Class of 1938) was the consummate all-round athlete at Ricks College. As a member of the 1937 basketball team, Ricks defeated Weber Junior College for the Rocky Mountain Junior College championship. Rulon was named to the All-star team.That same year, he was given the Kugler Award as the school's Outstanding Athlete of the Year. His 1938 football team defeated freshman teams from the University of Utah and Utah State. He lettered in football, basketball and track both years at Ricks College and was captain of the track team in 1938. His coach in all sports was Clyde Packer. Rulon was also the sports writer for the Scroll, and wrote sports stories for the local paper in Rexburg, and the Salt Lake Tribune. He enrolled at the University of Utah where he earned his BA degree and competed in basketball and track. He followed that with graduate work and earned his teacher's certificate. He also attended BYU for one summer. He met Margaret Smith of St. Anthony while at Ricks College and they were married in 1938. They have seven children, 40 grandchildren and 64 great grandchildren.

Ron Haun came to Ricks College in 1979 to coach quarterbacks and receivers. The following year, he became the offensive coordinator under new head coach Ken Schmidt. In 1982, Ron was appointed head coach of Viking football where he remained for the next 20 years. Coach Hauns' teams won an incredible 81.6 % of their games, a record of 178 wins, 40 losses, and 2 ties. As his career ended at Ricks College, his winning percentage ranked second among active NJCAA coaches, and fourth among active and inactive coaches. His teams were ranked in the top 15 nationally in 17 of his 20 seasons. He coached 10 league champions, 10 bowl champions, and 46 All Americans. He was league coach of the year on seven occasions. In 1992, Ron was named the Intermountain Area Collegiate Coach of the Year. As his career at Ricks College came to a close, he was inducted into the National Junior College Athletic Association Football Coaches Hall of Fame. He has continued to coach as an assistant at Weber State and is currently the head football coach at Dixie State College. He received his bachelor's degree from Weber State and a master's degree from BYU. He is married to the former Beverly North and they have two children.

Stan Raass (Class of 1993) came to Ricks College where his twin brother was attending and playing football for Coach Ron Haun and the Vikings. Stan contributed immediately and found a starting spot on the defensive line, as well as a scholarship. He was named to the Western States Football League First Team Defense in 1992 and 1993. In 1993 he was also named to the NJCAA All America team. He was chosen by his teammates to be team captain. During his first year at Ricks College, the Vikings were 11-0, beat Cisco JC of Texas in the Real Dairy Bowl, and were ranked #2 in the final NJCAA poll. In 1993, Ricks repeated as WSFL champions with a perfect 9-0 mark, and a 10-1 record overall, and a #10 ranking in the NJCAA. Stan continued his collegiate football career at BYU where he was named Team Captain, and earned All-WAC honors. Stan married Summer in July of 1997. They have two boys and one girl and live in Lehi, Utah.

When women's fast pitch softball found a place in varsity sports at Ricks College in 1996, head coach Larry Stocking found a gem when he recruited Monika Hurley as his starting pitcher. In their very first season, behind the pitching of Monika, the Lady Vikings posted a 28-6 record, won the Scenic West Athletic Conference title, then hosted and won the Region 18 tournament as Monika pitched a perfect game in the championship game. Ricks finished the season ranked seventh in the NJCAA poll. Monika earned Third Team All America status. The next year, with Monika leading the way, the Lady Vikings recorded a 42-7 record, repeated as conference and region champions, and followed that with a third place finish at the NJCAA tournament. Monika was named to the First Team All American list, and repeated as First Team, All-Region 18. She holds career and season marks at Ricks College with a two year record of 48 wins and 5 losses, a winning percentage of .905. She ranks second in strikeouts with 408 over two seasons. She is ranked first, second or third in every pitching category in Lady Viking records. Monika and husband Raul Colmenter live in New Jersey with daughter Paige.