2003 Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees

  • Gary Beard
    Teacher, Coach, Athletic Director, Assistant Principal. Served the Lakeview Schools for 45 years - 18 years as Athletic Director. Coached girls' basketball and served as a MHSAA official in football, basketball and baseball. The Lakeview High School "Most Improved" sports award is given in his honor.

    Larry Bentz, Class of 1980
    Basketball, Baseball: Team captain, MVP, All-City, All-Conference, All-State in both basketball and baseball. Career batting average of .385. Averaged 17 points and 12 rebounds in his basketball career. Drafted by the Chicago White Sox baseball team. LHS Athlete of the Year, Battle Creek Enquirer Athlete of the Year.

    Becky Hastings, Class of 1974
    Swimming. First female to earn a varsity letter on the mens' swim team. Made a significant contribution to LHS mens' swimming. Four-year letter winner, team captain, Big Ten Champion, All Big Ten and NCAA All-American freestyle swimmer at Michigan State University.

    Tim Lankerd, Class of 1978
    Football, Baseball, Basketball: Team captain, MVP, All-City, All-Conference, All-State in football. All-City, All-Conference in baseball. LHS Athlete of the Year. Earned three letters in football at Western Michigan University. Coached football, basketball and baseball at Lakeview High School.

    Linda Marick, Class of 1977
    Softball, Volleyball: Earned four letters in softball. Team captain, MVP, and earned two letters in volleyball. LHS Female Athlete of the Year. Named Miss Softball USA, 1978. National Champion in volleyball at Kellogg Community College, 1978. Played volleyball at Miami University. Coached LHS's state championship volleyball team in 1982.

    Brad McCrory, Class of 1971
    Wrestling: Team captain, City, Conference, District Champion. 2nd Place Regional and State Tournaments. Wrestled for four years and won five tournaments at the University of Michigan. Placed second at the Big Ten Tournament, 1975.

    Michael Oursler, Class of 1993
    Football, Basketball, Baseball: All-City, All-Conference, All-State, team captain, MVP, Best Competitor in Football. Set six school records in football. All-Conference, Best Competitor in Basketball. Team captain, MVP, Best Competitor, All-City, All-Conference in baseball. Four-year letter winner and National Football Championship Team at Albion College.

    Jim Ritter
    Teacher and Coach. Lakeview's "winningest" football coach with a record of 105 wins and 35 losses. Coached Lakeview's only ten win season and had seven seasons with only one loss. Coached the Spartan's only appearance at the Silverdome. His teams were ranked in the Top Ten five times.

    Kirstan VanderSluis, Class of 1980
    Swimming: Team captain, MVP, City Champion, five time Conference Champion and All-State in freestyle events. Set five school records at LHS in the 100, 200 and 500 yard freestyle. Four year letter winner, team captain, All-Big Ten and NCAA All-American at the University of Michigan.