McKendree to honor greats during Homecoming
The McKendree University Sports Hall of Fame will induct four former standouts into its 2015 class.
The quartet will be honored at the Alumni Awards Dinner in conjunction with Saturday’s Homecoming activities at McKendree. The ceremony is at The Hettenhausen Center for the Arts on the McKendree campus.
The 2015 McKendree Sports Hall of Fame induction class includes: Derwood (Woody) Derickson (baseball and basketball), Class of 1960, Darrell Flake (basketball), Class of 2005; Kayla (White) Moll (softball), Class of 2009 and Rebekah (Diers) VanScoyk (women’s bowling), Class of 2010.
▪ Derwood Derickson was a key contributor for the Bearcats’ baseball squad during his three seasons with the program. In his first season of 1957, he was second on the team in several statistical categories including hits (29), runs scored (28), home runs (4) and triples (2). McKendree captured the Prairie Collegiate Conference championship as well. In 1958 Derickson was part of a McKendree team that went 10-0 in PCC play and carried a collective batting average of .349. During his senior season of 1960, Derickson helped carry McKendree to its seventh consecutive PCC championship. The Bearcats won 17 games that year as he once again put up some solid offensive numbers. Derickson led McKendree with 19 walks while tying for the team lead with four round-trippers.
▪ Darrell Flake only played two seasons with the McKendree men’s basketball program, yet he had one of the most dominant careers in Bearcat history in that short span. Flake was a dominant force in the paint both offensively and defensively as McKendree enjoyed an extended run as one of the top programs in Division I of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. A two-year starter at forward for McKendree, Flake posted a career total of 1,499 points. While that figure stands 24th on the Bearcats’ all-time scoring list, it is the highest point output by a two-year player in the program’s lengthy history. Flake averaged 21.1 points while at McKendree, including a team-leading 23.7 points per contest as a senior in 2001-02. With a smooth shooting touch, he connected on 68.1 percent of his field goal attempts, which is the highest percentage in program history.
▪ Kayla (White) Moll was a catalyst at the top of the McKendree University softball lineup during her four-year career with the Bearcats. Relying on her blazing speed both on the basepaths and while roaming the outfield, Moll capped her career by helping McKendree to its final NAIA National Championship appearance. As a senior in 2009, Moll put together a late-season run that culminated with McKendree’s second AMC Tournament championship in three years. At the time of her induction, Moll owns McKendree career records in five different categories: hits (255), runs scored (167), doubles (51), triples (24) and walks (82). She played in all but four of the Bearcats’ games during her four-year career, and appeared in each McKendree contest as a sophomore, junior and senior.
▪ Rebekah (Diers) VanScoyk helped raise the visibility of the McKendree University women’s bowling program on a national scale during her four years as a member of the program. Thanks to a combination of consistent performance and year-round dedication, VanScoyk and her teammates helped establish a standard of excellence on the lanes that elevated the Bearcats into national prominence. In each of VanScoyk’s four years as a part of the McKendree women’s bowling team, the Bearcats earned the right to bowl in the United States Bowling Congress Intercollegiate Team Championships, which serves as the collegiate national championship event. VanScoyk captured numerous in-season tournament titles and all-tournament accolades during her career and was a two-time first-team All-America selection by the National Collegiate Bowling Coaches Association, with the accolades coming following her junior and senior seasons.
Women’s hoops
McKendree University women’s basketball head coach Kari Kerkhoff released the 2015-16 schedule last week.
The Bearcats schedule features 28 games, including 14 at home at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center. McKendree will start the season at home on November 13-14 when it hosts the Great Lakes Valley Conference/Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Crossover Tournament. The Bearcats will be joined by fellow GLVC member University of Illinois Springfield, along with GLIAC members Lake Superior State University and Hillsdale College. McKendree will open the season on Nov. 13 against Lake Superior State at 7 p.m., before playing Hillsdale on Nov. 14 at 3 p.m.
Following the GLVC/GLIAC Crossover Challenge, McKendree will play three games in seven days with non-conference tilts at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Mo., on Nov. 18 at 5:30 p.m., a home game against Southwest Baptist University on Nov. 21 at 3 p.m., and will make the short trip to Saint Charles, Mo., on Nov. 24 for a game at Lindenwood University at Noon.
The Bearcats will start their conference slate on the road on Dec. 3 and 5 with games at University of Southern Indiana at 4:15 p.m., and Bellarmine University at noon, respectively. McKendree will host a non-conference game against Central Christian on Dec. 9 at 5 p.m., before playing its final conference game of first semester at University of Illinois-Springfield on Dec. 12 at 1 p.m.
On Dec. 16, the Bearcats host Oakland City University at 5 p.m., before closing out first semester at the Kentucky Wesleyan College Classic against the host on Dec. 19 at 3 p.m., and against Trevecca Nazarene University on Dec. 20 at 3 p.m.
The Bearcats will host home conference contests against William Jewell College (Jan. 14), Rockhurst (Jan. 16), University of Wisconsin-Parkside (Jan. 28), Lewis University (Jan. 30), Missouri S&T (Feb. 11), Drury University (Feb. 13), Bellarmine (Feb. 18), Southern Indiana (Feb. 20), and Illinois-Springfield (Feb. 25).
This story was originally published October 1, 2015 at 6:49 PM with the headline "McKendree to honor greats during Homecoming."