Lincoln College to honor Athletic Hall of Fame Class at banquet

[October 06, 2016]  LINCOLN - Lincoln College will induct its 2016 Athletic Hall of Fame class at a special banquet on November 4th. The banquet will be held in the Davidson-Sheffer Gymnasium and includes a cocktail reception from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., followed by dinner and an awards program. The event is open to the public, and the deadline for reservations is 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 28.

The Athletic Hall of Fame recognizes and celebrates the long and exemplary history of athletics at Lincoln College. The inductees are:

Kim (Green) Wize, female athlete from the class of 1986. Wize was recruited to play basketball for the Lynx by coach Donna Bonebrake. While at Lincoln College, Wize was named a Kodak All-American and part of the Lady Lynx national qualifying team in 1985. She was also named Co-Captain of the Basketball Team during her sophomore year.

Her list of awards includes: Outstanding Defensive Player, all-regional team as a freshman and sophomore, Women’s basketball most valuable player in 1985 and Women’s basketball player of the year in 1986. Wize finished the 1985-86 season as the seventh-leading scorer in the nation with a 23.4 points-per-game average and was sixth in the nation rebounding with a 16.0 average. While at Lincoln College, Wize shattered the school rebounding record with 844 over two seasons. Wize went on to play basketball at Eastern Illinois.

Bill Porritt, male athlete from the class of 1970. Porritt was a member of the first varsity competitive swim team at Lincoln College. During his time at LC he was named an All American. Porritt won two national titles in the 100 and 200 backstroke events and placed in the medley.

After college, swimming continued to be a large part of his life as he coached the Peoria YMCA swim team for six years. Porritt owned and operated Peoria Bearing Co., a family business, from 1973 until 2014.

Mike De Ment, male athlete from the class of 1972. De Ment played baseball for Lincoln College under head coach Chuck Lindstrom. He was Co-Captain of the 1972 Regional Championship team and earned the AACBC Collegiate All-American Team, District award in 1972. After Lincoln College, De Ment played baseball on a scholarship to St. Leo University in Florida. During his time at St. Leo, he was Co-Captain of the 1974 team and received the “Hustler-of-the-year” award, given to one athlete campus wide.

After college, De Ment worked and co-owned a manufacturing company for more than 40 years.

John Swart, male athlete from the class of 1960. Swart played basketball under head coach Norm Kaye and was named captain and most valuable basketball player. While at Lincoln College, Swart scored 1,141 points in two years and was ranked in the top 20 scorers nationally.

After LC, he played at ISU where he earned the single game rebound record with 24. Basketball continued to be a large part of Swart’s life. He returned to Lincoln College as head basketball coach from 1964 to 1968.

Since then, Swart has held several different coaching, administrative and teaching roles at St. Leo University in Florida. Swart was inducted into the Illinois State Athletic Hall of Fame in 1995 and the St. Leo Athletic Hall of Fame in 2000.

Norm Kaye, male coach from 1957 to 1964. Coach Kaye was the men’s basketball head coach and compiled a record of 135-77 during his tenure. In 1962, Kaye led the men’s basketball team to the Illinois state championship and the college’s first National Tournament appearance in any sport, finishing with a record of 30-7. In 2004, the 1962 team was inducted into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

After Lincoln College, Kaye served as head basketball coach and athletic director, in addition to several administrative positions at St. Leo University in Florida. During his time at St. Leo, Kaye founded the Sunshine State Conference in 1974 and contributed greatly to the conference’s growth into one of the premiere athletic conferences at the NCAA Division II level.

In 2012, Kaye was awarded a Lincoln College Honorary Alumnus Award.

The Lincoln College Athletic Hall of Fame recognizes student athletes, teams, coaches, managers, administrators, faculty, staff, and friends who have distinguished themselves in the field of athletics at Lincoln College, either by their performance on an athletic team or by meritorious efforts in supporting the athletic program at the College. The Hall of Fame banquet is part of the 2016 Homecoming Weekend activities taking place from October 31 through November 5 on the Lincoln campus.

Tickets for the Athletic Hall of Fame banquet are $25 for adults and $15 for children age 18 and younger. Reservations can be made by contacting Mary Jo Werth in the Advancement Office at [phone] or e-mail [e-mail].

[Christina Xamis
Public Relations & Media Manager
Lincoln College]