2022 Athletics Hall of Fame Announced

By Press release submission

Aug 27, 2022

A four-time national champion wrestler, power-hitting first baseman, bruising, All-American running back, and shot-blocking phenom highlight the 2022 inductees in the Wabash College Athletics Hall of Fame.

One of the signature events hosted by the Board of Directors of the National Association of Wabash Men, the Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held at 6:45 p.m. on Friday, September 23 as part of Homecoming Weekend festivities.

While the induction class includes several all-time greats, the three Lefever brothers and one of the most successful wrestling teams in history steal the spotlight.

The NAWM chose to induct four-time national wrestling champion Riley Lefever '17 along with his brothers, national champion Conner Lefever '16 and three-time All-American Reece Lefever '16 in the same Hall of Fame class. The 2014-15 wrestling team will also be enshrined – all three Lefever brothers wrestled for national titles that year with Riley and Conner winning championships and Reece taking second in the nation. The team finished third overall – the highest finish in Wabash history until the 2022 team placed second at nationals.

This year's inductees also include Nate Boulais '03 in football, Chris Davis '93 in swimming and diving, Joe DesJean '03 in basketball, John Holm '12 in baseball, and Mason Zurek '16 in football.

Riley Lefever stands alone as the "G.O.A.T." of Wabash wrestling. The talented scholar-athlete won four straight national championships, was twice named Academic All-America, and is the only athlete in Wabash history to win the coveted Pete Vaughan Award four straight years. He was twice named the Most Dominant Wrestler in Division III and posted an all-time record of 158-6 – winning every match he wrestled against Division III competition.

Conner Lefever qualified for the national championships three times, claiming two Midwest Regional Championships. He won the national championship at 174 pounds in 2015 and posted a career record of 85-18.

Until his brother, Riley, eclipsed him, Reece Lefever '15 was Wabash's first wrestler to earn All-America honors in three consecutive seasons. He finished as national runner up at 157 pounds in 2015, while taking fourth in 2014 and seventh in 2013. He was a Third Team Academic All-American and finished with a career record of 107-14.

Nate Boulais was the co-captain of the 2002 Wabash football team that won the College's first-ever North Coast Athletic Conference championship and went 12-1 before losing to eventual national champion Mount Union in the quarterfinals of the playoffs. As a senior, he was a team captain, won the NCAC's Defensive Player of the Year award, and was named a Hewlett Packard First Team All-American. He was a four-year letterman and three-year starter at linebacker who totaled 364 career tackles (currently third all-time).

Chris Davis was a four-year letterman as a diver on Gail Pebworth's Hall of Fame teams of the early 1990s, which posted a 37-0 dual meet record. He is the College's only All-American diver, finishing 15th at the NCAA Championships to earn Honorable Mention All-America honors. A two-time national qualifier, Davis was a major point scorer for Wabash's four straight Liberal Arts Invitational Championships – winning individual titles – and he also captured DePauw and Wabash invitational titles.

Joe DesJean was the most dominant big man to play for Wabash since Pete Metzelaars '82, lettering four times and earning team MVP honors three straight seasons. A remarkably consistent scorer, rebounder, and shot-blocker, DesJean was Wabash's first-ever three-time First Team All-North Coast Athletic Conference selection. He led the Little Giants in scoring, rebounding, and blocked shots three straight seasons, and finished his career with 1,506 points, 825 rebounds, and an all-time record 194 blocked shots.

John Holm was the most feared hitter in the North Coast Athletic Conference during his four-year onslaught on the record books. Holm started all 162 games in which he played and set the all-time records for home runs (41), RBIs (171), total bases (360), and slugging percentage (.641), while also setting single-season records for home runs, RBIs, and total bases. His finest season came in 2011 when, as a junior, Holm hit .373 with 12 home runs, 52 RBI, and 105 total bases en route to becoming a D3baseball.com Honorable Mention All-American.

Mason Zurek is the all-time rushing leader at Wabash and holds records for most rushing yards in a game (326), season (2,011), and career (3,379). He scored 40 rushing touchdowns and 42 TDs overall. He broke the Monon Bell Game rushing record when he ran for 286 yards against DePauw, and broke that Wabash single-game record a week later with 326 yards vs. Albion in a playoff victory in a blizzard. He was a First Team Academic All-American, a D3Football.com First Team All-American, two-Time NCAC Offensive Player of the Year, and was the 2015 D3Football.com North Region Offensive Player of the Year.