a publication for alumni, family, and friends

Induction of 2001 Hall of Fame recipients-Saturday, Sept. 29 at 6:30 p.m.

Candace Crabtree '88

On and off the basketball court Candace Crabtree has demonstrated that dedication is the true key to success. Crabtree was a four-year starter in basketball and volleyball and ran track at Dakota Wesleyan. She was named all-conference in basketball and volleyball during the 1986-87 and 1987-88 seasons, and was voted Most Valuable Player by both teams during her senior year in 1988. She also received the KMIT Student-Athlete of the Year award in 1988.

In track Crabtree also made a name for herself. She held the school record for eight years in the 200-meter run and is still second on the all-time list. She also set the school record in the 400-meter relay and still holds the record for the 1,600-meter relay. Today she is third on the all-time list in the 800-meter relay, sixth for the 400-meter run and second in the 400-meter relay.

Coaching college basketball has been something Crabtree says she's wanted to do most of her life. She began her career as an assistant women's basketball coach at the University of Northern Colorado in 1990, where she earned a master's degree in physical education. From there she went to Mansfield University in Pennsylvania for the 1992-93 season.

She was then named head coach at Rowan University, an NCAA Division III school, located in Glassboro, N.J. In seven seasons at Rowan, her teams were 171-25, won five conference titles and earned NCAA Tournament berths six times (reaching the Elite Eight three times).

Hired during the 2000-01 season to lead the Drexel University women's basketball team, Crabtree inherited a program that was 55-87 the last five seasons. She turned the program around, ending her first season with a second place conference finish. She is expected to do as well her second season at Drexel, a school in the American East Conference. Crabtree is the first DWU alumna and only the second woman in the history of South Dakota to be a head coach at an NCAA Division I school.

Crabtree has won several awards and honors since leaving Wesleyan, including an NCAA Final Four appearance in 1998 while at Rowan.

Tom Schnabel '83

Tom Schnabel participated in many campus activities during his days at Dakota Wesleyan, but it was the football field that commanded most his time. He was named an all-conference first-team football player in 1981 and in 1982, served as team captain for two years, and was an Academic All-American.

A four-year starter and linebacker for the Tigers, Schnabel decided to give professional football a try following his 1983 graduation from DWU. He played one season for the Denver Gold in the United States Football League before Houston recruited him. Schnabel's football career ended after an injury forced him to give up professional athletics.

Schnabel came back to DWU as an assistant football coach, working one year before returning to his hometown of Tripp to work with his father in the construction business. In 1987 Schnabel returned to Denver and began a sales career at Kirkhill Inc., a plumbing manufacturer.

Some of Schnabel's accomplishments at Kirkhill included increasing the volume of sales in his territory, automating the company's customer ordering and inventory control mechanism, as well as streamlining administrative functions and operations to increase profits and reduce expenses. He has also received four outstanding sales awards for his efforts. After 10 years with Kirkhill, Schnabel began his own construction company, TSC Construction, building custom homes. He also owns and operates TSC Environmental, a wastewater treatment and filtration business.

In 1996 Schnabel received the Young Alumnus of the Year award, an honor given to alumni who excel in their chosen careers. Today he lives in Littleton, Colo., with his wife, Michelle, and their 4-year-old daughter, K'Loni.

Troy Erickson '93

Troy Erickson's senior year at Dakota Wesleyan is likely to be one he'll never forget. He was named Most Valuable Player in track, was an NAIA All-American and placed third in the long jump at the 1992 NAIA National Championship in Kansas City. The jump set a new school record and broke the South Dakota college long jump record set in 1932.

Erickson left his mark in track while at Wesleyan, setting school records in the 55-meter hurdles, the 4x240-meter relay, the 110-meter and 400-meter hurdles, the long jump, the shuttle-hurdle relays and the 4x100-meter relay.

After earning his bachelor's degree in 1993, Erickson stayed at Wesleyan serving as cross country coach. From the fall of 1995 through the spring of 1998, he was Wesleyan's track and cross country coach.

When a tornado destroyed much of the town of Spencer in 1998, Erickson worked with the Federal Emergency Management Agency assisting victims. Later the same year, he began a career as a sales representative for Life Investors Insurance Company of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. In 1999 he was named Rookie Agent of the Year and in 2000 he received the honor of Agent of the Year for the Madison region.

Erickson has an office in Salem, but continues to live in Mitchell where he enjoys spending time outdoors with family and friends, hunting and fishing. He is a member of several insurance and investment organizations as well as Life Investor Fortunaire Foundation, an agency that raises money for scholarships and people in need.

Jeff Fischer '88

As quarterback for the Tiger football team, Jeff Fischer earned all-conference three years and Academic All-American honors, while setting seven school records. He led the team to a conference championship in 1987, and by the time he graduated in 1988 had chalked up a college career passing record of 5,962 yards; single season passing of 2,100 yards; single game passing of 317 yards; 20 single game completions; 50 career touchdown passes; 20 single season touchdown passes; and the longest touchdown pass of the time at 95 yards.

Fischer was selected as the Scotchman his senior year and following graduation left for medical school at the University of South Dakota. He received his medical degree in 1992 and completed an internship at hospitals in Sioux Falls. In June of 1993 he entered the Bascon Palmer Eye Institute at the University of Miami and began a three-year residency program.

After completing his residency training, Fischer took a fellowship in cornea and refractive surgery at Kellogg Eye Center at the University of Michigan. He returned to Sioux Falls and began his professional career at Jones Eye Clinic in 1997 and helped to expand the clinic's cataract and refractive surgery. He has worked for the ICON Laser Vision Center in Minneapolis since leaving Jones Eye Clinic last year.

He is licensed in six states and board certified with the American Board of Ophthalmology. Fischer received the Young Alumnus of the Year award from DWU in 1998. Today, he and his wife, Allison Jordre Fischer '88, live in Sioux Falls with their 14-month-old triplet sons, Will Jeffrey, Hunter Bradley and Peyton Jordre.