Renee Kasten-Hodell
Renee Kasten's name is not difficult to find in the Stout record books. Just look under rebounding. She owns the section.
Playing from 1984-88, Kasten sits 1-2-3 on the single season rebounding leader list, pulling down a school record 314 boards in 1986-87, her junior year. As a freshman, she recorded 297 and as a sophomore, 280. Not surprisingly, her 1048 career rebounds are a school record as are her 12.5 rebounds per game.
On a national scale, Kasten ranked in the top 15 all four years, despite being injured for much of her senior year. As a freshman, when she was named to the All-WWIAC first team, Kasten ranked third nationally, 12th as a sophomore and fourth as a junior.
Kasten made a splash her freshman year, being named as an NCAA Division III All-American Freshman and a Fast Break All-America. All four years, Kasten was named at some level of all-conference, including first team as a freshman and junior.
Kasten could also score. She was the first Stout women's player to reach 1000 points, tallying 1014, currently ranking fourth. Kasten served as an assistant coach for one year at Stout before graduating in 1989 with a business administration degree.
A native of Schofield, Kasten has returned to the Wausau area where she is currently employed as a buyer for East Bay, Inc. She is also an assistant varsity basketball coach at DC Everest, her alma mater, where the Evergreens have won two conference titles during her two years.
Kasten and her husband, Mike Hodell, reside in Schofield and have a daughter, Taylor.
Kerry Hafner
Kerry Hafner set no records while he played tight end for the Blue Devils' football team from 1978-79, and 1981-82, but he was an important part of Stout's high powered running game.
Known primarily as a bruising blocker, Hafner helped run interference for running backs Steve Burr and Bob Johnson, both Hall of Fame members, who set school rushing records. Hafner was an honorable mention all conference pick in 1979, then was a first team choice in 1981 and was a first team all-district selection in 1982. Hafner is currently ranked 13th on the all-time receiving list with 1006 yards.
Hafner signed as a free agent with the Green Bay Packers in 1982, lasting until the second-to-last cut. To prepare for his stint with the Packers, Hafner went out for track for the first time in his athletic career, participating in the hammer throw where he placed third at the 1982 conference meet.
After graduating from Stout in 1982, Hafner received his Ph.D in biostatistics from the University of North Carolina. He is currently employed by Pharmaceutical Research Associates in Lenexa, Kan., as the director of statistics and data management where he oversees 32 employees in the department.
Hafner has authored or co-authored 17 journals or books, was the 1993 recipient of the UW-Stout Outstanding Alumni Award and received a similar award at North Carolina.
Hafner and his wife, Terese, have two sons, Samuel and Ryan, and reside in Lee's Summit, Mo.
Webster Peterson
More than 15 years after completing his Stout cross country career, Web Peterson still shares the top cross country time with two other runners, clocking a 24:38 in 1981.
Along the way, Peterson collected a number of other trophies, including placing third at the national indoor meet in 1983 in the mile run. Peterson lettered three years in cross country, as well as three years in both indoor and outdoor track.
Peterson claimed the WSUC 1500 outdoor championship in 1983, coming from behind to win the event. Peterson qualified to the national meet in 1981, '82, and '83. He also placed third in the conference 3000-meter steeplechase in 1983.
Peterson has been employed by Marriott Business Foodservice since 1984, where he has received numerous company awards.
Peterson enjoys restoring homes and automobiles and established his own business, Classic Car Appraisal Service, 10 years ago.
He is married to his high school sweetheart, Kari Albers, and resides in St. Louis Park, Minn.
Greg Ebsen
While not a prolific scorer -- he averaged 12.1 points through his four year career -- Greg Ebsen became more known for feeding some of the all-time Blue Devil basketball greats. During Stout's 1969 national tournament qualifying season, Ebsen set a school record in assists, dishing off 119 to the likes of Mel Coleman and Cal Glover, then broke the record the next year with 126.
Ebsen will be remembered by the way he could run the floor and the offense, then hit someone inside with the look-away pass.
But Ebsen was capable of scoring, said his coach Dwain Mintz. "When he scored, he scored high," Mintz said. Ebsen finished up his career with 854 points and is currently ranked 28th on the all-time scoring list. He finished with 310 career assists. Ebsen was steady from the line, shooting a career 81 percent.
Ebsen's best individual year came in 1970 when he averaged 16.5 points and was named to the all-WSUC team.
Ebsen currently lives in Papillon, Neb.
George Miller
D
uring his decade long tenure as coach and physical director from 1918 to 1929, George "Bud" Miller produced a 1921 conference champion football team and a 1926 conference champion basketball team.
But Miller's legacy may very well be what he contributed to the practice fields. In a school well known for its industrial arts education, Miller constructed a forerunner to the blocking sled, something he referred to as a charging machine.
According to the 1918 Stoutonia, the school newspaper, the "machine is constructed of huge timbers and the timbers that lie upon the ground are studded with spikes. The murderous machine is of tremendous weight and the Brute (Miller) assumes a commanding position on his fiendish work and forces the 18 victims he holds in his power to ride him around his domain."
Miller, a 1909 Menomonie High School graduate, was also a pioneer in the coaching field, holding summer coaching seminars on the Stout campus. He also authored numerous books on certain phases of physical education.
But perhaps Millers' biggest contribution to the world of sports was when he developed a type of needle used to inflate bladders of footballs and basketballs.
As the Stout football coach, Miller posted a 20-27-6 record, going undefeated in 1921 with a 5-0-2 record and outscoring opponents by an average score of 18-4. He posted a basketball record of 28-48.
Miller obtained the admiration of the student body. Three years after he left Stout, The Stoutonia was still publishing news stories about Miller and his successes.
Tom Slupe
Tom Slupe was instrumental in the shaping of the UW-Stout ice hockey program, participating almost from its beginnings as the team goalie, then moving into the role of head coach beginning in 1972.
Slupe coached the Blue Devils for 11 seasons, enjoying the heyday of Stout hockey in the mid-1970s when the team posted their only above .500 records, going 13-7 in 1974-75 and 14-10 in 1975-76, taking both teams to the NAIA national tournament. During the 1976 season, the Blue Devils defeated the Air Force Academy. Slupe ended his coaching career in 1983 when the varsity program was suspended until the 1996-97 season. Slupe posted an 87-172-4 record.
Slupe did return to the coaching box as an assistant with Menomonie High School from 1990-93, during which Menomonie won a state championship.
Recruited as a football player, Slupe is still the fourth ranked goalie in Stout history, playing from 1968-71 and was the team's most valuable player award in 1971.
An accomplished technology education instructor at Menomonie High School, Slupe also played a part in developing the Menomonie area youth hockey program over the years, serving on the board of directors from 1971-77, the association's formative years. Slupe was named the Wisconsin Vocational Education Teacher of the Year award in 1989 and served as the Wisconsin Technology Education Association (WTEA) secretary-treasurer. Menomonie's cooperative education program was recognized by the WTEA as the program of the year in 1992.
Slupe currently resides in Menomonie with his wife, Jane. The couple have two children, Greg and Erin.