Dakota State University

2018 Dakota State University Athletic Hall of Fame

Inductee Name	Title/Award/Honor/Athlete/Coach/Others
Miles Beacom	Cross Country/Track & Field Athlete; Distinguished Alumnus and Contributor
John Ecklein	Cross Country/Track & Field Athlete
Laura (Carrow) Wurster	Cross Country/Track & Field Athlete
Brian Tvedt	Cross Country/Track & Field Athlete
Shaun Fransen	Cross Country/Track & Field Athlete
1997 DSU Women's Cross Country	SDIC Championship Team

Miles Beacom - Cross Country/Track and Field Athlete, Distinguished Alumnus and Contributor

Miles Beacom is scheduled to be inducted into this year's Dakota State University Athletic Hall of Fame as an athlete, a distinguished alumnus and a contributor.

John Ecklein, Shaun Fransen, Brian Tvedt, Laura (Carrow) Wurster and members of the 1997 DSU women's cross country South Dakota-Iowa Conference (SDIC) Championship team are also being inducted into the 2018 DSU Athletic Hall of Fame on June 2 at Dakota Prairie Playhouse.

Running has been one of Beacom's passion.  He credits his high school track coach and mentor (Coach Greeno) at Sioux Falls Lincoln for instilling in him the dedication, commitment and positive thinking that helped him not only in running, but in life. 

After graduating from Lincoln High School, Beacom attended Dakota State College (DSC) where he excelled in track and cross country.  He was named a team captain and most valuable athlete in his senior season at DSC.  During his running tenure, Beacom was an anchor on the Trojan 4 x 800, 4 x 400 and distance medley relays that set school records. 

Beacom set the original outdoor school record in the 6400-meter relay – an event that is discontinued today – with a time of 19 minutes and 2 seconds at Howard Wood Dakota Relays in 1981.  He also produced another record for the 1981 season with the third fastest time in the 800-meter run in 1:58.8 during the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field District 12 meet in Minot, N.D., where he placed seventh overall in the race.

Beacom established the men's indoor track 1000-yard best time in 1979 with a time of 2 minutes, 25.7 seconds.  This is another event that has been discontinued today.

According to his teammate, Larry Beesley, Beacom was a hybrid runner who excelled in distances ranging from 400-meters to a five-mile cross country run. 

His dedication to track and cross country afforded him an athletic scholarship which ensured he could complete his college education.  He graduated from Dakota State in 1981 with a Bachelor of Science degree in business and a minor in economics. 

After graduation, Beacom became a successful businessman with CitiBank where he received the Citicorp Service Excellence Award.  In 1989, he accepted the challenge of starting a credit card division at First Interstate Bank, which later become first PREMIER Bank.  He built First PREMIER Bankcard from eight employees to an organization with over 3,000 workers and more than over 3.5 million accounts.

Beacom is a dedicated community member, serving on leadership boards and working on fundraising campaigns for a number of organizations including the DSU Foundation, the Board of Directors for the Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation, the Board of Governors for the University of South Dakota Beacom School of Business, the Sioux Falls Catholic School System and more.

Miles and his wife Lisa strongly believe in giving back to the community and in supporting education.  They have established scholarship endowments at DSU, USD and the Sioux Falls Catholic School System.  They are supporters of the United Way, Sanford Health, Avera McKennan, St. Lambert Parish, Children's Home Society, Ronald McDonald House, Special Olympics, Make-a-Wish, Blood Run and the new tennis and ice facilities at the Sanford Sports Complex.  At DSU, they have provided gifts that helped create the Beacom Institute of Technology and the Madison Cyber Labs; they have also endowed multiple scholarships for DSU athletes and cyber students.

Beacom credits his education at Dakota State for his success today as President and CEO of PREMIER Bankcard.

In 2009, he was inducted to the Lincoln High School Hall of Fame, was named DSU Distinguished Alumnus in 2000 and DSU's Distinguished Alumnus in 2000.

John Ecklein - Cross Country/Track and Field Athlete

John Ecklein was one of the most impressive mid- and long-distance runners during Buzz Stevenson's coaching era at Dakota State.  Ecklein's numerous athletic honors, along with those of his former teammates Brian Tvedt and Shaun Fransen, fueled the Trojans' dominance in the South Dakota-Iowa Conference (SDIC) Track in the late 1990s.

Cross Country Career

Ecklein, who grew up in Salem, S.D., began his freshman year by helping the Trojans win the SDIC men's cross country team title and an automatic team bid to the national meet.  He finished seventh individually with a time of 28 minutes, 59 seconds in the conference meet.  DSU made their first-ever team appearance at the NAIA Men's Cross Country National Championships, finishing 17th overall as a team.

Ecklein finished 11th in the 1997 SDIC men's cross country conference meet for the Trojans and finished in the "Top 5" in his final two SDIC cross country seasons.  In his junior year, he registered a time of 27 minutes, 42 seconds to finish fifth overall.  With this time, he also qualified for the NAIA national meet where he placed 67th with a time of 26 minutes, 15 seconds.

He concluded his senior cross country season with a fourth-place finish in the final SDIC cross country conference meet with a time of 28 minutes, 34 seconds.  He was voted the team's most valuable runner and was a three-time SDIC Cross Country All-Conference athlete.

Track & Field Career

Ecklein was impressive during his track and field collegiate career, racking up numerous awards and honors at Dakota State.  He was part of the DSU track and field team that won the 1997 SDIC Indoor Track and Field conference championship in dominating fashion.  He placed second in the 1500-meters race in 4:05.10 and qualified for the national indoor track and field meet in the one-mile run and 4 x 800-meter relay events.  Dakota State continued its dominance during the 1997 outdoor season, winning the SDIC conference title. 

Ecklein earned a pair of runner-up honors in the 1998 SDIC Indoor Conference Meet for DSU, helping the Trojans cruise to another conference team title.  He took second in both 800- and 1500-meter events.  He also ran at the NAIA Indoor Track and Field national meet in the one-mile race a few weeks later. 

During the outdoor season in 1998, Ecklein was an anchor of the Trojan 4 x 800-meter relay and sprint medley relay teams that shattered the school record.  The sprint medley relay team of Ryan Raak, Jake Kamps, Fransen and Ecklein still holds the school record time today with a time of 3 minutes, 27.96 seconds.

Ecklein had an astounding junior season in 1999, sweeping the 800- and 1500-meters titles in both SDIC Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field conference championship meet.  He collected SDIC All-Conference recognition in those events.

The foursome of Cory Lunn, Paul Saville, Ecklein and Fransen set the 4 x 800-meter relay school record time of 7 minutes, 34.88 seconds at the 1999 NAIA Outdoor Track and Field National Championships.  They finished third overall in the race, which was Ecklein's first NAIA All-American honor at Dakota State.

Ecklein earned back-to-back 800- and 1500-meters titles at the 2000 SDIC Indoor Track and Field conference championships for the Trojans.  As a result, he was selected as the conference meet's most outstanding athlete and garnered All-Conference recognition.

He ran at the 2000 NAIA Indoor Track and Field National Championships in the 1000-meter run.  After surviving the grind in the prelims round, Ecklein earned his second All-American honor after finishing second in the race with a time of 2:28.95.  He was the top American runner in the race, which was won by Simon Fraser, a runner from British Columbia, Canada. 

Ecklein posted a school record time of 1 minute, 52.31 seconds in the Sioux City Relays' 800-meter event during the 2000 outdoor season for DSU.  That time was later broken by DSU's NAIA All-American runners Tyler Van Peursem in 2010 and Andy Coy in three different seasons (2010, 2011 and 2013). 

Ecklein ended his stellar collegiate running career after earning runner-up honors in the 2000 SDIC Outdoor Track and Field Conference Championships in both 800- and 1500-meters.  He also ran in the national meet, finishing ninth overall in both the 4 x 800- and 4 x 400-meter relay events. 

Athletic Honors

He was voted the DSU Male Most Outstanding Athlete in 2000.  Overall, he had nine SDIC All-Conference honors; in the NAIA, he earned two All-Americans distinctions and ran in numerous events at the national meets.

Ecklein was a member of the 1996 men's cross country and 1997 men's indoor and outdoor track and field SDIC championship teams that were inducted into the DSU Athletic Hall of Fame in 2014.  He is listed in the Trojan men's indoor and outdoor track and field school record books "Top 10" numerous times.

Ecklein graduated from Dakota State University in 2001, and has lived in Phoenix, Ariz. since 2003 with his wife Kristina.  They have two children – Grayson and Emma.  He made his career in the mortgage/banking industry, having held multiple positions for companies throughout the years, most recently as a senior mortgage originator for a local community bank in Scottsdale, Ariz. 

He enjoys spending time with family and friends, relaxing and appreciating the Arizona weather.

Laura (Carrow) Wurster - Cross Country and Track & Field

Laura (Carrow) Wurster will never forget the pride and excitement of putting on her Dakota State uniform to race.  A fire sparked her every single time she stepped up to the starting line.  She remembers the feeling of crossing the finish line at the 2001 NAIA National Cross Country national meet, making her an All-American runner.

She will join Miles Beacom, John Ecklein, Shaun Fransen, Brian Tvedt, and members of the 1997 DSU women's cross country South Dakota-Iowa Conference (SDIC) Championship Team when they are all inducted into the 2018 DSU Athletic Hall of Fame on June 2 at Dakota Prairie Playhouse.

Wurster excelled in both cross country and track & field, obvious when she began her 2011-12 season with numerous athletic awards.  She captured the Dakota Athletic Conference-10 (DAC-10) Women's Cross Country individual title at the NAIA Region III meet after clocking a time of 18 minutes, 9 seconds in Valley City, N.D.  As a result, Wurster received All-Conference, Most Valuable Runner and Most Outstanding Senior awards from the DAC-10 Conference.  In addition, Wurster received the NAIA Women's Cross Country All-Region III honor.

She qualified for the NAIA Women's Cross Country National Championships in Kenosha, Wis. a few weeks after the conference/region meet.  She crossed the finish line by placing 11th overall out of 238 runners, earning her the NAIA All-American honor after clocking a time of 18 minutes, 36 seconds.

Wurster continued her stellar running career as she won the 2002 DAC-10 Indoor Track 3000-meter run, earning All-Conference recognition.  She qualified for the 2002 NAIA Indoor Track & Field Nationals, placing 16th in the 5000-meters with a time of 19 minutes, 7.12 seconds.

Wurster established the DSU Women's Outdoor Track school record in the 10,000-meter run in 2002.  Her school record time of 38 minutes, 54.70 seconds at the Sioux City Relays is still intact today.  Her time also met the NAIA Outdoor Track national qualifying standard time.

She has been listed in the DSU Women's Outdoor Track & Field 'Top 10' school record for the 1500- and 5000-meter races, as well as the 4 x 800-meter and sprint medley relay teams.  Wurster is also listed in the DSU Women's Indoor Track 'Top 10' school record in the 1-mile run, 3000-meters, 5000-meters, 4 x 800-meter relay and distance medley relay.

Wurster was selected the DSU Female Most Outstanding Athlete in 2002.  She was recognized as Academic All-American for her success in the classroom.

Following her graduation from Dakota State in 2003, Wurster accepted a job at Synchromesh Software in Madison as a technical writer.  After the business closed, she moved back to Pipestone, Minn. to accept a job at the Pipestone County Star, where she worked for two years as a reporter. 

Thirteen years ago, Wurster began working at Carrow's True Value Hardware in Pipestone to help implement a new computer system with point of sale software.

Laura and her husband Eric have been married for eight years.  They are blessed with three children – Colby (6 years old), Candace (4) and Emery (2).  Laura is a stay-home mom, and still works at True Value part-time.  She enjoys spending time with her family and going to kids' events in the area.  She is also working on her master's degree in early childhood education and special education.

Laura has continued to race since her college days at Dakota State, and is passionate about sponsoring races and encouraging others to run and get healthy.  She has completed five (5) marathons, numerous half-marathons and hundreds of 5K and 10K races.  She also competes in triathlons, marathon relays, mud runs and other relay distance races. 

Brian Tvedt - Cross Country and Track & Field

Brian Tvedt was one of the most dominant South Dakota-Iowa Conference (SDIC) runners in the late 1990s.  He won six titles in the 1500-meter run, three coming from the indoor season and three from the outdoor season.  He also won a pair of 800-meter titles at the SDIC Indoor Track and Field conference meet.

Tvedt was one of the integral members of the 1996 DSU men's cross country team that won the SDIC conference championship.  He finished 10th in the conference meet with a time of 29 minutes, 5 seconds.  The Trojans earned their first-ever automatic team bid to the NAIA Men's Cross Country National Championships in program history, finishing 17th at the national meet.

He excelled in running events, winning a total of eight individual titles in the SDIC Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field Conference Championships from 1996 through 1998.  Tvedt won back-to-back SDIC indoor track 800- and 1500-meter runs in 1996 and 1997.

He also won the 1500-meter run title during SDIC Outdoor Track and Field Conference Championships in 1996, 1997 and 1998.  He crossed the finish line by registering times of 3 minutes, 56.26 seconds in 1996, 3:57.76 in 1997 and 4:01.92 in 1998. 

Tvedt also made numerous trips to the NAIA Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field National Championships from 1996 through 1998. 

He owns the DSU indoor track and field school record in the 1500-meter run with a time of 3 minutes, 59.94 seconds set in 1998 at the SDIC Indoor Track Championship.  The event is discontinued as of today.  He held the 600-meter run indoor track record time of 1:20.80 before it was broken by Fransen in 1999 with a time of 1:20.08. 

Tvedt registered an indoor track school record time of 2:30.62 in the 1000-meter run in 1996; Ecklein broke that record in 2000.  Tvedt was a member of the indoor 4 x 800-meter relay team (Ecklein, Nick Damm and Gerald Kubiak) that recorded a school record time of 7:56.28 in 1997, which is currently the sixth-best time in the DSU's indoor track and field school record top 10 today.

In addition, Tvedt owned the outdoor track school record twice in the 1500-meter run.  He first set the record in 1996 with a time of 3:56.26 and improved his time to 3:55.85 in 1997.  This record time was later broken by a pair of NAIA All-Americans Tyler Van Peursem and Andy Coy.  Tvedt also posted the outdoor 800-meter run school record with a time of 1:52.66 in 1997. 

He was part of the Trojan outdoor 4 x 800-meter relay team (Ecklein, Matt Martens and Fransen) that produced the school record of 7:53.62 in 1998.

Tvedt was part of the 1996 cross country and 1997 track and field teams that was inducted into the DSU Athletic Hall of Fame in 2014.  The Trojans owned the SDIC conference with dominating performances at all three conference meets.  Tvedt was a member of the Trojan track and field teams that won three consecutive SDIC Indoor titles (1996, 1997, and 1998) and back-to-back SDIC outdoor titles in 1996 and 1997.

Tvedt was named to the DSU Male Most Outstanding Male Athlete-of-the-Year in 1996 and 1998. 

He remembers all the friendships that he formed through cross country and track at Dakota State.  His favorite running memories are the workouts in track, where they pushed each other every day at practice.  Tvedt graduated from Dakota State in 1999. 

Brian and his wife Amy (Hansen) have three children – Gannon (17 years old), Tague (14) and Shyla (9).  He just completed his 19th year of teaching at Deuel High School in Clear Lake, S.D.; he is also the head track and cross country coach.  He does construction during the summer months, and enjoys hunting and fishing during his spare time.

Shaun Fransen - Track & Field

Shaun Fransen, a three-time NAIA All-American runner at Dakota State, will be joined by his former teammates John Ecklein and Brian Tvedt as they are inducted into the 23rd Annual DSU Athletic Hall of Fame on June 2.  They were integral members of the Trojan track & field men's team that dominated the South Dakota-Iowa Conference (SDIC) during the late 1990s.

Fransen came to Dakota State University from Edgerton, Minn.  He kicked off his freshman year with a pair of SDIC conference relay team titles (4 x 200- and 4 x 400-meter relays) and a trip to the NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championships.  He was third in the 400-meter dash at the SDIC Indoor Track & Field conference meet as well.

At the 1998 NAIA Indoor National meet, the foursome of Ryan Raak, Jake Kamps, Lucas Adams and Fransen set a school record with a time of 3 minutes, 22.23 seconds to place 10th overall in the 4 x 400-meter relay.

Fransen earned his first All-American status at the NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championships in 1999.  He earned a third-place finish in the 600-meter after clocking a time of 1 minute, 20.08 seconds.  He was also a member of the 4 x 800-meter relay that competed at the same meet.

He added his second NAIA All-American honor during the 1999 Outdoor Track & Field National meet at Blum Stadium in Palm Beach, Fla.  The 4 x 800-meter relay team of Fransen, Cory Lunn, Paul Saville and Ecklein placed fourth overall in the race with a school record time of 7 minutes, 34.88 seconds; this record was broken in 2010.  The 4 x 800-meter relay team also earned SDIC All-Conference honor after winning the title at the conference meet a few weeks prior to the national meet.

Fransen continued his amazing running career as he added another 4 x 800-meter relay SDIC conference title (with Saville, Jed McNaughton and Lunn) during the 2000 indoor season.  They finished with a time of 7:57.25 in the race, which is currently the seventh-best time in the school record book.

Fransen qualified for the 2000 NAIA Indoor Track Nationals in the 600-meter run.  He opened the prelim round with a time of 1:20.90 and advanced to the finals.  He crossed the finish line in fifth-place with a time of 1:22.45 for his third NAIA All-American honor at DSU.

He collected two conference titles at the final SDIC Outdoor Track & Field Conference Championships in 2000, winning the 800-meter in 1:54.85 and the 4 x 800-meter relay (with Mark Stoick, Saville and McNaughton) in 8:01.73. 

Fransen also ran in the 4 x 400- and 4 x 800-meter relays at the 2000 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships, finishing ninth-place in both events.

He finished his stellar running career at Dakota State with six SDIC All-Conference and three NAIA All-American honors.  He is listed numerous times in both the DSU men's indoor and outdoor track school record book.  Fransen still holds the school record in the 600-meters indoor event, as well as the sprint medley relay outdoor with Raak, Jake Kamps and Ecklein.

Fransen graduated from Dakota State in 2003 and went to work at Best Buy for four years as a manager.  He then worked at Sanford Health as an IT analyst for three years.  He became a senior consultant for an IT company for six years in Atlanta, Honolulu and San Francisco before settling in Gilbert, Ariz.  He has been employed by Deloitte Consulting as a manager in the health care field for the last two years.

Shaun and his wife Carrie have two children – Mya (6 years old) and Declan (4).  He enjoys the outdoors, running, working out, riding bike, swimming with his wife and kids, going hiking with his family, and playing cards.  He continues to follow the Minnesota sports teams – the Twins and Vikings.

1997 Dakota State University Women's Cross Country SDIC Championship Team

In 1997, the Dakota State University women's cross country team edged Dordt (Iowa) by just two points to claim the South Dakota-Iowa Conference (SDIC) conference title.  As a result, the Trojans received their first-ever automatic team bid to the NAIA Women's Cross Country National Championships in program history.

The team, under the guidance of Hall of Fame head coach Buzz Stevenson and student assistant Amy (Hansen) Tvedt, included Tana (Gocken) Blasé, Krista (Wixon) Fatone, Katherine (Fisk) Kleinjan, Marie (Parker) Sample, Summer (Stulken) Schultz, Tanelle (Markhardt) Steichen and Vanessa (Wieczorek) Tjentland.

The Dakota State squad opened up their 1997 campaign under sizzling hot weather conditions at the Augie Open Cross Country meet on Sept. 5 in Sioux Falls, S.D.  The near-90 degree heat did not slow Sample down as she won the individual title with a time of 18 minutes, 17 seconds.  Kleinjan also placed in the top five for the Trojans.

DSU cruised to first place at the North Dakota School of Science Cross Country Invitational title on Sept. 13.  The Trojans posted a low score of 23 points in the meet, a 47-point margin of victory over NCAA Division II Northern State (S.D.).  Six Trojan runners placed in the top ten individually, with four runners finishing in the top four.

Dakota State continued their momentum at the Woody Greeno/Nebraska Invitational cross country on Sept. 20.  The Trojans finished seventh as a team, led by Sample who was the top NAIA runner in the race with a fifth-place finish.

DSU won their second team title in the 1997 regular-season, dominating the University of Sioux Falls at the Ron Renko Invitational on Sept. 27.  The Trojans had six runners in the top 30, including four runners in the top 10.  Sample won the individual title with a time of 18 minutes, 19 seconds.  DSU tallied 25 points in the meet, 39 points better than the host-team USF (64 points).

The Trojans won their second straight cross country meet, capturing their home meet on Oct. 4 in Madison.  DSU scored a team low 24 points in the meet, thanks to five runners placing in the top 11 with Sample winning the individual title.

Sample won her fifth regular-season title on Oct. 10 in the Roe Granger cross country meet in Aberdeen, S.D.  The Trojans finished third as a team in the meet.

Dakota State concluded their regular-season on Oct. 18 in the Mount Marty (S.D.) Invitational, earning their fourth regular-season team title by defeating Dordt 32-48.  Sample and Steichen finished as the top two runners in the race, while Kleinjan placed fifth for the Trojans.

The Trojans held on to defeat the Dordt Defenders 43-45 in the SDIC Cross Country Conference Championship on Nov. 1.  Sample won the individual title for the seventh time during the 1997 season, recording a time of 17 minutes, 46 seconds.  Steichen earned the runner-up honor with a time of 18:49, followed by Kleinjan with a fourth-place finish in 19:06.  Fatone added a 19th-place finish (20 minutes, 33 seconds), while teammate Tjentland was 21st in 20:35.  Schultz was 23rd with a time of 20:42.  Blase rounded out the Trojans' scoring after placing 41st with a time of 23 minutes, 46 seconds.

It was the second SDIC women's cross country team title in Dakota State's program history.  The Trojans also earned their first-ever automatic team bid to the NAIA Women's Cross Country National Championships in Kenosha, Wis.

Sample, Steichen and Kleinjan were named to the SDIC Women's Cross Country All-Conference Team.

Dakota State concluded their 1997 season as they placed 23rd with 495 points at the national meet, held at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside National Cross Country Course on Nov. 15.  Sample paced the Trojans with a fifth-place finish in 19:17, which earned her the NAIA All-American status.

Sample was named the team's most valuable runner for Dakota State.  Kleinjan was awarded as the most improved runner, and Steichen was given as the 'Rookie' team award for DSU.