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Montana Western inducts Athletic Hall of Fame members for 2016

October 4, 2016

Montana Western will induct Frank “Frog” Hull, Alison Burlingame, Josh Frunz, Shane Frey and the 1998 volleyball team during a ceremony on Saturday, Oct. 15 at 9:30 a.m. in the Lewis and Clark Room of Mathews Hall. Inductees will also be introduced during halftime of that day’s Bulldog football game versus College of Idaho.

Frank “Frog” Hull graduated from Western Montana College (now known as the University of Montana Western) in 1958 with a Bachelor of Science in education. He later earned his master’s in education from Western Montana College in 1960. While at WMC, Hull participated in football, basketball and baseball. Frank has spent time as a teacher, juvenile probation officer, motivational speaker, performer and city judge, but he has never been far from the sidelines as a Bulldog supporter. Frank received the Big Sky Service Award in 1982 and was inducted into the Officials Hall of Fame. He received the Jaycees Distinguished Service Award in 1971 and the UMW Distinguished Alumni Service Award in 1992. He and his wife, Yvonne, have been married for 60 years and they are the proud parents of six children.

Alison Burlingame earned a Bachelor of Science in secondary education with a major in art and a minor in math from Montana Western in 2002. Burlingame was a member of the 1999-2000 women’s basketball team that qualified for the NAIA National Tournament for the first time in the school’s history. Alison hit a half-court shot at the buzzer in the Frontier Conference Championship to give UMW an 82-80 win against undefeated and number one-ranked Lewis-Clark State College. This win put Montana Western on the map at the NAIA national level and propelled the Lady Bulldogs to seven consecutive NAIA National Tournament appearances. In addition to hitting the buzzer beating shot at the Frontier Conference Tournament in her sophomore season, she received 1st Team All-Conference honors. In her senior season, Alison helped lead her team to an undefeated Frontier Conference regular season, Frontier Conference Tournament Championship and an Elite 8 showing at the NAIA National Tournament. She received 1st Team All-Conference and Academic All-Conference honors. Burlingame has worked road construction for the past eight years and is currently employed by Missouri River Contractors.

Josh Frunz earned a Bachelor of Science in secondary education from Montana Western in 2002 with majors in biology and health and human performance. He went on to earn a Master of Arts in teaching from Grand Canyon University in 2006. As a student-athlete at Montana Western, Frunz played basketball from 1999-2001 and football from 2001-2002. Josh was selected 1st Team All-Conference in both of his seasons with the Bulldog men’s basketball program and Honorable Mention All-American honors in the 2000-2001 season. Josh is entering his 15th year as a biology and physical education teacher. He has been a high school track coach for 11 years and a high school basketball coach for 10 years. In 2006, Josh was inducted into the Centralia Community College Sports Hall of Fame and in 2008 he was selected the Evergreen 1A Basketball Coach of the year. Frunz lives with his wife, Jennifer, and son, JT, in Tenino, Wash.

Shane Frey attended Montana Western from 1993-1995. As a football player at Montana Western, Frey was a member of the 1994 and 1995 Bulldog teams that won Frontier Conference Championships. Shane was selected 2nd Team All-Conference Defensive Back in 1993. In 1994 he earned 1st Team All-Conference Defensive Back and 1st Team All-American Safety. His teams qualified for the NAIA National semi-final games in 1994 and 1995. Shane was a pre-season All-American Selection in 1995, unfortunately he had to miss the majority of the season due to an injury. After leaving Montana Western, Shane moved into a career in the oil and gas industry. He and his wife Denise have been married 16 years. His daughter, Kiara, is a sophomore in high school and his son, Tryston, is a junior in college.

The 1998 Volleyball team was the first women’s sports team at Montana Western to win a Frontier Conference Championship, as well as the first women’s team to continue on to post-season play. They qualified for the Pacific Northwest Regional Tournament. They went 8-0 in conference play, only losing one game in eight matches. They finished the season with a 24-9 record. Coach Jenny Peterson directed the squad to a perfect conference record in her sixth year as the head coach. She was assisted by Cindy Bennett and Shawn Robertson Schweyen.

The team consisted of Dawn Callaghan Costa, Jennifer Gordon Tash, Angie Saxton, Jeni Hope, Erin Dunn Catron, Emily Carroll Stenson, Kelly Carras Krank, Melissa Burdick Grandy, Katie Darragh Gustafson, Katie Ryan Howells, Kelly Coombs Grossman, Heather Smith Ranalli, Lindsey Archer Johnson, Julie Shoen, and Jami Hope Humphrey.

Call the UMW Alumni Office at 406-683-7306 to reserve your tickets for the ceremony brunch. Tickets for the brunch are available for $15 for adults, $7 for ages 6 – 17 and free admission for ages 5 and under.

— Montana Western —

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