December 16, 2008
SLIAC ANNOUNCES 2009 HALL OF FAME CLASS

ST. LOUIS - St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) Commissioner, Will Wolper, has announced the Hall of Fame Class of 2009. Highlighting this year's class are former Westminster College (Mo.) football standouts Scott Pingel and Justin Peery. They are joined by men's cross country athlete Jeff Boele from Greenville College and another two-sport standout, Patrick McSheehy, from Webster University.

Pingel was a three-year letter winner in men's basketball for the Blue Jays, but it was his success on the football field, where he was a four-year letter winner, that really makes him stand out. He was a four-time All-SLIAC wide receiver from 1996-99, in addition to being named the SLIAC Football Player of the Year in 1999 and SLIAC Football Offensive MVP in both 1997 and 1998. Pingel was also the 1999 recipient of the Melberger Award, which is the NCAA Division III National Player of the Year, and was a two-time Football Gazette National Receiver of the Year in 1998 and 1999. In four years, Pingel also owned the NCAA all divisions career records for receptions (436), receiving yards (6,108) and touchdown catches (75). He also received several All-America honors, including AP Little, Football Gazette, Hewlett Packard and USA Football III All-America honors in 1997, 1998 and 1999, AFCA All-America honors in 1998 and D3Football.com All-America honors in 1999. Pingel's other awards include CoSIDA Academic All-America in 1998 and Second Team All-SLIAC in men's basketball in 1997-98. Pingel graduated from Westminster in 2000 with a degree in education.

Peery lettered two years in men's basketball but made his mark at Westminster as a four-year letter winner in football. He was a four-time All-SLIAC recipient at quarterback from 1996-99 and was named SLIAC Football Player of the Year in 1998 and SLIAC Football Offensive MVP in 1999. In addition to his conference accolades, Peery also earned Football Gazette, Hewlett Packard and USA Football III All-America honors in 1998 and 1999, and he was an AP Little All-American in 1999. In four years, Peery threw for a NCAA Division III career record 13,262 yards and a NCAA all divisions record 148 touchdowns. Peery graduated from Westminster in 2000 with a degree in education.

Boele is the second men's cross country athlete to be inducted from Greenville College. He was a four-year letter winner and won the SLIAC Men's Cross Country Championship in 1999. He is a two-time First Team All-SLIAC recipient (1996, 1999) and was the SLIAC Runner of the Year in 1999. Boele is also one of only two SLIAC men's cross country runners to qualify for the NCAA Division III Championships. He qualified in 1999 and ran an 8K personal best 24:48.3. After graduating from Greenville in 2000, Boele served as an assistant cross country and track coach for the Panthers from 2000-05.

McSheehy was a four-year letter winner for the Gorloks in both men's soccer (1997-2001) and baseball (1998-2002). In men's soccer he was a four-time All-SLIAC recipient and was named SLIAC Player of the Year in 2000. McSheehy also helped lead the Webster men's soccer team to the first two NCAA Tournament berths in the program's history in 1999 and 2000. On the baseball diamond, McSheehy was a three-time All-SLIAC Selection. He also currently holds the Gorloks' career records in Games Played (148), At-Bats (525), Hits (212), Runs (155), Homeruns (18), Doubles (65) and Triples (7). McSheehy, who is the only two-time Webster student-athlete of the year, graduated in 2002 with a degree in management.

Each recipient will be formally inducted into the SLIAC Hall of Fame during ceremonies held at their alma mater. Specific information on dates and times of induction ceremonies are forthcoming and will be announced by each school.

There are 22 members currently in the SLIAC Hall of Fame, consisting of 17 former student-athletes and five administrators. After a four-year hiatus from 2003-06, the Hall of Fame was reinstated in 2007. In order to be eligible for consideration a student-athlete must have graduated from his/her institution and played at least two years in a SLIAC championship sport. Student-athletes are not eligible until at least five years after their last date of participation.