Culver-Stockton College Athletic Hall of Fame to recognize newest class of inductees

CANTON, Mo. — Four individuals and one team comprise the latest class of inductees into the Culver-Stockton College Athletic Hall of Fame.

Football coach Vince Okruch, two-sport athletes Diane (Wade) McLeese and Kris Ingram, running back Demetrius Johnson and the 1991 men’s basketball team will be honored during a ceremony at 6:30 p.m. Saturday in the Meaders Lounge inside the Gladys Crown Student Center on the C-SC campus.

Tickets are available and can be purchased by contacting the Alumni Relations office at 800-755-CATS (2287) or can be purchased at the door. Cost is $30

Okruch, a 1977 graduate, is being inducted for his professional accomplishments in the field of athletics. Okruch has more than 40 years of football coaching experience, having worked with some of the legendary names in college football, including Lou Holtz, Bill McCartney, Gary Barnett and Urban Meyer.

Okruch has spent the last two years coaching in the European Football League (EFL), an American football league with 17 franchises across nine countries. He is currently serving as defensive coordinator of Fehervar Enthroners in Hungary. Last season, he served as the defensive coordinator for the Munich Ravens in Germany.

Prior to going overseas, Okruch spent four years at Rutgers University, coaching the tight ends for three years before moving to outside linebackers in his final season. He came to Rutgers after serving as a senior defensive and special team analyst at Ohio State University from 2014-16.

Okruch spent three seasons at the University of Akron before joining the Buckeyes. While at Akron from 2009-11, he coached on the defensive side of the ball, overseeing the defensive tackles, safeties and linebackers at various times during his stint. He also served as special team’s coordinator.

Okruch has over 15 years of experience coaching in the Big Ten with stops at Minnesota, where he coached under Holtz and John Gutekunst, Northwestern (Barnett) and Illinois (Ron Zook). Okruch coached alongside Barnett for a total of 12 years, including five seasons as the defensive coordinator at the University of Colorado.

In 2009 while at Akron, Okruch tutored Zips linebacker Brian Wagner who was named consensus Freshman All-America, including first-team honors by Sporting News.

Prior to coming to Akron, Okruch served as defensive coordinator at Illinois for one season. Under his guidance, the 2006 Illini defense made the jump to the upper half of the Big Ten. Nationally, the unit ranked 33rd in total defense (310.17 ypg), 31st in pass defense (182.25 ypg) and 31st in pass efficiency defense (115.20 rating).

Okruch came to Illinois after one season as linebackers coach at Louisiana-Monroe and one year as defensive coordinator at Western Illinois. ULM posted a 5-2 conference record and were Sun Belt co-champions.

He spent five seasons as the defensive coordinator at Colorado (1999-2003). During his time at CU, the Buffs’ defense held opponents to under 100 yards rushing 18 times and limited their foes to below 300 yards total offense on 12 occasions.

Before heading to Colorado, Okruch was part of Barnett’s staff at Northwestern (1992-98), which won two Big Ten titles and made a trip to the 1996 Rose Bowl and 1997 Citrus Bowl. At NU, he served as defensive line coach for five years (1992-96) and two seasons as defensive coordinator (1997-98).

Okruch, a native of Buffalo, N.Y., earned four letters playing both quarterback and tight end during his time at Culver-Stockton. He also was a member of its baseball team. After completing his bachelor’s degree in physical education, he went on to earn his master’s degree at Northeast Missouri State in 1980. He and his wife, Janet, have two children; a daughter, Taylor, and a son, Jordan.

McLeese, a 1990 C-SC graduate and a native of Griggsville, Ill., was a four-year letterwinner in volleyball and softball for the Wildcats from 1986-90.

Playing softball, McLeese was a two-time Heart of America Athletic Conference selection, earning first team honors in 1989 and 1990 and NAIA All-District 16 first team accolades in 1990 and honorable mention in 1989. McLeese registered a 1.97 earned run average in her career, which ranks third on the school’s all-time list. She is ninth on the all-time list for career victories with 34, and she ranks second for fewest hits allowed (319) and fourth for fewest walks allowed (107) for pitchers with more than 300 career innings pitched.

Among her top 10 marks in a season, McLeese is ranked third and eighth in innings pitched with 188 (in 1990) and 175 in 1989), respectively. She is ninth in best earned run average for a season (1.71) and tied for second in victories with 19 in 1990.

On the volleyball court, McLeese was named to the Heart of America Athletic Conference All-Conference Team as an honorable mention selection and to the NAIA District 16 first team in 1989.

Ingram, a 2001 graduate and native of Chino Hills, Calif., was a two-sport athlete for the Wildcats in the sports of football and baseball. Ingram made his mark on the baseball diamond, helping the Wildcats to NAIA World Series appearances in 1998 and 1999 where they finished seventh and third, respectively. In addition, the Wildcats captured the Heart of America Athletic Conference championship in 1998 and 2000, and regional championships in 1998 and 1999.

During his baseball career on the Hill, Ingram belted 31 career home runs and recorded 117 runs batted in, which is third on the school’s all-time list. He also scored 108 runs and collected 131 hits, including 19 doubles. Ingram was named to the All-Eastern Division first team and the Heart of America Athletic Conference 2nd team in 1999 after being an honorable mention selection in 1998.

Ingram also competed as an offensive lineman for the Wildcat football team in the fall months during his tenure on the Hill. Ingram earned all-conference second team honors in 1999.

Johnson, a 2004 graduate and a native of Greenville, S.C., played three seasons for the C-SC football team as a running back from 2001-03. He earned Heart of America Athletic Conference honors two times, including a first-team selection in 2003 and a second-team pick in 2002.

Johnson is just one of four players to eclipse the 1,000-yard rushing mark in a season for the Wildcats, doing it twice. In 2002, Johnson gained 1,014 yards on the ground, averaging 5.4 yards per carry, and tied a school record with 18 touchdowns overall, including a school record 16 rushing touchdowns. The following year, Johnson rushed for 1,013 yards, averaging 4.9 yards per carry, and scored nine rushing touchdowns.

Additionally, Johnson finished his career with 2,624 career rushing yards, which is second all-time, on 522 attempts, an average of 5.0 yards per rush. He finished his career with a school record 34 total touchdowns, including 31 rushing touchdowns.

The 1991 men’s basketball team is the only Wildcat men’s basketball team to claim a Heart of America Athletic Conference championship in the 44 years the school has been associated with the conference. Under the direction of first-year head coach Steve Hill, the Wildcats were picked to finish seventh in the preseason poll but finished the league slate with a 10-2 mark.

Forward Greg Logsdon and guard Mark Heaton were named to the all-conference team while Hill was recognized as the Coach of the Year in the league. Logsdon led the Wildcats in free-throw percentage and was the second-leading scorer, while Heaton led the Wildcats in scoring and 3-point field goals.

Forward Matt O’Hara and guard Randy Clampitt were honorable mention selections to the all-conference team. O’Hara led the Wildcats in rebounding and field-goal percentage. Clampitt was among the conference leaders in assists and steals.

Members  of the 1990-91 team were: Tony Francis (student assistant); Steve Hill (head coach); CJ Davis; Cliff Johnson; Mark Heaton; Randy Clampitt; Larry Loethen; Matt O’Hara; Greg Logsdon; Matt Elledge; Andy Campbell; Aaron Buchanan; Brian Hanner; Nick Totta (Asst. Coach); Frank Cash (student assistant); Michael Auer (student assistant).