Hall of Fame quartet honored at ISU

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - Humbled and honored were the keywords of the night along with praise for coaches and teammates as Indiana State graduates Melanie Boeglin, Nate Green, Matt Menser, and Matt Renn were inducted into the 21st Class of the Indiana State Athletes Hall of Fame.

Boeglin was the first induction of the evening with the former Sycamore and the first to say how blessed she was to be going into the Hall of Fame with three great basketball players who are also great individuals.

Green, Menser, and Renn were returned the compliment to Boeglin and each credited her with being the best player of the class.

“Growing up in Terre Haute, playing at Indiana State was always a dream of mine,” Boeglin said. “When I got to ISU, I set a lot of goals and my teammates and I worked very hard to accomplish them.”

Boeglin said that during her playing career or even after, she never considered being inducted into the Hall of Fame.

“Standing here tonight, this is the most humbling recognition that I could receive,” Boeglin said.

Boeglin was a dominant player for Indiana State from 2002 to 2006 and received numerous national and Missouri Valley Conference honors during her playing career. She was the first athlete in the history of the MVC to win the Jackie Stiles Player of the Year award and the Prairie Farms Women’s Basketball Scholar Athlete of the Year award in the same season, both coming in 2006.

She holds numerous ISU records including career steals (436), career assists (685), career games player (124), and career free throws made (576), points scored in a season (600 in 2005-2006), free throws made in a season (166 in 2005-2006), assists in a season (237 in 2005-2006), steals in a season (123 in 2004-2005), points scored in game (46 against Drake on Jan. 26,2006), and field goals made in a game (19 against Drake on Jan. 26, 2006).

Green also said that he was humbled and honored to be receiving the honor of induction into the Hall of Fame.

“I am honored to be here,” Green said. “I had some great, great coaches and great teammates during my time at Indiana State.”

Green played for Indiana State from 1996 to 2000 and was the first player to earn Most Valuable Player recognition from the Missouri Valley Conference as a first team member of the All-Conference team while also being the Most Valuable Player as a first team member of the All-Defensive team.

He led the 1999-2000 Sycamore team to their first outright Missouri Valley Conference regular season title and the school’s first NCAA tournament bid in 21 years where ISU lost to Texas 77-61 in the West Region at Salt Lake City, Utah, the same site of the last Sycamore NCAA appearance in 1979.

He holds or shares several Indiana State records including career steals (240), steals in a season (92 in 1999-2000), and average steals per game in a season (2.9 in 1999-2000). He also tied the single game school record with eight steals against Eastern Illinois on Dec. 19, 1999. Green is also fourth in career blocks (109) and fourth in career assists (496).

Menser and Renn echoed Green’s recognition of the support they received while playing together from coaches, teammates, and family.

“I could not have been more blessed than to play for a man like Coach Waltman,” Menser said.

“We could not have had a more unbelievable support group around us,” Renn said.

Many stories were told by the three men’s basketball players and each said that Royce Waltman was a big influence in their becoming the best players they could be.

“I always loved winning,” Green said. “But it was not until my junior year when I had a sit down meeting with Coach that I realized how much I hate losing. He said that players will take on the personality of the coach or of a player. He gave me ownership of the team that day and I was a changed man.”

Menser and Renn were among the first recruiting class of Coach Waltman.

“His style fit me to a tee,” Renn said. “His passion for competition and his knowledge of the game just took me to another level.”

Indiana State had four straight winning seasons during Menser and Renn’s playing career but it was the two conference championships and the two straight NCAA appearances that each remember the most.

“Bottom line was that we just wanted to win,” Menser said.

Menser was named to the MVC All-Newcomer Team in 1998, was named to the 2000 Honorable Mention All-MVC team, and was named to the All-MVC second team in 2001. He was also a three-time selection to the MVC Men’s Basketball All-Academic team three straight years.

He was named the Most Outstanding Player of the MVC Tournament in 2001 after averaging 21.0 points and 6.3 assists over the Sycamores three-game championship run. He also led the nation in assist/turnover ratio as a senior (184/46, 4:1) and recording nine turnover-less games during the season.

He holds the school record in career three point field goals made (283) and career three point field goals attempted (727) while also holding the top spot in