Olivet College Athletic Hall of Fame to induct three individuals and one team in October

OLIVET, Mich. – The Olivet College Athletic Hall of Fame will officially welcome four new inductees -- Anthony Keim, Patrick Peregoy and Beth Shunkwiler, and the 1997-98 men’s golf team -- during Homecoming weekend in October. The ceremony will take place inside The Cutler Event Center, as part of the college’s Alumni Awards Celebration Oct. 2. They will then be recognized the next day prior to the football game vs. Adrian College.

Anthony Keim ’98 was a four-year letterwinner on the men’s golf team and a four-time All-Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) selection, earning first-team honors in 1996 and 1997 and second-team honors in 1994 and 1995. In 1996, he was the league’s Most Valuable Golfer, averaging 76.4 strokes over the seven rounds. Overall, Keim helped Comets win three MIAA titles and led them to three appearances at the NCAA Division III National Championships, finishing an all-time best seventh in 1998. He also excelled in the class room, as he was selected to the MIAA Academic Honor Roll all four years and earned Scholar All-American honors from the National Golf Coaches Association in 1997.

Keim graduated from Olivet with a bachelor’s degree in insurance. He lives in Holt, and works at Jackson National Life Insurance.

Patrick Peregoy ’80 was a four-year letterwinner on the track and field team. In 1978 and 1980, he was named the MIAA’s Most Valuable Performer and an All-MIAA selection. In 1978, Peregoy won the 100 and 200 dashes, and ran the opening leg of the winning 1600 relay at the MIAA Field Day. He also placed eighth in the 100 at the NCAA Division III National Championships. In 1980, Peregoy took first-place in the 100 and 200 at the MIAA Field Day, breaking the league record in the 100 at 10.7 seconds. He also competed in the 200 at the NCAA DIII National Championships. At the time of his graduation, Peregoy held the school record in the 100 and 200 (:21.66). He also earned a varsity letter in football his senior year.

Peregoy will be inducted posthumously. He was a business administration major at Olivet and worked in Kalamazoo as a district manager for Purina Hills at the time of his death. He is survived by his wife, Sandy, of Freeland, a son, Andrew, of Madison Heights, and a daughter, Kerry Alway, of Phoenix, Ariz.

Beth Shunkwiler ’06 came to Olivet after playing two seasons of softball at Lake Michigan College. Despite being at Olivet for only two years, she made an impact on the team. During her junior campaign in 2004, Shunkwiler was a first-team All-MIAA pick. She started every game and posted a .360 batting average as well as 28 runs scored and 12 doubles.As a senior in 2005, Shunkwiler earned third-team Louisville Slugger/National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-America, first-team NFCA All-Central Region and first-team All-MIAA honors. She started every game behind the plate, leading the Comets to a 22-14 overall record and a spot in the MIAA Tournament. At the plate, Shunkwiler had a .390 batting average to go along with a single-season school record nine home runs, 91 total bases, .740 slugging percentage and 50 RBI. She is still the career leader for slugging percentage (.616) and was the all-time leader at the time of her graduation for doubles (26), home runs (9) and RBI (61).

After exhausting her collegiate eligibility in 2005, Shunkwiler remained at Olivet for one more academic year to complete her student teaching assignment and a double major in secondary physical education and biology. During the 2006 softball season, she served as a student assistant coach under head coach James Farnum.

Since leaving Olivet, Shunkwiler completed her first master’s degree in education from Western Michigan University (WMU) in 2009 and is working on a second master’s degree in pedagogy from WMU. She is a physical education teacher at White Knoll High School in Lexington, S.C., and has been coaching softball at all levels, including collegiate, high school and travel ball. Shunkwiler was named Ms. Michigan and Ms. United States through the World Beauties organization in 2012.

Under the leadership of head coach Gary Morrison, the 1997-98 men’s golf team posted Olivet’s highest finish in school history at the NCAA Division III National Championships, placing seventh of 23 schools and only 10 strokes behind the second-place team. The team also captured the 17th MIAA Championship in school history with a 387.3 stroke average. The Comets won six-of-eight league jamborees, and was second in the other two. Four golfers on the team, Keim, Mark Raven, Scott Spencer and Darren Straniero, earned first-team All-MIAA honors. In addition, all four placed in the top five of the MIAA individual leaderboard, with Raven earning Most Valuable Golfer honors.

Other varsity letterwinners on the team were Anthony Burgess, Jason Godin, Mitchell Lawens, Daniel Myer and Richard Vellinga. Receiving participation certificates were Jesse Barnum, Colin Broadbent, Shaun Gaffrey, Ryan Horricks, Christopher Root and Stephen Rozalowsky.