As part of its annual Homecoming festivities, Lake Forest College added four members to its Athletic Hall of Fame on Saturday. Football player John Klasen '96, swimmers Colleen Gallagher O'Connor '98 and Robert Edgell '00, and tennis player David Kelly '00 were inducted at a ceremony in the College's Mohr Student Center.
Klasen, a native of Wonder Lake Illinois, is the Foresters' career leader with 3,389 rushing yards, 646 carries, and 24.1 yards per kickoff return. He scored 32 touchdowns and 192 points in his four years on the team and also set a program record for rushing yards in a season with 1,342 in 1994. He was voted the squad's Most Valuable Player three times and twice earned first team all-conference honors. Klasen is now a counselor and coach at Glenbrook South High School. John is married to Julianne and they have two children, Johnny and Grace.
Gallagher, a Brunswick, Ohio, native, helped lead the Forester women's swimming & diving team to four conference championships. She claimed six individual and seven relay titles in her four seasons and earned All-American honors in the 200-butterfly as a sophomore. She still ranks among the top five swimmers in program history in the 500-freestyle and 200-butterfly. In addition, her 400-medley relay team from 1996 still holds the conference record. Colleen is a teacher and coach and is married to Mike O'Connor, who graduated from the College in 2000.
Edgell, who came to the College from Alsager in the United Kingdom, won each of his three individual events at the conference meet four times and added nine relay titles and five league records in his career. He was voted the MWC Swimmer of the Year three times and was an Honorable Mention All-American in three of his four seasons. The team won three league championships and he was its Most Valuable Performer all four years. Edgell was also a three-time academic all-conference honoree and twice earned Academic All-American honors. He is now an investment banker and married to Jessica, who also graduated from the College in 2000. They have two daughters, Annabelle and Amelia.
Kelly, a New Trier High School graduate from Wilmette, Illinois, was the Foresters' #1 singles player and Most Valuable Player all four years. He was a two-time conference champion at the top spot in the lineup and the runner-up the other two years. He also claimed a title at #2 doubles as a junior, when he helped lead the Foresters to their first league championship in more than two decades. Kelly finished his career with an overall record of 93-37, including a program-best 51 victories at #1 singles. He currently works in sales and his wife Jenny gave birth to their first child, Celia, earlier this year.
There are now 216 individuals and one team in the Forester Athletic Hall of Fame. The 2010 inductees were also honored in the Homecoming Parade and on the field at halftime of the football game.
It was a record-setting Homecoming celebration for the College, which had well over 600 people register for passes for all the weekend's events. Approximately 1,500 fans were counted at the football game and attendance at every event over the weekend was significantly higher than in past years.