Athletic Hall of Fame
The Gustavus Adolphus College Hall of Fame was established in 1978 at which time 19 "Charter Members" were inducted either as coaches or as athletes. As of the fall of 2022, 348 individuals (321 athletes, 16 coaches and 11 benefactors) have been elected to the Hall of Fame.
The former Hall of Fame room on the second floor of the Lund Center was originally partially endowed by the families of both Dwight Holcombe's (the only father/son combination holding membership in the Hall). The hardwood plaque upon which the individual plates are permanently displayed, now in the Hall of Champions, was donated by the family of former football coach and Hall of Fame member Jocko Nelson, who passed away in 1978.
Leah Holmes
Track & Field
Inducted: 2002
The most heralded hurdler in the history of Gustavus womens' track and field, Leah Ross Holmes became the program's first All-American when she finished fourth in the 400-meter hurdles at the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women's (AIAW) National Championships in May of 1982. Holmes' time of 1:04.60 at the national meet established a school record that still stands today, and the four points that she earned helped the Gusties finish in 35th place, which was the first national team finish in the program's history. Equally adept in the 100-meter hurdles, Holmes won the 1982 MIAC outdoor title in a conference and school-record time of 15.36. That MIAC mark remained intact until 1997 and the school record still stands. A four-year letterwinner, Holmes was a two-time conference champion (the MIAC's first women's outdoor track and field championship took place in her senior year). She also finished first in the 100 hurdles at the MAIAW State Championships in 1981 and then went on to finish third in the same race at the AIAW Region 6 meet later that spring.
A magna cum laude graduate with majors in psychology and criminal justice, Holmes went on to receive a doctoral degree in clinical psychology from Marquette University. She has been a licensed psychologist practicing in southeastern Minnesota since 1986. Presently affiliated with the Zumbro Valley Mental Health Center in Rochester, Minnesota, Holmes has been very active in the Minnesota Brain Injury Association, serving as that organization's president in the early '90s. Leah and her husband, Michael, live in Rochester with their two daughters, Ann (4 1/2) and Sara (2).