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.
Laura LeVander Peters
Softball
Inducted: 2011
Laura LeVander Peters burst onto the Gustavus softball scene in 1993 compiling a perfect record of 9-0 on the mound in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) play and leading the Gusties to a second place finish with a 16-2 mark, while also firing the first no-hitter in the program's history against Carleton on a cool afternoon in early May. Peters would go on to establish herself as one of the finest pitchers in Gustavus and league history during a standout career that lasted from 1993 to 1996.
The first player in the program's history to earn All-Conference honors in each of her four seasons, Peters was also one of the first hurlers in the league to master four pitches (fastball, change-up, rise, and drop) and she used outstanding control and above average velocity to register 396 strikeouts, which was the all-time record both at Gustavus and in the MIAC. The Woodbury, Minn. native graduated with virtually every pitching record in the program's history including innings pitched (406.1), wins (42), complete games (55), strikeouts (392), shutouts (19) and appearances (75). In addition, she ranked first all-time in MIAC history in strikeouts (332) and earned run average (0.89) and third in wins (36) and innings pitched (329). Peters' mastery on the mound allowed her to register a career record of 42-20 and a league mark of 36-8, while helping the Gusties compile a record of 70-46 overall and 60-26 in conference play.
After graduating cum laude in 1996 with a major in political science, Peters went to work at Lutheran Brotherhood until 1999 when she accepted a position at Automated Data Processing (ADP) selling payroll services to small businesses. She later accepted a sales position at Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical before moving to Marshall Field's as a buyer. Peters has been a stay at home mom raising her two daughters since 2007. Laura and her husband Mark live in Stillwater with their daughters, Mackenzie and Courtney.