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.
Luke Speltz
Track & Field
Inducted: 2018
Champion and the name Luke Speltz were synonymous in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference track & field scene from 2000-03. A 14-time MIAC titleholder, Speltz will forever hold the record of winning the conference’s indoor and outdoor shot put all four years.
The Rollingstone, Minnesota native achieved seven All-America awards, five during his senior campaign. Between the 2003 NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships, Speltz scored more points than any track & field athlete in Division III and was named NCAA Field Athlete of the Meet at the 2003 Indoor Championships. During the outdoor championships, he took third in the discus and fifth in both the shot put and hammer throw. The indoor championships saw Speltz place second in the weight throw and shot. His first All-America honor was earned by taking fourth in the weight throw at the 2002 indoor championships and his second was achieved by taking fifth in the discus at the 2002 outdoor championships.
An extreme competitor who relentlessly pursued perfection, Speltz earned the athletic department’s highest honor in 2003 as the Gustavus Male Athlete of the Year. At the conference championships, Speltz was named MIAC Most Outstanding Field Athlete in 2002 and 2003 and was a 17-time All-Conference honoree. In addition to his eight MIAC titles in the shot put, Speltz also won the weight throw three times (2001-03), the hammer twice (2002, 03), and the discus once (2001).
After graduating in 2003 with a degree in international management, Speltz worked in the pharmaceutical industry for several years. Since 2011, he has been at WellMark Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Des Moines, Iowa as the Team Leader of Network Economics. Speltz earned an MBA from the University of Iowa and a second bachelor’s degree in accounting from Auburn. He also achieved his CPA license and founded Ashland Advisors. He is currently working on master’s degrees in accounting and information systems from Auburn. Luke lives in Des Moines with his wife Tona (Schmidtke) ’04 and their four children, Isaac, Mateya, Taejen, and Gracia.