Waubonsee honors HOF inductees and 2025-26 Student-Athletes

Posted: Jun 03, 2026

(Sugar Grove, IL.) – Waubonsee Community College held its Annual Athletic Banquet and Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on May 21. Highlighting the event was the formal enshrinement of three individuals into the college's Athletics Hall of Fame, along with recognizing the accomplishments of Waubonsee student-athletes during the 2025-2026 school year. The trio of inductees included record-setting Volleyball player Erin Bowe, former Softball and Basketball standout Kim (Schaubel) Groom, and broadcaster and friend of the program Mark Krueger who was inducted posthumously. Basketball player Niallie Evans was honored as the Sophomore Female Athlete of the Year, with basketball player Chikasi Ofoma being named the Sophomore Male Athlete of the Year. Softball player Brooklyn Marks was chosen the Freshman Female Athlete of the Year, while basketball player Freddy Hassan was selected the Freshman Male Athlete of the Year. Women's Basketball player Anna-Marie Godina was named the Dave Randall Vermillion and Gold Award winner, and men's soccer player Luke Rader was the S.T.A.R. Award recipient.

Bowe was a two-time All-Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference (ISCC) and All-Region performer in helping lead Waubonsee volleyball to its' first ever appearance at the NJCAA Division II National Tournament in 2014. The Rosary High School graduate set Chiefs' single-season marks for kills (494), points (583.5) and digs (754) that still stand. She was at the center of everything as Waubonsee went undefeated (10-0) on the way to winning the ISCC title for the first time ever. Bowe was selected to the Region 4 All-Tournament team as the Chiefs captured the Region title for the first time and a berth at the National Tournament in Phoenix, Arizona. The Geneva native was chosen as Waubonsee's 2014 Female Athlete of the Year and finished her Chiefs' career as the school's all-time leader in kills (968), points (1,163), matches with double-digit kills (50) and is second in career digs (1,161). To cap it all off, Bowe was named a 2014 NJCAA Division II Honorable Mention All-American, the first ever Waubonsee volleyball player to earn All-American distinction. Bowe went on to earn a degree from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2017 and a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy in 2022. She is currently an Emergency Medicine Clinical Pharmacist at University of Kentucky HealthCare in Lexington.

Groom, an Aurora West High School alumnus, was a stellar pitcher and basketball player for the Chiefs in the late 1980's. On the softball diamond Groom was a two-time All-Skyway First Team pitcher winning over 30 games in her Waubonsee career for back-to-back conference runner-up teams. On the basketball court Groom was an all-around performer as a top-notch rebounder, defender, scorer and distributor of the ball on the way to being named All-Skyway and Academic All-Skyway her sophomore year. Groom achieved all this while simultaneously serving with the Big Brothers/Big Sisters Program of Kane and Kendall Counties and working as an Aurora Police Cadet. She transferred to Aurora University where she earned All-Conference and team Most Valuable Player honors in helping the Spartans win a conference championship and finish as runner-up at the 1992 NCAA Central Regional. In addition, on the basketball court Groom averaged nearly 13 points a game her junior year. She did all of this while working full-time as a new Aurora Police Officer. Subsequently, Groom received the NCAA's Woman of the Year Athletic Honor for 1991-92. She went on to have a distinguished 27-year career with the Aurora Police Department and remains active within the community coaching youth basketball and softball. Additionally, the Kiwanis Club of Aurora has presented the Kim Schaubel-Groom Award to an Aurora area softball player since 2015, along with a college scholarship through the Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley to an area senior who serves in their Kiwanis Key Club.

A Downers Grove native, Krueger had a passion for sports and a talent for describing the action with clarity and excitement. The award-winning broadcaster won a Chicagoland Emmy and was nominated three other times as well, while also being inducted into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame as a Media member in 2015. For over 30 years Krueger covered nearly 3,000 high school and college events all over Chicagoland, working for multiple broadcasting outlets. However, he broadcast more Waubonsee Chiefs events than any other single entity. Krueger was the voice of Waubonsee's men's and women's basketball broadcasts for 15 years, and he filled the same role covering Chiefs' volleyball for seven years. Overall, Krueger called nearly 400 Waubonsee regular season, tournament and post-season sporting events. As a matter of fact, he was on the mic for every game of the Region 4 women's and men's basketball tournaments when Waubonsee hosted the two-weekend event in 2006, 2007, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019. Outside of broadcasting Krueger worked as a substitute teacher, was a manager of two different tire stores, served as a Polling Place Election Official, worked as a Census Taker for DuPage and Kane Counties, and did a handful of other jobs along the way. Krueger unexpectedly passed away in August of 2023 at the age of 56. A Waubonsee scholarship in his name was established in 2025 by his family. His sister Lori (Rabehl) and brother Paul accepted his Hall of Fame plaque on his behalf.

Evans helped lead the Chiefs' basketball team to a 22-9 overall record as she finished second nationally among all NJCAA Division II players with 204 assists. The Aurora West High School graduate averaged 19.3 points, 6.6 assists and 3.6 steals per game on the way to being named All-ISCC First Team and All-Region First Team. Evans was also an All-American nominee and earned the NJCAA Division II Player of the Week award for the first week of February. The 5'4" point guard set a new Chiefs' single-game record for points when she poured in 41 in a lopsided win over Wright College.

Ofoma, a sophomore from Chicago's Curie High School, led Waubonsee balanced attack with 109 assists and was second on the team in points and rebounds. The 6'7" power forward muscled his way to 13.7 points per game and corralled 208 rebounds, earning All-ISCC First Team and All-Region honors. Ofoma, who is headed to NCAA Division I affiliate Grambling State University in Louisiana, was also an All-American nominee.

Marks, a right-hander pitcher from Sandwich, set new Chiefs' records in strikeouts in a game (17) and in a season (217) while averaging 10.0 strikeouts per seven innings pitched. She was an All-ISCC First Team selection after tossing five shutouts, including two no-hitters, on the way to winning 16 games in the circle with a 3.97 earned-run-average. Marks also batted .289 overall with a .684 slugging percentage, smacking four home runs on the season.

A Kaneland High School product, Hassan was named an NJCAA Division II Honorable Mention All-American. The explosive 6'7" center led Waubonsee in points (514), scoring (16.1 per game), rebounds (270), rebounds per game (8.4), field goal percentage (64.2 percent) and blocked shots (53). Hassan, who was selected All-ISCC First Team and All-Region First Team, taking his talents to NCAA Division I Wagner University in Staten Island, New York.

Godina received her award from former Waubonsee coach and administrator Dave Randall, who was on hand to present the award recently renamed in his honor. The Dave Randall Vermilion and Gold Award is given annually to the Waubonsee student-athlete who best exemplifies the true 'heart and soul' of Chiefs' athletics. A two-year team captain, Godina excelled on and off the court, averaging 12.1 points-per-game while also serving as an Executive Leader for the Student Athlete Council and earning a 3.9 grade-point-average in the classroom. The 5'5" guard set a Waubonsee single-season record for three-point baskets with 90 this past season and also rewrote the career mark by nailing 177 in her Chiefs' career overall. The Aurora Central Catholic High School alumnus will be continuing her playing career at Beloit College in Wisconsin.

Rader, a Somonauk High School graduate, was the S.T.A.R. Award winner which goes to the student-athlete that displays a good work ethic, dedication to academics and achieved perfect attendance in Waubonsee's athletic monitoring program. The sophomore midfielder compiled a 3.47 grade-point-average while also earning All-ISCC Honorable Mention on the soccer pitch. Rader scored four goals and registered two assists on the way to helping the Chiefs go 7-7-1 last Fall.

Several other student-athletes and teams were recognized throughout the evening for their stellar performances this past school year, including women's soccer keeper Isabella Delgado who was named the ISCC Goalie of the Year. Women's Soccer won the ISCC title for the fifth time in the last six years going a combined 26-4-2 in conference play over that span. Men's Basketball was honored as the program extended its streak to five straight seasons with 20 or more wins. The Chiefs also scored 100 or more points 10 times, with a season high of 128 versus Harper College in December. Waubonsee finished the year fifth among all NJCAA Division II teams with a 94.4 points-per-game average and a 21.5 per game average in assists. Competitive Co-Ed Cheerleading won a bid to the National Cheerleading Association (NCA) National Championships and went on to place fourth in the Small Co-Ed Junior College Division at the NCA Nationals in Daytona Beach, Florida. In addition, Waubonsee's Women's and Men's Tennis teams returned to campus for the first time since 2018 as they took to the college's new Tennis and Pickleball Complex. Waubonsee coaches were also honored for leading their teams to successful seasons, including women's soccer head coach Brad Schlemmer who was selected the ISCC Female Sports Coach of the Year and the ISCC Women's Soccer Coach of the Year. Cross Country head coach Eric Baron was recognized for his induction to both the Kaneland High School and St. Charles Hall of Fames. Men's Basketball head coach Lance Robinson was chosen the ISCC Coach of the Year after leading the Chiefs to their third straight conference title.

Waubonsee's community involvement was also highlighted as the college hosted several community events throughout the year, including high school basketball and baseball games, youth clinics and camps and Special Olympics basketball games. The evening was capped off when Director of Athletics Dana Wagner, who is set to retire in September after 30 years at Waubonsee, was given a surprise celebration encapsulating her career in the Chiefs' Athletic Department.