Columbia, Mo. – On Friday, September 25^th in the Dulany Banquet Hall on the campus of Columbia College, President Dr. Scott Dalrymple, along with Athletic Director Bob Burchard, will induct the 13^th class of the Columbia College Athletic Hall of Fame. The class will include the 1999 Columbia College men's soccer team, Kathi and L'Mont Betz, Luana Branco, and Rachel Oswald Hurt.

1999 Men's Soccer Team
The 1999 Columbia College men's soccer team is one of the most accomplished teams in school history. With a roster full of experience, the team set the bar for number of wins in a season posting a 20-5 record. The 20-win season eclipsed the previous record of 17 set during the 1998 campaign. The 1999 team was known for its physical defensive play and its athletic and skilled offensive style. The squad's smothering defense held opponents scoreless in 14 games, while scoring 73 goals – an average of three goals per game.
Leading the way was 2011 Hall of Fame inductee Coach Dan Hogan, who was named Conference Coach of the Year. The team's tremendous season garnered several individual awards, including eight American Midwest Conference Academic All-Conference members; five AMC All-Conference members, AMC Coach of the Year and Player of the Year; four All-Region V members; Region Player of the Year; five NAIA Scholar-Athletes and four NAIA-All-Americans.
 
This veteran team was composed of eight seniors, four juniors, five sophomores and four freshmen.Team members included Andrew Branaum, Pat Brand, Beau Crist, Jason Dahl, Chris Dean, Pete Eisentrager, Andy Gelven, Chris Gianino, Brad Hornberger, Brad Jenks, Dan Lauck, Ryan McHugh, Mike Meenen, Rick Menke, Anthony Moore, Fredrick Orbeck-Nilssen, Scott Rennick, Jason Spencer and Kjell-Einar Teien. The coaching staff consisted of Dan Hogan, Bob Tye and Myles Hinkel. The team was supported by Head Athletic Trainer Jon Barfknecht, Student Athletic Trainer Eric Poehlein and Sports Information Director Jason Becking. 

Kathi and L'Mont Betz
Kathi Goolsby Betz was born Aug. 4, 1959, in St. Louis, Missouri, to Lealand and Betty Goolsby. She graduated from Notre Dame High School in 1977 and received a nursing degree from St. Louis Community College Forest Park in 1982. She worked for Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital for 10 years in the NICU before moving to Columbia in 1992.

L'Mont Betz was born July 22, 1951, in St. Louis, Missouri, to Glenn and Nelda Betz. He graduated from Kirkwood High School in 1969 and received a business degree from the University of Missouri in 1982. He started his business, L.C. Betz Associates Jewelers in 1983 in Columbia, Missouri. Kathi and L'Mont were married in 1992 and have worked together at the jewelry store since then. They have three children, Rachel, Patrick and Kortney; a son-in-law, Robert; a granddaughter, Rainey; and another grandchild due in November 2015.

In 1994 the Betz family was first introduced to Columbia College Athletics and started attending basketball games with their neighbors. Many of those neighbors, including the Betzs, were instrumental in the founding of the Cougar Club & Scholarship Fund, and in turn, serve on the Cougar Club Steering Committee. They have previously been honored with the Athletic Director's Award for Outstanding Contributions to Cougar Athletics and have also served as Honorary Coaches for the 2006 and 2007 NAIA National Volleyball Tournament. The Betzs are excited and honored to be associated with the ongoing excellence of Columbia College Athletics.

Luana Branco
Luana Branco started her athletic journey like many young women through participation in gymnastics and ballet.  After four years however, she had grown too tall for these activities, so her parents introduced her to the sport of volleyball. As she progressed in the sport, she often played a key role as a hitter (middle, outside or right side). Because of her height and skill, Luana transitioned easily from one position to the other. She was steered toward her final position of setter by one of the coaches for the Brazilian National Team. She was told if she wanted to have a chance to play professionally, she would need to explore that role, this time not because she was too tall, but because she was too short! After setting for approximately 18 months and improving her craft, Luana was recruited to Columbia College by Coach Melinda Wrye-Washington.

In 2005 she began her journey from Brazil to Columbia, Missouri. Her first couple of years were challenging due to her inability to speak or understand English. While she improved her language skills quickly, it was difficult to thrive in her role as setter, as the position requires constant communication with teammates. In order to help bridge the language gap, Wrye-Washington and Luana drew up each play that the team would run and created hand signals to accompany them. With the help of the dedicated staff and teammates, Luana was able to thrive at Columbia College.

During her four-year career at Columbia College she racked up many individual conference and national awards. She was named First Team All-American Midwest Conference as well as AMC Setter of the Year each of her four years. In addition, Luana was AMC Freshman of the year in 2005 and AMC Player of the Year in 2007 and 2008. In her first season with the Cougars the team advanced to the National Championship game, ultimately losing to California Baptist.  Following the tournament Luana was named an NAIA Honorable Mention All-American. During her final three seasons in the navy and silver, she was able to take home First Team All-American honors. Luana's overall record as a Cougar is 155 wins with only 27 losses. She currently holds the career record in total blocks and sets played at Columbia College.  She is second in career assists, seventh in kills and third in digs.   

Since graduating in 2010, she has started working hard at her new passion -- her family. In 2009, she married her college sweetheart and former men's basketball player Mikel Fields. In 2013, they had their first child, Olivia. Luana currently works at SuretyBonds.com as a commercial surety underwriter. In her spare time, Luana enjoys a variety of activities such as knitting, crocheting, painting, reading, playing volleyball, yoga, biking and planning nights out with friends.

Rachel Oswald Hurt
Rachel Oswald Hurt, a native of Boonville, Missouri, is the youngest of the five Oswald children.  Growing up in a household with four sports-minded older brothers, Rachel always admired their athletic abilities. She credits each of them with helping instill a competitiveness and drive to excel. While Rachel ultimately topped out at 6'0 tall, she is still the shortest of all her siblings.     
Rachel, a two-time all-state selection in high school, started her collegiate career at the University of Missouri as a recruited walk-on. When that chapter ended she received a call from former Head Women's Basketball Coach Mike Davis inviting her to continue her playing career just down the road at Columbia College.

Rachel's impact on the team was immediate as she scored 24 points and corralled 13 rebounds in her first game as a Cougar. She would go on to finish the season as the leading scorer and rebounder on the squad, averaging over 15 points and nine rebounds per game. Following the 2007-08, season Rachel was named First Team All-Conference, AMC Newcomer of the Year and a NAIA Mention All-American. 
While she was able to put up similar individual numbers in 2008-09, the team was much improved posting a 29-5 record and making a Sweet Sixteen appearance in the NAIA Tournament. Rachel was again honored as a First Team All-Conference member and an NAIA Honorable Mention All-American for her efforts. She showed amazing consistency during her senior season by once again averaging 15 points per game and grabbing more than nine rebounds per contest. 

The Cougars finished 28-6 and made a second straight trip to the NAIA National Tournament.  At the conclusion of her senior year she was named First Team All-Conference, AMC Player of the Year and a NAIA Third Team All-American.  Rachel played in every game for the Cougars during her three year-career.  Of the 100 games she played in, she scored in double figures 87 times. She currently holds the career mark for rebounding (890), is third in career scoring (1,560) and third in career blocks (143).   

Rachel graduated in 2010 with a bachelor's degree in Psychology and currently works for Progressive Insurance as a bodily injury representative.  Rachel married Tory Hurt in September 2014 and the couple currently reside in Camdenton, Missouri where they enjoy staying active and playing basketball together.