The Lawrence University Intercollegiate Athletic Hall of Fame gets six new members this fall.
Basketball stars Chris Braier and Claire Getzoff and track standout Kolade Agbaje-Williams, all from the class of 2006, are joined by volleyball star Lis Pollock and soccer standout Katie Wilkin, both from the class of 2003. Rounding out the group is the late Stan Preston ’55, who was a four-time All-Midwest Conference selection in football.
The Hall of Fame induction takes place on Oct. 14 at the Warch Campus Center. To purchase a ticket for the Hall of Fame dinner, contact the office of Alumni and Constituency Engagement at 920-832-6854. The cost of the dinner is $25.
Kolade Agbaje-Williams, 2006
Kolade Agbaje-Williams stands alone in Lawrence University track and field history.
The native of Ilesa, Nigeria, is the only track athlete in school history to be an All-American indoors and outdoors in the same year. It was a feat he pulled off in the long jump in 2003.
In addition to the All-America honors, Agbaje-Williams was an eight-time Midwest Conference champion and was named an Outstanding Performer at the Midwest Conference Championships five times. Agbaje-Williams, who graduated from high school in Evergreen Park, Ill., set a pair of Lawrence records individually and ran on four record-setting relay teams.
A winner of multiple Midwest Conference Performer of the Week awards, Agbaje-Williams was the conference’s indoor champion in both the long jump and triple jump in 2003. He also set the Lawrence indoor records with a leap of 23 feet, 10.75 inches, in the long jump and 46-3.25 in the triple jump during the 2003 season.
Agbaje-Williams capped his 2003 indoor season by taking sixth in the long jump with a leap of 22-5 at the NCAA Championships. After sweeping the titles in the long jump and triple jump at the Midwest Conference’s outdoor championships in 2003, Agbaje-Williams went to the NCAA Championships and finished eighth in the long jump with a leap of 22-9 to earn All-America honors again.
Agbaje-Williams followed that season in 2004 by winning the conference’s indoor title in the triple jump at 45-9.75 and taking the outdoor title in the long jump at 22-7.25. Agbaje-Williams claimed two more conference titles over his final two seasons. He took the 2005 crown indoors in the long jump at 22-3, and then grabbed first indoors in the 2006 triple jump at 45-10.
Agbaje-Williams earned Outstanding Field Performer at the conference’s indoor championships in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006 and also took the honor at the 2003 outdoor meet. Agbaje-Williams also regularly competed in running events and was a multiple placewinner at the Midwest Conference Championships in everything from the 55 meters to the 400.
Agbaje-Williams also helped set four school relay records during his career. During indoor competition, he ran on the record-setting sprint medley relay (3:36.36), 4×200 relay (1:33.78) and 4×400 relay (3:30.27). In outdoor competition, he was part of the record-setting 4×100 relay team (43.38 seconds).
Agbaje-Williams, who is a licensed certified public accountant and certified fraud examiner, works as the examination manager at the National Futures Association. He and his wife, Seun, live in Oak Lawn, Ill., and have a daughter, Tiwa.
Chris Braier, 2006
Chris Braier propelled Lawrence University men’s basketball onto the national stage and stands as the greatest player in school history.
The native of Wauwatosa, Wis., won the Jostens Trophy as the top player in NCAA Division III, was a three-time All-American and is Lawrence’s career leader in scoring and rebounding. Braier scored 1,565 points and grabbed 1,267 rebounds and is the only player in Midwest Conference history to top 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.
Braier averaged 14.9 points and 12.1 rebounds over his career and possessed a superlative all-around game. Relentless around the basket and on the glass, Braier could also step out and knock down a 3-pointer. He posted career highs of 45 points and 24 rebounds in two different games against Grinnell College. An outstanding passer, Braier ranked fourth with 266 assists when he graduated. He remains second on Lawrence’s career list with 180 steals.
Braier was a four-time first-team All-Midwest Conference selection. He played on three Midwest Conference championship teams (2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06), and those teams also won the Midwest Conference Tournament. Braier, who played in the NCAA Division III Tournament three straight years (2004-06), was chosen as the Midwest Conference Player of the Year in 2004 and 2006.
The 6-foot-4 forward won the Jostens Trophy in 2006 and picked up National Association of Basketball Coaches first-team and D3hoops.com third-team All-America honors that season. He also picked up D3hoops.com third-team All-America honors in 2004 and a fourth-team pick by D3hoops.com in 2005.
Braier led Lawrence to the nation’s best record at 25-1 record in 2005-06. That squad was the last unbeaten team in the nation and became the first Lawrence team to earn a No. 1 national ranking. Lawrence went 22-0 in the regular season and reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
Lawrence also broke new ground during the 2003-04 season after the Vikings won the league title and conference tournament. The Vikings won three games in the NCAA Tournament to reach the Elite Eight before losing a one-point game in overtime to the eventual national champions. It is the deepest tournament run in Midwest Conference history.
During Braier’s career, the Vikings posted a record of 87-18, and Lawrence’s 69-12 mark from 2003-06 was the best record for any team in the nation during that three-season stretch.
Braier, who earned a degree in biology at Lawrence, works as a physician assistant at Illinois Bone and Joint Institute in Glenview, Ill. He is currently working toward his MBA from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. He lives in Chicago.
Claire Getzoff, 2006
A prolific scorer and superlative all-around player, Claire Getzoff led the Lawrence University women’s basketball team to some of the best seasons in school history.
A native of Evanston, Ill., Getzoff is Lawrence’s career scoring leader and was a four-time first-team All-Midwest Conference selection. Getzoff shattered the school’s scoring record and finished with 1,487 points for an average of 15.8 points per game.
Getzoff is one of only three players in school history to be a four-time all-conference selection. Getzoff set the season scoring record with 408 points in 2002-03 and owns the top three scoring seasons in school history. She also set the season scoring average record of 18.1 points per game in 2003-04.
A great shooter who also could drive to the hoop, Getzoff is Lawrence’s leader in field goals made (527) and attempted (1,255). She also is the school’s top 3-point shooter with 208 treys and still ranks second in shooting from beyond the arc at 37.3 percent. Getzoff holds the school record with seven 3-pointers in a game, a feat she pulled off twice. She buried a school record 67 3-pointers in 2003-04.
Getzoff was a great scorer who poured in a career-high 30 points in back-to-back games during her senior season, and she excelled at other facets of the game. She finished her career with averages of 4.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.6 steals per game. Getzoff ranks third on Lawrence’s career list in both assists and steals.
With Getzoff leading the way, the Vikings went 61-33 during her four seasons and qualified for the Midwest Conference Tournament three times (2003, 2005 and 2006). The 2005-06 team tied the school record for victories with a 19-5 record.
Getzoff, who earned a degree in history and education at Lawrence, is a special education teacher at Evanston Township High School. Getzoff, who has a master’s degree in special education from Northeastern Illinois University, got married in 2016 to Lyndsay Gant.
Lis Pollock, 2003
Lis Pollock stands as the most dominant player in the history of Lawrence University volleyball.
A native of Urbana, Ill., Pollock was a three-time All-Midwest Conference selection and holds nearly every one of the school’s offensive records. A middle hitter, the 6-foot Pollock set eight school records and led Lawrence during the most successful era in school history.
Pollock pounded out a school-record 1,595 kills during her career and set the school record with a .336 career hitting percentage. She also holds the career mark at 3.71 kills per set.
An all-conference pick in 2000, 2001 and 2002, Pollock set the school record of 28 kills in a match (she did it twice) and had the top four match kill totals in school history when she graduated. Pollock set the match record with an .871 hitting percentage after 28 kills with just one error in 31 attempts against Edgewood College in 2002.
The 2001 season saw Pollock set school records with 553 kills and an average of 4.77 kills per set. She finished her career in 2002 with a school record .423 hitting percentage. Pollock ranked second in career blocks with 259 when she graduated.
Pollock was an offensive force that propelled Lawrence to its best season back in 2001. The Vikings posted a school record 19 wins and finished third in the Midwest Conference. During Pollock’s four seasons, Lawrence posted 56 wins.
Pollock, who also won a letter in basketball, was a three-time Academic All-Midwest Conference selection and earned degrees in history and government at Lawrence. She earned her law degree from the University of Illinois College of Law, where she has returned to serve as an adjunct professor. Pollock is an assistant federal public defender for the Central District of Illinois. Pollock and her husband, Christian Ray, have two children, Gabriel and Tristan, and live in Urbana.
Stan Preston, 1955
Stan Preston was a dominant, multi-talented player who starred in an era of Lawrence University gridiron greatness.
The native of Grinnell, Iowa, was a four-time All-Midwest Conference performer. A two-way player just as the era of ironman football was ending, the 6-foot-4 Preston was a two-time all-conference pick at linebacker and then was chosen two more times at center.
Along with Lawrence All-American end Charles “Sal” Cianciola, Preston was one of the first two players to be named to the all-conference team as a freshman. He is one of only seven players in Lawrence history to be a four-time all-league choice.
During his first two seasons, Preston, known as “Big Pres” to his teammates, was chosen as an all-conference linebacker in 1951 and 1952. The 1951 squad went unbeaten at 7-0 and claimed the Midwest Conference championship. The 1952 team won the first seven games of the season to push the Vikings’ winning streak to a school-record 14 games. The Vikings finally had its win streak snapped at Coe College but finished with a 7-1 record.
Preston made the move to center for the 1953 season and had a big adjustment. A T-formation center in high school, he was now playing in Bernie Heselton’s single-wing attack, which is triggered by a snap several yards deep to one of the backs. Now blocking for superlative backs like Ed Grosse and Carl Stumpf, Preston earned all-conference honors on offense in 1953 and 1954.
The 1953 Vikings went 6-1-1 to finish third in the league, and the 1954 squad was 6-2 and took second in the league. Preston helped the Vikings to a 26-4-1 record over his four seasons, including a 14-0-1 record in games at Whiting Field.
Preston, who passed away in 2004, earned a degree in geology at Lawrence. After serving for a number of years in the United States Air Force, Preston worked with his father as the proprietor of Preston’s, a men’s clothing store in Grinnell. He then founded Atlas Wheel Weights in Atlanta, Ga., and ran that business until he retired to Monterey, Calif. Preston is survived by his wife, Patricia, five children and three grandchildren.
Katie Wilkin, 2003
Katie Wilkin made the difficult save look easy and then made the saves no one else could make. Wilkin was a stellar goalkeeper for the Lawrence University women’s soccer team and led the Vikings to the greatest achievements in the program’s history.
A native of Oregon, Wis., Wilkin was a Midwest Conference Player of the Year and a three-time All-Midwest Conference selection. Wilkin is the only goalkeeper to be chosen as the Midwest Conference Player of the Year (the league now selects an offensive and defensive player of the year). Wilkin was the 2002 conference Player of the Year and also earned first-team honors in 2001. She was a second-team pick as a sophomore in 2000.
Wilkin compiled a 1.63 goals against average for her career to go with an .861 save percentage. Wilkin, who posted a career-high 28 saves vs. UW-Oshkosh in 2002, recorded 514 saves for her career and piled up a career-best 180 saves in the 2001 season. Wilkin set a school season record with a .909 save percentage in 2001 and also had a career-best 1.03 GAA during that season.
Wilkin finished with 24-21-4 career record, and her 24 wins ranks second in school history. She posted 16 shutouts, and that also ranks second in school history. Her seven shutouts in 2001 are tied for Lawrence’s best season total.
A team captain, Wilkin led the Vikings to the 2000 Midwest Conference championship. The Vikings also won the Midwest Conference Tournament that season to earn their first berth in the NCAA Division III Tournament. Lawrence took the Midwest Conference Tournament title again in 2001, and that team became the first in conference history to win a NCAA Tournament game.
Wilkin, who earned a degree in studio art at Lawrence and a teaching certification from Edgewood College, teaches eighth grade in the Madison Metropolitan School District. She teaches math and works with students with a variety of disabilities at Sherman Middle School. Wilkin and her spouse, Lauren Lebwohl, live in Madison with their English Pointer.