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MARSHFIELD – Three individuals and a pair of WIAA state championship teams have been announced as 2013 inductees into the Marshfield High School Athletic Hall of Fame, athletic director Nathan DeLany said on Friday.
Dr. Jeffrey Hardacre, Adam Stenavich and Johnalee (Hildebrandt) Kleifgen, along with the 2001 and 2002 WIAA Division1 state championship football teams will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on homecoming weekend, Oct. 4-5.
Hardacre is a 1988 graduate of Marshfield High School and was a four-time letter winner on the boys tennis team.
Hardacre won three Wisconsin Valley Conference singles titles and one doubles championship, and is the only Marshfield boys tennis player to qualify four times for the WIAA State Individual Tournament. He placed third at state in 1988.
Hardacre went on to earn his Bachelor’s degree in Molecular Biology from the University of Wisconsin in 1992 and graduated from the Duke University School of Medicine in 1996. He currently is the Section Head of Pancreatic Surgery at University Hospitals Case Medical Center and an Association Professor of Surgery at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio.
Stenavich is a 2001 graduate of MHS and earned two letters in football and three in baseball while a Tiger.
Stenavich was a first-team all-Wisconsin Valley Conference defensive and offensive lineman, was named conference defensive player of the year, and was a first-team all-state offensive lineman by the Associated Press and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in 2000.
On the baseball diamond, Stenavich was a two-time first-team all-conference selection and played on the WIAA Division 1 state runner-up team in 2000, the only time a Marshfield baseball team has ever qualified for the state tournament.
Stenavich went on to play football at the University of Michigan and played in 42 games, starting 39 at left tackle. He was part of two Big Ten Championship games and was a two-time all-Big Ten first-team selection. Stenavich spent parts of five seasons on NFL practice squads, including two with the Green Bay Packers. Stenavich is now a graduate assistant coach at Michigan.
Kleifgen earned three letters in basketball and two in softball at Marshfield before graduating in 1983.
Kleifgen was a three-time team MVP and two-time first-team all-Wisconsin Valley Conference pick in basketball. When she graduated, she held four school records, three of which still stand – most free throws made in a season (76) and in a career (196), and best season free-throw percentage (73.3 percent).
The 2001 Marshfield football team was led by captains Ben Corcoran, Corey Geldernick, Ross Needham and Doug Nordeen, as well as all-state quarterback and player of the year Ben King. The Tigers won the Wisconsin Valley Conference title that season and went on to defeat Kenosha Tremper 24-7 in the Division 1 state championship game under coach Len Luedtke Sr., finishing the season 13-1. King, Corcoran (second team) and Geldernick (honorable mention) were all-state selections and were among the 10 players named to the all-WVC first team.
The 2002 Marshfield football team made it back-to-back state championships, defeating Hartland Arrowhead 20-14 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison. The Tigers finished 13-1 again in 2002, repeating as WVC champions. Team captains Dane Cordes, Ben Menaker, A.J. Rasmussen and John Severda were part of a team that had eight first-team and four second-team all-conference selections.
All inductees will be recognized during pre-game festivities at the homecoming game against Menasha on Oct. 4. The induction banquet will be held Oct. 5 at 5 p.m. at the Marshfield American Legion.
Members of the 2001 and 2002 football teams should contact the Marshfield High School Athletic Office by phone at 715-387-8464 or through e-mail at delany@marshfield.k12.wi.us to make the school aware of your attendance and to obtain information. Tickets are available for all alumni, fans and family for $20 each and can be purchased at the high school main office during regular school hours.