Northern's 2024 Hall of Fame inductees features locals

The 2004 Montana State University-Northern Hall of Fame Class, like every other, will be a special one when its inducted on Sept. 20-21.

Northern recently announced the class, which includes former basketball players Andrew Sellars, Anna Bateman and Thomas VanderMars, wrestlers Evan Hinebauch and Ted Hill and MSU-N men's basketball coach Shawn Huse. The 2004 national championship wrestling team coached by David Ray will also be inducted.

Hinebauch, a native of both Chinook and of Havre, is one of the most decorated wrestlers in Lights history. He wrestled from 2008-2012 and was a four-time All-American, winning the national title at 184 pounds in 2011 and finishing in the top four nationally in each of his four seasons. In 2011, he was named the MSU-Northern Male Athlete of the Year. He resides in Havre, where he works for Hinebauch Grain.

Huse, from Missoula, has coached the Lights basketball team since 2002. He is the all-time wins leader at MSU-Northern and ranks in the top 20 among all active coaches for wins.

Huse has led the Lights to three Frontier Conference titles and two Frontier Tournament titles. Five times, his teams have advanced to the NAIA National Tournament. He was Frontier Conference Coach of the Year in 2007 and has been recognized as one of the top 100 most impactful coaches in NAIA men's basketball. This year will mark his 23rd season at MSU-Northern.

Sellars, a native of Browning, was a first-team all-conference basketball selection and Frontier Defensive Player of the Year in 2009-2010. He is a member of the 1,000-point club and led the Lights in scoring.In 2009-2010, the Lights were Frontier Conference co-champions. The 2008-09 Lights qualified for the NAIA National Tournament in Kansas City, Missouri.

Bateman, from Rupert, Idaho, played for the Skylight basketball team from 2002-2004. During her career, she was a two-time first-team all-conference selection. Bateman still holds the single-game Skylights record for steals in a game (10), and also recorded a triple-double in a Frontier Conference game. She was a two-time Academic All-American and won the MSU-Northern Student Excellence Award in 2004.Bateman is a teacher and head girls basketball coach in the Minidoka School District in Rupert, Idaho.

VanderMars, originally from Naarden, Holland, played for the Lights basketball team from 1982-1986, earning second-team All-Frontier honors three times. He averaged double-figures in scoring in each of his four seasons, and was among Frontier leaders in rebounds all four years. VanderMars' 1,346 career points place him 12th all-time at Northern and his 790 total rebounds put him in the top 10. He currently resides in Helena and is a retired Civil Serviceman for the United States Air Force.

Hill, a native of Missoula, wrestled at MSU-Northern from 1994-1997. He was a two-time All-American, finishing in fifth and fourth place. His overall record at MSU-Northern was 61-21, including 34-9 in 1997. He earned Academic All-American honors twice, and won the MSU-Northern Student Excellence Award in 1997.

He resides in Laurel, where he is a teacher and the head wrestling coach. As a coach, he has led the Locomotives to two Class A titles, and he has been named the Montana Coach of the Year twice.

The 2004 Lights wrestling team captured the NAIA national title. Under Ray, the Lights scored 169.5 points, beating second-place Menlo's 133.5. Eight Lights earned All-American honors, and five (Caleb Schaeffer, Anthony Haukenberry, Stryder Davis, Kyle Fisher, and Emmett Wilson) won national titles.