Six members of the Ohio Northern University athletic family will be inducted into the University’s Athletic Hall of Fame on Friday, Oct. 3, as part of ONU’s Homecoming weekend.
They will be inducted that Friday during a banquet in Ohio Northern’s McIntosh Center at 6:30 p.m. and introduced Saturday, Oct. 3, before the ONU football game at Dial-Roberson Stadium.
The six inductees are Jacquelyn (Kaup) Briscoe, a 1994 pharmacy graduate and volleyball, swimming and diving, and track athlete from Fort Recovery, Ohio; Hannah (Kanuckel) Creager, a 2005 business management major and volleyball athlete from Warsaw, Ohio; Erin Hipp-Hester, a 1999 pharmacy major and track and field and soccer athlete from Fairfield, Ohio; James Conrad, a 2004 accounting major and basketball athlete from Lima, Ohio; Kristopher Oberdick, a 2002 sport management major and basketball athlete from Toledo, Ohio; and Jamal Robertson, a 1997-2000 football and track and field athlete from Dayton, Ohio.
To be inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame, one must have made great contributions to the field of athletics through athletic performances at the University or meritorious efforts made on behalf of athletics. Athletes must have attended ONU at least 10 years ago. All nominees must have demonstrated good citizenship both at ONU and beyond and served the athletics program in any capacity that contributed to the overall program.
Briscoe was a three-sport standout at Ohio Northern from 1998-2002, earning All-Ohio Athletic Conference honors in track and field, volleyball, and diving. She was a two-time All-American in the high jump, was an Academic All-American and won the Clyde Lamb Award as Ohio Northern’s top female student-athlete. In track and field, Briscoe was a four-year letter-winner and earned All-American honors in the high jump in 2001 and 2002. She was a four-time NCAA Championships qualifier and won OAC titles in both the high jump and pole vault. She currently ranks third on ONU’s all-time career lists in both events. Briscoe also was a four-year letter-winner in volleyball and served as team captain in 2000 and 2001. She earned Academic All-Conference and Academic All-Region honors as a senior in 2001. She graduated as ONU’s all-time career digs leader and currently stands fifth with 1,616. She also holds the school record with 11 service aces in a match.
Briscoe also was an All-OAC diver in 2003, finishing third at the OAC Championships in the 1-meter diving competition. During her time at ONU, she served as president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, was on the OAC Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and the ONU Committee on Athletics, and was a member of the Leader’s Council and the Student-Society of Health-Systems Pharmacists. Briscoe is currently employed as a pharmacist at Kaup Pharmacy in her hometown of Fort Recovery, Ohio. She is married to Jared Briscoe, a 2002 ONU pharmacy graduate, and they have three children: Brynn (8), Brooke (7) and Marcus (5).
Creager was two-time All-American on Ohio Northern’s volleyball team and was named the 2004 Ohio Athletic Conference Player of the Year. A four-year letter-winner from 2001-04, Creager was named Third Team All-American in 2003 and 2004. She also was named All-Region and First Team All-OAC three times, helping the Polar Bears advance to the NCAA Tournament regional finals once and regional semifinals two times.
Creager was the 2005 Clyde Lamb Award winner as Ohio Northern’s top female student-athlete and won the Helen Ludwig Award as ONU’s top female athlete for the 2004-05 academic year. She currently ranks second all-time at ONU with 1,788 career kills. She is the school’s record holder with 5,297 attacks, is sixth with 187 aces and is third with 2,351 digs.
A stay-at-home mom, Creager is employed part-time at the United Way of Henry County helping with the Character First! Program. She is married to Lee Creager, a 2003 ONU graduate, and they have four children: Lincoln (7), Reid (5), T.J. (3) and Camden (2 months).
Hipp-Hester is one of the top track athletes and women’s soccer players in Ohio Northern history. She is Ohio Northern’s only NCAA Champion in women’s track and field, winning the 800-meter title indoors in 1998; she currently ranks second all-time in ONU history with 58 career goals in soccer.
Hipp-Hester was a five-time All-American in track and field, earning the honor four times in the 800-meter dash and once in the 400-meter dash. She also was a 10-time OAC Champion and was named the OAC Runner of the Year in 1997 and again in 1998.
In soccer, Hipp-Hester was named First Team All-Conference all four years as a Polar Bear. She was the OAC Defensive Player of the Year in 1996, the OAC Offensive Player of the Year in 1997 and the Midwest Player of the Year in both seasons. The Fairfield, Ohio, native currently ranks second all-time at ONU with 58 career goals, fourth with 27 career assists and third with 143 career points. In 1997, she had 22 goals, 10 assists and a standing school record of 54 points.
She currently is employed by Humana Corporation in Springdale, Ohio. Hipp-Hester and her husband, Mark, live in Cincinnati with their three children: William (8), Grant (6) and Kinley (2).
Conrad is widely regarded as one of the top men’s basketball players in Ohio Northern history. A four-year letter-winner from 2001-04, Conrad currently ranks second all-time at ONU with 1,918 career points. He was a First Team All-American, the Great Lakes Region Player of the Year and the OAC Player of the Year in 2003-04, when he led Ohio Northern with a 21.0 points-per-game scoring average. Conrad is ONU’s all-time career free-throw shooting percentage leader, making a 88.7 percent of his attempts. He was a four-time All-OAC honoree, earning First Team All-Conference accolades in each of his final three seasons. As a freshman, Conrad played a vital role on the Polar Bear squad that won the OAC Regular Season and Tournament titles and reached the NCAA Division III Final Four. Conrad was the 2004 Clyde Lamb Award winner as Ohio Northern’s top male student-athlete.
Currently, Conrad is employed by Stanley Electric U.C. Company in London, Ohio, as an assistant manager in the cost accounting department. Conrad and his wife, Kendra (Bailey), a 2004 ONU graduate, reside in Hilliard, Ohio, with their children Cayden (3) and Beckett (10 months).
Oberdick exploded onto the scene as a senior and had one of the greatest seasons in Ohio Northern men’s basketball history in 2000-01. Picked to finish sixth in the OAC during the preseason, Oberdick was named captain of an ONU team that had graduated three 1,000-point scorers the year before. Playing in what was thought to be a rebuilding season, Oberdick propelled the Polar Bears to a 27-4 record and a No. 1 national ranking for the final four weeks of the regular season. The Polar Bears won the OAC Regular Season and Tournament titles in convincing fashion and reached the Final Four of the NCAA Division III Tournament. He was named First Team All-American, First Team All-Region and OAC Player of the Year after leading ONU in scoring, assists, steals and blocked shots. He currently ranks 31st all-time at Ohio Northern with 1,084 career points.
Oberdick is employed by the Oregon (Ohio) City Schools as a teacher and junior varsity basketball coach and junior varsity golf coach at Oregon Clay High School. Oberdick and his wife, Rebecca (Lee), a 2002 ONU graduate, live in Oregon, Ohio, with their children Grant (6) and Grady (2), and are expecting a third in January.
Robertson is one of the top football players in Ohio Northern’s history. He is a two-time All-American who still holds 17 school records at ONU. He is Ohio Northern’s all-time career leader in rushing yardage (4,169), touchdowns scored (56) and points scored (338). He also owns single-game records for rushing yards (307), all-purpose yards (401) and touchdowns (6).
Robertson played professionally for 12 seasons and is one of only three Polar Bears to appear in a regular season NFL game. He spent six seasons in the NFL as a running back with the San Francisco 49ers, the Carolina Panthers and the Atlanta Falcons and was the featured back for the Panthers in the second half of the 2006 NFC Championship game. Robertson also played for five seasons in the Canadian Football league and won Grey Cup championships with the Calgary Stampeders in 2001 and the B.C. Lions in 2011. He also was NFL Europe’s most valuable player in 2012 as a member of the Rheine Fire. His 90-yard touchdown run is the longest in league history.
Robertson also was an OAC Champion in the 4x100 and the 4x200 meter relays and was an NCAA qualifier in the 55-meter dash. His career-best 10.75 time in the 100-meter dash makes him the sixth-fastest man in ONU history, and his 6.42 time in the 500-meter remains the third-best at ONU.
Robertson is currently a special education teacher at Meadowcreek High School in Norcross, Ga., where he also is an assistant high school football coach. He and his wife, Patara, have two children: Kaliffa (16) and Jalil (15).
