In an evening filled with memories and gratitude, three former athletes were inducted into the Westmont Athletics Hall of Fame. Westmont Athletic Director Dave Odell, who served as master of ceremonies for the event, noted that the three athletes being inducted continue to have a lasting effect on Westmont athletics, both through the records they have set and by the legacy they established through the manner in which they conducted themselves.
Chris Elwood, former Westmont tennis player and coach, presented Riva DaSilva (’97) before the crowd which packed into the Founder’s Room. Elwood gave a dramatic description of DaSilva’s career at Westmont including his National Singles Championship in 1997.
Elwood noted that it was the only time in NAIA history that teammates, double partners and roommates at the hotel, competed against each other in the national championship match.
“It was the easiest match I ever coached,” quipped Elwood. “I sat in the stands with the team, put my feet up and cheered for both players.”
DaSilva spoke of what he had gained as a student-athlete at Westmont academically, athletically and spiritually.
“I learned the importance of spiritual matters,” said DaSilva, “and academically, I found direction.”
DaSilva also spoke of the friendships he made both as a player and during his three years coaching the Westmont team. “We still stay in touch and those lasting relationships are very rare.”
Miriam Niednagel Ryan (’97), the second inductee, was presented by her former coach, Russell Smelley and by her father, Roland Niednagel. Smelley described the ten-time NAIA All-American as a humble athlete who put the needs of her team before herself.
“The years that she was on the team were some of the favorite of my 32 years of coaching,” said Smelley.
Smelley spoke of a time in her sophomore year when he told Niednagel that she could win the Golden State Athletic Championship. But Niednagel was not so sure that was a good idea.
“I had never led a race before and I had never worried about where the course went. I just followed whoever was in front.”
Smelley assured her he would point her in the right direction. True to his words, he did so on race day and Niednagel won the first of her two GSAC Championships.
Roland Niednagel spoke of his favorite memory his daughter as a cross country runner in high school. “Her goal was to not finish last,” said the father, “At the end of the race, she pushed past a runner to finish just ahead of her competitor. When they handed her a popsicle stick with the number two, she asked why they had given it to her. I told her it was because she had finished second. But Miriam was confused because she thought she and the runner she had passed were the last two runners in the race and she didn’t want to be last.”
Ryan spoke of the loving support she had received from her father throughout her running career and how Smelley was the second most significant male role model in her life.
“Russell cared about us as people,” said Ryan. “We knew that he cared more about our character than our performance.”
The final inductee, Tine Hardeman, was presented by his son T.J. Hardeman, who, like his father, is a former Westmont athlete.
“Christ comes first in my father’s life,” said the younger Hardeman, “he tells everyone about Jesus. But Westmont is probably second in his heart and not that distant.”
The elder Hardeman spoke of three things which determine a person’s direction in life – his family, his education and his service. He did not come to Westmont to play basketball, but rather to get an education.
“I thought I had put that part of my life behind me,” said Hardeman, “but I was asked if I could play basketball and I ended up playing again.”
After his sophomore year at Westmont, Hardeman took a break from school to make some money logging in Oregon. But an accident left him with a broken back and paralyzed from the shoulders down. The doctors told him he would never play basketball again.
However, Hardeman recovered and returned to Westmont – though he arrived a month and a half after classes had started. Hardeman spoke of a religion professor who traveled to Oregon to visit him in the hospital, something that touched him deeply.
“I had to come back to Westmont,” said Hardeman, “it was my home; it was my family.”
Hardeman went on to have a phenomenal junior and senior year. In his final season he scored 624 points, sixth in the Warrior record books. He also set a school record that stands to this day by scoring 46 points in a single game against Chapman.
Westmont President Gayle Beebe concluded the event by thanking the honorees for the stories that they shared and the impact which they have had on Westmont Athletics. He also spoke of the great lessons that are learned through participation in athletics when a part of an academic education.
“There is much that we cannot control in our environment,” said Beebe, “such as a bad referee or difficult conditions. But the two things we can control are our attitude and our effort. Participation in athletics teaches us what we can control. Long after we stop competing athletically those lessons serve us in the form of spiritual disciplines.”
The induction of DaSilva, Ryan and Hardeman, bring to 31 the number or members of the Westmont Athletics Hall of Fame.
