Fall 2024 Issue

The newest members of the Central’s Athletics Hall of Honor, Cale Van Genderen ’05, Larry Happel ’81 and Missey Allen Michel ’96, were honored during the 2024 Homecoming weekend.

A pair of Central College graduates who were NCAA Division III champions and a third who chronicled success are the newest members of Central’s Athletics Hall of Honor.

Two-time NCAA men’s high jump champion Cale Van Genderen ’05, NCAA softball champion team pitcher Missey Allen Michel ’96 and College Sports Communications Hall of Fame member Larry Happel ’81 were inducted as part of Central’s Homecoming activities.

Two-Time National Champ

Van Genderen placed eighth at nationals in the high jump outdoors in 2003, then took second in the indoor meet and sixth place outdoors in 2004. A five-time men’s track and field all-America honoree, he swept the indoor and outdoor national meet high jump competitions in 2005. He cleared 6′11″ winning the indoor crown followed by a 6′ 11.5″ effort to claim the outdoor title, and was named the 2005 Division III Central Region Field Events Athlete of the Year by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. His leap of 7′ 1.5″ remains the school record.

Van Genderen was the 2005 team MVP and an 11-time Iowa Conference place winner. He won the indoor high jump titles in 2003 and 2005, taking the outdoor high jump in 2003. He also placed in the indoor and outdoor triple jump and was second in the 2004 decathlon.

On campus, Van Genderen was a member of Central’s Student-Athlete Advisory Council and graduated summa cum laude. A member of the 2003 USTFCCCA All-Academic team, Van Genderen received an MBA from Butler University. After holding management positions at Wells Fargo Bank, M&I Bank and First Financial Bank, he joined the staff at Vibrant Credit Union in Moline, Illinois, in 2012. In 2022, he was named senior vice president for loan programs.

Strikeout Leader

Michel made a flashy debut with a 16-0 record in her first season as part of Central’s 38-2 1993 NCAA champion team — among the most dominant teams in school history. She allowed just four earned runs for a microscopic 0.25 earned run average, the fifth lowest ever in Division III. She was a three-time all-America pick, gaining first-team distinction in 1995, second-team honors in 1993 and 1996 and was a four-time all-region selection. Michel was named to the NCAA Division III national all-tournament team twice and three times in regional play. The 1996 Iowa Conference MVP, Michel was a four-time all-conference pick, gaining first-team honors three times.

After helping lead Central to the 1993 title, she helped the Dutch finish third nationally in 1994 and 1995 before placing second in the region in 1996.

Over her career, Michel was 68-24 with a dazzling 0.99 ERA, striking out a school-record 785 batters in 635.1 innings. She served as a team co-captain in 1996.

Following graduation, Michel was an elementary school teacher for 12 years before helping found the Tree House Growing and Learning Center in 2008. The organization provides childcare at two locations in Ankeny, Iowa. The center also operates The Study Loft, which provides after-school care and tutoring for children in grades K-5 at three locations. Michel is the co-owner and supervises a staff of more than 120 employees.

Michel is also co-owner of Forget Me Not Design, a home décor and gift shop in Ankeny.

CSC Hall of Famer

Retiring from a job he started before he began his senior year of college, Happel served as Central’s athletics communications director, more commonly known as sports information director, for 45 years — the longest tenure of any college or university SID in Iowa history. He will continue to serve in a part-time role as senior athletics editor.

As a student, Happel spent a year as editor of the school newspaper following two years as sports editor, and with some fellow residence hall neighbors, conspired to start the Lemming Race, a Central Homecoming tradition.

Happel never wore a Central uniform but generated stories about hundreds who did. Ten of Central’s 11 NCAA Division III team championships were won on his watch. He served on several College Sports Communicators committees along with a three-year term on the CSC board of directors and remains active in the organization. He also spent five years on the Division III Sports Information Directors of America board, including one year as president.

He received the CSC Warren Berg Award for outstanding achievement in sports information in 2006 and was inducted into the CSC Hall of Fame in 2010. He’s received 35 CSC publications awards and 18 CSC writing awards, including the 2017 CSC Fred Stabley Sr. Writing Contest National Story of the Year Award. Happel, a native of Waverly, Iowa, also spent a 10-month sabbatical as a visiting assistant in men’s athletics communications at the University of Tennessee in 2003-04.