Four former South Dakota State University standouts who combined to earn All-America honors 14 times, including a husband-and-wife tandem who won four individual national titles between them, make up the 2018 class of the Jackrabbit Sports Hall of Fame.

The 2018 class includes:

• Ann (Westby) Lamer, cross country/track and field;

• Chad Lamer, wrestling;

• Tiffini (Schuebel) Keefer, track and field

• Jason Sempsrott, basketball.

The quartet will be inducted during on-campus ceremonies Oct. 6.

Their inductions will bring the roster of Jackrabbit Sports Hall of Fame members to 89 since its inception in 1967.

ANN (WESTBY) LAMER

Class of 1994

In a long line of outstanding distance runners for the Jackrabbits, Ann Lamer was a six-time All-American who capped her collegiate career by winning the 10,000-meter national championship at the 1994 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships. She also placed third in the 5,000 meters at the 1994 outdoor national meet and turned in a fourth-place finish indoors in 1994 to claim All-America honors.

In addition, Ann Lamer was a three-time All-American in cross country. Her highest finish at nationals was a fourth-place effort in 1992, adding an 11th-place finish in 1991 and a 24th-place effort in 1993.

A Brookings native, Ann Lamer began her collegiate career at Minnesota before returning home to run for the Jackrabbits. She won four individual North Central Conference titles in outdoor track and field, including back-to-back titles in the 10,000 meters in 1993 and 1994. She was honored as co-Most Valuable Performer of the 1994 NCC Outdoor Track and Field Championships as she swept the distance events with a victory in the 5,000-meter run. Her other individual conference title came in the 3,000 meters in 1992.

CHAD LAMER

Class of 1997

Chad Lamer was a force on the wrestling mat at SDSU, earning All-America honors four times and winning a program-best three individual NCAA Division II national titles.

After placing eighth at nationals in the 167-pound weight class as a freshman in 1992, Lamer redshirted the next season while moving up to the 177-pound division. Upon his return to competition during the 1993-94 season he began a string of dominance in the upper weights by winning his first individual national title.

A Colton native, Lamer repeated as 177-pound national champion in 1995, setting a single-season school record with 19 pins en route to a 34-4 record.

For his final season, Lamer moved up to 190 pounds and claimed his third consecutive national championship. Honored as the Outstanding Wrestler of the 1996 NCAA Division II Championships, Lamer finished his senior season with a 40-2 record, tying the Jackrabbit single-season mark for victories.

Overall, Lamer posted a 132-20-2 record in a Jackrabbit singlet, setting a then-career record for victories. His win total continues to rank second in program history. He was inducted into the NCAA Division II Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2004.

TIFFINI (SCHUEBEL) KEEFER

Class of 1996

Keefer excelled in the jumps for the Jackrabbit women’s track and field team, claiming six individual conference titles and earning All-America honors three times. She tied a North Central Conference record by winning three consecutive indoor titles in the long jump from 1993-95, while adding a pair of long jump titles outdoors (1993, 1994) and an indoor triple jump championship (1993).

Originally from Rice Lake, Wis., Keefer was awarded the high point honor at the 1994 NCC Outdoor Track and Field Championships, scoring 32 points. She was honored as Most Valuable Performer of the 1995 NCC Women’s Indoor Track and Field Championships when she tallied 34 of the team’s 79 points.

At the 1995 indoor championships, Keefer’s winning long jump mark of 20 feet, 5.25 inches set both school and NCC indoor records. She also placed second in the triple jump, 55-meter dash and 200-meter dash.

In national competition, Keefer recorded a third-place finish in the long jump at the 1994 NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships. She also received All-America accolades with a fifth-place in the long jump outdoors in 1994 and a sixth-place finish indoors in the triple jump in 1995.

JASON SEMPSROTT

Class of 1998

Sempsrott led the SDSU men’s basketball team back to the top of the North Central Conference and to national prominence during a stellar career in the mid-1990s.

After seeing limited action early in his career, Sempsrott burst on to the scene when he was inserted into the starting lineup nine games into his junior season. He went on to earn all-NCC honors during the 1995-96 season, when he averaged 15.8 points per game and was tabbed as the conference’s Co-Defensive Player of the Year as the Jackrabbits claimed the first of three consecutive league titles.

A guard from Champaign, Ill., Sempsrott elevated his game to another level as a senior, when he became only the second player in NCC history to lead the league in both scoring (23.2 points per NCC game) and assists (5.94 per NCC game) in the same season. His 716 total points (23.9 ppg) his senior season ranked as the second-highest scoring output in team history en route to earning NCAA Division II All-America recognition.

The 1996-97 NCC Most Valuable Player, Sempsrott scored in double figures every game and topped the 30-point mark seven times during his senior season. He scored a game-high 28 points in a 1997 North Central Regional semifinal game against Nebraska-Kearney, then tallied a game-high 23 points on 16-for-16 shooting from the line as the Jackrabbits knocked off top-ranked and defending national champion Fort Hays State, 86-74, in the regional championship game at Frost Arena to advance to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight.

For his career, Sempsrott ranked fifth in program history in assists (343), fifth in steals (145) and seventh in scoring (1,390 points). He shot 87.3 percent (462-of-529) from the free throw line to post the top career percentage in school history.

Ticket information for the Jackrabbit Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be available at a later date. The 2018 recipient of the Ralph Ginn Award for Coaching Excellence will be announced Thursday.

Photo from www.gojacks.com.