Central to add four to Athletic Hall of Honor

PELLA-Central College is inducting its largest class in 13 years into its Athletics Hall of Honor.

NCAA Division III wrestling champion Chad Beck '91, NCAA Division III indoor pentathlon champion and U.S. Olympics Trials decathlon qualifier Kurtis Brondyke '11, football and men's track and field all-America honoree Guy Dierikx '08 and seven-time women's track and field all-America honoree Jill Ziskovsky Halcomb '11 will be inducted.

As part of Central's homecoming celebration, a banquet for the honorees is set for 6:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 2 in the Harry and Bernice Vermeer Banquet Hall in the Graham Conference Center. The banquet is open to the public but there is a charge for the meal and reservations are required.

Established in 2002, Central's Hall of Honor is intended to recognize those who were not only exceptional performers in the athletics arena as a student-athlete, coach or administrator, but who have distinguished themselves in life after graduation through service and leadership. To be eligible for consideration, a nominee must have graduated or served as a Central coach/administrator at least 15 years earlier. This year's inductions will raise the hall's membership level to 79.

A rotating nine-member selection committee includes alumni from four different eras (prior to 1980, 1980-89, 1990-99 and 2000-09) as well as two alumni at-large, along with athletics director Eric Van Kley and two other staff members.

NCAA champion wrestler-A four-time NCAA Division III meet qualifier, Beck reached the top of the podium at 126 pounds in 1991. He was fourth in 1989 and finished with a 113-38-1 career record, setting the school standard for career wins. He posted a 39-4 mark in 1990-91, also taking first in the Iowa Conference after second-place showings in 1987-88 and 1988-89 and a third-place effort in 1989-90. He was a part of Central squads that claimed an Iowa Conference crown (1989) and had three top-10 NCAA Division III Championships team finishes (fifth, 1989; seventh, 1990; fourth, 1991).

He returned to his hometown of Grinnell following graduation and started his own construction firm. He also was a middle-school wrestling coach for five seasons and high school assistant for two seasons before launching a 23-year career as Grinnell's head wrestling coach. His teams won eight conference championships, producing 52 state qualifiers, with 26 medalists, and winning more than 300 duals.

Elite decathlete-Brondyke was among the most versatile athletes in Central history so it's perhaps not surprising that he found his ultimate niche in the decathlon. He competed in football, men's basketball and men's track and field as a freshman. He was a four-time All-Iowa Conference football pick as a punter and played wide-receiver as well. He was a three-time first-team pick, receiving second-team honors in 2010, and was a three-time second-team D3football.com All-West Region selection (2007, 2008, 2009). He was tabbed as conference special teams player of the week five times. He competed for Team Stars and Stripes, a Division III all-star team, in the Tazon de Estrellas (Bowl of the Stars) in Mexico in 2010. Central's Brian O'Donnell Award winner as the team's top freshman in 2007, he posted three of the top-10 season punting averages in Central history, including a 41.6-yard mark in 2010 which ranks second. But he was a master at punt placement as well, pinning opponents inside the opponent's 20-yard line an average of 1.59 times per game for his career, a school record.

The 2011 Division III indoor pentathlon champ, Brondyke was a six-time track and field all-America honoree and a seven-time national placewinner. In the indoor pentathlon he was sixth in 2009 and fifth in 2010. Outdoors he finished fourth in the long jump in 2008, then was fifth in the decathlon in 2009 and 2009 before placing second in 2011. He was a 14-time Iowa Conference indoor meet placewinner and placed 17 times outdoors. He won titles in the indoor triple jump (2010) and pentathlon (tie, 2011) as well as the outdoor high jump (2008), decathlon (2009) and javelin (2010). He was the conference outdoor co-MVP in 2010 and a seven-time conference athlete of the week.

Brondyke continued competing after graduation, finishing in the top-10 at the USATF national meet five times. He was selected for the U.S. team at the Thorpe Cup, a multi-events competition between the U.S. and Germany, three times and won the Drake Relays decathlon crown in 2014 and 2017. He posted a career-high 7,795 points in 2016.

In 2020, in a rare distinction for a Division III school, Central was represented by both Brondyke and Will Daniels '19 at the U.S. Olympics Trials for the decathlon in Eugene, Oregon.

Brondyke received a master's degree at the University of Central Missouri where he was an assistant men's and women's track and field coach from 2012-21. He then left for his current post as associate head men's and women's track and field coach at Iowa State University.

Woman of the Year finalist-An elite performer in the classroom as well as in track and field, Halcomb was the 2011 Iowa Conference nominee for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award as well as the 2010-11 Iowa Conference Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year and a two-time CSC Academic All-America honoree.

Halcomb received all-America recognition at the NCAA meet seven times. A three-time team MVP, she was a three-time team co-captain as well while receiving the team Most Valuable Freshman Award in 2008 and the Dutch Spirit Award in 2010.

The conference women's field athlete of the week four times, Halcomb won league indoor titles in the pentathlon (2011) and 4x400-meter relay (2008) and outdoor crowns in the long jump (2008), 4x400-meter relay (2008) and heptathlon (2011). She was a 15-time indoor meet placewinner and 20-time outdoor placewinner, competing in the heptathlon/pentathlon, 400 meters, 400-meter hurdles, high jump and long jump as well as the 4x100-meter. 4x200-meter and 4x400-meter relays.

At the NCAA indoor championships, Halcomb placed twice in the pentathlon (fifth, 2010, 2011) and three times in the 4x400-meter relay (eighth, 2008; 10th, 2010; 4th, 2011). At the outdoor meet she placed three times in the heptathlon (15th, 2009; fifth, 2010, 2011), once in the 4x100-meter relay (11th, 2008) and once in the 4x400-meter relay (second, 2011).

Halcomb served on a mission trip to Mexico and spent a semester studying in the Yucatan in 2008. A member of the Alpha Zeta Mu academic honor society, Halcomb posted a 3.94 grade point average while majoring in communication studies and Spanish. She also received the DeBruin Award as the outstanding communication studies student, served as a communication studies department tutor, worked for Student Support Services and was active in Central College's InterVarsity chapter and Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

After 12 years with Outcomes, a healthcare company in West Des Moines, Halcomb became Director of Program Success at Goldfinch Health in 2024. She enjoys singing with the worship team at New Hope Church in Adel, Iowa, and working with the next generation of track and field athletes by serving as a volunteer coach for the Van Meter High School track and field team. She lives near Van Meter, Iowa, with her husband and two children.

Two-sport all-American-Dierikx shined on the NCAA stage in both men's track and field and football.

He was a three-time all-America honoree in the NCAA Division III men's indoor championships and six-time outdoor honoree. At the indoor championships, he was eighth in the 4x400-meter relay in 2006 and fourth in the 400 meters in 2007 and 2008. At the outdoor meet, he placed in the 4x400-meter relay (fifth, 2005; sixth, 2006; fourth, 2007; second, 2008), the 4x100-meter relay (seventh, 2006) and 400 meters (fourth, 2008).

Dierikx was a 15-time Iowa Conference indoor meet placewinner, winning the 4x200-meter relay (2006, 2008), 4x400-meter relay (2005, 2006, 2008) and the 400 meters (2007, 2008). He was a 11-time outdoor placewinner, winning the 400 meters (2006, 2007, 2008) and the 4x400-meter relay (2008). He was named the conference indoor MVP in 2008.

Meanwhile he helped Central gain NCAA Division III football playoff berths in 2005, 2006 and 2007. He was a part of teams that shared the 2005 conference championship and won outright crowns in 2006 and 2007. A defensive back, Dierikx also shined as a punt and kick returner, receiving third-team D3football.com All-America honors in 2007 as well as first-team all-conference recognition. He competed with the AFCA Division III All-Star team at the 2007 Aztec Bowl in Mexico.

Dierikx made 109 career tackles, including 59 solos with 20 pass break-ups and 10 interceptions. In 2007, he made 36 stops with 14 break-ups and eight interceptions, tying the school season mark. He returned two of the interceptions for touchdowns. That year he also returned 14 punts an average of 15.6 yards with one TD and had 20 kick returns for an average of 21.7 yards.

He served as head football coach at Louisa-Muscatine High School from 2009-12, Davenport North from 2013-16 and now at Riverdale High School in his hometown of Port Byron, Illinois. He's also the school's athletics director and was inducted into the Riverdale High School Hall of Fame in 2012.