PELLA—A pair of Central College graduates who were NCAA Division III champions and another who chronicled their success are the newest members of the school'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 will be inducted as part of Central's homecoming activities this fall.
           
A banquet for the honorees is set for 6:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 4 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 72.

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.

Two-time national champ—A five-time men's track and field all-America honoree, Van Genderen swept the indoor and outdoor national meet high jump competitions in 2005. He was named the 2005 USTFCCCA Division III Central Region Field Events Athlete of the Year. He placed eighth in the high jump outdoors in 2003, then took second in the indoor meet and sixth place outdoors in 2004. He cleared 6 feet, 11 inches in winning the indoor crown and followed with a 6-11.5 effort to claim the outdoor title. Earlier in the season he leaped 7-1.5 indoors, which remains the school record.
           
Van Genderen was the 2005 team MVP and an 11-time Iowa Conference placewinner, winning the indoor high jump titles in 2003 and 2005 and 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 M.B.A. degree 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. Since 2022 he's served as senior vice president for loan programs where he's served as vice president of marketing since 2020.
           
A part of the Leadership QC 2022 cohort through the Quad Cities Chamber, Van Genderen has also served as a Junior Achievement volunteer since 2018. He was appointed to the Junior Achievement of the Heartland board of directors in 2020. In addition, he's served as a volunteer coach with the Davenport Parks and Recreation Department since 2017.
           

Strikeout leader—Michel made a flashy debut with a 16-0 record in her freshman season as part of Central's 38-2 1993 NCAA champions, 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 and second-team honors in 1993 and 1996, and was a four-time all-region selection. Michel twice was named to NCAA Division III national all-tournament teams 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.
           
For 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 Central team co-captain in 1996.
           
Following graduation Michel served as an elementary school teacher for 12 years before helping found the Tree House Growing and Learning Center in 2008. It provides child care at two Ankeny locations. Michel developed her own curriculum for children age 1-5. The center also operates The Study Loft, which provides after-school care and tutoring for children in grades K-5 at three locations. Michel serves as the business co-owner and supervises a staff of more than 120 employees.
           
Michel also serves as co-owner of Forget Me Not Design, a home décor and gift shop in Ankeny.
           
CSC hall of famer – Retiring June 30 from a job he started before he began his senior year of college, Happel served as Central's athletics communications director or 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 dormitory residents conspired to start the offbeat Lemming Race that has since become a Central homecoming tradition.

Happel never wore a Central uniform but generated stories about hundreds who did, utilizing ever-evolving print, visual and digital platforms. Ten of Central's 11 NCAA Division III team championships were won on his watch and he personally witnessed nine of them. He served on several College Sports Communicators committees along with a three-year term on the College Sports Communicators board of directors and five years on the Division III Sports Information Directors of America board, including a 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 Waverly native, also spent a 10-month sabbatical as a visiting assistant in men's athletics communications at the University of Tennessee in 2003-04. A member of the Pella CROP Walk for World Hunger board for nearly 20 years, he served a three-year term on the Marion County Habitat for Humanity board of directors. Happel has served multiple terms on the consistory of Pella's Second Reformed Church, where he is a longtime member.