NIC athletics to honor Bundy, Bloxom, Woodske

COEUR d'ALENE - This year's North Idaho College Booster Club's annual spring auction and awards banquet will include the induction of three people to the NIC Athletics Hall of Fame on April 24 in the Edminster Student Union Building Ts'elusm Dining Room.

The NIC Athletics Department and Booster Club Hall of Fame induction, awards banquet and auction will begin with a social and silent auction at 5:30 p.m. followed by dinner and the awards ceremony at 6:30 p.m.

This year's NIC Athletics Hall of Fame inductees include former baseball coach Jack Bloxom, track standout Derek Woodske, and the late Mike Bundy, former track coach.

Bundy taught history and English at NIC for 31 years. He formalized both the NIC track and field and cross country programs at NIC and coached from 1972-98. In 1987, the NIC women's cross country team won the NJCAA national title and Bundy was named NJCAA Coach of the Year.

That same year, he coached the men's team to a fourth-place NJCAA finish, which helped NIC win the Nike Cup - which honors top men's and women's teams. In 1997, Bundy's final year of coaching, NIC's women won the national academic team title for having the best GPA in the NJCAA and went on to place fifth at the NJCAA cross country championships.

Bundy's leadership resulted in the NIC cross country and track and field programs being a dominant force in both Region 18 and NJCAA competition for many years. In addition, many of Bundy's athletes were also named NJCAA academic All-Americans under Bundy's tenure.

Bloxom, originally from Sandpoint, taught physical education and coached the NIC baseball team from 1968-97, finishing several seasons in the upper division of the Scenic West Athletic Conference, one of the toughest conferences in the nation. He holds the record for the most wins in the history of the NIC baseball program with nearly 600 victories.

In 1987, Bloxom was selected as the head coach for the U.S. West team that competed in the U.S. Olympic Festival in Chapel Hill, N.C. Bloxom was known as an outstanding recruiter and was exceptional in his development of talent, recruiting the top baseball player in NIC history, former Rookie of the Year and current Major League Baseball player Jason Bay. Bloxom later served as assistant men's basketball coach at NIC.

Derek Woodske came to NIC from Creston, British Columbia, and competed from 1996-98. Woodske was a three-time national champion for the Cardinals (the most for any sport at NIC) and was an NJCAA record holder in both the indoor weight throw and the outdoor hammer throw. He then transferred to Wyoming where he earned NCAA All-American status.

Woodske competed for the Canadian national team in several world venues and even held the national record for the hammer throw before officially retiring in August 2006. Woodske currently serves as the director of wellness for the Clubs of Greensboro, N.C., and is a performance specialist for NFL and NCAA athletes.

The awards for outstanding male and female NIC athletes as well as the awards for scholar-athletes will be presented at the event.

The event will also include a live and silent auction for items such as a Seattle Mariners baseball travel package, Gonzaga University basketball tickets, a University of Idaho football weekend getaway, a fly fishing trip for two, cooking classes and dinner with local chefs, golf packages to area resort golf courses and various other gift certificates and baskets from area businesses and the athletics department.

Tickets are $25 per person and are available by calling the NIC athletic department at 769-3348.