Announcing the 2024 EV-W Hall of Fame inductees

At halftime of the Feb. 9 home game against Kimball, Eden Valley-Watkins high school hosted the induction of its 2024 Hall of Fame members. With other Hall of Fame members behind them, the nine new inductees were Julie Bulau, Adam Tri, Matt Stommes, Alex Neisen, Luke Linz, Josh Hiltner, Shane Henfling, Matt Hendricks, and Scott Hendricks. They join a cadre of 46 athletes, coaches, contributors, and teams in the EV-W Hall of Fame.

 

Julie Bulau

EV-W Class of 1975 and retired EV-W teacher, Julie Bulau worked in newspapers before deciding she really wanted to teach. At EV-W she found a way to combine teaching English and journalism, and later social studies. She taught for 25 years, retiring in 2021.

Bulau served as the advisor of the award-winning Eagles’ Cry student newspaper throughout her teaching career. She was a successful Knowledge Bowl coach, winning numerous conference and subsection awards, and advancing four teams to the state tournament. She also served as a speech judge for more than a decade.

Bulau may best be remembered for her ongoing support of the students and school district. Seldom seen without a camera around her neck at sporting events, plays, concerts, etc., she was privileged to be on the sidelines at the Eagles’ numerous state appearances over the years, including the 2005 state football championship at the Metrodome, the 2010 and 2011 state baseball championships at Target Field, and most recently the 2023 state football championship at U.S. Bank stadium.

In 2012, Bulau helped launch the EV-W alumni page which has grown to more than 1,800 followers. In 2019, she was one of three staff members who launched the EV-W social media sites on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. She continues her involvement with both the alumni page and district social media to this day.

During her 25-year career, Bulau was named DiversiCom Teacher of the Year, Central Minnesota Conference Volunteer of the Year, National Honor Society Teacher of the Year twice, and was a two-time recipient of the Leadership in Educational Excellence Award.

Bulau and her husband Gail live in rural Eden Valley.

Matt Hendricks

EV-W Class of 1998, Matt Hendricks was quarterback for the EV-W football team in their first state appearance in 1997. He still holds the school records for passing attempts in a game (60), passing attempts in a season (342), passing attempts in a career (810), completions in a game (30), completions in a season (174), and yards in a game (415). He also played basketball and baseball, and was named All-Conference in all three sports during his sophomore, junior and senior years.

Matt graduated from St. Cloud State University in 2002. He now lives in Fergus Falls with his wife Erin and their four children. He works as a financial advisor with Edward Jones. In his spare time, he enjoys coaching his boys in baseball and football.

Scott Hendricks

Scott Hendricks joined the EV-W faculty in 1980 as a social studies teacher and coach. One of his first challenges was taking over a football program that had not won a game over the previous two seasons. After going 0-9 in 1980, the Eagles won the season opener in 1981 to break their 27-game losing streak and finish the season 3-6. He stepped down from head coaching duties after the 1983 -season.

Hendricks is best remembered for coaching EV-W girls’ basketball from 1980-1996. Coaching when there were only two classes, his tenure included 13 conference championships, three region championships, one state consolation title, and two state runner-up titles. He also was named state Coach of the Year, and he was inducted into the MSHSL Girls’ Coaches Hall of Fame in 1996.

Hendricks also coached boys’ basketball for two seasons, in 1996-97and 1997-98; the Eagles went 13-11 his first season, and 16-7 his second. They won a conference championship in 1998 with a CMC record of 13-1.

Hendricks and his wife Barb live in Cold Spring. You’ll find them in the stands at EV-W girls’ basketball games, cheering on their granddaughter.

Shane Henfling

EV-W Class of 2005. Shane Henfling was quarterback for the 2004 Eagles in the school’s first appearance in the Prep Bowl where they finished as Class AA runner-up to CMC rival Pierz. Henfling was named MVP, and selected for the St. Cloud Times All-Area team. He was a two-time All-Conference, two-time Academic All-Conference, and two-time CMC Most Valuable Quarterback.

Henfling earned letters in basketball and baseball, serving as senior captain in both sports; he was four-time Academic All-Conference in Basketball. He also was named to the National Honor Society.

Henfling attended Carleton College, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in economics. While at Carleton, he led Carleton to the best record in school history, and he finished the 2008 season with the highest quarterback rating and completion percentage in Division III. He also threw for a school-record 3,045 yards and 30 touchdowns, and he set single-season and career passing records for touchdowns, passing yards, quarterback rating, and completion percentage. He is still in the Top 10 in MIAC history for in-game completions and attempts, yards in a season, yards per game, and total offense in a season. Henfling also played baseball for Carleton and was a four-year letter-winner as a relief pitcher; he was senior captain, and was named first-team All-Conference in 2009.

Henfling and his wife Megan live in Eagan with their three children.

Josh Hiltner

EV-W Class of 2004, Josh Hiltner remains the only EV-W wrestler to advance to the state championship match (he finished second). He still holds several school records, including 91 career pins, 43 wins in a season, 273 season points, and 234 points as a junior. His senior record was a school-best 43-3. Hiltner was a state qualifier in 2000, 2002, and 2004; he was team captain in his junior and senior seasons. He was a member of the EV-W 2000 team that advanced to state.

In football, Hiltner was captain his senior year, was named All-Conference twice, Academic All-Conference four times, and was named the team’s outstanding linebacker three times, and its outstanding offensive back once. He also was Academic All-State Academic in Class AA.

In baseball, Hiltner was captain his senior year, and earned the 2004 Gold Glove Award. He was two-time All-Conference, and three-time Academic All-Conference, and a member of the 2001 EV-W baseball team that advanced to state.

Luke Linz

EV-W Class of 2004, Luke Linz was a stand-out on the basketball court: leading scorer and rebounder, named All-CMC his junior and senior years, St. Cloud Times All-Area honorable mention in 2003 and 2004, Associated Press All-State honorable mention in 2004, and CMC co-Most Valuable Player as a senior.

In golf, Linz was a three-time letter-winner, and first-place medalist at the CMC golf meet at Maple Lake in 2004.

In basketball, Linz became the first player in Concordia College (Moorhead) history to combine 1,000 points and 500 rebounds. He earned numerous honors for Concordia including MIAC All-first-Year team in 2005, first-team All-Conference in 2007 and 2008, All-West Region in 2007 and 2008 by D3hoops.com, All-West Region second team in 2008 by NABC, and the MIAC MVP in 2008. He is currently fourth in all-time scoring at Concordia.

EV-W class valedictorian, Linz earned Academic All-State honors in basketball in 2004, Academic All-CMC honors in basketball from 2001-2004, and Academic All-CMC honors in golf from 2002-2004. He was a member of the National Honor Society, Knowledge Bowl, and EV-W student council.

Linz graduated from Concordia College in 2008, and completed his Ph.D. in microbiology at Iowa State University in 2013. He and his wife Michelle and two -children live in Alexandria where Linz works as a manager of a research-and-development team at LGC Biosearch Technologies.

Alex Neisen

EV-W Class of 2004, Alex Neisen helped lead EV-W to two CMC basketball championships. He was a 1,000-point scorer, and four-time team MVP or co-MVP. Neisen was named to the St. Cloud Times All-Area team, the CMC co-MVP in 2003 and 2004, and four-time first-team All-CMC player. He earned five letters in basketball, and is EV-W’s second all-time male scorer with 1,542 career points.

In football, Neisen was named All-Section in 2002, and All-Conference in 2003. He was recognized as the outstanding receiver in 2003. He also was a member of National Honor Society.

Neisen attended St. John’s University and played basketball there from 2004-2008, serving as team captain from 2007-2008. He graduated from St. John’s with a major in business/finance and a minor in psychology.

Neisen and his wife Augusta live in Plymouth with their two children. Neisen worked for nine years in the family business, Farmers State Bank in Watkins. He now works at Granite Bank as their market president for the metro, spending time in both their Cold Spring and Champlin locations.

Matt Stommes

EV-W Class of 2005, Matt Stommes was named to the All-Section football team his junior year, and as a senior helped the Eagles advance to the Prep Bowl. He was named to the Associated Press first-team All-State, the St. Cloud Times All-Area team, the KDUZ Radio All-Area team, Academic All-State, and he was named CMC Outstanding Defensive Lineman.

Playing for the University of Minnesota, Stommes red-shirted his freshman year, and earned a letter as a scholar-athlete his sophomore year. In 2008, Stommes lettered again, started in the Insight Bowl in Tempe, Ariz., against Kansas, and was named to Academic All-Big Ten. In 2009 and 2010, Stommes started numerous games, and was Academic All-Big Ten both years. He signed a free-agent rookie NFL player contract with the New York Jets.

Stommes also played basketball for the Eagles; he earned All-State honorable mention, and was the slam-dunk champion at the BBE All-Star Basketball Challenge. He was EV-W class salutatorian, FFA sentinel, AAA Award nominee, Tri-M, and a choir solo/ensemble “best of Site” award recipient.

Stommes and his wife Molly live in southwest Minneapolis with their four children. He is vice president of food and agribusiness at Compeer Financial.

Adam Tri

EV-W Class of 2004, Adam Tri set 14 school records playing football at EV-W. He still holds the records for most career receiving yards (1,885) and most career receptions (149). He was named All-Conference for three years, voted CMC Outstanding Wide Receiver twice, selected All-State honorable mention two times, named to the St. Cloud Times All-Area team for two years, and served as team captain for two years.

In basketball, Tri was two-time All-Conference. He also ran track where he earned All-CMC honors for three years.

Tri attended St. John’s Univer-sity and played football for the Johnnies. He currently teaches sixth grade at EV-W, is the Eagles’ head football coach, and serves as assistant track coach. Tri was recently voted Class AA Coach of the Year after his Eagles football team captured the Class AA title in 2023.

Tri and his wife Krista live in rural Eden Valley with their three children.

 

Congratulations to all 46 members of the EV-W Hall of Fame, especially its nine new members.