Webster Announces Five in Hall of Fame Class

Webster Announces Five in Hall of Fame Class

Webster University and Director of Athletics, Scott Kilgallon, are pleased to announce five Gorlok greats as the newest members of its Athletics Hall of Fame.  Brady Barke (basketball, golf), John Cooksey (basketball), Kjersti Ehrie (cross country), Andrew Fuiten (baseball), and Jessica (Kozeny) Gorsuch (soccer) were voted to the class of 2016.  They will be inducted on February 20, 2016, in a ceremony on campus.
 
Brady Barke   A 2004 Webster graduate with a BS in biology, Barke was a three-time St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) All-Conference selection in basketball and was SLIAC Academic All-Conference three years as well.  He is in the top 10 career list in several categories for Webster basketball – career points, scoring average, field goals made, 3-point field goals made, free throws made, blocked shots, games started, and minutes played.   He helped the men basketball's team to advance to the NCAA Division III Tournament during the 2001-2002 season.  He was also part of a SLIAC Championship Webster golf team.  Barke was a national finalist for the prestigious Jostens Award his senior year.  In addition to being a scholar and athlete, Barke was the national Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) rep for the SLIAC and co-President for the SLIAC SAAC.  He received the Webster Athletics President's Award as a junior and both the Undergraduate Student Leadership Award and Student-Athlete of the Year Award his senior year.  Barke earned a Juris Doctorate from the Southern Illinois University School of Law and an MBA from Southeast Missouri State University.  Barke is currently the Interim Director of Athletics at Southeast Missouri State University and has served various positions there since 2008.  He is married to Halley Spann Barke, a current Webster Hall of Famer, and they have three children – Mabrie (5), Jackson (3) and Kolbe (3 months).
 
John Cooksey    Cooksey is a 1994 Webster graduate with a BA in Media Communications, and also completed a MA in Business at Webster in 2005.  As a basketball forward, Cooksey was a two-time team captain and SLIAC First Team All-Conference in 1993 and 1994, and Second Team in 1992.  For Webster basketball, he is second in career rebounds, first in blocked shots, fifth in points, third in field goals (FG), third in FG percentage, and fourth in free throws.  Cooksey was an assistant coach for the first Webster men's basketball team to advance to the NCAA III Tournament.  He was the head men's basketball coach at Kaskaskia College (IL) for nine years and is entering his fifth season as head coach at Harry S. Truman CC in Chicago.  In addition, he is a tenured faculty member in the Business and Computer Department.  At Centralia HS (IL), Cooksey played basketball, football, and ran track.  Cooksey and his wife, Sarah, have two children, twin daughters Annabelle and Emma who were born in December 2014.
 
Kjersti Ehrie   Ehrie is a 1998 Webster graduate with a BA in Media Communications and received an MBA from Emporia State (KS) in 2004.  A cross country runner, Ehrie was SLIAC First Team All-Conference in 1995 & 1996, one of only four Webster runners to earn that honor twice.  She is tied for the most top 20 finishes in a season for Webster and is the 10th fastest runner in Webster cross country history for a 5K race.  Her seven top 20 finishes, in just two seasons, is the sixth highest for Webster.  Ehrie finished first in every race she participated for Webster except one.   A resident of the Netherlands, Ehrie has held positions in design with numerous firms and taught for a year at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences.  She currently has her own digital marketing consulting company, Louder Actions.  Ehrie has done extensive volunteer work with numerous organizations as well.  She and her partner, Arianne Tange, are expecting their first child around the New Year.
 
Andrew Fuiten   Fuiten graduated from Webster in 2009 with a BA in Management.  An outfielder for the Gorloks, Fuiten was the SLIAC Newcomer of the Year in 2008, the SLIAC Player of the Year in 2008 & 2009, and SLIAC First Team All-Conference in 2008 & 2009.  Fuiten earned NBCWA Central Region Hitter of the Year, ACBA First Team Central Region, and d3baseball.com All-American Honorable Mention honors in 2009.  He was ABCA First Team All-Central Region in 2008 as well.  Fuiten was the Webster Athletics Male Athlete of the Year in 2009.  In two years playing for the Webster baseball team, Fuiten rewrote the record books.  He owns Webster career records for batting average, slugging percentage, and home runs.  Fuiten is third in walks and fifth in runs batted in.  He holds single season records for slugging percentage, on-base percentage and walks, is third in batting average and home runs, and fourth in runs batted in. At Douglas MacArthur HS (IL), Fuiten was the Macon County Player of the Year in 2005, before playing two years at Lincoln College (IL).  After graduation from Webster, Fuiten served in the U.S. Marines from 2009-2013, where he received numerous awards including the Global War on Terror Medal, National Defense Service Medal and was a member of the 2012 Marine Communications Squadron of the Year.  He recently accepted a position at Harris Elementary in Decatur, IL as a Teacher's Assistant for an Essential Skills class. 
 
Jessica (Kozeny) Gorsuch    A 2009 Webster graduate with a BA in Media Communications (film production), Gorsuch also completed a MA in Teaching at Webster in 2011.  In goal for the Webster women's soccer team, Gorsuch was the 2008 NCAA III National Statistical Champion for Goals Against Average with a microscopic 0.31 average.  She was a SLIAC All-Conference First Team selection in 2007 and Second Team in 2008, and was a d3soccer.com All-Central Region selection in 2008.  On the Webster career list, she is first in games played by a goalie, second in wins and saves, and third in shutouts.  Gorsuch holds the single season record for lowest goals against and is second in wins and shutouts.  At St. Joseph's Academy in St. Louis, she was a captain for a Missouri State Championship team in 2002 that was named National Champions by USA Today.  Gorsuch was an assistant coach for the Webster women's soccer from 2009-2012.  After teaching for two years, she is currently employed at the outdoor co-operative, REI, as an administrative office specialist.  Gorsuch is married to her husband Zachary, and they are expecting their first child in December.
 
These five were selected by a committee made up of faculty, coaches, and staff.  They will be inducted on February 20, 2016, in a ceremony on campus.  This year's class will bring the total Hall of Fame membership to 29.  The Webster University Athletic Hall of Fame was established in 2010 to honor those who reflect the Department's mission of success in the classroom, the community, and the arena of competition. Former players, coaches, and other individuals who have made significant contributions to the program, are eligible for selection

STORY COURTESY OF WEBSTER UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION OFFICE