Hall of Fame
Few student-athletes are named captain of three teams in the same year. Even fewer lead those teams to conference championships. Kim Russ Klostermann was one who did. Kim, a native of Aurora, Ill., was a three-sport athlete and 10-time letterwinner at Coe. She was an all-Midwest Conference first baseman, a national qualifier in swimming and an outside hitter and defensive specialist for the volleyball team. Kim also served two seasons on the cheerleading squad. Kim was a member of seven Midwest Conference Championship teams, including four championship softball teams. During her all-conference season in 1985, Kim batted a career-best .330 with 11 RBIs and 11 runs scored. Coe won its fifth of six straight conference titles that year and enjoyed its first 20-win season. Kim graduated as Coe's fourth-leading all-time hitter with a .311 average and scored the fifth-most runs with 47. In her two seasons spent with coach Gary Williams and the volleyball team, the Kohawks went 59-10-1 with a conference title in 1985. Kim was voted the team's most-improved player as a junior. She was named captain the following year. Kim won two more conference titles as a member of the swim team, where she was crowned conference champion in the 200-meter relay and competed in the 1985 national championships at Emory College in Atlanta, Ga. Coe finished 12-1 in dual meets during those two championship seasons under head coach Dennis Vokolek. Vokolek remembers Kim as a prime example of what this institution stands for - an exemplary student-athlete, who was completely dedicated to the season in which she was competing. She was the first female president of Coe's Letterman Club. She was named outstanding senior by the Alumni Association. Following graduation from Coe, Kim turned to teaching and has taught for over 19 years. She served as a volleyball and softball coach at Washington High School for 10 years. Kim received her master's of teaching at Coe in 1999 and, in addition to her current elementary school duties, supervises student teachers for the college. Tonight, for her outstanding contributions to Coe College athletics, I am privileged to welcome Kim Russ Klostermann to the Athletic Hall of Fame.
