Pacific Lutheran University Athletics

AURORA BRAY
(Women's Swimming, 1994-98)

In her four years at Pacific Lutheran University, Aurora Bray firmly established herself as one of the best long-distance swimmers the school has ever seen.  Between the years of 1994 and 1998, Bray was among not only the Northwest’s best swimmers, but also America’s. A four-time All-American while at PLU, Bray demonstrated her prowess in the pool every time she left the blocks.  In her first year at the school, Bray swam primarily butterfly, with some middle-distance events mixed in.  As part of the 800-yard freestyle relay team, Bray and her teammates placed fifth at the NAIA national meet to give her the first of her four All-America awards that season.  When her sophomore season rolled around, Bray swept through the distance events with ease and began to exert her will on the competition.  Winning the NAIA national championship in in both the 1650-yard freestyle (17:40.76, winning by more than 13 seconds) and the 500-yard freestyle (5:04.44), she broke onto the national stage and never looked back. Bray finished in the top eight in six different races at the meet, helping PLU finish third as a team. In 1997, Bray returned to the top of the podium at nationals, repeating as champion in the 1650 free (17:37.53) and also earning top eight finishes in four other races, including third in the 500 freestyle.  In addition, she earned NAIA All-America Scholar Athlete with a 3.64 grade point average.  In her senior year, Bray was the only PLU women’s swimmer to earn All-America status when she finished third in the 500 free. That year, the NAIA limited All-America honors to the top three in each event, otherwise she would have achieved that distinction for several other top finishes, including fourth in the 1650 freestyle and fifth in the 100 butterfly.  She also repeated as a NAIA All-America Scholar Athlete with her 3.61 GPA.  Bray exemplified excellence both in the pool and out, and was truly one of PLU’s great swimmers. 

DON BROWN
(Men's Basketball, 1987-91)

In a men’s basketball program with a storied history, Don Brown was arguably one of the best all-around players to run the hardwood at Pacific Lutheran. As a four-year starter, the 6-8 big man could do it all. His all-time career statistics showcase his all-around skill for the game. With 1,625 points in four seasons, Brown finished his career ranked fifth all-time in scoring at PLU.  Some 20 years later, he remains fifth on the all-time list. He joined PLU’s prestigious 400-point club twice, once in 1989-90 and again one season later. Brown was not just a scorer, however, as he also accumulated career statistics in rebounds, assists, and steals that place him among the best PLU has ever seen. His 162 career steals places him first all-time in that category. In addition, Brown is Pacific Lutheran’s all-time career blocked shots leader with a remarkable 188 blocks. Brown was a prolific passer as well, ending his career in the black and gold with 241 assists, placing him seventh all-time in the category. To round out his game, Brown also had a stronghold on the boards for the Lutes. He finished his career with 735 rebounds, ranking him eighth all-time in PLU history. In his junior year, Brown put together the best single season of his career. In 27 games played, Brown averaged 18.2 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. He was honored that season with a first team all-conference selection. Brown also received first team all-conference honors in his sophomore and senior seasons. His ability to pass, shoot, rebound, block, and steal has made his arguably one of the best players in the program’s outstanding history.           

BURKE MULLINS
(Men's Basketball, 1986-90)

Sharpshooter Burke Mullins established himself as one of the purest shooters Pacific Lutheran has ever seen during his four-year career in a Lute uniform. During the 1986-87 season, in his first year on campus, Mullins burst onto the scene and brought his silky smooth jump shot with him. He ended the season leading the team in total scoring with 381 points and tallied what would tie for a single-game career best with 33 points against Hawaii-Hilo. He also added 49 three-pointers that season to begin what would be an outstanding outside shooting career. He continued to showcase his ability to shoot the basketball for the remainder of his PLU career. As a sophomore, Mullins scored 458 points and averaged 17.0 points per game. After missing part of his junior season, Mullins came back for his senior year with a vengeance, scoring 473 points and averaging 17.5 points per contest. Mullins ended his career with 1,504 points, putting him sixth all-time in scoring at PLU. Mullins finished his career in the Pacific Lutheran men’s basketball top 10 in several categories, including three-pointers made, three-point percentage, field goals made, and free throw percentage. With 394 attempts, Mullins hits 176 three-pointers in his career, placing him second all-time in three-point shots made. His career .447 three-point percentage puts him third all-time in that category. In complement to his long-range shooting prowess, Mullins made 558 career field goals. That mark puts him sixth all-time for a career at PLU. His 83.1 career free throw percentage places him at the top of the all-time career mark. In the 1987-88 season, Mullins hit 87.4 percent of his free-throw attempts to set the single-season record for free throw percentage. Burke Mullins was an exceptional player during his time at PLU, and forever will be remembered as one of the purest shooters to put on the black and gold.           

Pacific Lutheran women’s cross country was annually among the top-rated programs during the school’s time as a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics member, and the 1988 team proved to be the class of the country by winning the national championship. After a third-place finish at the national meet in 1987, the Lutes set out for it all a year later, and they had the personnel to make a strong shot at both the individual and team titles.  Led by senior three-time All-American Valerie Hilden, the team won every NAIA competition in 1988 leading into the national finals in Kenosha, Wis.  The Harriers, as they were known in ’88, went 1-2-3-4 to lead PLU to victory in the Northwest Conference of Independent Colleges meet.  This was just the first of several meet accomplishments that the Lady Lutes met in ’88.  Just one week later, the Harriers successfully defended their NAIA Division 1 title.  Cruising through the 5,000-meter course, the women went 1-2-5-6-8 to blow by the competition.  Hilden won an unprecedented third straight individual district title that day, and it was the fifth consecutive district crown for the women’s team. In a true demonstration of skill and endurance, the Lady Lutes cruised to a 1-4-11-12-34 finish to win the NAIA cross country team championship.  The 1988 squad showed its drive and perseverance as a team, placing a PLU-record four All-Americans (top 20 finish).  “This team was the most focused group I coached, and their high level of excellence led to that championship,” Coach Brad Moore said.  To compliment Hilden’s outstanding athletic abilities, Joanne Maris moved up 38 spots from the 1987 national meet to finish fourth in ’88. This dramatic leap in pace directly contributed to the Lutes’ title win that year. “It took all five (runners) to win it,” said Moore of the title.  To further exemplify the team’s dominance on the course in 1988, the 44 team points was the second lowest total in NAIA history up to that point, and still ranks fourth all-time in the NAIA record books. Competition day was one of firsts for one spectacular member of the team, as well, as Hilden became the only NAIA runner at the time to win two individual titles (1985 and ’88), as well as the first PLU athlete to achieve four-time All-America status in two-sports (cross country and track & field).  To round out the awards for the Lutes, Moore was named NAIA Coach of the Year for his guidance and teaching in the team’s national title win. The seven PLU runners competing at the national meet were Julie Clifton, Kelly Edgerton, Valerie Hilden, Gwen Hundley, Mary Lewis, Joanne Maris, and Tandy Olive. Other team members that season were Susan Christman, Amy Detwiler, Anne Giesen, Mary Hustad, Heather Kivett, Becky Kraiger, Cullin McBride, Deirdre Murnane, Kris Paulson, Melanie Pyle, Deborah Schmidt, Shannon Smiley, Becky Templeton, Karen Tuvey, and Jennifer Wilson.