Pacific Lutheran University Athletics

Luke Jacobson (Track & Field, 1996-99)

Luke Jacobson was one of the most dominant throwers in the history of the Pacific Lutheran track & field program. Beginning with his sophomore season, he proceeded to win eight Northwest Conference championships, five regional crowns and two national titles while claiming six All-America honors over his final three years.

Jacobson won the shot put and discus conference titles in 1997 and just kept winning. He finished his career as a three-time conference champion in both the shot put and discus and a two-time champion in the hammer. He claimed the regional title in the discus three straight years and won back-to-back national crowns in the event in 1998 and 1999.

Along with his two first-place performances at the national meet, Jacobson also finished third in the discus in 1997, fifth in the hammer in 1999 and sixth in 1998, and sixth in the shot put in 1998. Those six All-America honors make him one of the most decorated student-athletes in program history. He graduated from PLU ranking second on the all-time program discus and shot put list and third on the hammer list. During the fall season, Jacobson competed with the PLU football team, where he earned all-conference honors as a starting defensive end on the 1999 National Championship team.

Mandy Flores-Handley (Volleyball/Softball, 1996-2000)

Mandy Flores-Handley was a two-sport star at Pacific Lutheran in the late 1990s, helping spark the volleyball team's dominant run under head coach Kevin Aoki and excelling on three Northwest Conference championship softball teams. Her dual-sport career culminated in PLU's Athlete of the Year award in 2000.

Flores-Handley set a PLU volleyball program record with 77 aces in 1997 and held program records for both aces in a match (7) and career (162) when she graduated. She earned all-conference recognition and was named PLU's Most Inspirational in 1997, and in 1999 she helped the Lutes claim the program's first NWC title and postseason berth.

The spring season brought even more accolades on the softball field. A four-year starter at third base, Flores-Handley was a three-time first-team all-conference performer and earned NAIA second-team All-America honors in 1998. During her career the Lutes compiled 140 wins, a trio of conference titles and postseason berths and a third-place finish at the 1997 NAIA National Tournament. She graduated holding the top two spots in single-season runs scored (50 in 1999 and 46 in 2000), ranked second in batting average (.473 in 1998) and third in doubles (16 in 1999).

Craig Hamilton (Tennis, 1979-82/Tennis Coach, 1999-2011)

Craig Hamilton starred on the Pacific Lutheran men's tennis team during an era when the Lutes dominated the Northwest Conference. He tallied 84 wins during his four-year career, the second-highest total in team history when he graduated. During his playing career he won one NWC singles crown and three conference doubles titles with partner Scott Charlston to go with two district doubles titles.

Hamilton's play helped lead the Lutes to an undefeated conference record and four NWC team titles during his career, but his contribution to the program, university and community went far beyond the court. As a senior, he was the inaugural recipient of the prestigious Arthur Ashe Award by the NAIA and ITCA, given for athletic and academic achievement, community involvement and sportsmanship. He twice earned Academic All-America honors and was named ITCA Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 1982.

Hamilton's involvement with the PLU program continued following his graduation, and he served as men's tennis head coach from 1999 through 2011. During that time he helped lead the Lutes to a 183-100 record, four NWC titles and six runner-up finishes. He coached the 2005 team to a program-record 21 wins and an undefeated 15-0 NWC mark, and his 2006 team won a program-record 17 conference matches.

Elise Lindborg (Rowing, 1981-85)

Elise Lindborg helped elevate the Pacific Lutheran women's rowing program to some of its greatest heights in the early-1980s. Lindborg debuted in fall 1981 with a two-length Novice 4 victory over University of Washington, and that served as a sign of things to come over the next four years.

Lindborg's final three seasons featured top performances at both the regional and national levels, as her boats placed fifth in the Light 4 and sixth in both the Light Pair and Light 8 at the national championships in 1983 following first-place performances in both the Light Pair and Light 4 at the regional regatta. The 1984 season included a fourth-place finish in the Light 4 at the national championships, while the 1985 campaign saw regional titles in the Light Pair and Light 4 and a first-place performance at the West Coast Rowing Championships.

Lindborg's career tally surpassed 20 event victories, including historic wins in the Lamberth Cup and at regional regattas. Her association with rowing excellence extended beyond her graduation in 1985, as she coached for several years and worked for the United States Rowing Association and served as a team manager for the 1996 US Olympic Rowing Team. She was named PLU's Distinguished Alumni in Athletics in 1996.

Gavin D. Stanley (Football, 1992-95)

Gavin D. Stanley starred on some of the most prolific offensive squads in Pacific Lutheran football history. During his four-year career as a tight end, Stanley set PLU records for receptions in a game (14) and season (81) and touchdowns in a game (4). He finished his career ranked third all-time in single-season receiving yards, first and second in single-season receptions and third in single-season touchdowns, while ranking second in career receptions and third in career receiving yards.

Stanley twice earned NAIA All-America honors, receiving first-team recognition in 1995 and second-team recognition in 1993. His most impressive single-season stat totals came in 1993, when he compiled 81 catches for 1,114 yards and 15 touchdowns on an offense that set PLU records for points, scoring average, total offense and passing yards while putting together a 12-0-1 record and winning the NAIA National Championship.

Stanley and the Lutes reached the national championship game again the following year, and in Stanley's four years PLU totaled 38 wins, four conference titles and four postseason appearances. Stanley earned three first-team all-conference nods in his career, including 1995 co-offensive player of the year honors, and was named an NAIA All-America Scholar-Athlete in 1995.

Helen (Toppy) Ramstad Kyllo was a true pioneer and is a legacy Lute, part of a family tradition of Pacific Lutheran Athletics that began in the 1920s. Her father Anders Ramstad joined the Pacific Lutheran faculty in 1925 and coached the first women's basketball team. He also started the football team, and Kyllo grew up immersed in Pacific Lutheran sports as a young spectator before becoming an athlete herself, and eventually a cheering parent and grandparent of PLU Lutes.

A three-sport athlete growing up, she played basketball at Pacific Lutheran through the auspices of the Women's Athletic Association. She'd earned the nickname "dead-eye" in high school courtesy of her sharp-shooting, and that continued in her time on the court at Pacific Lutheran. Off the court, she was broadly involved across campus: drama, service clubs and Choir of the West.

Following her junior year at Pacific Lutheran, she married Eldon Kyllo, a PLC football standout and 1995 PLU Athletics Hall of Fame inductee. She served on the PLU Alumni Board in the 1990s and continued her athletic prowess on the golf course as a local course champion.

Six decades after her graduation, the family tradition of Kyllo athletes continues at PLU.