MENOMONIE (November 20, 2024) – Two Menomonie area residents were among eight individuals inducted into the UW-Stout Athletic Hall of Fame recently.
Tim Nelson of Downsville and Layne Pitt of Menomonie are now among 202 standout athletes, coaches and administrators that are part of the UW-Stout Athletic Hall of Fame.
Tim Nelson, a seven-time USTFCCCA All-American, in 2012, was the NCAA Division III men’s cross country individual champion and USTFCCCA Division III Men’s Athlete of the Year for both outdoor track and field and cross country, winning individual national titles in the indoor and outdoor 5000-meter, outdoor 10,000-meter and cross country.
The 2011 and 2012 WIAC athlete of the year, Nelson holds school records in the indoor 3000- and 5000-meter, and outdoor 5000- and 10,000-meters. In 2014, Nelson was awarded the NCAA Today’s Top 10 Award. Nelson is a major in the Minnesota Army National Guard and owns American Edge Real Estate in Menomonie.
The longest serving UW-Stout sports information director with 28 years of service, Layne Pitt created the athletic department’s first website in 1996, added live stats and video streaming services, introduced social media, produced statistics, stories, game notes, player bios and photographs of thousands of games and events and publicized thousands of student-athletes.
Pitt was presented with the University’s Chancellor’s Academic Staff Award for Excellence in 2019, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the College Sports Communicators for more than 25 years of service and the Tom Butler Award from the WIAC. Pitt retired in October, 2022. Previous to working at Stout, Pitt was a member of the editorial team at the Dunn County News for 11 years.
Also earning induction were:
John Miller, men’s and women’s swimming coach (1983-89)
Daniel Drewek, track and field, 7x WIAC pole vault champion (2008-12)
Naomi DeLara, gymnastics, 4x national champion (2008-11)
Erin (O’Connell) Anderson, softball, All-American first baseman (2002-05)
Derek Hanson, hockey, All-American forward, school scoring leader (2006-10)
Patrick Mengelkoch, football, All-American tight end (2007-10)
