Wheaton, Ill. - Today we announce the fourth of seven inductees for the 2020
Wheaton College Athletics Hall of Honor. Today's inductee is Katie (Hawkins) Welty '99, a a four-time All-Region performer for the Wheaton women's soccer program.
Editor's Note: Due to ongoing concerns surrounding COVID-19, as well as Illinois state restrictions on gathering, Wheaton College will be holding an
online Homecoming Weekend in 2020. As a result, there will not be a ceremony honoring the 2020 Hall of Honor induction class this year at halftime of the annual Homecoming football game at McCully Field. However, along with these announcements, there will be online interviews available with each of this year's inductees later this fall on the
Wheaton Athletics website. Additionally, the Hall of Honor Class of 2020 will be honored as part of the 2021 Homecoming Weekend, along with the Class of 2021 inductees.
Katie (Hawkins) Welty '99
Bullard, Texas
Sports: Women's Soccer
Degree: Elementary Education
Katie Hawkins was Wheaton's first four-time National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) All-Region selection as she earned Second Team honors in her first three seasons and was a First Team honoree as a senior in 1998. A four-time All-CCIW First Team pick, she was named the CCIW Player of the Year as a freshman in 1995 and also earned the award as a senior in 1998.
At the time of her graduation, Hawkins was Wheaton's all-time leader in career goals scored with 39, a mark that is now 10
th on the all-time list. Her 91 total points was a school record in in 1998 and is currently 11
th on Wheaton's all-time list.
Katie served as a team captain for Wheaton in 1997 and 1998. In 1997, she helped guide the program to its first NCAA Division III Tournament appearance, sparking a streak of 19-straight tournament appearances. She tallied the game-winning goal in Wheaton's 2-1 victory in two overtimes against UW-Stevens Point in the opening round of the 1997 NCAA Division III Tournament. The victory against the Pointers was the first tournament win in the program's history.
Pete Felske, her head coach, recollects, "Katie was a player that never really received the attention she deserved at that time in the history of our program. We were in transition; just starting to make our mark on the national scene when Katie graduated. However, she was instrumental in taking our squad from an average team to a national contender. She was quiet, strong and powerful. Though she never realized the fruits of her labor from that 'team' perspective, she had the respect of teammates and opponents alike for her ability to physically dominate a game and make those around her better."
Katie says of showing up at Wheaton to play soccer, "As an eighteen-year-old, I came to college excited to play soccer and be a college athlete. I loved soccer. It was what I was good at and what I already knew. I quickly learned it was not near as valuable as who I was and who I was to become. My teammates gave me the safe place that I needed in order to grow my faith and discover what I had to offer to the world. I still remember how we took turns sharing a short bible verse and offered encouragement before practice began. One day it was Phillipians 1:6, 'He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day in Christ Jesus.' This promise has been a consistent encouragement to me."
She reflects on her teammates, "I am still so thankful for the girls around me on the team that made me better. I wish I'd had the ball skills of Anna Loring and Katie Shubin, the energy of Sarah Nicholls and Sarah Hanlon, the determination of Sheri Cox and Jamie Gantner, and the positive attitude of Jessie Gehrig and Lorena Gonzalez; and many others! I also loved the two years I got to spend playing on the team with my sister Julianna."
Katie says of her time in the early years of Wheaton's women's soccer program that would go on to be a Division III powerhouse, "It feels nice to be a part of the movement towards those later years of always winning, even winning a National Title!"
Katie and her husband Kyle reside in Bullard, Texas with their three children: Lillian, Jack and Wesley. She is a middle school mathematics teacher at IB Middle Years Academy in McAllen, Texas.
2020 HALL OF HONOR ANNOUNCEMENT SCHEDULE
