Five former student-athletes and a former head coach will be inducted into the University of Nebraska-Kearney Athletic Hall of Fame during ceremonies held during the school’s homecoming in late October. When the six newest members are honored there will be one local face in the crowd as she adds to her resume, already being a two-time member of the Central City High School Athletic Hall of Fame.

The 2022 Hall of Fame members are track & field athlete Shauna (Birchard) Graham (‘06), football player/ track & field athlete Bill Backes (‘67), men’s basketball player Dusty Jura (‘08; ‘15), football player Troy Stonacek (‘86), diver Dusty (Walston) Hatt (‘02) and head football coach Darrell Morris.

Shauna Graham is among the top shot putters in UNK history, earning five All-American honors including three National Runner-Up finishes.

“I’m really excited about being inducted into the UNK Athletic Hall of Fame,” says Graham. “It’s still a bit surreal if I’m being honest. My track career completely changed when I was a junior in high school and I started working with Coach (Rich) Owens. Throwing isn’t about who is the strongest, it’s about who is strong and has the best form. We changed so many things and I improved 6 feet over the next two years and over 20 feet in the discus. He worked with me 1 on 1 during practice and after practice the entire season. If it wasn’t for Coach Owens, I wouldn’t have received a college track scholarship.”

One of four Loper women track and field athletes to earn five or more Division II All-American honors in a career, the Central City native also was a two-time Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) Champion. Graham was part of UNK squads that finished runner up at the RMAC indoor and outdoor championships several times and won the 2003 outdoor title.

“College took everything up a notch,” adds Graham. “We started training in August, the season went through the end of May and then we started summer workouts in June. It was intense and I almost didn’t go out my sophomore year. It’s hard to go from winning every meet in high school to not winning meets or even making the finals just a year later. So before my sophomore season began, I decided to give it my all, work out and lift as hard as I could, be coachable and willing to change things and everything took off from there. Coach (Andy) Meyer is an incredible coach when it comes to all the extra details and I continued to improve each year.

“I’m so incredibly thankful for the experience I had in college, the coaches I got to work with and the friends I made. There is so much more to sports than the sport itself. The lessons I learned back then, I still apply to this day.”

Shauna placed second at the 2004 and 2005 NCAA outdoor championships in the while being runner up at the 2005 national indoor meet.

Graham also was sixth at the 2004 indoor championships and third at 2006 outdoor championships. Finally, she was a 2005 CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America) Academic All-American, one of five Loper women track and field athletes to earn that award.

Graham lives in Central City with her husband, Zeb, and their five daughters; Bailey, Ellie, Skylar, Tatum and Quinn. She is an assistant volleyball coach at Central City High School, is a Gallup-certified Strengths Coach and is the owner of You Are Worth It. The Boutique opened its physical store in March 2022.

The Athletic Hall of Fame Banquet begins at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 28, in the Ponderosa Room of the Nebraskan Student Union. A dinner follows at 6:15 p.m. with the induction ceremony afterwards. Tickets are $35 per person and $15 for youths 12 & under ($40 price for adults and $15 for youths begins on Monday, Oct. 17). Reservations can be made on the UNK Alumni Association website. Please purchase by Friday, Oct. 20. Bill Backes On Saturday, Oct. 29, the class will be recognized at half time of the football game vs. Northwest Missouri State. That contest kicks off at 2 p.m.