Reservations are $40 per person for the ceremony to be held at the Island Resort, located 15 miles west of Escanaba. The evening begins with a social hour at 5 p.m. EDT, a brief introduction and meal at 6 p.m. EDT, then the induction ceremony to follow.

With a deadline of April 22, tickets can be reserved by calling one of these UPSHF council members — Phil DeGabrielle at 906-250-1882, Mike Ludlum at 906-250-4597, Cathy Shamion at 906-364-0961 or Anne Okonek at 906-280-2587.

As council members also encourage past Hall inductees to attend, a block of rooms has been reserved at the Island Resort for those interested in staying overnight. Call the Island Resort at 1-800-682-6040 by April 24 and mention the U.P. Sports Hall of Fame banquet to receive a special rate.

For those interested in nominating someone to be in the UPSHF, visit the group’s website at upshf.com and fill out a form, which must be done by June 1 to be considered for the following year’s class.

Erica (Helmila) Smith of Marquette

Three of the 10 inductees in the class of 2026 are based in The Mining Journal’s daily coverage area of Marquette, Alger, Baraga, Schoolcraft and Luce counties.

They are Erica (Helmila) Smith of Marquette, Lori Juntila Rupert of National Mine and west Ishpeming, and Fred Teddy of L’Anse.

The other seven inductees are Burt Angeli, a sports writer and sports editor from Iron Mountain; Andy Crouch, football player and coach from Lake Linden-Hubbell; Stephanie (Boyer) Lovell, a track and basketball athlete at Rapid River; David Miller, a basketball coach from DeTour; Janet (Hallfrisch) Sbar, a track athlete from Menominee; Mark Simon, a basketball player from Stephenson; and Gary Sparpana, a ski jumper from Iron Mountain.

Here are some sketches of the three inductees based in our area:

Erica (Helmila) Smith

Lori Juntila Rupert of National Mine and west Ishpeming

This 2000 graduate of Marquette Senior High School is widely recognized as one of the Upper Peninsula’s most accomplished female track and field athletes.

A participant in four sports, Smith lettered in basketball, cross country, track and field, and volleyball, earning multiple all-conference honors in them, along with U.P. all-state recognition in cross country.

She was named academic all-state and received the U.S. Army Reserve National Scholar-Athlete Award.

In track, she claimed numerous U.P. Finals titles in the Class A-B division, including three consecutive championships in the 400-meter dash — setting a state record — two titles as a member of her school’s 1,600 relay, and a championship in the 3,200 relay, which also set a state record.

Smith ran collegiately at Grand Valley State, where she qualified for four NCAA Division II national meets. She earned distinction as a two-time Division II All-American, a four-time D-II Academic All-American, and was selected to academic all-league and four First Team honors from the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

Fred Teddy of L'Anse

Lori Juntila Rupert

Rupert began her high school basketball career during a time before federal Title IX protections in women’s sports were fully implemented.

First playing for National Mine as a freshman, then going to the newly consolidated Westwood High School in the first part of the 1970s, she played in an era with a larger-sized men’s basketball, in fewer games and without a 3-point line.

Voted most valuable player as a freshman at National Mine, she continued on at Westwood, again named MVP along with being the Patriots’ leading scorer for her final three high school years.

Rupert was named to the Mid-Peninsula Conference First Team and All-U.P. teams in 1975 and 1976.

At Northern Michigan University, she earned four letters in basketball after walking on as a freshman. She was the Wildcats’ first 1,000-point scorer, finishing with 1,342 points that held as the program record for a decade and is still 14th all-time at the school.

She was captain and MVP her junior year while leading NMU in scoring. She was named to the GLIAC and Division I all-state honorable mention in 1978 and 1979, and later on, the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women all-regional and State of Michigan AIAW-II all-state in 1980 and 1981.

Rupert was inducted into the NMU Sports Hall of Fame in 2008.

Fred Teddy

Teddy is considered one of the premier runners to come out of the U.P., setting numerous records during a sterling career at L’Anse High School.

He was a three-time champion in the U.P. Finals in both track and field and in cross country, having been unbeaten in both cross country and in the two-mile run during track season throughout his final three years with the Purple Hornets.

His record 9 minutes, 22.7 seconds in the two-mile in 1972 will always stand after the event was converted to a metric distance (3,200 meters) in 1973. He was also all-state in both track and cross country as a senior.

Teddy went to Michigan State University, where he was team captain in cross country for three seasons and received the Outstanding Senior award. He lettered with the Spartans in track and cross country all four years, medaling seven times in Big Ten competition.

After graduation, he taught and coached for 30 years in his hometown L’Anse Area Schools.

Story contents based on emails received from U.P. Sports Hall of Fame Executive Secretary Anne Okonek. Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee’s email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.