Saint Thomas Academy Inducts Eight into Athletic Hall of Fame

Editor's note: The following is a press release from Saint Thomas Academy.

Saint Thomas Academy inducted seven alumni and one coach into the Academy’s Athletic Hall of Fame on Friday, Sept. 28, prior to the homecoming football game. The 2012 class included:

• Joseph Jensen’47 of Burnsville, Minn. – A five-time letter recipient, Jensen participated in football, hockey and baseball, and was voted “Best All-Around Athlete.” After playing hockey and baseball for the College of St. Thomas (now the University of St. Thomas), St. Paul, Minn., Jensen signed with Cleveland Baseball before the military draft.
• Julian (Punk) Bilski ’49 of Apple Valley, Minn. – Bilski was a nine-time letter recipient, who participated in football, basketball, baseball and golf. He was chosen All-State in basketball. He went on to be the leading freshman scorer for the University of Minnesota basketball team.
• Richard Urbanski ’51 of St. Paul, Minn. – A five-time letter recipient, Urbanski participated in football and hockey, and was chosen All-Conference in football and hockey. He later played football and hockey for the College of St. Thomas.
• John (Jack) Hoffner ‘ 53 (Passed away 2008) – Hoffner was an 11-time letter recipient,  participating in football, basketball, track and field, and tennis. He was named All-State in basketball and went on to play basketball for the College of St. Thomas.
• Randall (Skards) Skarda ’86 of Excelsior, Minn. – Skarda was a six-time letter recipient who played football and hockey. He was the team captain for both football and hockey. He played high school All-Star hockey and was selected All-State in hockey. He went on to play hockey for the University of Minnesota, the U.S. World Junior National team, the St. Louis Blues and an International Hockey League (IHL) Turner Cup Championship team.
• Mark Montgomery ’90 of Minneapolis – Montgomery was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles following his college football career with the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and high school athletic career as a six-time letter recipient for football, hockey and track. He was the football team captain and was selected All-State in football.
• Ryan Murray ’90 of Scottsdale, Ariz. – Murray was an eight-time letter recipient, participating in football, hockey and track. He was captain of the football and hockey teams, and was chosen hockey team MVP and top ten defensemen in Minnesota. He was chosen All-State in track. He competed in college football and track at the St. John’s University, Collegeville, Minn. He played professional football for Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Iowa Barnstormers, Anaheim Piranhas and Grand Rapids Rampage
• Coach Thomas (Doc) Ihnot of Sunfish Lake, Minn. – Served Saint Thomas Academy athletics from 1976 to 2012, as head coach for varsity basketball, earning a 204-111 record and leading teams to four Region 3AA playoff tournaments and a consolation championship at the state tournament. He is a member of the Minnesota Coaches Hall of Fame and the DeLaSalle Hall of Fame, and was selected Region 3AA coach of the year twice. As head coach/co-head coach of the varsity golf team, he led teams to nine conference titles, 14 suburban conference titles and four section titles.

The Hall of Fame seeks to recognize those outstanding athletes who helped establish Saint Thomas Academy as a strong competitor in Minnesota high school sports.