Benedictine College names 2026 Raven Athletic Hall of Fame class

Benedictine College gave alumni and fans an early reason to circle Oct. 24 by naming its 2026 Raven Athletic Hall of Fame class, a group that links a 1936 unbeaten football team to athletes and supporters from the modern era. The induction ceremony is scheduled for Homecoming Weekend in Atchison, with the new members to be recognized at halftime of the afternoon football game and formally inducted at an evening banquet.

This year’s class includes John Bezdek ’96, who will be honored posthumously for soccer; Larry Buessing ’60, listed as a supporter; Heather Wansing Kirk ’11, recognized for basketball and volleyball; Guido Trinidad ’03, honored for football; and the 1936 football team, which went 8-0 under Coach Moon Mullins. The mix gives the class a clear homecoming value for Ravens who return to campus looking for familiar names, old stories and a reminder of how far the program has stretched across generations.

The selections also fit the way Benedictine says it uses the Hall of Fame. The athletics department says the Raven Hall of Fame was created to recognize people who have contributed to the promotion, growth and excellence of Benedictine athletics, and nominations are due March 1 each year. The 2026 class does that in a way that reaches beyond one sport or one era, tying together a team from nearly a century ago with individual honorees whose careers shaped Raven athletics more recently.

That long view matters in a place like Atchison, where Benedictine’s games, reunions and ceremonies are part of the fall calendar and part of the college’s identity on the bluffs above the Missouri River. The college traces its heritage to 1858, and the Hall of Fame has become one more way it keeps that history visible when alumni, students, families and friends come back for Homecoming.

The 2026 class also follows a pattern Benedictine has used before. The 2025 class included Charlie Gartenmayer and George Papageorgiou, and the Hall of Fame archive shows the college has previously honored teams including the 1963 Men’s Soccer Team, the 1992 HAAC Championship Football Team, the 1967 NAIA National Championship Men’s Basketball Team, the 1985 Football Team, the 1958 St. Benedict’s Football Team, the 1974 Benedictine Football Team and the 1954 St. Benedict’s NAIA National Championship Team. With seven team honors already in the archive, the newest class keeps Benedictine’s athletic memory tied to the people and teams that still draw Ravens back to Atchison each fall.