Former Saint Mary's Athletic Director Jo Ann Nester stated Janet is "a true leader and the personification of a student-athlete... she is a wonderful combination of talent, intelligence, patience, humor, tenacity, and compassion. She is a leader in every sense of the word."
Janet used her talents to participate in three collegiate sports: soccer, basketball and softball. Janet was unlike today's athletes who try to specialize their talents in just one sport. In the last ten years, Saint Mary's has only had two students as dual sport athletes. We look back in awe how Janet excelled in three sports.
As a soccer player, Janet was able to combine her athletic talents with a limited soccer background in becoming a valuable asset to the team. Tom Van Meter said, "Janet's determination and competitive spirit was immeasurable yet her sense of enthusiasm was Infectious." Janet scored her first goal in her first year of play.
Her basketball coach, Marv Wood, had stated that Janet is "truly an outstanding individual and an exceptional athlete." Janet was ranked 17th in the country for her 81.4 free throw percentage. At one point she was averaging 21 points a game - something that does not come easily even in today's game. Fifteen games into her senior basketball season, Janet suffered a career ending injury. Prior to her injury, she led her basketball team in free throw percentage, scoring, assists, rebounds, and three-point field goal percentage during her junior and senior seasons.
In softball, Janet started as a freshman and went on to collect 22 hits that season en route to a team record of 20 wins and 3 losses. The following year, she was chosen to the NAIA All-District 21 Team collecting 28 hits in 26 games. As a junior, Janet helped her team to a 13-15 record while playing opponents from NCAA Division I, II, III, and NAIA. Of the team’s four total home runs that season, Janet had two of them to add to her other 17 hits in 24 games. Despite not being able to play her senior year, Janet honored her commitment to the softball team and stayed on that year as a manager and peer mentor.
Her collegiate career is filled with many accolades. She was captain of both basketball and softball teams, named Most Valuable Player for the 1990-1991 basketball and softball seasons, recognized as the Saint Mary's Athlete of the Year in 1991, and then was honored with the Saint Mary’s Director's Award for Service, Leadership, and Excellence in 1992 - the two highest awards given within the Athletic Department at that time.
Nominated as a Kodak All-American and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association for Player of the Year, Janet was just as successful in the classroom. She graduated cum laude with a major in biology and minor in chemistry in 1992. After graduation, Janet continued her education in medical school and earned her Doctorate of Osteopathic Medicine from Des Moines University. Today, she is a family practice physician with Parkview Hospital Physician's Group in Columbia City, Indiana. She is also the Medical Director of a local hospice. In addition to keeping up with a full-time medical practice, she keeps us with her very full-time family of five children – Katie, Nate, Jo, Megan, and Zach with her husband Shawn.
