Bethel Inducts Five into Athletic Hall-of-Fame

McKENZIE (October 20) — On Friday, as part of the Homecoming festivities, Bethel University honored three former athletic greats and two contributors with inductions into the prestigious Bethel Athletic Hall-of-Fame. It marked the 43rd class to be honored. Six teams and 109 individuals have been enshrined since 1980. Inducted were Michael Jasper, Dave Jesse, Arielle Montague, and Tom and Patty Kahlden.

Michael Jasper (Football, 2012) — Michael Jasper is in his fifth year as head coach of the Wildcats. Jasper also serves as Associate Athletic Director of Internal Operations.

Before becoming the head coach, Jasper served as Assistant Head Coach and worked with the defensive line. Prior to that he held the titles of Offensive Line Coach and Run Game Coordinator, as well as overseeing the strength and conditioning program.

Before joining the Bethel staff, Jasper served as Offensive and Defensive Line Assistant at Bishop Timon High School in Buffalo, NY. Mike spent three years in the National Football League with the Buffalo Bills, New York Giants and Carolina Panthers.

Coach Jasper played for the University of Tennessee at Martin in 2005 and was a starter on their 2006 Ohio Valley Conference championship team. After redshirting at Middle Tennessee State University, he joined the Bethel University Wildcats and was an offensive and defensive lineman from 2008-2010. He was the first-ever Wildcat drafted to the NFL in 2011 with his selection by the Buffalo Bills.

He graduated from Bethel University with a bachelor’s degree in university studies. He and his wife Allison, along with their children Davis Reid, Millie Claire and Samuel David reside in McKenzie.

Their rescue dog is named Caine.

Dave Jesse (Men’s Basketball, 1992) — Dave Jesse began his career at Bethel College in the fall of 1988 by way of Elder High School in Cincinnati, Ohio. Dave played for Bethel Hall of Fame Coach Mike Nienaber. Jesse and his teammates upset NCAA Division I Tennessee State during his freshman year, despite only having eight eligible players at the time. While at Bethel, Jesse’s teams defeated highly ranked national powerhouses, David Lipscomb and Belmont several times throughout his four-year career.

Among his accomplishments while playing for the Wildcats, Jesse was named a 1990-91 and 1991-92 NAIA All American Scholar Athlete, a USA Today Academic All American, and was the District 24 1991 A.O. Duer Scholarship Award recipient, presented annually to junior student-athletes who have excelled in scholarship, character and citizenship. In addition, Jesse led the entire nation in rebounding during his senior season, pulling down over 13 rebounds per game, and was nationally ranked in the top 15 in field goal percentage at over 63 percent.

Jesse was named Bethel College’s 1991-92 Hutchins Scholar, graduating #1 in his academic class in the spring of 1992 with a 4.0 grade points average, earning bachelor’s degrees in both Math and Accounting.

Jesse is currently a certified public accountant and resides in Cincinnati with his wife, Tonya and their children, Kyle and Lexie.

Arielle Montague (Women’s Track & Field, 2013) — Arielle Montague came to Bethel from Bartlett High School in Bartlett, Tennessee where she graduated in 2009.

She excelled in track & field setting BHS school records in the 100m (12.66), 200m (26.22), and 400m (57.92). She competed at the Tennessee State Championships in the 100m (ranked 11th in state) and 400m (ranked 7th in state). Arielle still holds Bartlett High School’s record for the 400m dash (2008).

Montague chose to attend Bethel and was a highly touted freshman in 2009. Montague continued to have success at Bethel University on academic and track & field scholarships. She holds the university’s records for the 200m (24.68), 400m (53.89), 4x100m relay (45.75), and 4x400m relay (3:43.3). Throughout 2010-2013, Arielle achieved National All-American status seven times in indoor and outdoor championships. Notable achievements below:

Montague was the conference champion in several events during her career and was named All-American several times.

She graduated in 2013 from Bethel with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and a minor in Health.

Arielle currently resides in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with her husband Michael Mattei (who is Director of Marketing at Sebela Pharmaceuticals) and their dog Charlie.

Tom and Patty Kahlden (Contributors) — Tom and Patty Kahlden are both Texans and graduates of Texas A&M University. Thomas earned a BS in Biomedical Science and Patty earned a BS in Agricultural Education. She also earned a Master’s degree in Education at Texas A&M.

Thomas went straight to work in various oilfield related businesses such as: Dresser Industries, Conroe Chemical, Unichem, and Quaker Chemical. He and a partner eventually founded Refinery Specialties, Inc, which they operated for over 28 years. The company was officially sold in February of this year and Thomas retired.

After Patty taught school for a few years, she went to work as bookkeeper and secretary for Refinery Specialties, Inc.

Thomas and Patty have one son, Kolby, who is solely responsible for introducing them to Bethel University. Kolby played center for the Wildcat football team and was on the 2018 team that won the conference championship.

The Kahdens have been big supporters for Wildcat Athletics since Kolby started school there in 2013. They have a vested interest in Bethel University and their athletic programs.