College honors Palmer Olympian; PHS grad to be inducted into U. of Wisconsin Hall of Fame

PALMER — Kerry Weiland celebrated a number of firsts during her historic women’s hockey career at the University of Wisconsin.

Weiland, a Palmer native and Palmer High graduate, was a member of Wisconsin’s first women’s hockey team. The former star defenseman was the program’s first All-American.

Tonight, Weiland will enjoy another first.

Weiland will become the first women’s hockey player inducted into the Wisconsin Athletics Hall of Fame.

Weiland, one of seven members in the 2015 class, will be honored tonight in Madison, Wisconsin, and recognized Saturday during the Badgers football home opener against Miami of Ohio.

The honor is a highlight among a long list of achievements of Weiland, the top women’s hockey player to come out of the Valley and one of the most noted women’s hockey players in Alaska. Weiland, a 1999 graduate of Palmer High School, was a standout on the Moose boys’ hockey team before making the jump to Division I Wisconsin for the Badgers inaugural season of women’s hockey in 1999. Weiland was named second-team All-American in 2001, and garnered first-team All-American honors in 2002. She still ranks second in program history in scoring by a defenseman with 124 points.

After Wisconsin, Weiland enjoyed a tremendous run with Team USA, winning two gold medals and a silver at the World Championships.

Weiland’s pinnacle point of her career came in 2010 as a member of the Team USA squad that captured silver at Olympic Games in Vancouver.

The seven-member Wisconsin Hall of Fame class also includes volleyball player Lizzy Fitzgerald, men’s soccer player Mike Gentile, men’s basketball player Devin Harris, football player Jim Leonhard and men’s hockey player Brian Rafalski.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.