Biographical Information on more than 200 CSC Athletes 1983-Present

$15 Foreword

This book was originally printed in observance of the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Athletic Hall of Fame at Chadron State College in 2008. It was done to help Eagles’ followers know more about those who helped give the college its rich athletic tradition. Considerable time has been spent updating and improving the information that was released at the time the inductions into the Hall of Fame were made. The book was updated in the summer of 2010 to include the 2009 inductions and it will continue to grow as more inductions are made. As noted above, the Hall of Fame was founded by Ross Armstrong in 1983, when 32 inductions were made. Although he consulted with long-time fans, former coaches and numerous athletes in making the selections, he continued to make a majority of the hall of fame decisions until his death in 1990. Since then, the selection committee has included Con Marshall, the college’s sports information director from July 1969 through July 2007; Brad Smith, the CSC athletic director since 1987; Dr. Pat Colgate, who has been have continued to have a close relationship with the Eagles since they were CSC athletes. Alex Helmbrecht, the currentaffiliated CSC with sports CSC athleticsinformation since director, 1965; and and Frank John Axtell, Ferguson the andlongtime Randy voice Bauer, of theboth Eagles Hall of on Fame KAAQ/KQSK, members are who also on the committee. In making the selections, the committee has considered both the athletic achievements and the accomplishments of the athletes since their days of participation ended. A few former CSC coaches also have been inducted, along with several individuals who have provided meritorious service. Readers will notice that considerably more has been written about some of the hall of fame members than others. Fans should understand why that happened. More statistics are available and more honors are awarded in some sports and for some positions than others. Regardless of the amount written everyone in the Hall of Fame is to be congratulated on his or her membership. It is a special honor. Of course, not all the outstanding CSC athletes by any means are in the Hall of Fame. But anyone who has represented the college in an athletic event should have a sense of pride for having been an Eagle. It’s an experience many others would have liked to have had.

Con Marshall, CSC Sports Information Director (1969-76, 1977-2007)

Alex Helmbrecht, CSC Sports Information Director (2007-present)

On the Front Cover: Top row, left to right, Sam Perikins, Tricia Lukawski, Caryn Martin Ziettlow and Don Beebe. Bottom row, Josh Robinson, LaVerne McKelvey, Carol Bachmann Marxsen and Bob Lynch. Table of Contents Hall of Fame Inductions by Year...4 Jim Hampton...... 23 Kathy Kennedy...... 39 Terry Hillman...... 55 Alphabetical Hall of Fame...... 5 Bill Savage...... 24 Jean Fuchs Poythress...... 39 Rich King...... 55 Ross Armstrong...... 6 Norm Wilson...... 24 Martee Meter Pruitt...... 40 Randy Lotton...... 55 1983 Charter Inductees...... 1988 Inductees...... Terry Statton...... 40 Don Mathis ...... 55 William Dean Armstrong...... 7 Clifford “Pete” Carroll...... 25 Dale Williamson...... 40 Deb Spickelmier Noble...... 56 Jack Barker...... 7 Rod Ehler...... 25 1996 Inductees...... Todd Pierce...... 56 Bob Baumann...... 8 Francis Montague...... 25 Clinton Belden...... 41 Jenifer Durbin Proud...... 56 George Bowman...... 8 1989 Inductees...... Doug Brandt...... 41 Dean Rickard...... 56 Bill Bruer...... 8 Tom Alcorn...... 26 Dale Drahota...... 41 Duane Smith...... 57 Don Burrows...... 8 Jim Hogeland...... 26 Lue Graesser...... 41 Gregg Stephens...... 57 Al (Bud) Butterfield...... 8 Dean Palser...... 26 Sheryl Myers Levi...... 42 2004 Inductees...... Paul Carroll...... 8 Pat Moore...... 27 Rick Nave...... 42 Carrie Roberts Antonovich...... 57 Glen Cheney...... 9 Mike Winchell...... 27 Kelvin Sharp...... 42 Kerry Becker...... 57 Ivan Christian...... 9 1990 Inductees...... Dale Timperley...... 42 Rod Bussinger...... 57 Nels Christiansen...... 9 Jerry Bartak...... 27 Francis Wrage...... 42 John Flynn...... 58 Lyle “Moose” Colerick...... 9 Larry Baumann...... 28 1997 Inductees...... Lisa Brott Flynn...... 58 Archie Conn...... 9 Lee Baumann...... 28 Bunny Piscka Bolden...... 43 Leonard Hawkins...... 58 Ralph Garvin...... 10 Rex Cadwallader...... 28 Bob Brown...... 43 Mike Max...... 58 Norman (Bud) Larsen...... 10 Robert Isham...... 28 Vern and Frances Chicoine...... 43 Jeff Parke...... 58 Verne Lewellen...... 10 Joe Johnson...... 28 Dean Churchill...... 44 2005 Inductees...... Louis Mantalica...... 10 Carol Bachmann Marxsen...... 28 Gene Emanuel...... 44 Steve Aggers...... 59 Harold (Pepper) Martin...... 10 Bud Murray...... 29 Duane Fritz...... 44 Corey Anderson...... 59 John McGregor...... 10 Jack Needham...... 29 Shari Fisher Kopp...... 44 Lee Crawford...... 59 LaVerne McKelvey...... 11 Gwen Reed...... 29 Dennis Schmitz...... 44 Murray Johnson...... 59 Milford “Dub” Miller...... 12 Don Reel...... 29 1998 Inductees...... David Jones...... 59 Mack Peyton...... 12 John Sides...... 30 1948 Football Team...... 45 Danny Moore...... 60 Wilmer Planansky...... 13 1991 Inductees...... 1958 Football Team ...... 45 Mary Perrien...... 60 Jim Ratelle...... 13 Bill Baker...... 30 1978 Football Team...... 46 Rick Samuels...... 60 Clinton Smith...... 13 Brad Bartlett...... 31 1999 Inductees...... 2006 Inductees...... J.C. Sollars...... 13 Rod Borders...... 31 Brad Fults...... 47 Roxie Boehm Arens ...... 61 Ralph Shipp...... 14 Marge Burkett...... 31 Ralph Gill...... 47 Scott Blachly...... 61 Ruffus Trapp...... 14 Gary Decker...... 31 Ron Hoffman...... 48 Dennis Fitzgerald...... 61 Clifford Weller...... 14 Ted Erlewine...... 31 Laurie Wickard Janicek...... 48 Jay Masek...... 61 Orin Weymouth...... 14 Bill Giles...... 31 Doug Jones...... 48 Todd McIntyre...... 61 Joe Zowada...... 14 Louis Peters...... 31 Rick Mikelson...... 48 Ted Niemann...... 62 1984 Inductees...... Tim Turman...... 32 Sam Perkins...... 48 Dr. Sam Rankin...... 62 Tom Blundell...... 15 Rick Watson...... 32 Monty Reher...... 48 Toby Spence...... 62 Earl Buckingham...... 15 1992 Inductees...... Bill Ryan...... 48 Chris Stein...... 62 William Diercks ...... 16 Paul Colgate...... 33 2000 Inductees...... 2007 Inductees...... Wes Evans...... 16 Kevin Kirwin...... 33 Don Beebe...... 49 Dean Barent...... 63 Frank Ferguson...... 16 Don Meter...... 33 Steve Coon...... 49 Bill Boness...... 63 Roy Houser...... 16 Ken Ottoson...... 33 Rick Daniels...... 50 Kail Bowman...... 63 Keith Kyser...... 17 Bill Pile...... 34 Butch Lehmkuhler...... 50 Dawn Brammer...... 63 Larry Lytle...... 17 Kathy Hanshew Runyan...... 34 Barb Zurn Rangel...... 50 Mike Sorensen...... 63 Virgil Meyer...... 17 Don Schmaderer...... 34 Phil Sanders...... 50 Josh Robinson...... 64 Guido Santero...... 17 Harry Simonton...... 34 Dick Steinke...... 50 Bob Waldner...... 64 Leo Stangle...... 17 Loy Young...... 34 Ken Thompson...... 50 2008 Inductees...... Bill Stephenson...... 18 1993 Inductees...... Bart Voycheske...... 51 Wendy Grint Alexander...... 64 Dale Tangeman...... 18 Rodney Cook...... 35 Bob Wood...... 51 Russ Anderson...... 64 Lonny Wickard...... 18 Dale Hendrickson...... 35 2001 Inductees...... Tricia Lukawski ...... 65 1985 Inductees...... Nancy Cozad Newman...... 35 Richard (Sparky) Adams...... 51 Con Marshall...... 65 Gene Alcorn...... 19 Charles McGaw...... 36 Dan Barent...... 51 David McCartney...... 65 Robert Armstrong...... 19 Ken Parks...... 36 Maureen Cooney O’Dell...... 52 Steward Perez...... 66 Richard Boness...... 20 Mike Parks...... 36 J.D. Hill...... 52 Felix Sanford...... 66 Dick Colerick...... 20 Jim Prell...... 36 Ray Hoffman...... 52 Cory Shinkle...... 66 Bennie Francis...... 20 Walt Stoeger...... 36 Randy Jarzynka...... 52 Caryn Martin Ziettlow...... 66 Larry Gold...... 20 Larry Riley...... 36 Willy Long...... 52 2009 Inductees...... Glen Groves...... 20 1994 Inductees...... 2002 Inductees...... Russ Crafton...... 67 John McLane...... 21 Randy Bauer...... 37 Dennis Breing...... 53 J.J. Feddersen...... 67 1986 Inductees...... Rick Brown...... 37 Jerry Carder...... 53 Cody Gamble...... 68 Bob Burden...... 21 Chad Emanuel...... 37 Dr. Pat Colgate...... 53 Shauna Smith Golembiewski...... 68 Morse Burley...... 21 Kevin Emanuel...... 38 Carolyn Williams Hovendick...... 53 Chad Johnson...... 68 Steve Gremm...... 22 Scott Jones...... 38 Terry Mastny...... 53 Joe Planansky...... 68 Leonard Kaiser...... 22 Michael Kinnaird...... 38 Joe McKay...... 53 Angela Woodworth Rhoades...... 68 Bob Lynch...... 22 Wanda Rainbolt...... 38 Creighton Miller...... 54 Jay Rhoades...... 69 Francis Rose ...... 22 Larry Ruzicka...... 38 Charlie Mitchell...... 54 Jason Robinson...... 69 Jim Schwartz...... 22 1995 Inductees...... Dave Smith...... 54 1987 Inductees...... Kent Halley...... 39 2003 Inductees...... Jack Dinnel...... 23 Rex Jones...... 39 Phil Haberman...... 55

3 Hall of Fame Inductions by Year The Chadron State College Athletic Hall of Fame was begun in 1983 by Ross Armstrong, long-time CSC coach and administrator. After 25 years, the list of members has grown to 210, not counting the induction of three football teams in 1998. Those teams were the 1948 team coached by Ross Armstrong, the 1958 team coached by Bill Baker and the 1978 team coached by Jerry Welch. They are the only teams that have been inducted into the Hall of Fame. The following are the inductees by year: 1983: *Ross Armstrong, William Dean Armstrong, Jack Barker, Bob Baumann, George Bowman, Bill Bruer, Don Burrows,

Al (Bud) Butterfield, Paul Carroll, Glen Cheney, Lyle Colerick, Archie Conn, Ivan Christian, Nels Christiansen, Ralph Garvin, NormanOrin Weymouth, (Bud) Larsen, Joe Zowada. Verne Lewellen, Louis Mantalica, Harold (Pepper) Martin, John McGregor, LaVerne McKelvey, Milford (Dub) 1984: Miller, *Mack Peyton, Wilmer Planansky, Jim Ratelle, Ralph Shipp, Clinton Smith, J.C. Sollars, Ruffus Trapp, Clifford Weller,

1985: Tom Blundell, Earl Buckingham, William Diercks, Wesley Evans, Frank Ferguson, Roy Houser, Keith Kyser, Larry Lytle, Virgil 1986: Meyer, Guido Santero, Leo Stangle, Bill Stephenson, Dale Tangeman, Lionel Wickard. 1987: Gene Alcorn, Robert Armstrong, Richard Boness, Dick Colerick, Bennie Francis, Larry Gold, Glen Groves, John McLane. 1988: Bob Burden, Morse Burley, Steve Gremm, Leonard Kaiser, Bob Lynch, Francis Rose, Jim Schwartz. 1989: JackTom Dinnel,Alcorn, JimJim Hampton,Hogeland, Bill Pat Savage,Moore, NormMike Winchell. Wilson. 1990: Clifford Carroll, Rod Ehler, Francis Montague, Dean Palser.

1991: Jerry Bartak, Larry Baumann, Lee Baumann, Rex Cadwallader, +Robert Isham, Joe Johnson, Carol Bachmann Marxsen, BudTurman, Murray, Rick Jack Watson. Needham, Gwen Reed, Don Reel, John Sides. 1992: *BillPaul Baker,Colgate, *Marge Kevin Burkett,Kirwan, Don*Bill Meter,Giles, BradKen Ottoson, Bartlett, BillRod Pile, Borders, Kathy Gary Hanshew Decker, Runyan, Ted Erlewine, Don Schmaderer, Louis Peters, *Harry Tim

1993: Simonton,Walt Stoeger. *Loy Young. 1994: Rodney Cook, Dale Hendrickson, Charles McGaw, Nancy Cozad Newman, Jim Prell, Ken Parks, Mike Parks, *Larry Riley,

1995: RandyKent Halley, Bauer, Rex Rick Jones, Brown, Kathy Chad Kennedy, Emanuel, Jean Kevin Fuchs Emanuel, Poythress, Scott Martee Jones, Meter Michael Pruitt, Kinnaird, Terry *WandaStatton, DaleRainbolt, Williamson. Larry Ruzicka. 1996: Fran Wrage. 1997: Clint Belden, Doug Brandt, Dale Drahota, Lue Graesser, Sheryl Myers Levi, Rick Nave, Kelvin Sharp, Dale Timperley,

1998: Bob1948, Brown, 1958 and+Vern 1978 and football +Frances teams. Chicoine, Dean Churchill, Gene Emanuel, Duane Fritz, Shari Fisher Kopp, Bunny Pisacka, 1999: Dennis Schmitz. Bill Ryan. 2000: Brad Fults, Ralph Gill, Ron Hoffman, Laurie Wickard Janicek, Doug Jones, Rick Mikelson, Sam Perkins, Monty Reher,

2001: Don Beebe, Steve Coon, Rick Daniels, Butch Lehmkuhler, Barb Zurn Rangel, Phil Sanders, Dick Steinke, Ken Thompson, Bart 2002: Voycheske, Dennis Breinig,*Bob Wood. Jerry Carder, Dr. Pat Colgate, Carolyn Williams Hovendick, Terry Mastny, Joe McKay, Creighton Miller, Charlie Mitchell, *Sparky DaveAdams, Smith Dan Barent, Maureen Cooney O’Dell, Ray Hoffman, Randy Jarzynka, Willy Long. 2003: Todd Pierce, Dean Rickard, Duane Smith, Gregg Stephens. 2004: Phil Haberman, Terry Hillman, Rich King, Randy Lotton, Don Mathis, Deb Spickelmier Noble, Jenifer Durbin Proud, Parke. 2005: Carrie Roberts Antonovich, Kerry Becker, Rod Bussinger, John Flynn, Lisa Brott Flynn, Leonard Hawkins, Mike Max, Jeff 2006: Spence, ChrisSteve Stein.Aggers, Corey Anderson, Lee Crawford, Murray Johnson, David Jones, Danny Moore, Mary Perrien, Rick Samuels. 2007: Dean Roxie Barent, Boehm Bill Arens, Boness, Scott Kail Blachly, Bowman, Dennis *Dawn Fitzgerald, Brammer, Jay Masek, Josh Robinson, Todd McIntyre, Mike Sorensen, Ted Niemann, Bob Waldner. +Dr. Sam Rankin, Toby 2008: Sanford, Cory Shinkle, Caryn Martin Ziettlow. 2009: WendyRuss Crafton, Grint Alexander, J.J. Feddersen, Russ Cody Anderson, Gamble, Tricia Shauna Lukawski, Smith Golembiewski,+Con Marshall, Chad David Johnson, McCartney, Joe Planansky,Steward Perez, Angela Felix Woodworth Rhoades, Jay Rhoades, Jason Robinson.

*CSC coaches. Brammer, Trapp, Riley and Wood also were CSC athletes. Meritorious service

+ 4 Hall of Fame Alphabetical Roster

-A- Dick Colerick...... 1985 Randy Jarzynka...... 2001 Sparky Adams...... 2001 Lyle “Moose” Colerick...... 1983 Chad Johnson...... 2009 Steve Aggers...... 2005 Pat Colgate...... 2002 Joe Johnson...... 1990 Gene Alcorn...... 1985 Paul Colgate...... 1992 Murray Johnson...... 2005 Tom Alcorn...... 1989 Archie Conn...... 1983 David Jones...... 2005 Wendy Grint Alexander...... 2008 Rod Cook...... 1993 Doug Jones...... 1999 Corey Anderson...... 2005 Steve Coon...... 2000 Scott Jones...... 1994 Russ Anderson...... 2008 Russ Crafton...... 2009 -K- Carrie Roberts Antonovich...... 2004 Lee Crawford...... 2005 Len Kaiser...... 1996 Roxie Boehm Arens...... 2006 -D- Kathy Kennedy...... 1995 Bob Armstrong...... 1985 Rick Daniels...... 2000 Rich King...... 2003 Ross Armstrong...... 1983 Gary Decker...... 1991 Mike Kinnaird...... 1994 William Dean Armstrong...... 1983 Bill Dierks...... 1994 Kevin Kirwin...... 1992 -B- Jack Dinnel...... 1987 Shari Fisher Kopp...... 1997 Bill Baker...... 1991 Dale Drahota...... 1996 Keith Kyser...... 1984 Jack Barker...... 1983 -E- -L- Jerry Bartak...... 1990 Rod Ehler...... 1988 Norman “Bud” Larsen...... 1983 Brad Bartlett...... 1991 Chad Emanuel...... 1994 Alan “Butch” Lehmkuhler...... 2000 Dan Barent...... 2001 Gene Emanuel...... 1997 Sheryl Myers Levi...... 1996 Dean Barent...... 2007 Kevin Emanuel...... 1994 Verne Lewellen...... 1983 Randy Bauer...... 1994 Ted Erlewine...... 1991 Willy Long...... 2001 Bob Baumann...... 1983 Wes Evans...... 1984 Randy Lotton...... 2003 Larry Baumann...... 1990 -F- Tricia Lukawski...... 2008 Lee Baumann...... 1990 J.J. Feddersen...... 2009 Bob Lynch...... 1986 Kerry Becker...... 2004 Frank Ferguson...... 1984 Larry Lytle...... 1984 Don Beebe...... 2000 Dennis Fitzgerald...... 2006 -M- Clint Belden...... 1996 John Flynn...... 2004 Louis Mantalica...... 1983 Scott Blachly...... 2006 Lisa Brott Flynn...... 2004 Con Marshall...... 2008 Tom Blundell...... 1984 Bennie Francis ...... 1985 Harold “Pepper” Martin...... 1983 Bill Boness...... 2007 Duane Fritz...... 1997 Carol Bachman Marxsen...... 1990 Dick Boness...... 1985 Brad Fults...... 1999 Terry Mastny...... 2002 Rod Borders...... 1991 -G- Jay Masek...... 2006 Kail Bowman...... 2007 Cody Gamble...... 2009 Don Mathis...... 2003 George Bowman...... 1983 Ralph Garvin...... 1983 Mike Max...... 2004 Dawn Brammer...... 2007 Bill Giles...... 1991 David McCartney...... 2008 Doug Brandt...... 1996 Ralph Gill...... 1999 Chuck McGaw...... 1993 Dennis Breinig...... 2002 Shauna Smith Golembiewski...... 2009 John McGregor...... 1983 Bob Brown...... 1997 Larry Gold...... 1985 Todd McIntyre...... 2006 Rick Brown...... 1994 Lue Graesser...... 1996 Joe McKay...... 2002 Bill Bruer...... 1983 Steve Gremm...... 1986 John McLane...... 1985 Earl Buckingham...... 1984 Glenn Groves...... 1985 LaVerne McKelvey...... 1983 Bob Burden...... 1986 -H- Don Meter...... 1992 Marge Burkett...... 1991 Phil Haberman...... 2003 Virgil Meyer...... 1984 Morse Burley...... 1986 Kent Halley...... 1995 Rick Mikelson...... 1999 Don Burrows...... 1983 Jim Hampton...... 1987 Creighton Miller...... 2002 Rod Bussinger...... 2004 Leonard Hawkins...... 2004 Milford “Dub” Miller...... 1983 Al “Bud” Butterfield...... 1983 Dale Hendrickson...... 1993 Charlie Mitchell...... 2002 -C- Terry Hillman...... 2003 Francis Montague...... 1988 Jerry Carder...... 2002 Ray Hoffman...... 2001 Danny Moore...... 2005 Rex Cadwallader...... 1990 Ron Hoffman...... 1999 Pat Moore...... 1989 Clifford “Pete” Carroll...... 1988 Jim Hogeland...... 1989 Bud Murray...... 1990 Paul Carroll...... 1983 Roy Houser...... 1984 -N- Glenn Cheney...... 1983 Carolyn Williams Hovendick...... 2002 Rick Nave...... 1996 Vern and Francis Chicoine...... 1997 -I- Jack Needham...... 1990 Ivan Christian...... 1983 Bob Isham...... 1990 Nancy Cozad Newman...... 1993 Nels Christiansen...... 1983 -J- Ted Niemann...... 2006 Dean Churchill...... 1997 Laurie Wickard Janicek...... 1999 Deb Spickelmeier Noble...... 2003

5 Hall of Fame Alphabetical Roster -P- Jay Rhoades...... 2009 Chris Stein...... 2006 Dean Palser...... 1988 Larry Riley...... 1993 Dick Steinke...... 2000 Jeff Parke...... 2004 Dean Rickard...... 2003 Gregg Stephens...... 2003 Ken Parks...... 1993 Jason Robinson...... 2009 Bill Stephenson...... 1984 Mike Parks...... 1993 Josh Robinson...... 2007 Walt Stoeger...... 1993 Steward Perez...... 2008 Kathy Hanshew Runyan...... 1992 -T- Mack Peyton...... 1983 Larry Ruzicka...... 1994 Ken Thompson...... 2000 Sam Perkins...... 1999 Bill Ryan...... 1999 Dale Timperley...... 1996 Mary Perrien...... 2005 -S- Ruffas Trapp...... 1983 Louis Peters...... 1991 Rick Samuels...... 2005 Tim Turman...... 1991 Todd Pierce...... 2003 Phil Sanders...... 2000 -V- Bill Pile...... 1992 Bill Savage...... 1988 Bart Voycheske...... 2000 Bunny Pisacka...... 1997 Don Schmaderer...... 1992 -W- Joe Planansky...... 2009 Dennis Schmitz...... 1997 Bob Waldner...... 2007 Wilmer Planansky...... 1983 Jim Schwartz...... 1986 Rick Watson...... 1991 Jean Fuchs Poythress...... 1999 Kelvin Sharp...... 1996 Clifford “Bub” Weller...... 1983 Jim Prell...... 1993 Cory Shinkle...... 2008 Orin Weymouth...... 1983 Martee Meter Pruitt...... 1995 Ralph Shipp...... 1983 Lonny Wickard...... 1984 Jenifer Durbin Proud...... 2003 John Sides...... 1990 Dale Williamson...... 1995 -R- Harry Simonton...... 1992 Norm Wilson...... 1987 Wanda Rainbolt...... 1994 Clinton Smith...... 1983 Mike Winchell...... 1989 Barb Zurn Rangel...... 2000 Dave Smith...... 2002 Bob Wood...... 2000 Sam Rankin...... 2006 Duane Smith...... 2003 Fran Wrage...... 1996 Jim Ratelle...... 1983 J.C. Sollars...... 1983 -Y- Gwen Reed...... 1990 Mike Sorensen...... 2007 Loy Young...... 1992 Don Reel...... 1990 Toby Spence...... 2006 -Z- Monty Reher...... 1999 Leo Stangle...... 1984 Caryn Martin Ziettlow...... 2008 Angela Woodworth Rhoades...... 2009 Terry Statton...... 1995 Joe Zowada...... 1983 Ross Armstrong - Hall of Fame founder The venerable Ross O. Armstrong had many achievements during his more than at Chadron State College. One of them was founding the Athletic Hall of Fame in 1983. Armstrong was a graduate of the University of Iowa where he played football and basketball. After coaching in high schools in Montana and Iowa, he came to Chadron State in 1933 to establish a Ross Armstrong Physical Education Department and to serve as an assistant coach. holds the He became the head basketball coach in 1935 and coached the trophies the 1947 and 1948 sport through the 1949-50 season. His basketball teams won 157 CSC football games and lost 76. During a three-year stretch just prior to World teams won as War II, his teams went 16-4, 15-3 and 17-4. The latter team (1941- conference 42) represented Nebraska at the NAIA National Tournament. The co-champions. first year after the war, with most of the same players in the lineup, the Eagles were 17-1 under Armstrong’s guidance. He became of head football coach in 1938 and directed that sport through the 1952 season. His greatest success as a football coach came in the late 1940s, when three of his teams compiled a 21-5 record. Two of them tied for conference championships. Armstrong served as the college’s athletic director 1937-70, inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame in 1965, received Chadron stepping down due to state-mandated age requirements for State’s Distinguished Service Award in 1982 and was inducted administrators. He also served as executive director of the Chadron posthumously into the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame in 1991. State Foundation from its founding in the early 1960s until his death It’s possible that no one ever associated with Chadron State was in January 1990 at age 84. more widely known or had more friends than Ross Armstrong. He In addition, Armstrong was chairman of NAIA District 11, made and his wife, Ruby, had been married for more than 50 years when up of about a dozen Nebraska colleges, for 12 years. He was she died in 1984. They had two sons, including Bob, who is also in the CSC Hall of Fame.

6 1983 Charter Inductees

These were the charter inductees into the Chadron State College Athletic Hall of Fame in 1983. In front, from left, are Dora Taylor, sister of Clinton Smith; Ross Armstrong; Ralph Shipp; Lucille Childers, sister of Orin Weymouth; Bea Miller, widow of Dub Miller; Mary Dee Peyton, widow of Mack Peyton; Paul Carroll and George Bowman. In the second row are Lyle Colerick, Jim Ratelle, Bob Baumann, Louis Mantalica, Glen Cheney, Ivan Christian, Archie Conn, J.C. Sollars, John McGregor and Dean Armstrong. In the back are Pepper Martin, Jack Barker, Bud Butterfield, Bub Larsen, Nels Christiansen, Joe Zowada, Verne Lewellen and Wilmer Planansky. William Dean Armstrong earning two Purple Hearts and three Bronze Stars that were Known as Dean, he was the younger brother of Ross given for bravery. Armstrong. He came from their home in Iowa to attend Chadron Barker earned first-team all-Nebraska College Conference State in the fall of 1936. He played both football and basketball honors in both 1948 and ’49. In ’48, he set the CSC record for for the Eagles. He was the leading scorer on the basketball team longest kickoff return for a , 82 yards against Hastings his final three years, averaging about 10 points a game during College. Sixty seasons later, that return still is the fourth longest his career. He earned all-conference in basketball in 1936 and in in CSC annals. He also was a long jumper for the CSC track and football as a senior in 1939. field team. After graduating from CSC in 1940, he taught and coached at During a 1985 interview, Gene Alcorn, one of the linemen Mountain View, Wyo., for one year before joining the Marine who blocked for Barker, called him “as good as Johnny Rodgers Air Corps. He became a flight squadron commander and was a (Nebraska winner in 1972).” combat pilot for four years during World War II and the Korean “I know that’s a strong statement, but that’s the way I feel,” War. He retired from the Marines as a lieutenant colonel. After Alcorn said. “He was terrific. He could twist and turn and lower that, he was a professor at Pepperdine University for eight years his shoulder and knock them down.” and later was a counselor in the Orange County Juvenile Hall. Alcorn added that during a game at Wayne, Barker’s He received Chadron State’s Distinguished Service Award in May teammates decided not to block for him on a punt return 1989. because they didn’t think he was showing enough appreciation for what the line was doing. Barker still carried the punt all the Jack Barker way for a touchdown, Alcorn said. Barker lived most of his adult life in California, and taught and A native of Alliance, Barker was an excellent coached at Carmichael, Calif., High School for 28 years. He died on the outstanding football teams at Chadron State in the late at age 71 in 1996. 1940s after serving as an Army paratrooper who jumped into France on D-Day on June 6, 1944. He was wounded twice,

7 Bob Baumann Baumann’s hometown of Cushing, Iowa, then served in the Army Upon the recommendation of a Chadron State graduate, during World War II. After the war ended, he taught and coached Baumann came to Chadron State after graduating from Cushing, in Iowa high schools, including 33 years at Iowa City High. Iowa, High School in 1939. He lived in Ross and Ruby Armstrong’s basement much of the time he attended CSC and did chores Bill Bruer around the house to pay his rent. Bruer is arguably the most outstanding athlete ever to come Baumann was an exceptional athlete. He was the floor general from Crawford. He lettered in football, basketball and track and sparkplug on four outstanding basketball teams at CSC. and field all three years he attended Chadron State. He was Teams he an all-conference selection at least twice in both football and played on had basketball and received All-American recognition in both sports records of before graduating in 1942. 16-4 in 1939- His football exploits included catching a touchdown pass and 40, 15-3 in then throwing a 43-yard end-around pass that set up the Eagles’ 1940-41 and other TD during a 12-9 win over the Wyoming Cowboys in 1940. 17-4 in 1941- That same season he threw another end around pass for the 42 before game’s only touchdown in a 6-0 win over Wayne State. he and his The Eagles were 48-11 during his three years as a post player teammates for the basketball teams. He led the team in scoring in 1940-41 were rushed at 14.2 points a game and again in 1941-42, when he averaged into action 12.7 points. The Eagles won the Nebraska Intercollegiate Athletic during World Conference title and represented the state at the NAIA National War II. The Tournament in City his senior year. 1941-42 team Bruer also won the shot and the discus at the conference track represented meet in 1941. Bob Baumann (center) was a charter inductee into Nebraska After the war, he was a coach, principal and superintendent the CSC Athletic Hall of Fame in 1983 while his at the NAIA of schools in Montana for about 10 years before spending eight sons Larry (left) and Lee were inducted in 1990. National years at Montana College in Dillon and 18 years as dean Tournament of students and then as a professor and division chairman at in Kansas City. While the Eagles lost 34-29, it was to San Diego Columbia Basin College at Pasco, Wash. State, the defending national champions. That was the last basketball game the Eagles played Don Burrows until 1945 after the war had ended. The ’45-’46 team that Not much is known about this charter member of the CSC included Baumann and several of the other veterans went Hall of Fame. He was from Mitchell and earned four letters in 17-1, losing only to Peru State, which got the bid for the track and two in football while at CSC before graduating in 1932. national tournament. The CSC teams he played on had a 65-12 He was the captain of the 1932 track team. Prior to serving in cumulative record. World War II, he taught and coached at Gurley, Henry and Elsie, Baumann had not played football in high school, but caught all in Nebraska. After the war, he earned a master’s degree from the winning touchdown pass during a 6-0 victory over Colorado Colorado State College (now University of Northern Colorado) State College (now University of Northern Colorado) in 1942. He and coached the freshman football team three years. He then also was the leadoff hitter and shortstop on the Chadron town taught industrial arts and vocational education for 25 years at teams sponsored by the Elks Lodge in the late 1940s and early Sidney. He was living in Denver when he was inducted into the ‘50s. Hall of Fame. Baumann and his wife, Mary “Babe”, owned and operated F&M Bootery in Chadron for about , were avid Eagles’ fans. He also was a Chadron civic leader. Their sons Larry and Lee Al (Bud) Butterfield were inducted into the CSC Athletic Hall of Fame in 1990. Bob A native of Rushville and a Marine during World War II, died in June 2004. Butterfield played football for the Eagles from 1945 through ’48, earning all-conference honors as fullback and lineman the final two seasons. The Eagles were 7-1 and 7-1-1 those two seasons. George Bowman He graduated in 1949, and spent the next 11 years as a teacher Bowman was a native of Victor, Iowa, a town not far from and coach at Torrington, Wyo. He was the Trailblazers’ head Brooklyn, Iowa, Ross Armstrong’s hometown. Armstrong football and track coach seven of those years. His football teams encouraged him to enroll at CSC. Bowman, a 5-foot-8 setshot reached the state championship game four times. artist, was the second leading scorer on CSC’s basketball teams In 1960, Butterfield and his wife moved to Dickinson, N.D., four straight years from 1936-37 to 1939-40. He scored 698 where they owned and operated a truck stop for 13 years. He points during that period, an average of about 8.5 per game. then served as the county building and zoning inspector before The Eagles had a 60-22 record those four years. His Hall of Fame being elected county superintendent of schools in 1980. induction information stated that Bowman earned all-conference honors each of his final three years with the Eagles. Following graduation, he taught and coached one year at Bob Paul Carroll Carroll was a standout on the 1920 Cambridge football team

8 that beat Omaha Commerce (soon to be called Technical High) represented Nebraska 10-0 for the state championship. Since he reportedly weighed at the NAIA National only about 120 pounds, he worked at the bakery and drug store Tournament in Kansas in his hometown for three years until he weighed 140 pounds, City, where the Eagles then enrolled at CSC in 1924. Although he started all four years lost to the eventual at CSC, he didn’t get to play in the 3-0 victory over the University champion, Southwest of Colorado that opened the 1925 season. That’s because he had Missouri State. purchased new shoes and was sidelined by blisters. After teaching Carroll earned all-conference honors three times, was captain and coaching in high of the 1926 Eagles and wrapped up his career in ’27, when they schools for a few years, went 7-2. After graduating with a degree in chemistry, Carroll Christiansen was on taught and coached at Gordon for eight years, Chadron for 15 the physical education years and Hay Springs for seven years. Although he was in his faculty at Montana Nels Christiansen gives his approval late 30s when the entered World War II, Carroll State-Billings for 38 to when his bronze was unveiled in the spent three years in the Navy. After retiring from teaching, years, including eight Montana State-Billings gymnasium. he lived in Chadron and often attended Chadron State athletic years as head track events. He seldom would be drawn into discussions about how coach and 17 years the highly-successful teams he played on would have fared as assistant basketball coach. He also officiated high school against those he watched the next seven decades. About all he and games spanning from 1948 while he was would say was “For that era, we had a real good team.” He died a student at CSC until 1991. During his career, he worked 10 in 1997 at age 94. Montana high school championship games. In addition, he was a starter at the state track meets from 1968 through 1982 and was Glen Cheney a starter at the NAIA National Track Meets in 1968 and 1972. A native of Lead, S.D., Cheney was an athlete at CSC in the The CSC Athletic Hall of Fame is one of five into which late 1920s and early ‘30s. Not much is known about his exploits. Christiansen was inducted. The others are the Montana Officials’ The form he filled out prior to his Hall of Fame induction said Association, the Montana State Golf Association, the National he earned all-conference in football three times and twice in Football Foundation for his football officiating and the one at basketball. After graduating in 1933, he returned to Lead and Montana State-Billings for his long service to the school. His worked for Homestake Mining Co. for four years. He then taught bronze bust is one of four in the lobby of the MSU-Billings and coached at Morrill before going to Rawlins, Wyo., in 1940 to gymnasium. He died July 31, 2008 at age 78. teach math, science and industrial arts and to coach. He said his 1947 football team won the Wyoming state championship and Lyle “Moose” Colerick many of the projects produced by his industrial arts students Colerick played end and was one of the outstanding football won top honors in state competition. He was on the Rawlins players on the Eagles’ excellent teams in the late 1940s. Those faculty 32 years before retiring in 1972. teams went 21-4-1 and shared two conference championships. In 1944, his first year out of high school, Colerick played football Ivan Christian at the University of Nebraska, which did not discontinue its Like several of his teammates at CSC, Christian was a native of athletic programs during World War II. He then spent two years Bayard. He was a center and an end on the Eagles’ outstanding in the Navy and worked for a year before coming to Chadron football teams in the 1920s, playing each position two years. The State. Eagles were 30-7 while he played, topped by the 3-0 win over Colerick earned all-conference honors all three years at CSC the University of Colorado and the 9-0 season in 1925. Christian and received Little All-American honorable mention his senior earned all-conference honors as a senior in 1927. year in 1949. Following a tryout, he reportedly was offered a After graduating in 1928, Christian coached at Mitchell contract to play for the Chicago Cardinals in the National Football for three years and Gering 10 years. He was then a principal League in 1951, but he did not accept. Later that year, he went or superintendent for nearly 30 years at Gering, Bayard and to work for Schlumberger Well Services and lived in several Kimball. He was president of District VI of the Nebraska State Rocky Mountain states before settling in Farmington, N.M. After Education Association in 1947 and was a Gering city councilman retiring from the firm in 1972, he opened a real estate appraisal for 10 years. business in Farmington. After he graduated from CSC, Moose and his wife, Carlyle, a native of Broadwater, were active in the Purple Passion group for more than 50 years. He died in 2006 at Nels Christiansen age 79. Christiansen was from Red Lodge., Mont., where his high school coach was Bill Bruer, also a charter inductee into the CSC Athletic Hall of Fame. Christiansen poured in 1,372 points during Archie Conn his four years on the CSC basketball team. That was the most A native of Bayard, Conn earned four letters in both football in Eagles’ history when Christiansen graduated and is still 12th and basketball at Chadron State before graduating in 1933. Not on the career scoring list. He averaged 12 points as a freshman much is known about his exploits as an athlete, but he certainly in 1948-49, 15.4 as a sophomore, 16.3 as a junior and 16.8 as was a successful teacher, coach and administrator. He is best a senior. The team his senior year in 1951-52 went 18-7 and known for coaching the Chadron State Campus Laboratory

9 School (generally referred to as Chadron Prep) basketball following spring. teams from 1947, until the high school portion closed in 1961. He had planned to enroll at CSC after graduating from high His teams compiled a 253-64 record, won 10 conference school, but World War II interrupted those plans. He became championships, nine district titles and three Class C state a staff sergeant with Patton’s 16th Armored Tank Division that championships. drove the Nazis out of eastern Europe in the spring of 1945. All of the state championship teams, in 1950, 1952 and 1955, After graduating from CSC, he taught and coached at Hay were undefeated. Conn and all three teams were inducted into Springs and Chadron. During his seven years as the Chadron the Nebraska High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2001. He also coach, his basketball teams had a 122-35 record, qualified for coached the Prep football teams six years, compiling a 28-8-2 the state tournament three times and won the Class B state record. Both the 1948 and ’49 teams were undefeated. After championship in 1960-61. He then was the Chadron Middle the entire Campus Laboratory School closed in 1964, Conn School principal two years and superintendent at Rushville five joined the education faculty at the University of South Dakota- years and at Mitchell nearly 20 years. Springfield. He received Chadron State’s Distinguished Service Lewellen has an exemplary record of service to Chadron State. Award in 1976. He died in October 1984 at age 78. He has been the leader of the Purple Passion group that is made up largely of CSC alums from the late ‘40s and meets annually at Ralph Garvin various locations in the western half of the nation. In addition, Garvin was the “other halfback” during the 1920s when he and his wife, Irma, have established scholarships to CSC that LaVerne McKelvey was the star on Chadron State football teams. are available to seniors from six Panhandle communities where He didn’t as many accolades as McKelvey, but apparently was he and his family have lived. He also has served on the board an excellent player. The Eagles were 8-1 in 1924, 9-0 in ’25, 6-4 of directors of the Chadron State Foundation and received the in ’26 and 7-2 in ’27, when he played. Garvin also earned two college’s Distinguished Service Award in 1988. letters as a sprinter on the track team. He was born in Kearney, He has also established close ties with the citizens of Plazen, but graduated from Alliance High School. He was living in Omaha Czechoslovakia, one of the towns his tank division liberated. when he died on July 31, 1984, but was buried in the Greenwood Beginning in the 1990s, he made 13 trips in the month of May to Cemetery in Chadron. His wife, Blanche, was a Chadron native. help Plazen celebrate its freedom. Norman (Bud) Larsen Louis Mantalica One of CSC’s all-time great basketball players, Larsen scored Originally from Lead, S.D., Mantalica earned all-conference 1,605 points during his four years (1949-53) at CSC for an honors in both football and basketball at Chadron State. Both average of 17 points a game. He was the Eagles’ career scoring teams won conference championships his final year in 1933. leader for 26 years before Steve Coon finally passed him. He The football team he quarterbacked was 6-1 in ’33, losing only still ranks third on the all-time list. He was the first CSC player to the University of Colorado. Mantalica graduated from Loyola to average more than 20 points a game. He did it as a senior in University School of Law in 1941. Following service in the Navy 1952-53 after averaging 18.8 the previous season. The Eagles, in World War II, he practiced law in the Los Angeles area and was led by Larsen and Nels Christiansen, represented Nebraska at the involved in many civic activities. He received CSC’s Distinguished NAIA National Tournament in 1951-52. A native of Springview, Service Award in 1985. where he now lives, Larsen was a three-time all-conference selection at CSC and was a second-team All-American his senior Harold (Pepper) Martin year. Martin, a native of Mitchell, was a three-time all-conference After graduating, Larsen coached Valentine and Alliance lineman for the Eagles on the great teams in the late 1940s. basketball teams that reached the state tournament. He later He also received honorable mention All-American honors one was an administrator at several Nebraska schools and the Pine season and participated in track and field. One of his teammates, Ridge Job Corps Center. Another of his life-long interests has Verne Lewellen, called Martin “a really tough guy.” been raising and racing thoroughbreds. His horses ran on nearly After graduating in 1950, Martin taught and coached at all the tracks in the Midwest and in Arizona. He was selected as Rushville for four years. His football teams had a 22-game Nebraska’s Thoroughbred Breeder of the Year in 1984. His wife, winning streak. The 1951 team went 8-0 and averaged 51 points Marilyn, is from Chadron. a game. Martin was a teacher and coach for five years at Carson City, Nev., before spending the next 22 years as a teacher in Verne Lewellen Reno, Nev. Martin and his wife, Helen, also owned a couple of He played halfback on offense and in the secondary on businesses in Reno before they retired in 1983. defense for the great Chadron State football teams of the late 1940s. A highlight occurred in the final game of his career on John McGregor Thanksgiving Day 1949, when he intercepted four passes while He may be the only athlete in Chadron State history who was playing in the Bean Bowl in Scottsbluff against Idaho State. Only recruited by the college’s president. It occurred in the summer one CSC player, Keven Logan in 1985, has ever matched that feat. of 1931. McGregor had completed two years at Wentworth Lewellen is a native of Minatare where he played on the Military Academy in Missouri and was planning to attend the football team that was accorded the Class C state championship University of Wyoming. His father had recently been named the and an all-class top 10 ranking his senior year in 1941. He was Bureau of Indian Affairs superintendent on the Pine Ridge Indian a member of the track team that tied for the state title the Reservation.

10 Late in the summer, the father and son decided to stay overnight in Chadron while en route to Laramie. From their vantage point in the Blaine Hotel downtown, they noticed footballs in the air at the south end of town and went to investigate. The Eagles were practicing. When the McGregors arrived on campus to watch, they were approached by CSC President Robert Elliott, who, as was his custom, was attending practice. Elliott told the McGregors that Chadron State was a fine school and said John should attend it. His father thought that was a good idea since it was close to the family’s new home in Pine Ridge. They went to the Western Union office in Chadron and sent a telegram to Wentworth requesting that a transcript be sent to the registrar at CSC. They also wired Wyoming that John would not be attending there. McGregor played both football and basketball at CSC. He earned all-conference honors in basketball both years he played and was the Nebraska Intercollegiate Athletic Association’s scoring champion on the CSC 17-4 basketball team his senior year in 1932-33. He also was the college’s intramurals champion in tennis. After graduating, he coached at Batesland, S.D., before LaVerne McKelvey working in several Civilian Conservation Corps camps. He was an Army officer during both World War II and the Korean War and College 3-0. He also kicked a 20-yard and returned an later was a supervisor for the U.S. Postal Service in Seattle. He interception 50 yards during a 10-10 tie with Peru State in the and his wife bequeathed $10,000 to both the CSC Rodeo Club season finale that left the Eagles with a 7-0-1 record. He also and the Mari Sandoz High Plains Heritage Center. kicked a field goal, scored a touchdown and was credited with an 80-yard punt against Kearney. LaVerne McKelvey In 1924, the Chadron Journal, while reporting on the all-state McKelvey has long been recognized as one of Chadron State’s team, simply said, “McKelvey, a brilliant, versatile halfback of all-time great football players. He was a triple-threat who earned unquestioned ability, (was) placed on the first team as a matter all-conference honors all five years (yes, five) that he played at of course.” CSC. The Eagles were 24-1-1 and outscored their opponents The Eagles went 9-0-0 in 1925. They opened the season with 670-55 during the final three years he played for them. the monumental 3-0 victory over the University of Colorado in Listed at 5-foot-8, 175 pounds, McKelvey also helped hand the Boulder, thanks to McKelvey’s field goal. He also drop-kicked Eagles a loss. That was in 1919 when he was a junior at Bayard field goals against both Wayne State and Hastings and had a High School. The Tigers had beaten Sidney for the western 50-yard touchdown run against South Dakota Tech. Nebraska high school championship the previous week and then In his final game, CSC defeated Peru State 13-3 with beat the Eagles 3-0 on McKelvey’s field goal. After the game, McKelvey scoring all 13 points. He returned a punt 55 yards for CSC officials persuaded McKelvey and teammate Ruffus Trapp, a a touchdown, added the extra point and then booted 24 and standout lineman, to join the Eagles once they completed high 30-yard field goals. He also had an 80-yard punt, the game-story school. reported. The number of yards and that McKelvey At the end of the season, the Journal sportwriter said: accumulated are not known. Game stories in those days seldom “McKelvey, unquestionably the outstanding Eagle player, included such details. For example, the story on the 94-0 win exemplified throughout the season the boundless possibilities over Nebraska Central in 1923 said only that “McKelvey collected of the triple threat. Yet even more conspicious than his running an impressive array of touchdowns.” ability was the kicking of the Eagle . If he had been But he definitely helped the Eagles fly high. In his first season, unable to gain a yard—and he gained many of them—the he caught a pass for a touchdown and kicked the extra point as punting of McKelvey stamped him as a star of outstanding CSC edged Black Hills State 7-6. Against Nebraska Wesleyan, he magnitude.” returned the opening kickoff 75 yards for a TD and kicked a field Not much is known about McKelvey after his football career goal. That same season, he returned an interception 70 yards ended. He apparently had a successful real estate and insurance against Kearney State. business in Chadron for a few years, but died before he had In 1922, McKelvey ran 40 yards for a touchdown against reached middle age. He received a long-overdue honor in 2000 Kearney, had touchdown runs of 20, 35 and 70 yards against when he was inducted into the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame. Black Hills, kicked three field goals in the 9-0 win over South Dakota Tech and scored two TDs and booted a field goal against Wayne State His heroics in 1923 included a dropkicked field goal from the 40-yard line that defeated “seemingly invincible” Grand Island

11 Milford “Dub” Miller Long regarded as one of the Eagles’ all-time great athletes, Miller not only starred in football and basketball for the Eagles, but also played in the line for two teams for three years before a knee injury ended his career. Miller, who was 6-foot-2, 225 pounds while playing for the Eagles, moved from Litchfield, Neb., to Crawford in 1929 and helped the Rams go undefeated in football that fall. After skipping school for a year, he enrolled at Chadron State in 1931, where he crashed the football team’s starting lineup early in the season by bumping a senior. He made the all-conference team all four years at CSC. At the end of his college career, the Chadron Chronicle reported that he had been on every all-opponent team chosen by the Eagles’ opponents. Miller helped the Eagles win the conference football championship in 1933 in both basketball and football. The CSC football team lost only to the University of Colorado that season and went 6-2 his senior year in ’34. As his college career was winding down, Miller was contacted Dub Miller, left, studies the plaque he was given by Mack Peyton. by Brooklyn in what would become the NFL. Ruffus Trapp, the Miller’s plaque honored him for his pro football career. He was the CSC head coach, reportedly told Miller that if the pros were first CSC professional football player. interested in him he might as well play for the Peyton was a three-year starter in both baseball and basketball since they were the world champions. for the Cowboys. He led the baseball team in hitting all three “So I wrote to them, they offered me a contract and I took it,” years and was captain of the basketball team two years. In 1949, Miller said during an interview in the early 1970s. His salary was at age 25, he signed a bonus contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers. $100 a game his rookie year in 1935. He got a $10 per game But after playing in the minors two years, he turned to coaching. raise the next year. He launched his career in education at Rock Springs High Miller recalled that there were three tackles on the Bears’ School in Wyoming, where his first basketball team won the 28-man roster his rookie year and they played both offense and state championship and seven of his nine teams finished among defense. He said he played as much as the other two. In the next the top four at the state tournament. His career record at to last game his rookie year, Miller suffered a knee injury that Rock Springs was 202-56. He left there in 1958 to become the would cut short his pro career. basketball coach at Military Institute. He came to After the knee was reinjured early in 1936, Miller was traded Chadron State in 1960. to the cross-town Chicago Cardinals. He related that his leg was Peyton coached the CSC baseball teams for 10 years and so heavily taped the remainder of the season that he could the basketball teams for 14 years. His 190-159 record as the hardly bend it. He was forced to quit before the season ended, basketball coach makes him both the winninest and losingest after being hit so hard that the tape tore in two. coach in school history. Nine of his teams won more games Miller returned to the Cardinals and played all of the 1937 than they lost. His best team was the 1966-67 quintet that season, but he said the game was no longer fun because the finished 22-6 and represented Nebraska at the NAIA National injury hampered his mobility. After the season, the Cardinals Tournament. The Eagles were 19-5 the previous year and 18-5 offered to renew Miller’s contract, but at the same time the following year. He was twice named Nebraska’s small college recommended he give up football while he could still walk. He coach-of-the-year. took their advice. He walked with a limp the rest of his life. In 1970 when Ross Armstrong became 65 and was forced to Miller served in Europe during World War II. He owned and step down from administrative posts, Peyton succeeded him operated a tavern in Chadron for more than 30 years prior to his as the CSC athletic director. Peyton also replaced Armstrong as death in April 1981. He was inducted into the Nebraska Football chairman of NAIA District 11 that was made up of about a dozen Hall of Fame in 2004. Nebraska schools. Peyton was an improvisor and a worker. He founded the Mack Peyton college’s outdoor education program that included sixth-grade Peyton was a long-time baseball and basketball coach and camps that were annually attended by more than 1,200 students athletic director at Chadron State. His untimely death in 1980 from area schools in the late ‘60s and ‘70s. During the summers following a heart attack was a jolt to the college. in that era, he also led a 10-day stay for college students in the After graduating from high school at Richmond, Ind., Peyton Wind River Mountains of Wyoming. received a basketball scholarship to Indiana University, where he He helped put Chadron State on the map by founding and spent his freshman year, just as the United States was becoming directing the CSC Holiday Basketball Tournament that utilized involved in World War II. He spent the next 46 months in the Chadron’s three gymnasiums and became the nation’s largest. Army. He was stationed in Casper part of that time, and that’s At its peak, it featured 16 college and 32 high school teams and a why he enrolled at the University of Wyoming when the war total of 72 games over a three-day span. ended. His widow, Mary Dee, lives in Lexington.

12 Wilmer Planansky Ratelle’s employment record was similar to his football A native of Hemingford, Planansky was only 16 and had just experience. After graduating from CSC, he moved to California $15 when he came to Chadron State in 1936. Years later he and took what was supposed to be a temporary job with recalled that he needed 10 more dollars to pay his bills. He was Compressor Services Co. , which had a handful of employees about to head back home when Ross Armstrong loaned him the who produced and sold compressors. When he retired 40 years money he needed to stay in school. later he was vice president of operations and the firm had 90 Planansky was a four-year starter in both football and employees. basketball for the Eagles. He also earned two letters in track and field as a high jumper, pole vaulter, javelin thrower and Clinton Smith the anchor on the mile relay team. In 2008, he said basketball Smith was an outstanding center on several of the Eagles’ was probably his best sport. The Eagles were 60-22 during great teams in the 1920s. He earned all-conference honors in his basketball career. He also was an officer in several college both 1924 and 1925 and was captain of the undefeated ’25 organizations, was named to “Who’s Who” and earned a private team that beat the University of Colorado 3-0. Like several of his pilot’s license through the Civilian Pilot Program at the Chadron teammates, he is credited with lettering in football five years. airport while he was attending CSC. During the 50-year reunion of the 1925 team, Smith related After teaching and coaching one year at Bridgeport, Planansky that when he showed the trophy the Eagles had won for being went to the University of Wyoming for more flight training and conference champions to Robert Elliott, the college president airplane mechanical training. He then spent three years in the remarked, “And, just think, that didn’t cost us a dime.” Navy. “I wanted to hit him over the head with it,” Smith said. “We Beginning in 1947, Planansky was a physical education had sweat blood to win that trophy.” instructor at El Monte School District in California until retiring There’s more to the story about Smith’s contribution to the in 1980. The school system was one of California’s largest, and athletic legacy of Chadron State. he gained widespread recognition for developing an exemplary Smith was born in Crawford, but his family moved to Chadron intramural program that school administrators said improved when he was a youth. He apparently robbed an eagles’ nest and discipline and raised the morale among the students. He kept one of the eaglets as a pet. As the bird grew, legend has it received the coveted Golden Apple Award. He also gave many that he took it to the Chadron State football games. Pretty soon, years of service to his church and helped with Special Olympics. the bird was adopted as the team’s mascot and people started Golf is another of Planansky’s passions. Well into his 80s, he calling Chadron State “the Eagles.” and his wife, Bobbi, returned several times to western Nebraska Shortly after graduating from CSC, Smith moved to Grand to visit relatives and so Wilmer could play in the Don Beebe Golf Junction, Colo., where he established a thriving insurance agency Classic at CSC. and was a community leader.

Jim Ratelle J.C. Sollars Ratelle beat the odds to become a standout football player Sollars was one of a handful of traditional-age college students for the Eagles. Before he enrolled at Chadron State in the fall to play on the outstanding football teams that Ross Armstrong of 1946, his only experience with the sport had come seven coached in the late 1940s. The others were World War II years earlier when as a high school freshman he played six-man veterans who were at least five or six years older than Sollars. football at Glenrock, Wyo. , and loved the game. A native of Riverton, Wyo., Sollars recalled in a 2001 interview “I loved to hit. I guess that was the caveman in me,” he said that as a freshman in 1947, he was terribly homesick and might But next year, Ratelle’s family moved to Long Beach, Calif., and not have remained in college if his name hadn’t been on the list he was cut from the football teams at two large high schools, to travel to Rapid City to play South Dakota Mines in the season- dropped out of school and joined the Navy as soon as possible opener. He said he had never practiced with the first-team when the U.S. became involved in World War II. He spent the during the preseason, but just before the game he learned that next four years going through some hair-raising experiences on he would start at both offensive guard and either linebacker or submarines. defensive tackle, depending on which defense the Eagles used. A few months after he was discharged from the Navy in March Sollars said his status apparently changed because a teammate 1946, Ratelle received a call from a cousin, Harold Reid, who was injured in practice just prior to the game. was attending Chadron State. Reid had told Ross Armstrong That was the first of 37 consecutive games that Sollars started about Ratelle’s interest in playing football despite his lack of during his four years on the team. He was the only Chadron experience. Armstrong said he was welcome to use his GI bill to State football player to earn first-team all-conference honors enroll at CSC and try out for the team. four times during the post-World War II era until Marvin Jackson Ratelle recalled in a 2004 interview that he had no idea what and Danny Woodhead accomplished that in the 2000s. position he wanted to play. But midway through the ’46 season As a senior in 1950, Sollars also was selected as the Nebraska when the Eagles’ starting center got hurt, Ratelle took over. He College Conference’s outstanding lineman, was listed by Sport also played linebacker. He shared playing time with another WWII Magazine as one of the top 40 offensive guards in the nation veteran, Bob Burden, in 1947 and filled both positions in 1948 and regardless of the size of school where they played and was ’49. He earned all-conference as a senior. The CSC yearbook called named to Tom Harmon’s Little All-American team. him “The hardest hitting linebacker in the conference” and he was For 52 years, Sollars also owned the CSC record for longest the Eagles’ nominee for lineman of the year. return of a for 52 years after rambling 68 yards for a

13 touchdown against Peru State as a freshman. hopes of playing at the University of Washington. While he After graduating in 1951, Sollars spent 44 months in the Army, practiced with the Huskies and learned to run interference as a including two years as an artillery commander in Korea. He then pulling guard, he ran out of money and returned home before returned to Wyoming and taught, coached and was principal he had played in a game. He enrolled at Chadron State in 1925 at Morton, was director of federal programs on the Wind River and started every game at guard the next four years. During Reservation, director of instruction at Wyoming Indian High an interview in 1991, he said that he and nine of the other 10 School and owned an insurance agency in Lander. starters played the entire 60 minutes in his first college game, the fabled 3-0 victory over Colorado. He earned all-conference Ralph Shipp honors three times and was the team captain his senior year in Shipp was a farm boy from the Hay Springs area. He attended 1928. high school at the Nebraska School of Agriculture at Curtis, “I wasn’t particularly fast, but I was quick and knew what to graduating in 1919. He worked in a store in Hay Springs the do. Very seldom did I get beat,” he said during the interview. following year, then enrolled at Chadron State in the fall of 1920 After graduating in 1929, he took a teaching and coaching job after obtaining a job as the “soda squirt” at the Corner Drug at Riverton, Wyo. He said his annual salary of $1,600 was the Store in downtown Chadron. highest any first-year teacher from CSC received that year. While Shipp said he made the Chadron State football team by at Riverton, he earned a master’s degree from the University tackling the coach, who was Ralph West. He stated that after of Wyoming and later served as superintendent at Moorcroft, CSC was defeated 33-0 by South Dakota Mines in the season Manville, Veteran and Yoder in Wyoming. opener, Coach West was trying to teach his backs how to block. To demonstrate, West took over at quarterback during practice. Orin Weymouth On two consecutive plays Shipp, who was at defensive end, Weymouth was a native of Chadron who was a pioneer in avoided the blockers and made hard tackles on the coach. After more ways than one. Biographical information says that he the second one, West got up and said, “Shipp, anyone who can homesteaded in Wyoming. It’s also believed that he was the tackle like that can play end.” player-coach on CSC football teams in 1915 and ’16, but the So he started at end all four years and earned all-conference only games on record those years were against Alliance High. honors in 1923, when the Eagles won seven straight before tying Alliance won once, CSC won once and the other was a 12-12 tie. Peru State 10-10 in the season finale. He served in the Army during World War I and then returned After coaching one year at Gordon, and eight years at Agra, to college. The Eagles’ letterman’s book lists Weymouth as a Kan., Shipp spent most of his career working for the Soil football letterman in 1919 and ’20, when CSC played a total of 12 Conservation Service. He and his wife, Claire, were living in games, winning half of them. He graduated in 1925. Boulder, Colo., when he died in July 1996. Ross Armstrong wrote that Weymouth was “given credit for keeping football alive in the early years of the college.” Ruffus Trapp Weymouth lived most of his adult life in Sidney. He went there Trapp was LaVerne McKelvey’s teammate on the Bayard High as a coach and was superintendent of schools for 37 years. The School football team that defeated Chadron State 3-0 in 1919. football field at Sidney is named in his honor. After they graduated in 1921, they came to Chadron State and helped the Eagles become a gridiron power. Trapp was Joe Zowada a lineman, who, according to available records, was a three- Zowada was a bruising fullback and linebacker who came time all-conference choice. He was another five-year football to Chadron State from Sheridan, Wyo., in the fall of 1949. He letterman and also lettered four times in basketball and three rushed for 2,390 yards during the next four years. This mark times in track and field. stood for 35 years before David Jones broke it in the late 1980s. In 1930, Trapp became the Eagles’ coach in all sports. He He was an all-state and all-conference selection in 1951 and ’52 remained the basketball coach through the 1934-35 and the and was selected the Eagles’ most valuable player as a senior football coach through 1937. Ross Armstrong succeeded him in in ’52. Zowada also had a long list of student achievements, both sports. Trapp’s main claim to fame as a coach was winning including freshman class president, student council member, both the conference basketball and football championships Who’s Who Among American College and University Students during the 1933 calendar year. The 1932-33 basketball team and selection as an American College Student Leader in 1953. went 17-4 and the football team was 6-1 the next fall. After teaching in Nebraska a couple of years, he returned to his hometown, where his business ventures included owning a Clifford Weller plumbing business and a motel. Football was a passion for Weller. He loved the game all of his life, and he lived to be nearly 90. He was born in Illinois and lived in Indiana until his family moved to western Nebraska in the early 1920s when his father helped develop Lake Minatare. The family lived in Minatare, but the high school there did not have a football team, so he attended Scottsbluff High in the fall of 1923 so he could play the Joe Zowada, left, congratu- sport. That was his only year of high school football. lates David Jones after Jones In the summer of 1924, Weller went to Seattle by train in broke Zowada’s career rushing record in 1990. 14 1984 Inductees

These standouts made up the second group of inductees into the Chadron State Athletic Hall of Fame in 1984. In front. from left, are Dale Tangeman, Bill Stephenson, Bill Dierks, Earl Buckingham and Wes Evans. In the back are Frank Ferguson, Keith Kyser, Tom Blundell, Virgil Meyer, Guido Santero, Lonny Wickard and Larry Lytle. Tom Blundell He was married to two women from Chadron. His first wife Blundell was a member of the Chadron High School’s was the late Marlene Rasmussen Blundell. He then married undefeated football team his senior year in 1954 and won the Janice Knox, who was the CSC homecoming queen in 1956. Class B low hurdles at the state track meet the following spring. He continued to excel in both sports at Chadron State. He was Earl Buckingham a standout end on the Eagles’ undefeated football team in A great American success story is connected with Earl 1958, when he received the Carricker Award as the Outstanding Buckingham and his siblings. Nine of the 10 who lived to Lineman in the Nebraska College Conference and was a second- adulthood attended Chadron State or its Campus Laboratory team NAIA All-American. In track, he won the high hurdles Schools during the 1920s and ‘30s. They moved to the Morrill at the Nebraska State College Meet three times and the low area in a covered wagon in 1905 and lived in a two-room hurdles once. He set the meet record of 14.9 seconds in the tarpaper shack. But they were an enterprising family and all of 120-yard highs at the Corn Palace Relays his senior year. them became well-to-do. Besides his athletic achievements, Blundell also was an Earl was the oldest boy. He played football for the Eagles in outstanding student, was a member of the debate squad, had 1924, ’25, ’28 and ’29. A big person, particularly for that era, he leads in several drama productions and was the CSC Ivy Day played fullback and tackle. Those teams had a 30-4 record. He orator his senior year. was an all-conference choice twice. He also lettered in basketball Blundell earned a master’s degree in English at the University each of those years. of Arkansas in 1960 and joined the Navy, where he commanded In addition, he found time to drive a taxicab and he and a two ships and was an officer ashore in intelligence, command friend purchased a filling station in Chadron. It’s also reported and control and strategic planning. One of his assignments was that he bought an old bus and transported the CSC football team at the NATO headquarters in Oslo. Following his discharge, he to its away games one season. Paul Carroll, who was a player in taught English at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas for several that era, once remarked, “What a deal that was.” years. He died Oct. 12, 1996 in Las Vegas. After leaving CSC in 1930, Buckingham wanted to teach and

15 coach, but the Great Depression was lurking and he couldn’t Evans earned all-conference honors his final three years at find a job. Thus, he borrowed money, bought a truck and began CSC and then had a remarkable coaching career at Bridgeport, hauling freight in all directions. He is said to have brought Torrington, Wyo., and his alma mater, Rapid City High. During the first load of produce from Denver to the Safeway Store in his seven years at Torrington, his football teams went 43-12 and Chadron when it opened in 1931. He also obtained the first never lost a conference game. After spending three years in the permit to haul freight between Denver and Los Angeles. Other Navy during World War II, Evans was recruited to become the family members joined the fledgling firm and Buckingham Rapid City football coach. During a four-year stretch beginning Freightlines and then United Buckingham eventually had in 1948, his teams went 30-1-1. He never had a losing season at 1,300 employees and served 29 states. It became the thrust Torrington or Rapid City. for numerous other business ventures. In their heyday, the Buckinghams were involved in 22 partnerships and Earl served a Frank Ferguson term as president of the American Trucking Association. Ferguson came to Chadron State in the fall of 1955 with the Earl and his brother, Harold, were presented Distinguished help of a track scholarship to run middle distances. The next Service Awards by CSC in May 1987. spring, he set the school record of 50.3 in the 440 while placing third at the Nebraska College Conference Meet. Late that season, William Diercks he outran the team’s sprinters during practice and almost never A rangy athlete, Diercks lettered in all three sports that ran the 440 again except on relays. Chadron State offered in his era. A graduate of Hay Springs High, As a sophomore, Ferguson won the 100-yard dash in 10.2 he enrolled at Chadron State in the fall of 1942. World War II was seconds at the conference meet. Teammate Virgil Meyer edged heating up and the Eagles played five football games and two Ferguson in the 100 and 220 much of the time the next two basketball games that year before nearly all the men on campus years, but Ferguson joined fellow hall of famers Dick Boness, were drafted or enlisted in the military and all athletics ceased Keith Kyser and Meyer along with Jerry Chapin to give the Eagles until 1945. CSC records show that Diercks also played football in some outstanding relay teams. Their best time of 42.7 in the 1946, 1949 and ’50, was on the basketball team in 1946-47 and 440-yard relay wasn’t broken until 1995 and their time of 1:29.1 1949-50 and earned a letter throwing the shot in 1950. in the 880-yard relay lasted until 2004. The 880-yard relay team After graduating at CSC, Diercks taught and coached at placed third at the NAIA National Meet his senior year in 1959. Sargent, Neb., for a couple of years, but spent most his career in In addition, their time of 3:22.8 in the mile relay in 1958 was a schools in northern Wyoming. He started the football program at conference record and is still the seventh best in Chadron State Manderson High School in 1956 and later was the principal there history when converted from yards to meters. several years and the superintendent for 15 years. During that After graduating from Chadron State in 1959, Ferguson taught period, Manderson merged with Hyatteville to form Riverside and coached at Gordon for seven years before returning to his High School. He retired in 1981 and died in 1991. alma mater to teach math in 1967. He earned a doctorate in He was one of at least four Eagles who thought so much of 1972 and remained at CSC through 1998. During that tenure their coach at CSC, Ross Armstrong, that they named a son after his was director of Adult and Continuing Education seven years, him. The others included Gene Alcorn, Bob Burden and Bill chairman of the Division of Science and Mathematics three years Stephenson. and had an outstanding record for service. He was the college’s faculty athletic representative for 32 years, was a sponsor of Wes Evans Blue Key National Honor Society for 30 years and chairman or Although Evans had been a standout quarterback/blocking co-chairman of the scholastic contest for about 25 years. He and back at Rapid City High School during the 1920s and “desperately his wife, Sandy, also a CSC graduate, live in his hometown of Hot wanted to play football” in college, he was not recruited by Springs, S.D. college coaches. That’s because he weighed just 120 pounds. But when Chadron State Coach Art Stark came to Rapid City to Roy Houser recruit runningback Albert “Babe” Stangle, who, in Evans’ words A native of Mitchell where he was a member of some “weighed about 185 and could run,” Stangle said he wouldn’t dominant teams in the mid-1930s, Houser may have been the come to Chadron State unless Evans, his best friend, could come only combination football lineman and distance runner in CSC along. annals. He reportedly started four years at center for the Eagles’ Stangle also became good college player, but Evans’ versatility football teams beginning in 1937. He also won the two-mile at and intelligence made him the perfect fit for the Notre Dame the Nebraska Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Meet in 1940 box, or Rockne shift, offense that Stark installed. His duties in 10:42.2 and was the runner-up the next year. Ross Armstrong included calling the plays, barking the signals and blocking after said he thought Houser also won the race at the 1939 meet, but the ball was snapped to the tailback. Once in a while, Evans that was never confirmed. recalled during a 1992 interview, he took the snap and threw a Houser’s brother, George, also was a distance runner for the short pop pass or handed off the ball. Also, he’d sometimes fake Eagles in the same era. He won the mile at the conference meet that he was going to block and slither into the open to catch a in 1940 in 4:45.2 and was second the following year. He wanted pass from the tailback. to play football, too, but said he couldn’t afford it. That’s because Most of the time the offense worked well. The Eagles were 5-2 Roy was one of the college’s student-janitors, a job that paid $15 in 1928 and 8-1 in ’29 under Stark before he left and was replaced a month, enough to cover his board and room. But CSC rules said by Ruffus Trapp. They were 5-2 and 3-4 the next two years. just one member of a family could hold one of the lucrative jobs

16 at a time, so George had to find work off-campus and couldn’t fit football into his schedule. In his later years, Roy he owned several electric razor sales and service outlets in California. He died in June 1984, just a few months before he was inducted into the Hall of Fame. Keith Kyser As a child, Kyser developed rickets, a disease which prevents bones from maturing properly. His mother thought he would never walk. His parents took him to the Mayo Clinic, where they were told to give him large doses of cod liver oil. It paid off. As a senior at Hay Springs High School in 1955, Kyser won the long jump and the 220-yard dash and placed second in the 100 at the state track meet to score enough points for the Hawks to tie for the Class C state championship. There were 128 schools in the class that year. Kyser continued to excel as a sprinter and long jumper at Chadron State. He nearly always placed high in both events and ran on some superb relay teams. He finished seventh in the finals of the 220 at the NAIA National Meet in 1958 and had collegiate These sprinters won numerous races during the late 1950s for the bests of 9.7 in the 100 and 21.7 in the 220. His long jumping Eagles. They are, from left, Virgil Meyer, Frank Ferguson, Keith exploits included setting the record of 22-4 ½ at the Midland Kyser and Dick Boness. This photo was taken after they had won Relays in 1958 and stretching it to 22-6 ¾ the following year. both the 880 and mile relays at the Nebraska College Conference Kyser also was a highly successful coach, leading track and Meet in 1958. All four are in the CSC Athletic Hall of Fame. field teams to state championships at Akron, Colo., Alliance and when the race was run on the straightaway. He also set the Pine Bluffs, Wyo. Several of his teams at Kemmerer, Wyo., his last school record of 9.7 in the 100 and ran wind-aided times of 9.5 coaching stop, placed second or third. and 21.2 as a senior. Besides running track, Meyer was a wingback and defensive Larry Lytle back on the Eagles’ undefeated football team in 1958 and the Although he was born and raised on a ranch at Wasta, S.D., 1959 team that went 6-2. He earned all-conference honors on Lytle enrolled at Chadron Prep as a high school senior and defense in 1959, and also led the Eagles in scoring when he helped the Junior Eagles go 27-0 and win the Class C state caught nine passes for 165 yards and turned six of them into basketball championship in 1951-52. He then played four years touchdowns. After teaching and coaching for several years, at Chadron State. He was the team’s leading scorer in both Meyer was in the farm implement business in Gothenburg for 32 1954-55 and 1955-56, when he averaged 13.2 and 17.1 points, years prior to his death in June 2005. respectively. The Eagles were 19-6 and 16-5 those years and he earned all-conference honors both times. Guido Santero Lytle finished his career with 1,093 points, third high on the A native of Lewellen, Santero was the leading rusher on the college’s all-time list at that time behind only Bud Larsen and Eagles’ undefeated football team in 1958. He carried the ball Nels Christiansen. 117 times for 807 yards, an average of 6.9 yards, and scored 13 After teaching and coaching two years and serving in the touchdowns. At the end of the season, he was named to the Army, Lytle graduated from the University of Nebraska Dental Nebraska College Conference first-team as well as to the all- College in 1964, and practiced dentistry in Rapid City, S.D. He state college teams selected by both the Lincoln Journal and the also earned a degree in nutrition and became a leader in several Omaha World-Herald. organizations and a spokeman on various dental techniques and The following season, Santero was the Eagles’ leading rusher nutrition. All three of his children graduated from CSC. with 113 carries for 485 yards and completed 20 of 40 passes for 360 yards and seven TDs. Virgil Meyer Nicknamed “Quicko,” Santero also earned a letter in basketball One of Chadron State’s all-time great sprinters, Meyer won in 1958-59. After teaching one year at Sioux County High School both the 100 and 220-yard dashes at the Nebraska College in Harrison, Santero entered the insurance field and owns an Conference Meets in 1958 and ’59 and also ran on the winning agency in the Kansas City area. 880-yard relay both years. The relay team, which also included Frank Ferguson, Jerry Chapin and Keith Kyser, placed third at the Leo Stangle NAIA National Meet in 1959. He also was sixth in the 220 at the The Eagles’ 3-0 victory over the University of Colorado in national meet that year. 1925 caught Stangle’s attention. He was a senior at Rapid City A native of Bertrand, Meyer was second in both sprints at the High School that year and wanted to play college football. “I conference meet his senior year in 1960, but his times of 10.0 and knew Chadron must have a pretty good team if they could beat 21.9 were identical to those of the winner, Clinton Skinner of Doane. Colorado,” Stangle said in a 1995 interview. Meyer set the NCC record of 21.7 seconds in the 220 in 1959, CSC Coach Roy Wynne offered him a scholarship that was a

17 job as janitor in the Administration Building for 45 cents an hour. and was an administrator at Provo High near Edgemont, S.D., That, Stangle said, was enough to pay the bills because meals and at Kimball. He later was a principal at Carey Junior High in in the college cafeteria cost $5 a week and his room was $5 a Cheyenne, Wyo., for more than 20 years. In addition, he refereed month. at the Wyoming State Basketball Tournament 13 years in a row But Stangle’s initial stay at Chadron State was short. He was and was a football official. homesick and dropped out of college before the 1926 football season was completed. The following year, he went to the Lonny Wickard University of Minnesota in hopes of playing football for the The boot-tough Wickard was one of the mainstays of Chadron Gophers, but decided the school was too big and returned to State’s undefeated football team of 1958, starring on both Chadron State. offense and defense and also doing the punting if that became He was ineligible for the 1927 season, but started at blocking necessary. back in 1928 and was an all-conference offensive guard his final Wickard is a native of Minatare, where the football teams year in ’29. The Eagles had a 12-3 combined record those years. he played on lost just three games his final three years of high After graduating in 1930, Stangle was hired to teach and coach school. He initially enrolled at Scottsbluff Junior College. Soon in Valentine, where he remained for five years before moving to afterwards, he was drafted into the Army during the Korean Scottsbluff as the basketball coach. War, but spent most of his two-year hitch in Alaska. After his In 1940-41, Scottsbluff went 26-0 and won the state Class A discharge, he returned to the junior college and was an all- state championship. Shortly after the season ended, Stangle conference end on the football team in 1956, his second year enlisted in the Army despite being 36 years old. After serving there. four years during World War II, he returned to Scottsbluff and In 1958 when Wickard was a senior, Coach Bill Baker switched took the 1947 and ’48 basketball teams to the state tourney. the Eagles to the single-wing. Wickard was the quarterback, but He became the school’s athletic director in 1949 and had the had a different assignment than today’s . He called position until retiring in 1972. the signals, but did more blocking than ballhandling or passing. Leo and his wife moved to Estes Park, Colo., in 1975, but The snap from center usually went to the tailback, who often he returned to Scottsbluff shortly after her death in 1995. He followed the quarterback and guards through the hole. was still mentally and physically sharp at age 95 when his 1941 At the end of the 8-0 season, Wickard was first-team all- basketball team had its 60-year reunion in 2001. conference at linebacker and second-team quarterback (Tom Osborne of Hastings College was first-team). Wickard completed Bill Stephenson 25 of 42 passes for 575 yards. He also averaged 42.8 yards a punt A native of Minatare, Stephenson was a stellar member of and still shares the school record for longest punt, 80 yards. His the Eagles’ outstanding football teams in the late 1940s after he 93-yard jaunt with an interception is the second longest in CSC had served in the Army in Europe during World War II. He was a history. running back and played in the secondary on defense. Wickard spent most of his career as an educator at Bayard. Stephenson was a highly successful football coach. He led He was the superintendent for 11 years and the elementary Cambridge to an undefeated season in 1951 and Class C top 10 principal for 16 years before retiring in 1990. He was inducted rankings in 1952 and ’53. He also had an undefeated team at into the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame in 2000 along with Rushville in 1959 and a top 10 ranking again in 1960 before he Bayard native LaVerne McKelvey, a CSC great in the 1920s. moved to Lincoln Southeast, where he was the head coach for Perhaps Wickard’s greatest tribute came from the late Tom seven seasons. He said his career record was 117-37. He was the Blundell, an All-American end on the 1958 CSC team and a head coach for the North in the Nebraska Shrine Bowl in 1961. career officer in the Navy. He said: “Lonny was absolutely the best leader and toughest guy I ever Dale Tangeman met. I saw a lot of great leaders from seamen to admirals while I Tangeman was a 1939 graduate of Assumption Academy in was in the Navy. But I never met one as good as Lonny.” Chadron and was on Chadron State’s outstanding basketball teams All four of Lonny and Dee’s children attended CSC. Their in the 1940s. The Eagles were 55-12 the four years he played. daughter, Laurie, was the Eagles’ first female All-American and The first three went 16-4, 15-3 and 17-4, capped by a trip to the also is in Hall of Fame. National Intercollegiate Athletic Association Tournament in Kansas City in 1941-42. Like most other able-bodied men, his college days were interrupted by World War II, when he served in the Army Air Corps. Four of the five starters from the national tournament team returned in 1945-46, when the Eagles went 17-1. Ross Armstrong said he sometimes used psychology to get the most out of Tangeman on the basketball court. Tangeman took pride in playing defense. The coach usually assigned him Lonny and Laurie to guard the opponent’s top scorer, then mention that he hoped Wickard are one of Tangeman could handle the job. That would fire up Tangeman, two father-daughter who wanted to prove himself to the coach. duos in the Chadron Tangeman also was a fullback for the CSC football teams State Hall of Fame. prior to the war. After graduating in 1946, he taught, coached The other is Don and Martee Meter.

18 1985 Inductees

These men were inducted into the CSC Athletic Hall of Fame in 1985. In front, from left, are Bob Armstrong, Dick Boness, John McLane and Larry Gold. In the back are Glen Groves, Gene Alcorn, Dick Colerick and Bennie Francis. Gene Alcorn they were right about the injuries. During his football career, Alcorn went against his parents’ wishes to play football, but he suffered nine broken bones. But nobody ever seemed to be was a standout lineman for the Eagles and became the patriarch happier that they had played the game. to family dynasty, a part of which is now in its third generation at He began his college career in 1942, but was in the Navy Chadron State. during World War II. He returned to play tackle for the Eagles Alcorn recalled during an interview prior to his induction into in 1946 and ’47 before becoming a prominent registered Angus the Hall of Fame that his parents, Lee and Clara Alcorn, allowed producer. The 1947 team went 7-1-1 and tied for the Nebraska him and his older brother, Lynn, to box while they were in high College Conference championship. school, but would not let them play football for fear they would Alcorn’s son Tom, who lettered in three sports at Chadron get hurt. State, was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1989. Eight of Gene’s On the sly, the brothers, both of whom were big and athletic, grandsons played high school football and four played in college. began practicing with the Hay Springs football team in the fall of They include Tom’s son, Jeff, who is an inside receiver on this 1938 when Lynn was a senior and Gene was a sophomore. Sure year’s CSC football team. Jeff’s brother, Jason, played at South enough, Gene got hurt. He broke his collarbone while trying to Dakota Mines. In addition, Ryan Alcorn played at CSC in the make a tackle in practice. Gene recalled the tongue-lashing he 1990s and Zac Alcorn was an All-American tight end at Black Hills got from his brother following the injury. It was something like, State and has been in a couple of NFL camps the past two years. “You dummy, now we’ll have to tell mom and dad what we’re doing.” Robert Armstrong Gene recalled he didn’t get much sympathy from his parents The son of Ross Armstrong, who was associated with Chadron because of the injury. He still had to help with the farm chores. State for more than 50 years and was the founder of the CSC But he said his parents soon became his greatest boosters on the Athletic Hall of Fame, Bob was a basketball standout for the gridiron and he was thrilled they were able to attend the dinner Eagles in the early 1950s. He scored 856 points during his career, in 1985 when he was inducted into the Hall of Fame. He also said but was best known for his playmaking and defensive abilities.

19 Prior to joining the college team, Armstrong was an all-stater on Unfortunately, Francis was drafted by the wrong team. The Chadron Prep’s 27-0 Class C state championship basketball team Vikings’ “Purple People Eaters” were having a hey-day in the NFL in 1949-50. then and were well-stocked with defensive linemen suche as Carl After graduating from CSC, Armstrong taught, coached and was Eller, Jim Marshall and Allen Page. He later played with a semi an elementary principal during a 10-year period in Carson City, Nev., pro team in Omaha. and was a professor at the University of Arizona before founding A big (6-foot-5, 230 pounds), gifted athlete, Francis also was Assurance, Inc., a firm that developed computer software and an outstanding thrower for the track and field team, although testing programs that were used by hundreds of schools systems in he did not participate in the sport as a senior. He won the discus 25 states and three U.S. trust territories. His wife, the former Jerry at the Nebraska College Conference Meet in both 1966 and ’67, Hirchert of Chadron, also graduated from CSC and founded the and set the conference record of 164-2 the second year. He also Armstrong Academy, a private school for pre-kindergartners through won the shot put title in 1969. sixth graders in Tucson, Ariz. The school was named to honor her Francis has been a marketing representative for Xerox, father-in-law. Bob died on Oct. 30, 2008. He was 75. Western Business Resources and South Dakota Gaming. He lives in Rapid City. Richard Boness Boness was a four-year letterman in both football and track Larry Gold and field in the 1950s at CSC and also earned a letter in baseball Gold was an all-state football player and a track and field one season while he also was on the track team. His greatest standout at Chadron High School. He set the Class B state record success was in track and field, where he was a long jumper and of 158-foot-3 in the discus and placed third in the shot put at the ran on several excellent relay teams. Nebraska State Meet as a senior in 1964. He played football two Early in his career, he set the school record in what was then years at CSC, but was booted off the team in 1966 by coach Jack known as the broad jump at 21-11 ¾. As a senior in 1959, he McBride for smoking. went 22-1 ¾ while winning the event at the Nebraska State The incident proved to be a blessing for the next coach, Bill College Meet. He also was a member of the first place 880 and Giles. Gold returned to the team in 1967 and rushed 135 times mile relay teams at the Nebraska College Conference Meet in for 681 yards. The following year, Gold became the first Chadron 1958 while running with Frank Ferguson, Keith Kyser and Virgil State player to run for more than 1,000 yards in a season, when Meyer, all Hall of Fame inductees. he carried 214 times for 1,126 yards (5.3-yard average) and Boness, who also earned his master’s degree at CSC, had a scored 10 touchdowns. The Eagles won eight games that fall long career as a high school teacher, coach and administrator. after winning only nine the previous six seasons. Gold earned Highlights included leading the football team at Alliance St. all-district and honorable mention All-American honors in ’68. Agnes to undefeated regular seasons in 1971 and ’75. He is Gold spent 34 years as a business teacher and guidance a graduate of St. Agnes. He also football coached at Mullen, counselor in the Bellevue Schools. His wife, the former Susan Imperial, Gordon, Valentine, Sidney and Alliance. He concluded Lecher, also is from Chadron. They live in Bellevue. With some his career as the principal at Alliance High School in 1998. He and tutoring from Dr. Pat Colgate, one of the assistant football his wife, Lorraine, live in Alliance. coaches at CSC when Gold played, he became an exceptional Their son, Bill, an All-American offensive lineman for the Eagles wood carver, specializing in Western figures. in 1990, was inducted into the CSC Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007. A grandson, Matt Harris, is a freshman on this year’s CSC football team. Glen Groves Groves was a high-scoring basketball player for the Eagles Dick Colerick in the late 1940s and also set a record that still stands while Colerick also is a native of Alliance, but graduated from playing football. A graduate of LaGrange, Wyo., High School, Alliance High. After spending three years in the Army, he Groves served two years in the military before enrolling at lettered four years in football at CSC, capping his career as the Chadron State. He was the first Chadron State basketball player starting fullback and cornerback and a co-captain on Bill Baker’s to score 1,000 points during his career. He also set Eagles’ the undefeated team in 1958. He earned all-conference honors on single-game scoring record of 38 points against Kearney State defense in ’58. He also earned his master’s degree from CSC. in 1947-48 when he was a junior. The record stood for 16 years. After beginning his career as a teacher and coach at Valentine, He led the team in scoring his final three years, averaging 13.4 Colerick was a counselor and then assistant principal in charge of points, 19.9 and 17.9, respectively. He tallied at least 20 points in student services at Northeast High School in Lincoln for 30 years. 22 of the Eagles’ 41 games his final two years. His wife, Gloria, also is an Alliance High School graduate. His football record is for the longest run with an intercepted lateral, 88 yards against Midland Lutheran in 1946. He also Bennie Francis lettered in football in 1947 and ’48. After graduating in A graduate of Douglas High School at Ellsworth Air Force Base 1949, he was the manager of the VFW Club in Cheyenne for near Rapid City, S.D., Francis was a four-year starter for the CSC approximately 30 years and was extremely active in community football teams in the late 1960s. He earned all-district honors affairs. He was among the founders of Drums Along the Rockies at offensive tackle as a senior in 1969, but was drafted by the drum and bugle corps in Cheyenne, helped start what became Minnesota Vikings in the spring of 1970 as a defensive lineman. the Special Olympics in Cheyenne, organized a Bill of Rights He received a $3,000 bonus that he used to purchase a new Essay Contest for sixth graders and helped plan a memorial park Chevrolet automobile. honoring Vietnam veterans. He died Aug. 11, 1999 at age 75.

20 John McLane After graduating, he was a teacher and coach for eight years, A native of Cambridge, McLane started at offensive and owned and operated a sporting goods store in Scottsbluff and defensive tackle for the Eagles for 3 ½ years 1957-60. He was became vice president, then president, of the bank at Keystone, one of the most decorated members of the undefeated 1958 Neb. He returned to education as principal at Sidney in the 1980s team, earning all-conference honors as well as being placed on and later was superintendent at Wilcox and Ainsworth. After both the Omaha World-Herald and Lincoln Journal Star all-state retiring for three years, he was recruited to take over as interim college teams. He also earned all-conference in 1959 and was superintendent at Alliance in 2006. He was still there in the fall the team’s primary punter in 1959 and ’60. of 2008. 1986 Inductees

These athletes were inducted into the CSC Athletic Hall of Fame in 1986. They are, from left, Len Kaiser, Bob Burden, Bob Lynch, Steve Gremm and Francis Rose. Morse Burley and Jim Schwartz were unable to attend. Bob Burden stronger and more experienced player. A native of Morrill, Burden played football for the Eagles in Burden spent his entire 31-year teaching and coaching career at Hill 1939, ’40 and ’41 before he was called for military duty during City, S.D., retiring in 1979. His football, basketball and track teams won World War II. He returned to college in 1947 and was an all-state at least 20 conference championships. When the new gymnasium center on the school’s conference co-championship team. He was opened in Hill City in 1978, it was named in his honor. played linebacker on defense. Prior to the war, Burden played what was called “running guard” on the short side of the Eagles’ Morse Burley single-wing alignment. He was positioned between the center Burley was the quarterback on the CSC football teams for and the end and often pulled and tried to block ahead of the ball three years immediately after World War II and also did the carrier. He had been a sprinter in high school and had the speed placekicking. After he kicked the extra point that allowed the to handle the position. Eagles to defeat Kearney 7-6 in 1947, the Chadron Record Burden also played football two years while he was serving reported that he “could have run for mayor of Chadron and won in the Army Air Corps. He spent much of his 3½-year hitch in in a walk.” London helping repair U.S. warplanes that had been damaged Burley, who wore No. 72 while quarterbacking the Eagles, was while bombing Nazi territory. He said 60 football teams a native of Mitchell. He coached at Hemingford in 1949-51 and were formed to help keep the GIs who played in shape and spent the rest of his career as a teacher, coach and principal at to entertain the thousands of others who were stationed in Carson City, Nev. In 1978, he was named Carson City’s “Man of England. In both 1943 and ’44, Burden was on teams that played the Year” for his community service. In 1982, the new athletic six or seven games. As a senior at CSC, Burden weighed 197 facilities at Carson High School was named the Morse R. Burley pounds, about 35 more than before the war, and was a much Sports Complex.

21 Steve Gremm excelling as a running back and linebacker in football. He also A highly-competitive native of Broken Bow and nicknamed played on the school’s first baseball teams and earned a letter in “Cowboy,” Gremm was a two-sport standout at Chadron State. basketball his senior year in 1957-58. He was a two-time all-NAIA District 11 football selection at Rose had an outstanding coaching career. His first coaching offensive guard and earned All-American honorable mention his stop was at Edgemont, S.D., just a few miles from Provo High senior year in 1969. He was strong, quick and aggressive. School that he had attended. He coached the Moguls just one Even though he was often significantly outweighed, he was year, but his football team was undefeated, his basketball team a superb heavyweight wrestler, compiling a 66-12-10 career went 18-7 and his track team placed second at the South Dakota record. Many of his draws were in battles that he might have lost State Meet had it not been for his competitiveness. As a senior, he placed He spent the next five years at Lusk, Wyo., where three of his fifth at the NAIA National Tournament to become Chadron teams were unbeaten and he had a 38-5-1 record. After two State’s first All-American in the sport. years at Sheridan, Wyo., where one of his football teams won Gremm spent much of his career as a business owner and a conference championship, Rose spent three years at Bayard, constructor, initially in Michigan and later in Colorado Springs, where the football teams went 19-8 and won two conference where he and his wife, Connie, reside. titles, the wrestling team he had started won the Class C state championship in 1968 during its second year of existence and his Leonard Kaiser track team finished second at the state meet ’68. Rose was the head football and wrestling coach at Rocky Kaiser was a two-time South Dakota Class A mile champion Mountain College in Billings, Mont., 1969-74, taking over while attending Hot Springs High School in the late 1940s. He downtrodden programs and making them competitive. He spent also had outstanding success in that event at Chadron State. the last 16 years of his career as a teacher and coach in the He won the race at the Nebraska College Conference Meet in Billings Public Schools. During a four-year stint as the wrestling both 1951 and ’52, and owned the school records in both the coach at West High, he had 11 state champions. 880 (2:01.5) and mile (4:28.9). He was the Eagles’ leading point After he had retired, his son Todd, who was coaching at producer all four years he competed. Shepherd High School in Montana, was diagnosed with cancer After graduating in 1953, Kaiser moved to California, where and required chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant. he was a highly successful basketball and track coach at LeGrand Todd arranged to have his father fill in for him. At age 63, Francis and Modesto. One of his basketball teams at Modesto went Rose was back on the mat, demonstrating the moves and 33-3 and won the state championship. He also was the Modesto holds he knew so well. The Shepherd team missed winning the athletic director from 1978 until his retirement in 1991. state championship by three points. One of the team’s three state champions was Emmett Willson, who in 2004 as a senior Bob Lynch at Montana State-Northern became the first and only NAIA Lynch followed Steve Gremm from Broken Bow to wrestle wrestler to win the Dan Hodge Trophy that goes to the nation’s at Chadron State, and was outstanding wrestler. the Eagles’ only national “My one year in the program did not create this super champion until Brett Hunter wrestler. My son had the most to do with that development. won the 165-pound title in But it was a thrill for me to work with Emmett. What is more 2007, 35 years after Lynch important is that my son beat leukemia and is coaching wrestling won his crown. again.” At 6-foot-3 and blessed with Rose added that he would like to be remembered as a good long arms, large hands and father, husband and coach and a man of character. He added a powerful grip, Lynch was that the best definition of character he ever heard was, “It is difficult to beat. He was 16-3, how you act when no one is looking.” 19-1 and 22-2 his first three years on the team before going 30-0 and winning the Jim Schwartz A native of Potter, Schwartz was an all-conference fullback 158-pound championship at at CSC in 1956, spent the next two years in the Army and then the NAIA National Tournament earned all-conference honors again in 1959 and ’60. He also as a senior in 1971-72. That Bob Lynch earned three letters as the catcher on the baseball team. season, Lynch pinned 12 of his He set the school record for best rushing average in a season opponents and held 13 others in 1960, when he averaged 7.4 yards (61 carries for 452 yards). scoreless. One of his losses as a junior was to the eventual The record stood until Danny Woodhead averaged 8.0 yards national champion. during his great season in 2006. Since graduating, Lynch has lived most of his life in Lexington, Schwartz began his coaching career at Gordon and returned where he worked for Sperry New Holland and a bank and owns to Chadron State in 1972-73 as head track coach and assistant numerous rentals. football coach. He earned a doctorate at the University of Oregon and spent most of his career in California as an athletic Francis Rose and physical education administrator. His final positions included Rose calls himself “an average athlete who loved sports.” He special assistant to the president and vice president of academic was a three-sport letterman at Chadron State in the mid-1950s, affairs at El Camino College at Torrance. 22 1987 Inductees

The inductees into the CSC Athletic Hall of Fame in 1987 included these three men. They are, from left, Norm Wilson, Jim Hampton and Jack Dinnel. Bill Savage was not present. Jack Dinnel Wyoming Vocational Education Association in 1970. He retired Not many athletes are both distance runners and javelin from teaching when he was 59, but competed in Senior Olympics throwers, but Dinnel set Chadron State and Nebraska College in 2007 and 2008, when he was 80. Conference records in both. He also played safety for the CSC His wife, the former Lorna Camden, was the majorette for the football team in 1947 and ’49 and was the starting quarterback CSC band when they met. in 1950, when the Eagles ran both the single wing, which called for the quarterback to primarily block, and the T formation, Jim Hampton which needed a quarterback who could pass, run with the ball A native of Chadron, Hampton grew up with a ball in his hands, on occasion and carry out fakes after handing off. The coach, often on the Chadron State campus. He attended Chadron Prep, Ross Armstrong, said Dinnel could handle both alignments well. where he was the quarterback on the football team and a three- But track and field was where Dinnel really excelled. He won year starter on basketball teams that chalked up a 70-4 record, the mile run at the conference meets in 1947, ’48 and ’49 and including a 26-0 mark in 1951-52, when the Junior Eagles won the javelin in 1949 and ’50. His records were 4:37.4 in the mile the Class C state championship. He earned all-state honors as a and 182-7 ½ in the javelin. Perhaps his most dramatic victory was senior in 1953-54. in the mile in 1949, when he beat Wayne State standout Marvin Hampton played basketball four years and was a three-year Zimmerman to the finish line by running through a mud puddle starter at Chadron State. He was the Eagles’ leading scorer as that Zimmerman ran around. Dinnel also was second in the two- both a junior and a senior with averages of 14.8 and 16.3 points, mile at the conference meets in ’49 and ‘50. respectively, and was the leading free throw shooter on those A native of Marysville, Kan., Dinnel served in the Army in teams. He concluded his career with 1,043 points and would Europe shortly after World War II ended, then enrolled at CSC have had many more if the 3-point arc had been in place. He after his father moved to Chadron. After graduating, he spent was named to the Nebraska College Conference all-star team his 33 ½ years as an industrial arts teacher at Wheatland, Wyo., senior year in 1957-58. and had leadership positions in numerous state organizations. Hampton earned a Ph.D. in physical/inorganic chemistry from His honors included Wyoming’s Industrial Arts Teacher of the Michigan State University, and worked for Dow Corning from Year in 1967-68 and the Outstanding Service Award from the 1963 through 1997, when he retired. In 1985, he was promoted

23 to business quality consultant, a position the corporation the class president both years he attended CSC. said was created “to recognize outstanding and sustained After coaching three years at Bayard, two years at Norfolk achievement in the application of technology and quality and one year at Carson City, Nev., Savage was on the faculty at assurance techniques.” Albany High in California for more than 20 years. The football Now a resident of Northport, Mich., Hampton has never quit team he coached in 1957 was undefeated and he was chosen the being an athlete. While studying at Michigan State, he played region’s coach of the year. on two basketball teams that beat out more than 170 other teams for the intramural championship. During the 1990s, he Norm Wilson was inducted into the Michigan Touch Football Hall of Fame He graduated from Provo High School at Igloo, S.D., where and he was still playing 3-on-3 basketball and shooting 50 free he was an all-stater in both football and basketball. He also was throws daily when he was 70. He often made at least 45 of the a two-time state champion boxer while in high school. He was charity shots. Twice he won the free throw championship at the a guard for the CSC basketball team four years, scoring 1,131 Michigan Senior Olympics in the over 60 age group. points to rank third on the career list when he graduated in 1962. He averaged 13.0, 15.2 and 17.9 points a game his final Bill Savage three seasons. As a senior, he was selected the most valuable Savage was a native of Deadwood, S.D., and had attended player at the Top of the Nation Tournament at Alamosa, Colo., Black Hills State for two years prior to entering the Army during and earned first-team Nebraska State College honors. World War II. He lost the toes on his right foot when he was Wilson worked for the U.S. Treasury Department’s Bureau of hit by enemy fire while diving into a foxhole and earned three Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, serving as an area supervisor Purple Hearts during the war. But he still excelled as an end on at several locations. He now lives in Denver, Colo., where he the football team and the center on the basketball team after is a “super sub” for three school districts. He also serves on enrolling at Chadron State following his discharge. the Colorado High School Athletics Association’s basketball He was the captain of the CSC football team in 1946 and tournament seeding committee. In that capacity, he attends about played basketball for the Eagles in 1945-46 and ’46-’47. He was 60 Class 5A games annually to help with tournament pairings.

Although splat- tered with mud, Jack Dinnel won the mile at the 1949 Nebraska College Confer- ence Meet. It was Dinnel’s third-straight gold in the mile at the NCC meet.

24 1988 Inductees

Four former standouts were inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1988. They are, from left, Dean Palser, Rod Ehler, Clifford “Pete” Carroll and Francis Montague. Clifford “Pete” Carroll average (.475), lowest earned run average for a season (1.52) A native of Cambridge and the younger brother of Paul Carroll, and most victories in a season (6). Unfortunately, in the spring a Hall of Famer from the 1920s, Clifford was an all-conference of 1970, his senior year, he sustained a broken ankle that was a guard on CSC football teams in 1931, ’32 and ’33. He was the huge blow to the team. captain of the 1933 team that went 6-1, losing only the season- Ehler spent his entire career as a teacher and coach at opener 19-0 to the University of Colorado. During the remaining Scottsbluff High School. His coaching duties included boys’ games, the Eagles outscored their foes 128-40. and girls’ basketball and golf. When he wasn’t coaching the After graduating in 1935, he spent seven years with the sport, he officiated basketball, including the finals at the state National Youth Administration before serving three years, mostly tournament. in the South Pacific, in the Army Air Corps during World War II. He later worked for the Veterans Administration and Bureau of Francis Montague Indian Affairs. After he was named the outstanding athlete at the Wyoming He was small. His teammate, Francis Montague, who also was State High School Track and Field Meet his senior year at Lusk inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1988, said Carroll weighed only High School in 1930, Montague was recruited to come to 145 pounds, if that much. After retiring, Carroll carved dozens of Chadron State. A bit of subterfuge may have been involved in “walking sticks.” landing him. During a 1998 interview, he recalled that when two CSC athletes visited him he mentioned that he was “nuts about Rod Ehler airplanes.” When they told him the Eagles were going to start Ehler played both basketball and baseball at Chadron flying to their games, “it hooked me on going to Chadron,” he State after transferring from Scottsbluff Junior College in his said. hometown. He was a member of the 1966-67 basketball team We now know it was 66 years before the Eagles flew to a that had a 22-6 record and represented Nebraska at the NAIA game. It finally happened when the NCAA paid their way to the National Tournament. playoff game at Central Oklahoma. However, baseball was Ehler’s best game on the college level. Montague still did well at CSC. He earned all-conference four He starred as both a hitter and a pitcher for the Eagles. His feats times. He played linebacker on defense, was an end on offense included setting school records for highest single-season batting his freshman year and then moved to fullback for the rest of his

25 career. At 6-3, 200 pounds, he was a big player who could run. Dean Palser The Eagles were particularly potent his final two seasons, going Palser was a standout in both football and baseball at Chadron 6-1 and winning the conference championship in 1933 and 6-2 State in the late 1960s. He was one of the football players who the following year. helped get the Eagles out of the doldrums. The team was just It’s not generally known, but Montague went with his CSC 2-16-1 his first two years, but went 3-6 when he was a junior and teammate, Dub Miller, to try out with the Chicago Bears in the 8-1 his senior year in 1968, when he caught 35 passes and made fall of 1935. During the ’98 interview, Montague said he thought the NAIA All-District 11 team. Palser had 107 career receptions, he would have made the team, but suffered a knee injury in a the most in school history at the time. preseason scrimmage and was forced to give up football. He also was an all-conference selection as a first baseman for Again, things turned out well for Montague. He coached two the baseball team. After graduating, he taught and coached at years at both Lingle and Wheatland, Wyo., and then joined the Lusk, Mitchell and Bayard before returning to his alma mater, Navy in 1942. During the next 28 years, he was the commanding Scottsbluff High, where he was head football coach several years. officer of five ships and had three shore commands. He spent During the winters he teamed with Rod Ehler to referee high about 10 years showing the Chinese how to operate ships the school and college basketball games. U.S. had given them and three years working with the Central Palser and his wife, Barbara, now live in Kearney. Their son, Intelligence Agency in the Orient. Jeff, played football at CSC in the early 1990s. 1989 Inductees

The 1989 inductees into the Hall of Fame were, from left, Tom Alcorn, Pat Moore, Jim Hogeland, and Mike Winchell. Tom Alcorn father, the late Gene Alcorn, also played football at CSC and Alcorn was a rare three-sport letterman at Chadron State. was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1985. His wife, Lou, is a He came to the college to play football, but weighed just 175 CSC graduate and a Chadron elementary school principal. Their pounds and did not letter as a freshman. He was up to 200 youngest child, Jeff, is an inside receiver on the CSC football team as a sophomore and became a three-year starter at defensive this fall. end. He continued to grow and weighed 230 his senior year and earned Nebraska College Conference all-star honors in both Jim Hogeland 1972 and ’73, when the Eagles yielded just 11 and eight points a Big Jim excelled in both football and golf for the Eagles in the game, respectively. late 1960s. Besides playing tackle, he was the punter for the Although Alcorn had played basketball at Hay Springs High football team. His 80-yard punt against Kearney State in 1965 is School, he wrestled in college and finished his senior season in still tied for the longest in Chadron State history. 1973-74 with a 16-11-1 record and was selected as the Eagles’ In 1967, Hogeland won the NAIA District 11 golf championship. outstanding wrestler. He also threw the javelin for the track and He later was the runner-up at the Nebraska Amateur Golf field team, something he had never done before. Just before he Tournament. graduated in ’74, he was honored by the Eagles Booster Club as He has helped manage the family’s grocery business in Alma, the college’s Outstanding Senior Athlete. Neb., since graduating in 1970. Much of the time since graduating, Alcorn has raised registered Angus cattle south and west of Hay Springs. His

26 Pat Moore Mike Winchell Moore was another big tackle who helped Coach Bill Giles Although Winchell lived in Chadron as a youth, he graduated build an excellent football program in the late 1960s. He earned from Rapid City Central, where he was one of South Dakota’s all-conference honors three times and was an NAIA District 11 outstanding all-around athletes. He excelled in both football and selection in 1968 when the Eagles went 8-1. baseball at Chadron State. A native of Windsor, Colo., Moore earned both his bachelor’s He was a regular at quarterback all four years for the Eagles, and master’s degrees from CSC and spent 38 years as an often sharing playing time with fellow Hall-of-Famer Tim educator. He began his career with a six-year stint as a teacher Turman. Early in their careers, they alternated on every play. and coach at Thedford, then was the football and basketball During a game at Wayne State in 1970 when Turman was coach and principal at Paxton for 16 years. injured, Winchell became the first CSC quarterback to throw five After that, he was the principal at Hershey for six years, touchdown passes. He completed 21 of 37 passes for 352 yards Ogallala three years and Rangely, Colo., six years. He retired in during the 34-20 victory. 2008. He and his wife, the former Connie Grantham of Chadron, Winchell earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degree from recently moved to Chadron. She also graduated from CSC. Chadron State. He and his wife, Kathy, a Chadron native, have owned an embroidery business in Norfolk for more than 25 years. Many of their products are worn by athletes. 1990 Inductees

These were the inductees into the CSC Athletic Hall of Fame in 1990. In front, from left, are Bob Isham, Gwen Reed, Carol Bachman Marxsen and Lois Cadwallader and Rex Cadwallader Jr., widow and son of Rex Cadwallader Sr. In the back are Bud Murray, Lee Bau- mann, Larry Baumann, John Sides, Don Reel and Jack Needham. Jerry Bartak Jim Rhodes’ 24.4-point average. A native of Lewellen, Bartak was a four-year starter on the He scored 1,389 points, third-highest on the Eagles’ career list Eagles’ outstanding basketball teams of the 1960s. He was the when he graduated and still is the 11th best. He was a member only senior starter of the 1966-67 team that had a 22-6 record of the Nebraska College Conference all-star team as both a junior and represented Nebraska at the NAIA Tournament in Kansas and a senior and was an NAIA District 11 choice and honorable City. mention All-American as a senior. He also was recognized as an Bartak led Chadron State in scoring as both a sophomore (13.1 NAIA Scholar-Athlete that season. points per game) and a junior (18.3), when the Eagles were 19-5. Bartak was a teacher and coach at Newhall, Calif., for a He averaged 17.5 points as a senior to rank second in scoring to number of years before going into private business. His wife, the former Connie Mehrer of Gering, also attended Chadron State.

27 Larry Baumann Robert Isham He was both a basketball and a track standout in the 1960s. He was the first person to be inducted into the CSC Athletic During his three years as a varsity basketball player for Coach Hall of Fame for meritorious service. That was a token of thanks Mack Peyton, the Eagles won 59 games and lost just 16. He was for the financial and moral support he had given the Chadron a valuable alternate on the great 1966-67 team that went 22-6 State athletic program after he became close friends with and played in the NAIA National Tournament. He averaged 11 Athletic Director Brad Smith. points as a starter the following year when he was a senior and Isham, who was a rancher and a banker, was considered the Eagles went 18-5. Baumann shot better than 50 percent from Chadron’s best high school athlete of the 1940s and was the the field both of those seasons. He made 37 of 44 (84.1 percent) starting fullback on the Eagles’ conference championship football of his free throws as a senior. team in 1947, the only year he attended the college. In addition, he held the school records in both the 120-yard Isham died in 1994, but his widow, Joy, and their children high hurdles (14.6 seconds) and the 220-yard low hurdles (24.5) continue to support the college and its activities. In 2003, the and was the conference champion in the highs in 1966 and ’67 Ishams donated the large eagle that is perched on a pole in the and the 440-yard intermediate hurdles in ’67. southwest corner of Elliott Field. The eagle, which has a 16-foot His father, Bob, was a charter inductee into the Hall of Fame. A wing span, once flew over the American Heritage Bank that the native of Chadron, Baumann is an attorney in North Platte, family owned in Colorado Springs. Lee Baumann Joe Johnson Lee is Larry’s younger brother. He was a three-sport letterman Big Joe, a 6-foot-6, 220-pound center, made an immediate at Chadron State. impact on the Chadron State College He was a three-time all-conference quarterback who basketball program after graduating completed 154 passes for 2,860 yards and 21 touchdowns. In from Bridgeport High School. He was a 1970 against Peru State, he completed all six of his passes for four-year starter, scoring 1,277 points a school record that stood before Joe McLain broke completed and grabbing 920 rebounds for the all eight that he threw against Western State in 2006. In 1971 Eagles. against Black Hills State, he teamed with Mike Dority for a He averaged between 16.5 and 16.8 91-yard touchdown pass that is the longest in CSC history. points each of his final three seasons, Baumann earned all-district honors as an outfielder when the Eagles were 59 -16. He led on the baseball team as a senior in 1974, when he had a .345 the team in rebounding all four years, batting average (20 hits in 58 at bats). He also averaged 10.2 averaging 9.5 per game during his points as a starting guard on the basketball team as a sophomore career. His 14.2 rebounding average in 1971-72, but was forced to give up that sport after dislocating his sophomore year is the second his shoulder while playing football the following fall. highest in school history. He had Baumann received Chadron State’s Distinguished Alumni more help around the glass the next Award in 2002 and is on the board of the Chadron State two years, but still averaged at least Foundation. He lives in the St. Louis area and is one of 13 senior eight a game. vice presidents for State Farm Insurance. He oversees a five- Joe Johnson is Chadron Sadly, Johnson died in 1988 at age state area made up of Arkansas, Kansas, Louisana, Missouri and State’s all-time leading 42 after falling from a house he was Oklahoma. rebounder. painting in North Platte. He was a brakeman for the Union Rex Cadwallader Pacific Railroad at the time of his death. A native of Merriman, Cadwallader was a standout in both football and basketball prior to World War II. After serving in the Carol Bachmann Marxsen military, he returned to the college and resumed his basketball Although volleyball was in its infancy at Chadron State when career. Carol Bachmann enrolled at Chadron State, she is still regarded The CSC basketball team was 65-12 during his four years on by long-time observers as one of the the team, and he was a three-time all-conference selection at outstanding hitters the Eagles have had. In forward. He was the Eagles’ second leading scorer with averages fact, she set the standand by which future of 13.7 and 11.8 points in 1940-41 and 1941-42, respectively. He CSC hitters were judged. Few, if any, have then led the team in scoring at 17.2 points a game in 1945-46. ever been able to jump higher, had more He was the Eagles’ all-time leading basketball scorer with 772 “hang time” or hit harder that this Crawford points when he graduated. High School product. A newspaper story in He lettered in football in 1940 and ’41. One of the highlights 1974 said: of his career was catching a 43-yard end-around pass from Bill “Bachmann is regarded as perhaps the Bruer to set up the Eagles’ winning touchdown during a 12-9 best spiker and all-around player in the state. victory over the University of Wyoming in 1940. The 5-7 blonde has great leaping ability and He was serving as assistant superintendent for personnel for Carol Marxsen timing, and has the uncanny ability of staying the Bellevue Schools at the time of his death in June 1974. out of the net.” She was selected to the all-tournament team when the Eagles

28 won the Nebraska State Tournament championship in 1972 by lasted until 2000 and is still the third longest in Chadron State defeating, among others, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, history. He was selected as the Eagles’ outstanding track and and Kearney State. She was chosen the college’s outstanding field athlete as both a junior and a senior. volleyball player in both 1973 and ‘74. Needham and his wife, Bonnie, also a CSC graduate, owned a After graduating, she continued for play volleyball in city printing business in Garden City, Kan., for several years. He later leagues into her 50s, giving her 40 years of competition in the lived in Wichita and established a Christian ministry. He is an sport. ordained minister and is now teaching Spanish in the Arthur and Bachmann also was the second leading scorer on the first two South Platte Schools in Nebraska. women’s basketball teams at Chadron State. She averaged 7.6 points in 1973-74 and 9.2 the following year. She received the Gwen Reed college’s outstanding basketball award the first year. A native of Gillette, Wyo., she was the leading scorer all four While attending CSC, Carol and met her husband, Bruce years and was selected as the outstanding player on the CSC Marxsen. They lived in North Platte, where she was active in women’s basketball team three times. She the Civil Air Patrol, until 1993, when they moved to Lincoln. She established several marks that still rate high now works in the business office of a family practice medical on Eagles’ lists. She is the only CSC woman residency. to score more than 40 points in a game. She tallied 41 against Nebraska Wesleyan in Bud Murray 1975-76 and scored 42 against Mount Marty Murray led Scottsbluff High School to the Class AA state College of South Dakota the following year. basketball title in 1955 by scoring 33 points, including the Her 20.6-point scoring average as a senior winning shot from about 20 feet away with 16 seconds left, as in 1977-78 ties her with Mary Perrien as the the Bearcats defeated Creighton Prep 63-61 in the championship best in school history. She also averaged 20.3 game. Scottsbluff had trailed 61-52 with four minutes left before points in 1975-76 and 15.6 points in 1976- staging its winning rally. In his book, “Nebraska High School Gwen Reed 77, when she was slowed by mononucleosis. Sports,” published in 1980, the late Jerry Mathers called the The 1,492 points that she scored in her Scottsbluff rally as the greatest comeback in the history of the career is fourth in CSC annals. She also averaged 11.3 rebounds Nebraska State Basketball Tournament. as a senior. A 5-foot-8 athlete with outstanding agility and lots of Murray’s “shot heard round the state” was just one of his determination, Reed also was selected as the Eagles’ outstanding many athletic accomplishments. Others included playing minor volleyball player in 1976 and ’77. league baseball, playing basketball at Chadron State and ringing After graduating, Reed played pro basketball two years. She up an amazing 516-178 record as a baseball coach in California was with the All-American Red Heads, a barnstorming team, one high schools. year and with the New York Stars, one of the founding teams He signed a baseball contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers in in the Women’s Basketball League and the first professional 1955 shortly after graduating from high school. He was beginning women’s team to play in Madison Square Garden. the second his third year as a pitcher in the minors when he tore a muscle in year. She also played semi-pro basketball for five years at his back and was forced to give up the sport. Hartford, Conn. He then enrolled in college and earned all-conference honors Gwen works in the office for an oil and gas operation firm in and led Chadron State in scoring with a 15.2-point average as a Gillette. She also is a paramedic for Campbell County Hospital senior in 1959-60. He also earned his master’s degree from CSC. and a volunteer fireman. Most of his coaching career was at William S. Hart High in Newhall, Calif. During 22 years there, his teams won 16 Don Reel conference championships. His final season in 1999 was the He was the playmaker and a defensive standout on Chadron best. His Hart Indians won their final 13 games to finish with State’s excellent basketball teams in 1966-67, when the Eagles a 27-4 record and capture the Southern California Division were 22-6, and 1967-68, when they went 18-5. He averaged championship. The patrons of the school gave Murray and his 13.1 and 10.7 points, respectively, while shooting better than wife, Dori, a $3,500 retirement gift, the baseball field was named 51 percent from the field and 75 percent from the free throw in his honor and he was the recipient of the California Coaches line both seasons. He earned Nebraska College Conference and Association’s High School Baseball Coach of the Year Award. honorable mention All-American honors following his senior The Murrays live in Huntington Beach, Calif. year. A native of Wolcott, Ind., Reel had graduated from Northwest Jack Needham Community College at Powell, Wyo., before coming to Chadron A native of Imperial, Needham was one of Chadron State’s State. After working at the Pine Ridge Job Corps Center near outstanding long and triple jumpers. He won the Nebraska Chadron while he was in college, he spent a portion of his career College Conference triple jump championship in 1966, ‘67 and with the U.S. Forest Service. He later worked for the Veterans ‘68, setting the conference record of 46-8 ½ in 1968. His winning Center Medical Center at Pearland, Texas. He is retired and jumps the other years measured 46-3 ¼ and 45-2 ¼. He set the divides his time between Texas and Wyoming. school record of 46-11½ in ‘68. It was finally broken in 1982, but is still the fifth longest in CSC history outdoors. Needham also long jumped 24 feet long in 1968. That mark

29 John Sides time is 50.3 when converted to meters. Duffield is the only CSC Even 40 years after he competed, times posted by Sides prove athlete to run the event under 50 seconds indoors. that he was one of the outstanding middle distance runners in In addition, Sides ran 600 yards indoors in 1:12.07 for a school CSC history. He won the 440-yard dash at the Nebraska College record that still stands. (The event has seldom been run in the Conference Meet in both 1966 and ’67, setting the record of 48.6 last 20 years.) seconds in 1967. He also set the school record of 1:56.4 in the Sides graduated from Edgemont (S.D.) High School. He and 880 in 1966. When converted from yards to meters, those marks his wife, Carol, operate the ranch where he was born and raised translate to 48.3 in the 400, sixth best in CSC annals, and 1:55.7 near Smithwick, S.D. Their son, Jack, set the school record of in the 800, second best on the all-time list. 7- ½ in the outdoor high jump in 2006 and is tied for third in the Sides also ran the 440 indoors in 50.6 for the school record event indoors at 6-11. that stood until Joel Duffield eclipsed it earlier this decade. Sides’ 1991 Inductees

The 1991 inductions into the CSC Athletic Hall of Fame included thse nine gentlemen. In front, from left, are Gary Decker, Brad Bartlett, Ted Erlewin and Louis Peters. In the back are Rod Borders, Bill Baker, Bill Giles, Rick Watson and Tim Turman. Bill Baker 58-man squad for the title. He was one of three former CSC coaches to be inducted into After leaving CSC in 1962, Baker was an assistant football the Hall of Fame in 1991. Baker was just 28 years old when he coach for nine years at the University of Wyoming, where he initially came to Chadron State as head football and track coach played football, and two years at the University of Arizona . in 1955, but left after one year to enter private business. After After that, he was a scout for several pro football teams during being gone a year, he returned to lead the Eagles to new heights the next 25 years. He now lives in Tuczon, Ariz., and organized a in both of the sports that he coached. 50-year reunion of the ’58 football team this fall. Baker is best remembered for coaching the 1958 football Tom Blundell, right, team to a perfect 8-0 record. After switching the Eagles from the received the trophy he T-formation to the single-wing, they won their first game by a was awarded as the 26-20 score and the rest of them by at least three touchdowns. outstanding lineman in The 1959 team that Baker coached went 6-2. the Nebraska College Baker also led the track team to second-place finishes at the Conference in 1958 from Nebraska College Conference Meet, which featured all the small CSC football coach colleges in the state, in both 1958 and ’59. His ’58 team with just Bill Baker, who was 14 members came within seven points of beating Kearney State’s named the conference’s Coach of the Year in ‘58.

30 Brad Bartlett postseason appearance in 1990. She received an NCC Honor Once called the “Chadron Boy Champ” by the Omaha World- Award (equivalent of the Hall of Fame) in 2005. She retired Herald, Bartlett had a brief, but brilliant, collegiate tennis career, from coaching in 1997, but remained at Mankato as a physical and is the only tennis player to be inducted into the CSC Athletic education instructor for several years. She now lives near Limon, Hall of Fame. He is a Chadron native who grew up on Main Colo. Street, only a half block from the northern edge of the Chadron Gary Decker State campus. He credits his mother for teaching him how to Decker helped pioneer the sport of wrestling at Chadron State play on the courts that were where the Nelson Physical Activity after coming to college from Newcastle, Wyo., High School, Center is now located. where he began wrestling as a junior and placed second at Bartlett won the Nebraska Intercollegiate Athletic Association two Wyoming State Tournaments. He was a member of the singles tennis championship in 1941 when he was a sophomore first wrestling team at CSC in 1958-59. His college coach, Harry at CSC and won nine of the 10 matches he played while he Simonton, once recalled that Decker “was usually a winner was in college. Tennis, like all other sports at the college, was when we would find a team to wrestle in those days.” His high discontinued at the end of 1941 because of World War II. Bartlett school and college record was 41-9, including an 18-4 mark with played tennis for many years afterwards. In the early 1980s, the Eagles. He qualified for the NAIA National Tournament as a he returned to his hometown to play in several tournaments, senior in 1961. After graduating, Decker helped manage a variety including a couple that were inside the NPAC. of family-owned businesses in Wyoming communities. He now Bartlett has been a successful insurance agent in Denver for lives in California. many years. Ted Erlewine Rod Borders Erlewine was another outstanding wrestler in the early years Borders scored 1,050 points while playing basketball in the of the sport at Chadron State. A native of Lusk, Wyo., he was mid-1950s at Gordon High School. He then earned four letters at a three-time Nebraska College Conference champion and was guard for Chadron State beginning in 1957. His scoring average selected the Eagles’ outstanding wrestler four straight years. He was in double figures each of the three seasons he started. concluded his college career in 1964-65 with a 39-8-2 record and He hit 48.5 percent of his field goal attempts during that span then was a Third Armored Division champion while serving in the for one of the best shooting percentages by a CSC guard. He military. was the Eagles’ leading scorer in 1958-59, when he earned He spent five years as the head wrestling coach at Douglas all-Nebraska College Conference honors, and was more of a High School near Rapid City. He also was the Douglas Middle playmaker the rest of his career. He set the school record for School activities director 22 years and the principal five years. most assists in a game when he dished out 13 against Hastings He retired in 1999, but remains active in motorcycle riding and College in 1960-61. The mark stood until 1990-2000 when Bret safety training. Bondegard had 14 against Nebraska-Kearney. His wife, the former Karen Downen, also graduated from CSC. Borders spent most of his career as a teacher, coach and school administrator. He retired in 2004 after serving as Bill Giles superintendent at Gordon for 12 years. He also was a basketball When Giles became the Eagles’ head football coach in 1967, official evaluator for the Nebraska School Activities Association they had won just 12 games the for seven years. previous seven years and only His wife, Marilyn, is also a CSC graduate. four games in the last four years, including a 0-10 record in 1966. He Marge Burkett inherited just 11 players with college Burkett was another of the former CSC coaches who were experience, but the Eagles went 3-6 inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1991. Burkett coached the CSC that season. Giles led the Eagles volleyball team 1978-85, compiling a 141- to four straight winning seasons, 93-5 record, by far the best of any volleyball including an 8-1 record in 1968. coach in the college’s history. Four straight Overall his record at CSC was 27-18. years beginning in 1980, her teams qualified Although born in Chicago, Giles for the NAIA District 11 Tournament. graduated from Alliance High School They won the championship in 1983 and and was an All-American baseball advanced to the bi-district finals. player and a starting end on the Bill Giles She also coached the CSC women’s football team at the University of basketball team for three years in the early Nebraska in the early 1950s. 80s. After leaving Chadron State, Giles, who was highly respected by After leaving Chadron State, Burkett was his players, coached football for eight seasons at Fort Hays State in Marge Burkett the head volleyball coach at Mankato State Kansas and then was an NFL scout in the Midwest for approximately in Minnesota for 12 years. Her teams there 15 years. He was one of the instigators of the annual CSC Golf had a 211-181 cumulative record. She led the Mavericks to five Classic to raise funds for the Eagles’ athletic program. He, his two 20-win seasons, was the North Central Conference Coach of the sons and a son-in-law were on their way to play in the tournament Year in 1989 and took them to their first-ever NCAA Division II in May 1998 when he suffered an aneurysm and died suddenly.

31 Louis Peters A native of Rushville, Peters was a track and football standout at Chadron State in the late 1940s after sports were resumed following World War II. He won the 440 and the mile at the Nebraska College Conference Track and Field Meet in 1946, won the 880 in 1947 and anchored the winning mile relay team in 1948. He also was a starting guard on both offense and defense while playing football in 1945 and 1946. He played nearly every Tim Turman (left) minute of all 10 games in ’46. In 1953, he moved to California, and Rick Watson where he taught high school math and science at Coalinga High formed a potent School for 16 years before spending the rest of his career as a passing attack at math professor and counselor at San Joaquin Delta College in CSC. They became Stockton. brothers-in-law when Turman Tim Turman married Watson’s Turman and Rick Watson were among the players who helped sister, Diane. Bill Giles turn the Eagles’ football fortunes in the right direction in the late 1960s. Turman, who is married to Watson’s sister He concluded his career with 96 receptions for 1,792 yards and Dianne, also has had an exceptional high school coaching career. 15 touchdowns. As a senior, he ranked eighth nationally among A graduate of Alliance St. Agnes, Turman alternated at NAIA receivers with 56 catches for 978 yards and 10th in punt quarterback with Mike Winchell, often every other play, his first returns with 10 for 206 yards. two years at CSC and then was the starter his final two years, Against Kearney State in 1970, Watson set a school record although he missed a total of five games those seasons because for most all-purpose yards (319) that stood for 19 years. In of injuries. He still owned virtually every school passing record that game, caught 11 passes for 182 yards, including an 80-yard when he concluded his career in 1970. He completed 177 of 380 touchdown reception that at the time was a school record, passes for 3,307 yards and 28 touchdowns. He also earned his scored on a 34-yard run with a reverse and returned three punts master’s degree at CSC in 1976. for 79 yards and a kickoff for 24 yards. He also lost a 70-yard Since 1980, Turman has been the head football coach at punt return for a touchdown when a teammate committed a clip Bishop Neumann High School at Wahoo, where his teams had a 201-86 cumulative record entering the 2008 season. His long after Watson had broken into the clear. Cavaliers have reached the state playoffs 17 times, were the At the end of his senior year, Watson owned nine CSC Class C-1 state champions with 13-0 records in both 2002 and ’03 football records. He was an all-district and honorable and have played in the championship game three other times. mention All-American choice that season. His brother, George, earned similar honors that season at Hastings Rick Watson College and has been a criminal justice professor at CSC Watson was on the receiving end of many of Turman’s passes since 1976. from 1967-70 and was a threat to score every time he touched After earning his master’s degree at CSC in 1977, Watson the ball. He intercepted eight passes in 1968 while playing in has been on the faculty at North Bend High School, including the secondary. The next two years, he primarily played offense. about 25 years as the activities director.

32 1992 Inductees

These were the inductees into the CSC Athletic Hall of Fame in 1992. They are, from left, Harry Simonton, Paul Colgate, Don Schma- derer, Bill Pile, Kathy Hanshew Runyan, Ken Ottoson, Kevin Kirwin and Don Meter. Paul Colgate switchboard at CSC while he was a student. Colgate was the starting center for the Chadron State football Kirwin’s parents were among the many who were ardent teams 1966-68. The Eagles were 0-10 the first year he played supporters of the Eagles while their offspring was playing. They and 8-1 his final year. He was a team captain and a second-team attended 34 of his 37 football games, and calculated that they all-District 11 selection as a senior. traveled 9,500 miles just to watch him play the 18 games that After graduating in 1970, Colgate was a high school head were in Chadron. football coach for 31 years, compiling a 174-105 record, and also coached track and field, usually as an assistant who worked Don Meter with throwers, for 38 years. He was named the Colorado Class Meter was among the first rodeo participants at Chadron State 4A football coach of the year in 1979 after his team at Buena and then really put the program on the map in 1956, when he Vista was the runner-up in the state playoffs. He became the became the national intercollegiate calf roping champion. It was winningest coach in the history of Campbell County High School 23 years before CSC had another national champion in the sport. at Gillette, Wyo., in 1994. While at Wasson High in Colorado Both of Meter’s daughters also were rodeo standouts at CSC. Springs in the late 1990s, he was the Metro League’s nominee Martee placed fifth in the national collegiate standings in barrel for coach of the year in Colorado three times. racing in 1979, and Shelley was the national all-around cowgirl in He also was selected as Campbell County High’s Teacher of the 1987. Year in 1995. After graduating from college, Meter taught and coached He is married to the former Patty Fitzgibbon, daughter of long- basketball for 13 years. One of his teams at Albin, Wyo., won time CSC coach and registrar, L.J. Fitzgibbon. Their sons, Tim and state championship. He also continued to compete in rodeos and Andy, attended CSC and participated in athletics. has been in the livestock business. He lives near his hometown of Minatare. Kevin Kirwin Ken Ottoson Kirwin was a three-time all-Nebraska College Conference Ottoson was a hard-throwing pitcher for some of the fine selection and received all-District 11 honors and was placed on baseball teams Chadron State had in the late 1960s. He was an the state college all-star teams chosen by the Omaha World- all-district selection in 1968, and ranks second on the college’s Herald and Lincoln Journal-Star as a senior in 1969. He was voted career victory list with 14. He was drafted by the Chicago White the Eagles’ outstanding defensive player that year. Sox in 1967 and played for the Valentine Hearts in the highly- Kirwin was a teacher, coach and administrator at several respected Basin League that summer. Nebraska schools during his career. He compiled a 70-35 record After graduating, Ottoson was a recreation director at as the football coach at Butte, Neb., his hometown, early in his Winnetka, Ill., until 1975 when he returned to his hometown of career. After that, he went into administration and has been Potter, Neb. He worked for a number of years in the automobile at Banner County High at Harrisburg, Fairbury, Ainsworth and business in the southern Panhandle. Spalding Academy, all in Nebraska. His wife, Darla, ran the

33 Bill Pile Harry Simonton A native of Banner County, Pile was an excellent football Simonton taught physical education and coached at Chadron player and javelin thrower for the Eagles and then excelled as State for 33 years before retiring in 1991. He was the college’s a wrestling coach. After transferring to CSC from North Platte first wrestling, men’s golf and gymnastics coach. He also had Community College, Pile was a starting defensive end for the many other talents. Eagles in 1970 and averaged 39.5 yards as the punter. That One of his first duties when he came to Chadron State in 1958 spring, he won the javelin at several track and field meets, was to start a wrestling team. He coached that sport for 12 years. including the Nebraska College Conference Meet with a throw of He also helped coach football during his early years at CSC and 194-feet, 10 inches. coached the men’s golf team from 1966 into the early ‘80s when After graduating, Pile taught and coached wrestling at the sport was discontinued. Sioux County High in Harrison, Neb., where his teams won 22 Simonton also began the gymnastics program in the 1960s consecutive regular season tournament championships and and continued working with gymnasts at CSC and other places won the Class D state tournament championship in 1976. For in some form the rest of his life. Some of his gymnasts were in more than 30 years after that, he has been an admininistrator at competition, but more often they provided entertainment at Nebraska and Colorado schools. He was the secondary principal halftime of basketball games and for special events. at Mullen for 16 years, the superintendent at Leyton, located at In addition, Simonton often coached and sponsored the Dalton and Gurley, for 11 years, also was the superintendent at cheerleaders, organized the Eaglettes, a drill team that existed Potter-Dix for four of those years, and is in his fifth year as part- several years, staged a Miss Posture Pageant one year and time superintendent at Revere High School at Ovid, Colo. frequently helped with the choreography at fine arts productions. He and his wife, Lila, who also graduated from CSC, live near He also was an outstanding artist. He died Nov. 4, 1998 at age 70. Gurley, Neb. Loy Young Kathy Hanshew Runyan Young was one of Chadron State’s most successful coaches. He After graduating from Ansley High School in 1970, Kathy was the Eagles’ head basketball coach for five years, compiling a Hanshew came to Chadron State and helped inaugurate cumulative record of 84-37. Each women’s athletics at the college. She was a standout in both of his teams had a winning record, volleyball and softball, serving as a volleyball captain three years going 18-7 in 1951-52, 17-7 in and being recognized as CSC’s outstanding softball player in 1952-53, 14-12 in 1953-54, 19-6 1974. Perhaps her career highlight occurred in 1972, when she in 1954-55 and 16-5 in 1955-56. was named to the all-tournament team after the Eagles won His .692 winning percentage is the state volleyball tournament by defeating, among others, the the best in CSC men’s basketball University of Nebraska-Lincoln. history. After graduating in 1974, Kathy was the head volleyball coach His first team at CSC won the 14 years at St. Mary’s High in Colorado Springs where her District 11 championship and represented Nebraska at the NAIA teams compiled a 244-74 record and advanced to the regional National Tournament in Kansas tournament 13 times. The Pirates reached the state tournament City. Three of his four remaining eight times. She was selected as a coach for the Colorado All- teams qualified for the district Star Match in 1985. She was the school’s athletic director the playoffs. A majority of the players final three years she coached, and continued to fill that position were from western Nebraska. through 1999. She is now the head of the science department at During a reunion in 1992 when Loy Young St. Mary’s. This is her 30th year of teaching at the school. he was inducted into the Hall of Fame, they contributed about Don Schmaderer $4,000 for a scholarship to be Schmaderer was a freshman on the Eagles’ undefeated awarded in his name. football team in 1958 and was the team captain as a senior in Now 85, Young was a four-year basketball letterman at what 1961. After earning second-team all-conference honors as a was then known as Mankato State Teachers College. His playing junior, he was a first-team defensive back and led the Eagles in career was interrupted by World War II. He spent four years as a rushing with a 5.7-yard average his senior year. He also was the pilot in the Army Transport Command, including 13 months flying Student Senate vice president and was elected to Who’s Who a C-47 from India to China. He earned the Distinguished Flying Among American University and College Students. Cross and an Air Medal with an Oak Leaf Cluster. After teaching and coaching one year, he became a certified After graduating from college in 1947, he coached at two physical therapist, but returned to his hometown of Stuart to Minnesota high schools and was the head football coach at become a banker 1967. He served as president of the Tri-County Dickinson State College in North Dakota for one year before coming to Chadron State so he could coach basketball. Bank for nearly 30 years and is still chairman of the board. He He left Chadron State to join the physical education department also is president of the community foundation and has been and serve as an assistant football and basketball coach at his alma involved in many activities in north-central Nebraska mater, now known as Minnesota State-Mankato. He and his wife, Jan, who had up to 125 dance students when the family lived in Chadron, live along Lake Washington near Kasota, Minn., during the summers and spend the winters in Tucson, Ariz.

34 1993 Inductees

The 1993 inductees into the CSC Athletic Hall of Fame included these Eagles. They are, from left, Mike Parks, Nancy Cozad Newman, Ken Parks, Rod Cook, Walt Stoeger, Jim Prell, Dale Hendrickson and Charlie McGaw. Rodney Cook the motorcycle incident he pitched for Braves’ minor league A native of Thermopolis, Wyo., Cook was the first swimmer to teams a couple more years but not as effectively as before. be inducted into the CSC Athletic Hall of Fame. He was selected Altogether, he played seven years of pro baseball. as Chadron State’s outstanding swimmer in 1968 and shared the A graduate of Gering High School, Hendrickson never played honor in 1971. He was a member of two conference and district baseball at Chadron State, but was an excellent guard for the championship teams and consistently was a high placewinner in basketball teams in the late 1950s. He scored 860 points during the backstroke and individual medley. He set the school record his career, which was cut short a couple of seasons because in the 200 individual medley and was on the 400-yard freestyle he had to report to spring training in February. Hendrickson relay team that owned the school record. He qualified for the averaged 12.5 points as a junior and 15.8 as a senior. Both NAIA National Swimming Meet as a senior in 1971. ranked second on the team to his backcourt partner, Jim Cook put his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in industrial Hampton. arts from CSC to good use during his career. He initially lived After teaching and coaching at Morrill for nine years, he spent in California, where he owned a plastics injection molding 24 years as a coach and activities director at Kimball before company. In 1996, he and his family moved to Fort Worth, Texas, retiring in 1996. He is a past president of the Nebraska Athletic where he was involved in several phases of manufacturing. He Directors Association. His wife is the former Gayle Babue, a retired in the fall of 2008. Chadron native. Dale Hendrickson Nancy Cozad Newman Hendrickson is probably best remembered as a left-handed Nancy was a member of the first volleyball, softball and pitcher who signed with the Milwaukee Braves during a tryout women’s basketball teams at CSC in the early 1970s. She grew camp in Rushville. Before hurting his arm in a motorcycle up on a ranch in the Wood Lake area east of Valentine and mishap, Hendrickson was a rising star in the Braves’ farm system. remembers “about wearing out the boards on our barn” while He had a 24-8 record, including three victories in playoffs at throwing a volleyball or a softball against them while she was in Lawton, Okla., in 1955. That season he pitched 39 consecutive high school and during the summers while she was in college. scoreless innnings and went 75 innings without permitting an She was the starting setter on three Chadron State volleyball earned run. He had an 11-2 record the next year at Evansville, teams that had a cumulative record of 41-8. During her Ill., and then really drew attention in the spring of 1957 while sophomore year in 1972, the Eagles won the state championship pitching against the Yankees in an exhibition game. That’s when by defeating the University of Nebraska-Lincoln along the way. he struck out Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra and Bill Skowran in the However, she remembers that beating Kearney State seemed like same inning and fanned Tony Kubek and Hank Bauer later in the an even bigger victory at the time. The Eagles handed UNL its game. first defeat in 1974 during a tournament in mid-October. Later in the spring, he gave up just one hit during three innings She was accorded the team’s outstanding player award in 1973 against the Los Angeles Dodgers, but after giving up two homers and shared the honor with Carol Bachmann the following year. in a game at Chatanooga, he was sent back to the minors. After She believes she was the team’s leading server all three years.

35 Nancy played second base for the softball team. A highlight Jim Prell was starting a triple play by catching a line drive, tagging a Prell, who graduated from Anselmo High School, had served runner who was running from first and then flipping the ball to in the military before coming to Chadron State. He started shortstop Kathy Runyan, who stepped on second base to retire at guard opposite Charlie McGaw on the Eagles’ outstanding that runner. football teams the final two years in the 1950s. Prell also played Basketball was a challenge, because none of the Eagles had defensive tackle and was an all-conference choice both years. played it before, Newman remembers. “We didn’t even know He also was honorable mention All-American in 1958. He was a what double-dribble was when we started,” she said. short, but powerfully-built player who had excellent speed. Nancy has been director of the Student Health and Wellness He spent much of his career in banking. He was a bank Center at Nebraska Wesleyan University since 1985. examiner for the State of Nebraska eight years and for the Norwest Corporation two years. He was the chief operating Charles McGaw officer of a bank in Hay Springs in 1969-70 and later owned a McGaw grew up in Sheridan, Wyo., and played football at the bank in Worland, Wyo. He and his wife also owned a motel in University of Wyoming one year before joining the Navy. When Sheridan, Wyo., where he was a city councilman. He died March he was discharged he came to Chadron State because the Eagles’ 27, 2006. coach was Bill Baker, who had been a senior on the Wyoming team the year McGaw was a freshman. Walt Stoeger McGaw was a starting guard on the CSC football team that A native of Boelus, Stoeger played third base for the Eagles went 8-0 in 1958. He earned second-team all-Nebraska College in the 1960s. He had a career batting average of .345, getting Conference honors that year and was a first-team choice the 92 hits in 267 at bats. He hit .463 (32 of 69), the second best next year when the Eagles were 6-2. seasonal average in CSC history, in 1965. He was a three-time He spent most of his career at Hot Springs, S.D., where he was all-conference and two-time all-district selection and received a biology teacher, coach and administrator for 20 years. Two of honorable mention All-American. the football teams he helped coach were undefeated. He and his Stoeger continued to play semi-pro baseball for 25 years wife also owned a floral shop and a farm. He died Aug. 31, 2005. after graduating from college and was twice named to the all- state team. He has worked for the Nebraska Department of Ken Parks Environmental Quality in Lincoln since 1975. Parks was recruited from Compton, Calif., by Jack McBride in 1965 and started at fullback four years. As a junior in 1968, he Larry Riley blocked for Larry Gold, who became CSC’s first 1,000-yard rusher In late November 1993, Larry Riley was inducted into the that season. The following year, Parks led the Eagles in rushing Chadron State Athletic Hall of Fame. Because of his duties with 611 yards and scoring with 12 touchdowns. He also scored with the Milwaukee Bucks, he had not been able to attend the six times as a junior. induction ceremony earlier in the fall After graduating, Parks played two years each for the Joliet during Homecoming, but was inducted Chargers in the Continental Football League and the Rockford during halftime of a basketball game. Rams in the Midwest Football League. He also had a tryout with He is in his 21st year affiliated with NBA the Washington Redskins. teams this season. He’s also had a successful business career. He earned several A native of Whitewater, Ind., Riley salesmanship awards. About 25 years ago, he became a clothing earned four letters in baseball, three consultant and founded his own firm, KEMA (Keeping Everyone in basketball and two in cross-country Moving Ahead in Style) and sells clothing by appointment at CSC during the 1960s. He had a only. He and his wife, Annette, whom he married while he was career batting average of .305. He was attending CSC, live in Joliet, Ill. named the college’s outstanding senior majoring in physical education when he Mike Parks graduated in 1966. Mike followed his older brother to Chadron State and was a Ten years later, Riley was back at CSC two-time all-conference and all-district selection at defensive as the basketball and baseball coach. end. He also received NAIA All-American honors as a senior in Larry Riley His basketball teams had identical 17-9 1971. Bill Giles called him “the best defensive lineman I ever records. He is pleased that 11 of the coached.” 12 players who were on those teams graduated from CSC. His Parks became associated with the U.S. Forest Service while baseball team in 1979 was one of just two to qualify for the working at the Pine Ridge Job Corps Center as a student at CSC. District 11 playoffs. His tenure with the forest service included serving as a personnel After leaving CSC, Riley coached basketball 10 years at Eastern staffing specialist in the Washington, D.C., office, four years. He New Mexico before joining the Bucks as an assistant coach and transferred to the regional office in Denver in 1995 and served as advance scout. After six years with the Bucks, he was director of the human resources officer for the 19 Forest Service Job Corps player personnel for the Vancouver Grizzlies for six years and was centers across the nation. He retired in 2006 and continues to the No. 2 assistant for the Dallas Mavericks for six years before live in the Denver area. going to the Golden State Warriors as the top assistant under Don Nelson in 2006.

36 1994 Inductees

The 1994 inductees into the CSC Athletic Hall of Fame are shown with a group of previous members. The new hall of famers, in front, from left, are Rick Brown, Kevin Emanuel, Mike Kinnaird, Wanda Rainbolt, Larry Ruzicka, Chad Emanuel and Randy Bauer. Those in the second row are Bob Burden, Lyle “Moose” Colerick, Larry Gold, Rod Ehler, Len Kaiser and Wilmer Planansky. In the back are Bob Baumann, Bill Stephenson, Verne Lewellen, Tom Alcorn, John McLain, Louis Peters, J.C. Sollars and Glen Groves. Randy Bauer Rick Brown Bauer followed his friend and fellow 1994 Hall of Fame inductee Without question, Brown was one of the outstanding “pure Larry Ruzicka from North Bend to Chadron State. Both had played shooters” in Chadron State basketball history. His linedrive jumpers football in high school under CSC graduate Danny Knight. from long range were a thing of beauty. He played at Chadron State Bauer played safety and set the Eagles’ single-season interception in 1970-72 after transferring from Casper College. record as a senior in 1973, when he swiped 10 passes. Ron Brooks Brown scored 1,133 points, an average of 21.8 points, those two intercepted nine passes in 1975 and Cody years while shooting 50 percent from the field and 75 percent from Gamble picked off eight in 1992, but no other the free throw line. He averaged 21.2 points the first year and 22.3 CSC players have ever intercepted more than points the second season. He was a two-time all-conference and seven in a season. Bauer finished his career all-district choice. with 16 interceptions, which was a school Brown lives in his hometown of Lebonon, Ind., where he has been record at the time. Since then, five CSC a truck driver, worked in a manufacturing plant and a substitute defensive backs have exceeded that total. teacher. Bauer earned Nebraska College Conference and NAIA District 11 honors as a senior Chad Emanuel and also was a second-team Academic All- The youngest of three brothers from Dodge, Neb., to star in American. After graduating, he worked at athletics at Chadron State, he broke into college football with a Randy Bauer Chadron State for nine years, serving as an bang—by kicking a 49-yard field goal with just 17 seconds remaining admissions counselor, director of student life to give the Eagles a 10-7 win over Doane College 1974. His field goal and as the college’s first director of admissions the final five years. came in his second college game when he was still 17 years old. He became a State Farm Insurance agent in Chadron in 1983. For That was the first of four game-winning field goals that Emanuel the last 20 years, he has been the president of the Eagles Booster kicked for the Eagles. Altogether, he booted 15 of them at CSC, Club and is currently president of the Chadron State Foundation’s including those of 50 and 56 yards. The latter, which came against board of directors. His wife, the former Lorrie Johnson, also is a Northwest Missouri State in 1976, has been exceeded only by a Chadron State graduate. Their son, Aaron, is a senior linebacker on 57-yarder by Aaron Turner in 2000. this year’s CSC football team. Although no records for such are kept, he undoubtedly put a higher percentage of his kickoffs in the end zone than any other CSC placekicker. In addition, Emanuel also started at offensive guard three years, and was an all-district selection and honorable mention

37 All-American as a senior in 1977. Since graduating, he has been in governor as chairman of the Commission on Educational Technology the construction business, often serving as the superintendent for for Nevada in 1997. He received the Distinguished Alumni Award large projects throughout the Midwest. He and his wife, the former from Chadron State in 1999. He is retired and lives in Las Vegas. Cheryl Ziska, whom he met at CSC, live in Winterset, Iowa. He has received Chadron State’s Distinguished Alumni Award and is a Wanda Rainbolt member of the board of directors of the Chadron State Foundation. A graduate of Alliance High School and Chadron State, she was the Eagles’ first volleyball coach. Her achievements included a pair Kevin Emanuel of victories over the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, arguably the Chad’s older brother, Kevin Emanuel, was a fullback and nation’s leading volleyball program in the nation the past 20 or so linebacker for CSC football teams and a catcher for the baseball years. team in the 1970s. He set the school record for most home runs Rainbolt led CSC’s first team in 1972 to the Nebraska collegiate with 15 and ranks second on the Eagles’ all-time list in runs batted championship. The Eagles also had winning records each of the next in with 75. He was honored as CSC’s oustanding senior athlete in three years that she coached. After taking a one-year hiatus to do 1976. Since 1981, he and his wife, the former Kate Roe, who also graduate work, she returned in 1977, when the Eagles went 12-12. graduated from CSC, have lived in Osceolo, Iowa, where he owns Her career record at CSC is 63-29. and operates a petroleum distribution service and they have 200 Because volleyball was so new, the championship in 1972 storage units. probably did not receive the attention it deserved. The Eagles As a footnote, the Emanuel brothers’ parents, Eugene and Elsie, hosted the state tourney—officially known as the Nebraska were outstanding supporters of the CSC football program while Women’s Intercollegiate Volleyball Tournament— and defeated their sons were in college. Twice the entire football team and the University of Nebraska-Omaha in two sets, and Peru State, coaching staff stopped at their dairy and hog farm near Dodge for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Kearney State, all in three a noon meal while en route to a game the following day in eastern sets, to win the title. In the finals, Kearney won the first set 15-3, Nebraska. but the Eagles caught fire, the rambunctious crowd cheered them on and they took the next two 15-6, 15-13. Following the awards presentation, Rainbolt, who was wearing a wool suit, was tossed Scott Jones into the swimming pool by her ecstatic players. The Eagles finished “Brown and Jones” formed a terrific backcourt duo for the Eagles the season with a 14-3 record. 1970-72. There wasn’t a better tandem in Nebraska and few better The Eagles went 10-1 the next year. They defeated Dana and nationally. Ironically, they scored exactly the same number of UNO, but lost to Kearney State, all in two sets, to finish third at the points—1,133—in 52 games, giving them an average of 21.8 per state tourney. game. Jones averaged 21.0 the first year and 22.5 as a senior. No In 1974, the Eagles won their first 11 matches, including 15-11, opponent dared play a zone against the pair, both of whom could 15-12 victories over previously undefeated UNL. The Cornhuskers “shoot lights out.” avenged the loss late in the season, and the Eagles finished the year Jones, who transferred from Western Nebraska Community at 16-4. CSC was fourth at the state tournament, which featured College in Scottsbluff, also averaged nearly eight rebounds a game. 16 teams, beating Doane, Midland Lutheran and John F. Kennedy Although Jones was only 6-foot, Coach Mack Peyton sometimes College, but losing to Kearney State and UNL. posted him up near the basket to take advantage of his driving and UNO and Creighton also beat CSC during the regular season in ’74. leaping abilities. With most of the standouts from the first three teams graduated, For many years after leaving CSC, Jones worked at the airport at CSC dropped to 11-9 in 1975, Simpsonville, Ky., not far from his hometown of Shelbyville. After leaving CSC, Wanda earned a doctorate from Texas Woman’s University and has been a professor and academic adviser Michael Kinnaird at California State Polytechnic University at Pomona since 1989. She Kinnaird also was a terrific basketball player who transferred from married long-time acquaintance Jim Deaver, a 1968 CSC graduate, in Nebraska Western College, and is one of the few athletes in the Hall 2006. She plans to retire at the end of the 2008-09 school year. of Fame who played for the Eagles just one year. His short career was not by design. He was sidelined by a serious Larry Ruzicka knee injury early in the 1967-68 season, but made up for lost Ruzicka was one of the leaders on the Chadron State football time the following year when he averaged 24.4 points and 11.6 teams in the early 1970s. He played cornerback and set a school rebounds. His scoring average ranks third and his rebounding record that still stands when he returned an interception 96 yards average is fourth on the Eagles’ single season lists. He shot 54.5 for a touchdown against the University of South Dakota-Springfield percent from the field and earned all-NAIA District 11 honors during in 1971. He also recovered eight during his career and was his remarkable season at CSC. named CSC’s outstanding senior athlete in 1972-73. Kinnaird also became a star in educational circles. In 1997, he He was a two-time Academic All-American. Corey Campbell was selected as the Nevada Principal of the Year by the National and Danny Woodhead are the only other CSC football players who Association of Secondary Principals and Met Life Insurance have received the honor more than once. Ruzicka also was the first while serving as principal of Advanced Technologies Academy, runner-up nationally for the Stan Musial Sportsmanship Award a $10 million state-of-the-art high school that he helped design given by Sigma Tau Gamma Fraternity. He was president of the in Las Vegas. Later that year, he received the prestigious Milken CSC chapter of Sig Tau his senior year. After graduating, he joined Foundation Award that included a $25,000 cash prize. two brothers in a large farming operation near North Bend, his A native of Jeffersonville, Ind., Kinnaird was appointed by the hometown.

38 1995 Inductees

Those entering the Hall of Fame in 1995 included, from left, Dale Williamson, Rex Jones, Kent Halley and Terry Statton.

Kent Halley will be one of three recipients of the National Wrestling Coaches A native of Sidney, Halley was a three-year starter and earned Association’s Dan Gable “America Needs Wrestling” Award for all-NAIA District 11 honors at cornerback in both 1971 and ’72. his support and promotion of the sport. He also earned three letters in track and was the Nebraska Following his retirement, Rex and his wife, the former Sharon College Conference 440-yard intermediate hurdle champion in Franey of Crawford, moved back to Chadron. 1971 and ’72 with times of 56.2 and 56.1 seconds, respectively. He also placed third in the high hurdles at both of those meets. Kathy Kennedy Halley, who also earned his master’s degree from CSC, A native of Channing, Texas, Kennedy was a tremendous has spent most of his career in education. He was a teacher breakaway roper and a member of the greatest rodeo team and coach at Morrill, Riverton, Wyo., and Potter-Dix, before in Chadron State history. Joining with Jean Fuchs and Martee becoming a principal at Pawnee City. He was the high Meter, Kathy helped Chadron State win the women’s team school principal at Mitchell for 10 years before becoming trophy at 14 of 23 rodeos and the regional championships during the superintendent in 2001. He also is the western Nebraska both of her years at the college. The team finished fourth in the representative on the Nebraska School Activities Association’s national team standings in 1978-79. board of control. Kathy was the Great Plains Region’s breakaway roping champion in 1978-79 and also was the national breakaway Rex Jones champion in that year, when her times at the finals rodeo were After earning all-state quarterback honors on Chadron High 5.45, 2.87 and 3.47 seconds. The following year, Chadron State School’s undefeated football team in 1954, Jones enrolled at switched to the Central Rocky Mountain Region, and Kennedy Chadron State and was a member of the Eagles’ 8-0 team in again was the regional breakaway champion. She also frequently 1958. After graduating, he coached football at Hemingford, placed in goat tying. Rushville and Chadron, where his teams had a 70-37-5 record. Kathy was the youngest person to be inducted posthumously His 1966 team at Rushville went 11-0 and was recognized by the into the Hall of Fame. She died of breast cancer on Aug. 22, 1981 media as the Class C state champions. before she had graduated. She was inducted into the National After serving three years as principal at Chadron High, Cowgirl Hall of Fame in Fort Worth, Texas, in June 2002. Jones was associate director of the Nebraska School Activities Association from 1975 until his retirement in January 2002. In Jean Fuchs Poythress that position, he was a member of the National High School At the urging of Kelvin Sharp, then a team roper at CSC and Football Rules Committee 25 years and served on the national now the president of South Plains College at Levelland, Texas, wrestling rules committee 12 years. He was chairman of both Jean enrolled at Chadron State after graduating from Thedford committees. He also was on the track and field committee. High School in 1977. As a freshman, she won the breakaway During most of his tenure with the NSAA, he was director of roping, was second in team roping and was the all-around the football, cross-country, wrestling and track and field state cowgirl in the Great Plains Region, which spanned eight states. championships. She also won the national breakaway roping championship that He was inducted into the Nebraska Scholastic Wrestling year, when her times at the finals rodeo were 3.9, 4.2 and 3.1 Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2003. In March 2009, he seconds.

39 Perhaps just as important, Jean recruited Kathy Kennedy and Martee Meter to Chadron State, and the trio formed an outstanding team the next two years. They won the women’s team trophy at 11 of the 13 rodeos in the Great Plains Region in 1978-79 and at four of 10 rodeos in the Central Rocky Mountain Region the following year. They were regional team champions both years and placed fourth in the final national standings in ’78-’79. As a sophomore, Jean was second to Kennedy in breakaway roping in the region. She also was the Great Plains Region’s all- around cowgirl and was the region’s runner-up in goat tying that year. Jean also was the Central Rocky Mountain Region and national breakaway champion in 1980-81 after transferring to the University of Wyoming to earn a range management degree. CSC did not have the degree then. Jean and her husband Gary Poythress now live near Stephenville, Texas, where they raise cattle that are used for team roping and steer wrestling. Martee Meter Pruitt Martee transferred to Chadron State from Eastern Wyoming This Chadron State trio won the women’s team championship at College at Torrington in 1978-79. Besides being on some great 11 of the 14 rodeos in the Great Plains Region in 1978-79. They teams the next two years, she was the barrel racing champion are, from left, Martee Meter Pruitt, Jean Fuchs Poythress and in the Great Plains Region and placed fifth in the final national Kathy Kennedy. standings in 1978-79. Her individual winnings that year included Secondary Principals in 1997 while working at Cody. first in both the barrel race and goat tying and the all-around His wife, the former Patti Schmiedt, also graduated from cowgirl honors at the CSC rodeo. CSC. After their two sons had graduated from high school, the A native of Minatare, Martee also placed frequently in both Stattons spent two years in Egypt and two years in Bahrain with the barrels and goats and even won the breakaway roping at a the American International Schools. They returned in 2004, and rodeo her senior year. he was the principal at Big Piney, Wyo., when he died on Dec. 9, After graduating, Martee competed on the pro rodeo circuit 2007. several years and qualified for the PRCA National Finals in the barrel race three times before focusing on training and selling Dale Williamson barrel racing horses. Her father, Don Meter, was the national Williamson won at least a third of the golf tournaments he intercollegiate calf roping champion in 1956 while attending CSC, entered during his four years at Chadron State. He broke into and her sister, Shelley, was the national intercollegiate all-around the sport at CSC with a bang. He won the first tournament his cowgirl in 1986-87 while she was at CSC. In addition, Martee’s freshman year before he had met the coach, Harry Simonton, or husband, Troy Pruitt, was the PRCA calf roping champion in practiced with the Eagles. The tourney was at Rapid City, S.D., 1990. and the CSC contingent swung by his home in Custer, S.D., to take him along. Terry Statton “That was great coaching,” Simonton remarked several years Statton initially enrolled at Chadron State in 1965 after afterwards. graduating from Finney High in Detroit. He then joined the Williamson’s collegiate career was highlighted by winning first Army, but returned to CSC in 1970 and was an all-district and place at the NAIA District 11 Tournament in 1974 with a 141 total honorable mention All-American offensive lineman for the Eagles over 36 holes. in 1972. He earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degree from After graduating, Williamson won countless tournaments CSC. in the region. He qualified for the U.S. Golf Association’s Mid- After teaching and coaching in Nebraska and Iowa several Amateur Tournament in Dallas in 1987, and won the Nebraska years, he was a school administrator at Sturgis, S.D., and at Amateur Golf Championship in 1994 by shooting eight strokes Riverton, Wheatland and Cody in Wyoming. He was selected as under par and five strokes better than the runner-up. He has the Wyoming Principal of the Year by the National Association of been the Chadron State registrar since 1992.

40 1996 Inductees

These men were inducted into the CSC Athletic Hall of Fame in 1996. In front, from left, are Fran Wrage, Dale Timperley, Clint Belden and Kelvin Sharp. In the back are Doug Brandt, Dale Drahota, Rick Nave and Lue Graesser. Clinton Belden yards. He also long jumped 22-3 ½ and ran the 100-yard dash A 1970 graduate of Chadron State, Belden won both the calf in 10.0 seconds and the 220 in 22.1. He was selected Chadron roping and steer wrestling championships and was runner- State’s outstanding athlete as a senior 1977-76. Drahota has up to the all-around cowboy in the Central Plains Region of been a district manager for Pepsi-Cola in northeast Nebraska the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association as a senior at since 1986. He lives in Norfolk. CSC. The region consisted of all the colleges and universities in Nebraska and Kansas. He was president of the CSC Rodeo Lue Graesser Club in 1968-69 at a time when the club contained nearly 100 Graesser won 18 cross-country races for the Eagles during members. He has been involved in farming and ranching near his the mid-1970s, including the Nebraska College Conference hometown of Bayard for many years. championship twice and the District 11 championship once. He won the latter race by 25 seconds. Doug Brandt Nicknamed “Short Wheels” by his CSC track coach, Don Holst, By all accounts, Brandt was too small to play defensive tackle, Graesser owned the school records of 4:21.3 in the mile and but he started at the position four years and ranked among the 14:21.6 in the three-mile when he concluded his career in 1975. top three in number of tackles on the team three of those years. When converted from yards to meters, his time in what became He was just 5-foot-8, 180 pounds, but was strong, quick and the 1500 meters stood until Joe Schultz broke it in 2007. He still tenacious. Coach Bill Giles said he tabbed the Bridgeport, Neb., owns the Eagles’ 5000-meter record of 14:52.62. He also ran the native a starter as a freshman in 1968 when the varsity offense 880 in 1:57.0. That mark is the fifth best in school history when couldn’t run its plays during scrimmages against the scout team converted to 800 meters. Graesser also ran the anchor leg on when Brandt was on the field. Brandt was elected a co-captain some excellent distance relay teams for the Eagles. of the Eagles his senior year. He has spent his career as a teacher Graesser taught and coached track Keya Paha County High and coach at Bayard. in his hometown of Springview for 14 years, winning the Class D state championship in 1989. He then was at Wausa High for Dale Drahota 12 years and has been at Lawrence-Nelson in south-central Nebraska the past seven years. He has always been the head A native of Pierce, Drahota was a tall, rangy athlete who track coach at these schools and was the head football coach lettered in both football and track all four years he attended about half his tenure at Wausa. Chadron State. He caught 40 passes for 894 yards and five His wife, the former Jeri Jo Blundell, is a Chadron native. touchdowns while earning NAIA District 11 all-star honors as a senior in 1976. During his career, he caught 75 passes for 1,455

41 Sheryl Myers Levi Originally from Texas, but a graduate of McPherson County A native of Callaway, Sheryl followed her brother, Terry Myers, High School at Tryon, Sharp taught math and served as the rodeo to Chadron State. He was a on the football teams coach and dean of instruction at Clarendon College in Texas in the early 1970s. Sheryl was a four-year letterwinner and a and at West Texas A&M before going to South Plains College at three-year starter in the front row for the CSC volleyball teams Levelland, Texas, in 1999 as dean of arts and sciences. He was in the mid-1970s. The Eagles had a cumulative 50-21-3 record promoted to vice president of academic affairs in January 2000 while she played. She was selected and named president of the college, which has an enrollment of the team’s outstanding player about 19,000, in November 2004. her senior year in 1976, when Sharp has won about 25 saddles during his roping career, the Eagles were 13-7-3. Stories including one since he became a college president. He also from that era often indicate that suffered a broken collarbone in the summer of 2008 when one of her hitting was one of the team’s his horses bucked him off. Both are experiences that few college strengths. presidents have had. Sheryl also was the college’s One of his proteges at West Texas A&M was Trevor Brazile, homecoming queen in 1976 and who is seeking his fifth PRCA all-around cowboy title in 2008. was crowned the Ivy Day queen the following spring. She was the first Dale Timperley CSC coed to receive both honors. Like Dale Drahota and Rick Nave, Timperley came from Sheryl Myers Levi Assisted by her husband, Kent Pierce to play football at Chadron State and were inducted into Levi, who played offensive guard the Athletic Hall of Fame in 1996. Timperley started at inside for CSC football teams during the linebacker three years. He led the team in tackles as a junior mid-1970s, Sheryl had exceptional success coaching volleyball with 101 and as a senior with 127. He earned all-district honors at Campbell County High School at Gillette, Wyo. During the 19 and was an NAIA All-American honorable mention as a junior in years she was the head coach, the Camels had a 370-154 record, 1971. He played just as well the following year, but shared the won 11 district, seven regional and six state championships. They spotlight with fellow linebacker Don White, who recovered eight also were the state tournament runners-up three times. She is fumbles that season. now the associate principal at a junior high in Gillette. Timperley was the track and field coach and an assistant The Levis’ daughter, Stephanie, is a redshirt on the 2008 football coach at Hastings College and chairman of the Health Chadron State volleyball team after transferring from Metro and Physical Education Department at Morningside College State in Denver. before moving with his wife, the former Leanna Scott of Hay Springs to Santa Fe, N.M., a few years ago to raise Arabian Rick Nave horses. Leanna was a Chadron State cheerleader and is a medical Nave said he probably ranked “about 100th”on the squad of doctor. 101 as a freshman in 1970, but he developed into a three-year starter at defensive end with a knack for making things happen. Francis Wrage Just 5-11, 180 pounds, he was “the knife” while the Eagles’ other The Chadron Record called Wrage “the sparkplug” on a couple end, Tom Alcorn, was referred to as “the hammer.” of excellent basketball teams at CSC in the late 1950s. A native Nave was second on the team in tackles with 118 as a junior of Valentine, Wrage was an exceptional ballhandler and was and led the Eagles the following year with 122, 11 of them usually assigned to defend the opponent’s best outside shooter. behind the line. He also recovered four fumbles and blocked He led the Eagles in assists and free throw shooting, making 61 three punts as a senior. He earned all-conference honors of 78 for .782 percent, as a senior in 1958-59. He also was the three times and gained all-district status as both a junior and a team’s second leading scorer, averaging 10.8 points a game. senior. A native of Pierce, he has been a project manager for a After compiling a 148-102 record as the basketball coach at Hart construction company in Lincoln for more than 20 years. High School in Newhall, Calif., Wrage has been associated with Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. for more than 30 years. Kelvin Sharp Sharp was an exceptional team roper while attending Chadron State in the late 1970s. A heeler, he was the regional runner-up in 1976 and was the regional champion in 1977 and ’78. At that time, Chadron State was a member of the Great Plains Region that included the Dakotas, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska and Wisconsin. He also finished eighth in the nation in the intercollegiate team roping standings in 1976 and was fifth in both 1977 and ’78. Sharp must also get credit for helping Chadron State have an outstanding women’s team in 1978-80. That’s because Jean Fuchs came to CSC after he promised to team rope with her in college. She then recruited Kathy Kennedy and Martee Meter and a short, but sweet, dynasty was born.

42 1997 Inductees

These were among the inductees into the CSC Athletic Hall of Fame in 1997. In front, from left, are Bob Brown, Bunny Pisacka Bolden, Shari Fisher Kopp and Vern Chicoine. In back are Duane Fritz, Gene Emanuel, Dean Churchill and Dennis Schmitz. Bunny Piscka Bolden then was placed in a stretcher on the hood of a Jeep (the seats Bunny was a rodeo standout at Chadron State during the and the back were already filled with wounded GIs), and the early 1980s. She was the all-around cowgirl and the goat tying driver sped to safety. He later discovered that his canteen, which champion in the Central Rocky Mountain Region of the NIRA as was strapped to his waist, had holes the size of his thumb at a junior in 1982-83. She won the all-around cowgirl title at five both the top and the bottom. regional rodeos that year. She also was second in the region in After recovering from his wounds, Brown enrolled at Chadron goat tying the following year and tied for first in the first go- State and played football three years. He started at guard on round of goat tying at the national rodeo in 1984. both offense and defense in 1947 and ’48, when the Eagles were After her college career ended, Bunny was a consistent 7-1-1 and 7-1 and tied for the conference championship both goat tying and breakaway roping winner as well as a frequent years. He was elected captain of the 1948 team. all-around winner at South Dakota Rodeo Association and Brown spent nearly 35 years in education, most of it as the Northwest Ranch Cowboys Association rodeos. Bunny and her high school principal or superintendent at Harrison, Kimball and husband, Roy Bolden, ranch in the neighborhood where she Morrill. His son, Bill, also played football at CSC in the 1980s. Bob grew up near Buffalo Gap, S.D. died on April 15, 2007.

Bob Brown Vern and Frances Chicoine The Chicoines were inducted into the Hall of Fame for Bob Brown became a college football standout the hard meritorius service. They were longtime Chadron-area residents way. He was just 16 years old and weighed only 120 pounds and strong supporters of Chadron State College and its programs as a senior at Chadron High School so he played only with for many years. the reserves. He then served two years as a paratrooper and Specifically, they were honored for contributing $116,000 communications specialist during World War II. He nearly died toward the construction of a new pressbox at Elliott Field in the when he was hit by German mortar fire in February 1945 in mid-1960s. The pressbox was named in honor of Con Marshall, southern Belgium. long-time director of information and sports information director A medic, whose name he never knew, dragged him out of at CSC. Frances Chicoine was Marshall’s aunt. danger, tended his wounds and gave him a shot of morphine. He Previously, the Chicoines had established an endowment

43 that provides funding for several scholarships to CSC students three years, catching 42 passes for 498 yards. After teaching through the Chadron State Foundation. The couple received the math in Cozad for nearly 20 years, Fritz is employed by the college’s Distinguished Service Award in 1994 and the Friend of telephone company in that community. Education Award in 1996. Mrs. Chicoine died at age 82 in January 1997. Chicoine married Shari Fisher Kopp Madge Fortune the following year. In 2000, they gave $161,000 Shari placed second in barrel for the construction of the Vernon and Madge Fortune-Chicoine racing in the final National Atrium that is attached to the Mari Sandoz High Plains Heritage Intercollegiate Rodeo Association Center at CSC. Vern Chicoine died at age 89 in February 2003. standings in 1982-83 and joined with Bunny Pisacka to earn Dean Churchill enough points so Chadron State Churchill won the team roping championship in the Great finished fifth in the women’s team Plains Region that was made up of eight states in the Upper standings that year. At the national Midwest in 1975-1976 and was first in calf roping and second in rodeo in ’83, Shari and her horse, team roping to his Chadron State teammate, Kelvin Sharp, in the Tonto, won the second go-round region in 1977-78. and placed second in the finals. During the fall of 1975, he placed first, second, third and Shari also was the national high fourth in team roping at regional rodeos to take the lead in the Shari Kopp school pole bending champion as national standings that were being kept at that time. a senior at Chadron High School in In the spring of 1978, he was the all-around cowboy at four 1980 and was a runner-up in both the poles and the barrels at the consecutive rodeos—those at the University of Illinois, the National Little Britches Rodeo before that. She has been an escrow University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the University of Nebraska system specialist for a title insurance company in Phoenix, Ariz., School of Technical Agriculture at Curtis and Chadron State for a number of years. Churchill was president of the Chadron State Rodeo Club and was the Great Plains Region’s student director in 1977-78. After graduating in 1978, he attended South Dakota State University Dennis Schmitz where he earned a master’s degree. In 1978-79 he was the A native of Lyman, Schmitz caught 45 passes for 696 yards student president of National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association. while starting at tight end three years for Chadron State football Since he had not rodeoed at Chadron State as a freshman teams in the early 1970s, but he is best known for his baseball and was a national officer, he was granted two more years exploits. For his career, he compiled a .357 batting average, of eligibility while at SDSU and won the regional team roping collecting 109 hits in 305 championship again in 1979-80. at bats. His average ranks Churchill and his wife, the former Cathie Jaggers of Hay as the fourth best in CSC Springs, who also attended Chadron State, are involved in the history and his number of family’s Rocking Arrow Charolais Ranch south of Valentine. hits is the fifth highest. A first baseman, Schmitz Gene Emanuel also drove in 74 runs Emanuel was a three-year starter at offensive tackle for the during his career, third Eagles. He earned all-conference honors twice and received highest on the CSC list. He all-district honors as a senior in 1974. He was the first of three earned all-district honors brothers from Dodge, Neb., to play football for the Eagles. Kevin, as a junior in 1972, when who also played baseball, and Chad were inducted into the Hall he hit .456. He also had of Fame in 1994. Gene had been invited to join the Hall of Fame averages of .439 and .339. that year, but was living in Tennessee at the time and couldn’t His top batting averages attend the ceremonies. In 1995, he and his family moved to are the third and fourth Monticello, Minn., where they still reside. He has been in school highest in CSC history. and commercial bus sales and management since 1984. After graduating in 1973, Schmitz spent 32 Dennis Schmitz Duane Fritz years in education, mostly A native of Bassett, Neb., Fritz was a tremendous punter for in northeast Nebraska. the Eagles in the mid-1970s. During his career, Fritz averaged He taught and coached 12 years at Hartington, was the K-12 40 yards on 181 punts. He earned NAIA District 11 honors after principal four years at Newman Grove, the superintendent averaging 42.3 yards on 65 punts as a junior in 1975 and 41.3 and elementary principal three years at Newcastle, the yards on 40 punts as a senior. Those averages are second and superintendent two years at Morrill and the superintendent third on Eagles’ seasonal chart. He was selected as the first-team and elementary principal 11 years at Pender. He also coached NAIA All-American punter in 1975. He holds the CSC record for basketball at each of the schools and was the head football best punting average in a game, 49.7 yards on nine punts against coach at Hartington. Wayne State in 1975. Schmitz retired from education in 2005 and lives in Lincoln. His In addition to punting, Fritz started at tight end for the Eagles wife, the former Janice Couch, also of Lyman, attended CSC.

44 1998 Inductees

Composed largely of World War II veterans, Chadron State College had three outstanding football teams in the late 1940s. The Eagles were the Nebraska College Conference co-champions in 1947 and ’48 and played in the Bean Bowl in Scottsbluff in 1949. Their re- cords those years were 7-1-1, 7-1 and 7-2, respectively. This is the 1948 team. The players, in front, from left, are Lyle Colerick, Harry Hull, J.C. Sollars, Chester Dady, Stanley Peterson, Keith Race, Bill Trotter, Bob Craft, Bill Stephenson, Verne Lewellen, Clayton Brown and Jack Barker. Second row, Head Coach Ross Armstrong, Foster Taylor, Dale Hammer, Bob Scott, Jim Ratelle, Fred Lawrence, Morse Burley, Harold “Pepper” Martin, Joe Folsom, Bob Dugger and Bill Holub. Third row, Bob Brown, Wally Calvert, Paul Phillips, Dave Barker, Al Butterfield, Doyle Dudney, Glenn Groves, Bob Clapham, Jim Schuemaker and Assistant Coach Ed Puck. Back row, Dick Schwartz, Jack McNutt, Gerald Eastwood, Dick Speer, Lawrence Wax, Max Schlepenbach, Don Buckingham and Don Trueblood. Editor’s Note: In 1998, at the suggestion of Dr. Sam Rankin, Kearney State until 1996 as the Antelopes won 31 games from then president of Chadron State, three football teams that were the Eagles in the next 48 years (there was a 10-10 tie in 1978). observing milestone anniversaries, were inducted into the Hall of However, entering the 2008 season, CSC has won nine of the last Fame. 12 games with Kearney. 1948 Football Team 1958 Football Team The 1948 football team was the second of three great teams The Eagles had a perfect 8-0 season in 1958 and frankly could coached by Ross Armstrong. The 1947 team had a 7-1-1 record, have stood a lot stronger competition in most of the games. The the ’48 Eagles were 7-1 and the ‘49 team was 7-3. That produced ’58 team was just the second Chadron State football team to go a three-year record of 21-5-1. Both the ’47 and ’48 teams were unbeaten and untied. Nebraska College Conference co-champions and the ’49 team The great season was certainly not foreseen. The previous played in the Bean Bowl in Scottsbluff on Thanksgiving Day. year, the Eagles were 2-6 and only 14 lettermen returned. It All three teams were made up largely of World War II veterans. looked like another long season to most observers. However, They were athletic, mature and tough. Coach Bill Baker blended some new talent with the veterans and The only loss in 1948 was to Wayne State (17-14) in the produced a winning formula. Several valuable transfers joined season-opener. The difference was a 24-yard field goal late in the the team and most of the returnees had the best seasons of game. The team had 24 returning lettermen, including all but their careers. one player (the late Gene Alcorn) who had started the final two The first game was a supreme test. CSC won a difficult 26-20 games in 1947. decision over Southern State College at Springfield, S.D. That was Following the loss to Wayne, the Eagles downed York 21-0, the only close call. The Eagles won all of the other games by at tripped Kearney State 20-7, squeezed past Peru State 13-6 on least three touchdowns. two Wally Calvert touchdowns, rolled over Midland Lutheran The remaining scores were CSC 35, Concordia 0; CSC 34, 27-7, outscored Black Hills State 35-26, knocked off Hastings 24-6 Doane 13; CSC 27, Wayne State 7; CSC 45, Dana 6; CSC 26, in a game that featured a 93-yard kickoff return by Jack Barker Midland Lutheran 7; CSC 26, Peru State 0; and CSC 32, Nebraska and topped Doane 14-7. Wesleyan 13. The ’48 team was the last one from Chadron State to defeat The team featured a crushing ground attack and enough

45 passing to keep the opposition honest. The defense was overpowering most of the time. Because of the vast amount of talent on the team, those selecting all-star teams at the end of the season had difficulty agreeing on who should be honored. Only three or four made everybody’s first team, but 14 Eagles received at least honorable mention. 1978 Football Team Chadron State’s 1978 football season was highlighted by winning the Boot Hill Bowl in Dodge City, Kan., allowing the Eagles to forge a 7-2-2 record and finish 16th in the NAIA Division II rankings. The win was CSC’s first in the postseason until the 2006 team defeated West Texas A&M in an NCAA Division II playoff game. It was anticipated that 1978 would be a good year for the Eagles. The 1977 team had an 8-2 record and much of the cast was returning. An exception was Coach Sparky Adams, who Coach Jerry Welch holds high the Boot Hill Bowl trophy that the moved to Bemidji State in Minnesota. He was replaced by Jerry Eagles won in 1978. Players shown, from left, are Bob Scott, Mark Welch, a starter on Arkansas’ national championship team in Mosier, Bill Ryan, Mark Bauder and J.D. Carr. 1964. total offense. Many of the games were close and the Eagles lost twice late in Fults’ favorite target was Bill Ryan, who caught 65 passes for the season, but the rousing 30-19 triumph over Baker University 868 yards and nine touchdowns. The pair and offensive tackle in the Boot Hill Bowl erased most of the negative memories. Terry Mastny, who went on to earn All-American honors, were The team was noted for its potent passing led by quarterback selected to the Nebraska NAIA all-star team at the end of the Brad Fults, who completed 186 of 350 tosses for 2,109 yards. season. That season, he became just the second player in Nebraska The longhorn trophy that CSC earned at the Boot Hill Bowl still collegiate history to amass more than 6,000 yards in career hangs in Armstrong Gymnasium.

The 1958 Chadron State football team won all its game, most of them by a wide margin. In front, from left, are John Van Newkirk, LeRoy Cundall, Don Schmaderer, Don Overfield, Don Mathis, Pete Mirelez, Gale Ibach, Don Osborn, Lonny Wickard, Bill Mowry, Roger Krening, Bob Pedrett, Jim Prell and Chuck McGaw. Second row, Head Coach Bill Baker, Athletic Director Ross Armstrong, Roger Niel- son, Ron Mercure, Bill Groves, Junior Johnson, Virgil Meyer, Chuck Murray, Rex Jones, Dick Colerick, Guido Santero, Richard Deben, Jim White, Wally Sande, Orval Borgialli, Jerry Rowe and Assistant Coach Dudley Draxton. Back row, student managers Ron Pinney and Larry Lemons, Don Hanks, Don Mahlman, John McLane, Chuck Cogdill, Pete Beckman, Mel Stuckey, Don Parsons, Tom Blundell, Dennis Thompson, Roger Hengen, Fran Trenholm and Don Koraleski.

46 1999 Inductees

The 1999 inductees into the Hall of Fame incuded these ex-Eagles. In front, from left, are Brad Fults, Bill Ryan, Laurie Wickard Janicek and Rick Mikelson. Back row, Sam Perkins, Doug Jones, Ron Hoffman and Monty Reher.

Brad Fults accumulate at least 6,000 yards in total offense. Marlin Briscoe Fults was both a football and baseball standout who became of the University of Omaha was the first. the first Chadron State athlete chosen as the Nebraska State One of Fults’ best games was the Boot Hill Bowl at Dodge City, College Athlete of the Year by the Omaha World-Herald. He was Kan., his senior year in 1978, when he led the Eagles to a 30-19 inducted into the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame in 2006. victory over Baker University. He completed 16 of 36 passes Sometimes referred to as the Beaver City Bomber, Fults for 306 yards and two touchdowns and carried 12 times for was a three-time all-conference and all-district selection and 119 yards and another TD. He was awarded a set of mounted earned NAIA longhorns as the game’s outstanding offensive player honorable mention Fults also was one of the Eagles’ all-time great baseball All-American as players. He had a .335 career batting average (111 hits in 331 a senior in 1978. at bats) and was the winning pitcher 16 times, the most in the During his career, program’s history. As a senior, he had a 5-2 record and a 1.98 he completed 407 earned run average. He was placed on the all-district team twice. of 830 passes for Fults is in the cattle business near his hometown of Beaver 5,658 yards and City, Neb. 34 touchdowns. He also rushed Ralph Gill for 918 yards, by Without question, Gill was one of the Eagles’ all-time great far the most for a defensive ends. He was a two-time all-district choice and earned CSC quarterback. NAIA second-team All-American honors as a senior in 1977. That gave him The opponents averaged just 239.5 yards and 9.5 points against 6,603 yards of total Chadron State that season. He also scored several touchdowns offense. He was or laid blocks that allowed others to score while playing fullback just the second on the Eagles’ power I formation when they neared the goal line. Nebraska collegiate Gill, who was 6-foot-2, 230 pounds, was so strong and agile that Brad Fults player at any level to he was almost impossible to knock down while playing either

47 offense or defense. He was living in Kentucky, not far from his Sam Perkins home at Athens, Ala., when he died unexpectedly in 1994. At least until bullriders Will Farrell and Dustin Elliott won national championships earlier this decade, Sam Perkins was Ron Hoffman king of the Chadron State cowboys. He qualified for the National Hoffman was a hard-nosed fullback for the Eagles in the late College Finals Rodeo three straight years while attending CSC. He 1970s and was one of the key members of the Boot Hill Bowl was the Great Plains Region bullriding champion as a sophomore champions in 1978. His rushing statistics weren’t spectacular, in 1973, was second on the saddle broncs in ’74 and won the but he was noted for getting tough yards and was a punishing bareback title as a senior in ’75. blocker. He also was the team’s placekicker. As a senior in ’78, In addition, he was runner-up all-around cowboy in the he led the Eagles in scoring with 66 points. Included were four region as a sophomore and a senior and was third as a junior. touchdowns, eight field goals and 18 extra points. His 43-yard After graduating, he was among the 15 qualifiers for the PRCA field goal with 66 seconds left gave the Eagles a 14-13 win over National Finals in bareback riding six times. In 1979, when Rocky Mountain College that year. He also threw the discus for he finished second in the standings, he became just the third the track and field team with a best of 155-feet-3. bareback rider to earn more than $50,000 in the event. No A native of Stuart, Ron is a farmer-rancher near Bayard. His cowboy ever rode barebacks better than Sam rode them the wife, the former Sharon Arthur of Rushville, also graduated from last half of the ’79 season, when he was first in the event at 32 CSC. She has had an outstanding career as a vocal music teacher rodeos. at Bayard, and was a charter inductee into the CSC Music Hall of A graduate of Oelrichs, S.D., High School, Perkins has been a Fame. His brother, Ray, also played football at CSC and went into horse trainer in Texas the past 20 years. the Hall of Fame in 2001. Monty Reher Laurie Wickard Janicek Reher was Chadron State’s first athlete to crack 50 feet in Laurie was Chadron State’s first All-American in any sport. She the shot put. His best throw of 55-7 as a senior in 1980 was the earned the honor in track and field by placing fourth in the shot school record for 17 years and still ranks second on the CSC list, put at the NAIA National Indoor Meet in 1981 with a mark of just four inches shy of Doug Lytle’s mark. 39-10 ½. The following year, she set the District 11 record while Originally from Pine Bluffs, Wyo., Reher placed sixth at the winning the shot with a throw of 42-2. She also set the Eagles’ NAIA National Indoor Meet in 1980 with a throw of 53-6 ½. He discus record of 143-6 in 1981. That mark stood until Mandy Kubo was a two-time District 11 indoor shot put champion and won broke it in 2001. Laurie is a native of Bayard and the daughter of his pet event 16 times as a junior and senior. Reher lives in Boise, Lonny and Dee Wickard. Her father was a football standout at CSC Idaho, where he is a senior account executive for Federated and was a charter inductee into the Hall of Fame in 1983. They Rural Electric Insurance Corp., and is in charge of all insurance are one of two father-daughter duos in the Hall of Fame. Laurie is matters involving electric utilities in five western states. married to Larry Janicek and is a teacher at Kimball. In the summer of 2008, Reher won the shot put, was second in the discus and third in the javelin at the Idaho State Games in Doug Jones the 50-55 age group, qualifying him for the national competition Jones was a three-time Nebraska College Conference and NAIA next summer. His wife is the former Kari Lemen, a native of District 11 wrestling champion. He had a 58-10-1 career record, Chadron and a CSC graduate. going 15-3-1 in 1975-76, 22-4 in ’76-’77 and 21-3 in ’77-‘78. He went 2-2 at the NAIA National Tournament each of those years, Bill Ryan meaning that six of his 10 career losses were on the national Ryan is a Chadron native who lettered in three sports at level. As a senior, he was selected the outstanding wrestler CSC, and was a particularly outstanding wide receiver and kick at the Dana and Yankton College Tournaments. A native of returner for the football team. He earned all-district honors as Chadron, Jones is a teacher and coach at the Elgin, Neb., a junior and senior in 1977 and ’78 and was honorable mention Schools. His wife, the former Deb Uttecht, is a Chadron native All-American as a senior. During his career, “,” caught and a CSC graduate. 134 passes for 2,134 yards and 19 touchdowns. All three marks were school records until the mid-1990s and still rank among the top five in each category. Rick Mikelson During the Boot Hill Bowl his senior year, when he played with Mikelson teamed with Ralph Gill to give the Eagles two big, an a strip of innertube attached from his belt to his heel on the strong and capable defensive linemen in the mid-1970s. He outside of his pants to help compensate for a pulled hamstring, was a three-year starter at tackle, although he missed much of Ryan caught eight passes for 191 yards, then a school record. his junior year with a shoulder injury that required surgery. He Included was a toss of about 20 yards that Ryan carried to the earned all-district and honorable mention All-American honors Baker end zone for an 88-yard touchdown. It is the second as a senior in 1977. He led the team in tackles in 1975 and ’77 longest scoring pass in CSC annals. with 104 and 101, respectively. Ryan also averaged 10.6 yards on 50 punt returns and 24.8 Mikelson also threw the shot as a junior and senior. While he yards on 42 kickoff returns during his career. never beat teammate Monty Reher, he often placed close to him. He also pole vaulted 15 feet, which is just an inch shy of the He was second or third at 10 meets his senior season. He lives school record, and lettered in tennis when it became a varsity near his hometown of Julesburg, Colo., and works for the Deuel sport briefly in the mid-1970s. He has spent his career as a County Roads Department at Chappell. science teacher and coach at Sheridan, Wyo., High School.

48 2000 Inductees Don Beebe Beebe was an athlete at Chadron State just one year, but he definitely helped put the school and its athletic program on the map. After having a sensational season with the CSC football team in 1988, Beebe spent nine years in the National Football League. Six of those teams—four at Buffalo and two at Green Bay—went to the . He was the first NFL player to be a member of six Super Bowl teams. While at Chadron State, Beebe demonstrated Super Bowl prowess. He was the first Chadron State player to score a touchdown in every game until Danny Woodhead did it in 2005 and ’06. He also was the first to score five TDs in a game and set the school’s single- season records for most touchdowns with 15, most points with 90 and most all- purpose yards with 1,663. Breaking down Don Beebe was an NFL player for nine seasons and played in six Super Bowls. the latter yards, he caught 49 passes for 906 yards, carried the ball 10 times for 81 yards to Chadron in the spring of 1996. He carried 21 hours that and returned 27 kickoffs for 676 yards, an semester, earned all A’s and graduated in May. During average of 25 yards. homecoming 2000 at Chadron State, the college’s renovated The following winter while running indoor football stadium was named in his honor and he was inducted track, Beebe set the NAIA District 11 record into the Hall of Fame. CSC’s annual golf tournament is called the Don Beebe of 6.32 seconds and then placed fifth in Don Beebe Classic. the race at the NAIA National Meet in 6.31 With the help of his brother, Dan, who played and coached seconds. After the latter meet, Beebe concentrated on becoming basketball at CSC, Beebe runs “The House of Speed,” which is a pro football player. He was invited to the NFL Combine, where designed to help athletes improve their speed and agility. He he had the fastest time of 4.40 seconds in the 40-yard dash also coaches football at Aurora Christian High School not far among the 45 receiver prospects, had the best time in the four- from his hometown of Sugar Grove, Ill. corner agility drill and demonstrated a 36-inch vertical jump. After the Combine, representatives of 21 of the 28 NFL teams Steve Coon came to CSC to check him out. A four-year starter and a three-time all-NAIA District 11 He left CSC before graduating to play for the , who basketball selection, Coon graduated as Chadron State’s all- made him their No. 1 choice in the draft. Overall, he was the time leading scorer with 1,646 points. That 82nd player drafted and wore that number throughout his pro still ranks second on the list. He shot 53.1 career. In the spring of 1989, he was named the Omaha World- percent from the field and 78.9 percent from Herald’s “State College Athlete of the Year.” the free throw line during his career. He Beebe played for Buffalo six years, catching 197 passes for played before the 3-point line was added. 2,962 yards and 21 touchdowns. He then spent one injury- About 6-foot-3 and 170 pounds, Coon plagued season with the before signing with could definitely shoot the ball. He made at the , and helped them make two trips to least 51.2 percent of his field goal attempts the Super Bowl. The Packers won the championship in 1996, each season with the Eagles and sank 39 but probably would not have reached the Super Bowl if Beebe consecutive free throws as a sophomore for hadn’t caught 11 passes for 220 yards during an overtime victory a school record that still stands. As a senior at San Francisco during the regular season. in 1978-79, Coon averaged 20.0 points and For his career, including postseason competition, Beebe caught Steve Coon 7.0 rebounds. 254 passes for 3,882 yards and 26 touchdowns. Perhaps his most Coon, a graduate of Holy Family High School in Denver, has been involved in several successful memorable play occurred in the 1993 Super Bowl against Dallas business ventures in the Denver area since graduating from when he came from about 25 yards behind to knock the ball out CSC. He also helped coach the basketball teams while his three of ’s hands before the Cowboys’ defensive tackle, who sons were playing at Faith Christian High School. He is now the had recovered a Buffalo fumble, could score. athletic director at the school, in addition to other business Beebe’s biography, “More Than a Ring,” written by Bob activities. Schaller in 1998, was well-received and accomplished both of its His wife, the former Theresa Hand of Douglas, Wyo., was the purposes—to share Beebe’s Christian faith and to raise money 1980 homecoming queen at CSC. for the CSC athletic program. All proceeds went to CSC. After numerous delays caused by his pro career and particularly the Super Bowls, Beebe and his family returned

49 Rick Daniels each of the final three seasons. During Barb’s senior season in Daniels helped Chadron State win the NAIA District 11 1982, she led the Eagles in hitting with 348, including 183 aces, swimming championships in both 1969 and 1970. In ’69, he and a team-high 253 digs. won both backstrokes, was second in the Barb also earned three letters in basketball. She was the 200-meter individual medley and was a second leading scorer and rebounder in 1979-80, when she member of the 400-meter freestyle relay averaged 11.2 points and 8.4 rebounds. team. The relay victory allowed CSC to nip Since her marriage to Trini Rangel, the family has lived in Kearney State 140-137 for the title. The all four U.S. time zones, but has spent the last 11 years at following year, Daniels set new district Houghton, N.Y., where he is a physical education professor and records while winning both backstrokes and coach at Houghton College. Barb has been a substitute teacher he also won the 200 individual medley. He and an assistant volleyball coach. scored seven points at the NAIA National Meet that year, and was the only CSC Phil Sanders swimmer to ever place at the national meet. Sanders was a wrestler who had placed first and second Rick Daniels A native of Cheyenne, Daniels owned an at the conference tourneys for Imperial auto detailing business in Blackhawk, S.D., Valley College in his native California before for 27 years. He now has a sign and logo printing business there. coming to CSC. He had two excellent years with the Eagles. He was a Nebraska College Butch Lehmkuhler Conference and NAIA District 11 champion A graduate of Stapleton High School, Lehmkuhler became an in both 1975-76, when he had a 16-4-2 excellent gymnast while at Chadron State under the guidance record, and in 1976-77, when he went of the late Harry Simonton. He used those skills to become 22-3-1. He qualified for the NAIA National the NAIA District 11 three-meter diving champion for Chadron Tournament both years. During most of his State as a sophomore in 1974, the year before swimming was career, Sanders has been the campus life discontinued at the college. coordinator at American River College at That was just the start in a long line of Phil Sanders Sacramento, Calif. honors for Lehmkuhler. After graduating, he became a leading pro rodeo clown and Dick Steinke bullfighter. He was selected the PRCA Clown A native of Denver, Steinke was an exceptional baseball player of the Year in 1989, ’90, ’91, ’93 and ‘97 and for the Eagles in the mid-1970s. He ranks was chosen the Coors “Man in a Can” in both second in career base hits with 118, second 1989 and 1992. When he was inducted into in career doubles with 24 and is the leader the CSC Hall of Fame, he had received more in career triples with seven. He had a .430 top honors than any active rodeo clown. batting average in 1976, when he had 43 hits For 31 years, Lehmkuhler entertained Butch Lehmkuhler in 100 at bats, and had a .322 career batting rodeo crowds with a trampoline act that had average. its beginnings at Chadron State. He believes Steinke has worked at the Port of Long he sustained “enough injuries to say I did my job,” while helping Beach, one of the two busiest seaports in the rescue bullriders. After a 10-year hiatus from teaching to spend nation, since 1990. He was the properties full-time on the rodeo circuit, Lehmkuhler returned to teaching director the first five years, became the drafting, construction and woodworking at North Platte High Dick Steinke deputy executive director in 1995 and was School in 1997. However, he still works at rodeos as far away promoted to executive director in 1997. as Texas during the summers. Nowadays he says he’s mostly The port encompasses about 3,000 acres, has 350 employees “a rodeo comedian” who entertains audiences with stories and and handles merchandise worth $100 billion annually while antics that don’t include too many physical risks. accommodating ships from around the world. He also received the college’s Distinguished Alumni Award in 2000. Barb Zurn Rangel Barb will long be remembered for her Ken Thompson energetic, enthusiastic play on both the Thompson is the all-time leading hitter for volleyball and basketball courts and, in the Chadron State baseball team and he also particular, for her ability to blast a volleyball. was a football standout. A slender 6-footer from Alliance, Barb During his baseball career that spanned earned all-conference and all-district from 1978-81, he collected 154 hits in 410 volleyball honors both as a junior and a at bats for a .376 average. His lowest batting senior. average during his four years at CSC was All four of the volleyball teams for which .349. He holds CSC records for most hits she played had winning records, going 15- in a game (5), most hits in a season (57), 13. 19-16-1, 21-14-1 and 22-16-1. She was most career hits (154), most career doubles selected as the team’s outstanding player Barb Rangel Ken Thompson (28) most career runs batted in (83), most 50 stolen bases in a season (35) and most career stolen bases (76). Bob Wood Ed Sparling, his coach during much of his college career, said Wood remembers that he barely escaped being cut from the Thompson was such a complete player he could have played for basketball team as a freshman at Chadron State in 1975-76, but any college team in the country. he got to play in the final 11 games that He joined the football team as a sophomore and had 16 season and averaged 11.6 points. The next interceptions while playing safety the next three years. That tied two years he was a stalwart on a pair of 17-6 him for the school record when he graduated and now ties him teams that were coached by Larry Riley. The for fourth on the all-time list. Eagles went 15-10 his senior year in 1978- A native of Lyman, Thompson has been a loan officer for Farm 79 when he teamed with Steve Coon to Credit Services in Alliance most of his career. His wife, the former form a dynamic duo. Wood averaged 19.6 Kathy Richards of Rapid City, S.D., was the CSC homecoming points, shot 54.7 percent from the field and queen in 1981. 75 percent from the free throw line that season. He earned all-district honors and Bart Voycheske was selected to play in the first Nebraska Voycheske was a football and wrestling standout for the Eagles Bob Wood Collegiate All-State Game at the end of that in the early 1980s. He was a three-year starter in the defensive season. line and earned first team NAIA District 11 Wood finished his career with 1,130 points, 10th best on and NAIA honorable mention All-American in the all-time list at the time. He later coached the Eagles for 10 1982. The Eagles yielded just 225.3 yards and years. His 1993-94 team tied for the RMAC championship and 6.6 points a game that season. he was chosen the conference’s coach of the year. In 1997, On the wrestling mat, he compiled a Wood returned to his hometown of Buena Vista, Colo., where he 74-34-1 record. He had a 24-9 record taught math and coached the boys’ basketball team to a 283-72 and became an All-American by placing record, nine conference championships and won two state sixth at 189 pounds at the NAIA National championships in 1999 and 2001. In the summer of 2008, Wood Tournament as a senior in 1983-84. was named head coach at Mountain Vista High at Highlands A state champion wrestler while attending Ranch, Colo. Chadron High School in 1978-79, Voycheske His wife, the former Terri Jaggers of Hay Springs, is a CSC Bart Voycheske has been the wrestling coach at Ogallala High graduate and taught business at the college while the couple School most of his career. His teams have lived in Chadron. finished among the top 10 in Class B at the state tournament nine times and were the state tourney runners-up in 1995 and ’97. 2001 Inductees Richard (Sparky) Adams of 2001, Adams was inducted into the Wisconsin Football Coaches Adams coached the Chadron State College football team for five Association Hall of Fame. He and his wife, Inge, live in Eagle, Wis. years, beginning in 1973. During that span, the Eagles had a 31-17 record. Dan Barent Only one other CSC coach, Brad Smith, A native of Ogallala, Barent was the youngest of three brothers now the Eagles’ athletic director, to wrestle for the Eagles in the early 1980s. He had a 104-43 had a better winning percentage career record and was the first Chadron State wrestler to exceed after coaching the Eagles for five 100 wins. As of 2008, he is tied for third on or more years. He was well-known the school’s all-time victory list. He was an for his passing-game strategies and NAIA Area Tournament champion in both was a tireless recruiter. Adams was 1983 and ’84 and placed fourth at 177 an outstanding football player at pounds at the NAIA National Tournament in Lawrence University in his native 1983 to earn All-American honors. Barent Wisconsin and coached football has taught and coached at Buffalo, Wyo., and other sports at high schools in High School since 1985. While coaching, he that state for several years before had two state championship wrestling teams becoming an assistant at Drake in and one state championship soccer team. 1969. He then came to CSC and later He has been the Wyoming Coach of the Sparky Adams coached at Bemidji State in Minnesota Dan Barent Year in both sports. He has coached 18 state and Dubuque University in Iowa. champion wrestlers. Until retiring in the late 1990s, Adams was a high school Dan fully recovered from a harsh bout with a plastic anemia activities director and principal at Wisconsin high schools. He in the early 1990s. He had to be isolated for 30 days and was also helped coach football at Carroll College for four years and at given a bone marrow transplant from his brother Dean at the Lawrence one year before becoming a full-time fan. In the spring University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha.

51 Maureen Cooney O’Dell Randy Jarzynka Maureen scored 1,247 points to rank A native of Cairo, Neb., where he still second on the Lady Eagles’ basketball scoring resides, Jarzynka won the NAIA District 11 list when she graduated in 1982. Her total marathon championships in both 1981 and is still the fifth highest in CSC annals. She ’82. He placed sixth at the national event averaged between 11.6 and 14.8 points each in 1981 to earn All-American honors. He year. A native of Pine Bluffs, Wyo., she made ran both track and cross-country for the more than 75 percent of her free throws Eagles. He placed second twice and third her final three years and set the record for once in the 10,000 meters at district meets, most assists in one game with 10. She was and qualified for the NAIA National Cross- Maureen O’Dell selected as the team’s outstanding player Randy Jarzynka Country Meet three times. Jarzynka has all four years. She now teaches physical continued to run, participating in at least 10 education at a middle school in Cheyenne. distance events annually, including the Chadron Fur Trade Days’ 10-kilometer race, which he has won five times. He has kept J.D. Hill a log of his running and had exceeded 77,000 miles as of mid- A scatback from Johnstown, Colo., Hill rolled up 3,899 all- 2008. He works for a distributorship in the Grand Island area. purpose yards during four years with the Chadron State football team. He averaged 9.4 yards every time he Willy Long touched the ball for the Eagles while playing After transferring to CSC at the start of his both receiver and tailback. He holds the sophomore year, Long played fullback for school records for longest kickoff return for a the Eagles three years. He rushed for 775, touchdown (99 yards), longest kickoff return 731 and 718 yards those years, giving him that wasn’t a touchdown (97) and highest a total of 2,224 yards on 497 carries for an career kickoff return average (27.3 on 49 average of 4.5 yards per carry. He also scored returns). 27 touchdowns and earned NAIA District 11 Hill was explosive. Late in the game at Peru honors all three years. He coached football State during his senior season in 1980, he and basketball in Colorado high schools and carried a short pass from quarterback Scott was a teacher and the girls’ golf coach at J.D. Hill Wickard 37 yards for the winning touchdown Ponderosa High School in the Denver area in a 22-21 victory over the previously Willy Long at the time of his induction. Willy attended unbeaten Bobcats. Hill’s 28-yard average on 23 kickoff returns Arthur High School three years before that season ranked sixth in the nation in NAIA circles. That was a graduating from Morrill High. school record until Brandon Harrington averaged 31.3 yards on 13 returns in 2007. Hill is married to former CSC cheerleader Renea Langer and is the director of the ski patrol and the professional for a golf course at Keystone Resort near Dillon, Colo. Ray Hoffman Hoffman was hard-nosed player who was a running back his first two years at CSC, but really blossomed after he was moved to linebacker. He set a school record for most tackles in 1980 with 147 and also reached triple digits the following season. He was first-team NAIA District 11 both years, and was a starter on the CSC basketball team one year. The Eagles’ coach his final two years, Jerry Welch, said Hoffman “throws his body around like he’s got another one at home.” His brother, Ron, who played fullback Ray Hoffman and was a placekicker for the Eagles, was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1999. They are from Stuart. Ray is a general contractor at Boulder City, Nev. Willy Long scores a touch- down while quarterback Scott Wickard celebrates.

52 2002 Inductees Dennis Breing Carolyn Williams Hovendick He was a hard-nosed, four-year starter at defensive end. A native of Eustis, Neb., Carolyn earned All-American volleyball The only games he didn’t start during his honors at Mid-Plains Community College at North Platte before career were a couple after he hurt his she transferred to Chadron State in 1983. knee as a senior in 1979. He participated While playing for the Eagles, she was a two- in 199 tackles and recovered four fumbles time NAIA District 11 selection and was the during his career. He also did most of the district’s leading vote-getter as a junior in Eagles’ kicking off his final two years and 1983, when she led the Eagles to the district occasionally kicked field goals and extra championship. As a senior, she was an points, scoring 24 points. He earned all- Academic All-American and remains the only district honors as a junior in 1978, when CSC volleyball player to earn that honor. The the Eagles won the Boot Hill Bowl. After Eagles were 26-11 her first year on the team graduating, he returned to the family’s ranch and 24-13-2 her senior year. Dennis Breing at Arapahoe, Neb., and has been one of the After graduating from Chadron State in nation’s leading Charolais breeders. Carolyn Hovendick 1985, she taught and was the head volleyball coach for 12 years at Tri-County High Jerry Carder School at DeWitt, Neb. Two of her teams qualified for the state Carder was an outstanding scholar-athlete who excelled at tournament.Since 1998, she has taught and coached middle tight end for the Eagles. At 6-foot-5, 205 school volleyball at Beatrice. She is married to Steve Hovendick. pounds, he was an inviting target. During his career, he caught 79 passes for 1,003 yards Terry Mastny and had a particularly outstanding senior He undoubtedly ranks as one of Chadron State’s all-time year in 1979, when he grabbed 38 for 460 outstanding offensive linemen. He was 6-foot-4, 220 pounds and yards. No one could remember him dropping moved well. He was a two-time all-district a pass that season and he was chosen the selection, earned NAIA second-team All- team’s outstanding offensive player. He also American honors in 1977 and was a Kodak was an Academic All-American, graduating first-team All-American as a senior in 1978, with a 3.73 GPA. Since then, he has farmed when the Eagles won the Boot Hill Bowl and in partnership with his parents near Albion. he provided protection for quarterback Brad Jerry Carder His wife, the former Lisa Bartels of Chadron, Fults’ record-setting season. also graduated from CSC and has received Jerry Welch, a starting offensive guard on several honors as a high school business teacher. Arkansas’ national championship team in 1964 and the Eagles’ coach Mastney’s senior year, called him “as good a combination pass Terry Mastny and run blocker as I have ever seen.” After Dr. Pat Colgate completing his career, he signed a free agent He was associated with Chadron State College for 37 years contract with the Buffalo Bills. A native of Clarkson, Mastny is a before retiring on June 30, 2002. He was an assistant football paramedic with the fire department in Shreveport, La. coach and the head swimming coach from 1965 through 1971. His swimming team won the NAIA District 11 championship in both Joe McKay 1969 and ‘70. He also served as Chadron A native of Bridgeport, McKay set the Chadron State high jump State’s athletic director 1980-81 and 1983- record in 1961 when he cleared 6-4 ½ using what he called the 87. belly roll. He graduated the following year After giving up his duties as a coach and and taught and coached for five years at an athletic director, he remained closely Rushville, where he met his late wife, Ruth. associated with Chadron State athletics in his She was from western Montana, and they positions as dean of the School of Education went from Rushville to Flathead High School and Physical Education 1987-93 and dean at Kalispell, Mont., where he had remarkable Pat Colgate of the School of Education and Graduate success as a girls’ track and field coach. His Education 1993-2002. For instance, he teams won 20 divisional and 12 Class AA served as Chadron State’s official administrative representative state championships. at the NCAA Division II football playoffs in 2000 and 2001. In McKay received the Montana Girls’ Track addition, he has been the confidant of many coaches. and Field Coach of the Year Award 12 times Joe McKay and in 1991 was inducted into the Montana Coaches Association Hall of Fame. In 2000, he was selected the National Girls’ Track and Field Coach of the

53 Year and in 2001 he was inducted into the National High School homecoming king, won the Clyde Bond Memorial Award and Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame. It is believed that he is graduated with a 3.67 cumulative grade point average while the only Chadron State graduate to be in the latter hall of fame. majoring in art. He was named the college’s outstanding scholar- athlete his senior year and was on the District 5 (nine states) all- Creighton Miller academic team. He was the recipient of CSC Outstanding Young A native of Alaska, Miller was promptly Alumni Award in 1996 and is a highly successful artist living in nicknamed “Eskimo” when he arrived at the Atlanta area. He designed the official CSC logo in 2000. Chadron State in the fall of 1971 after playing Charlie and his twin brother, Clark, were born in Chadron, baseball the previous year at Western New moved to Colorado with their parents as toddlers, returned Mexico. He was a picture of consistency when they were in middle school and remained in Chadron at the plate for the Eagles. He had batting through their sophomore years at Chadron High. After their averages of .338, .333 and .336 at CSC. His mother remarried, they moved to Texas for the remainder of career batting average of .336 (89 of 265) is high school, but returned to attend Chadron State. Clark also ninth on the CSC all-time list. He struck out was an excellent athlete. He played football and baseball at CSC just 14 times during his career. He played two years, but transferred to Nebraska-Kearney, when the Eagles third and first base most of the time. dropped baseball. Creighton Miller After serving as a fireman in his hometown of Douglas, Alaska, for about 25 years, Miller Dave Smith and his wife, the former Kathleen Sillesen, a native of Ogallala He suffered a badly broken leg as a freshman in 1979, received who also attended CSC, live in North Platte. a medical hardship, but came back to start for four years for the Eagles at defensive end. He concluded his Charlie Mitchell career with 86 unassisted and 186 assisted He was one of the Eagles’ top football players in the early tackles. He was selected as the Eagles’ 1980s. He started at cornerback three years and was an outstanding player as a senior in 1983 and excellent kick returner. During his career, was an all-district choice that fall. he participated in 121 tackles, intercepted Eight of his 77 tackles his senior season seven passes, including five as a senior in were for losses totaling 61 yards. Altogether, 1983, and averaged 10.2 yards on 55 punt he made 22 tackles behind the line of returns. He holds the CSC record for longest scrimmage for the Eagles. His coach, Jerry non-touchdown with punt return—79 yards. Welch, said if Smith had grown to over The return was cut short when a wasp flew 200 pounds they have had to outlaw him into his helmet, causing him to slow down Dave Smith because he’d have been a lethal weapon. and get caught from behind just shy of the (He played at about 190). Smith is a concrete goal line. contractor in the Denver area, where he grew up. He graduated He also ran middle distances for the CSC from Alameda High School. Charlie Mitchell track and field team and was the college’s

Charlie Mitchell averaged 10.2 yards on 55 punt returns during his career. He also was an outstanding cornerback.

54 2003 Inductees Phil Haberman greatest player, Rich King.” Haberman was a three-year starter at linebacker for the Eagles King finished with a career-high 32 points in the Indiana State after transferring from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He game and also scored 25 points the next night against Illinois- was one of CSC’s top three tacklers each of Chicago, one of the nation’s top NAIA teams. those years. He was selected as Chadron He is affiliated with the family’s auto parts store in his State’s outstanding player his senior year hometown of Craig, Colo., where he also raises horses. in 1982, when the Eagles were 6-2. During his career, he participated in 276 tackles, Randy Lotton recovered two fumbles, intercepted two After playing two years at a Missouri junior college, Lotton passes and broke up eight more. His father, transferred to Chadron State in 1982 so he could play basketball the late Rex Haberman of Imperial, was a and study agriculture. His juco team was guard-oriented and state senator during Phil’s playing days at he hadn’t scored a lot. It took him a while CSC, and was a major contributor to the to blossom offensively at CSC. He averaged CSC football program, both financially and Phil Haberman 11.5 points his first year. But the following through his enthusiatic support. Phil is now a year, he averaged nearly 18 points and 8.0 pathologist living in Cheyenne, Wyo., where rebounds. He shot 51 percent from the field he also has a large equestrian center. those years and 85 percent from the free throw line, including 85.7 percent (108- Terry Hillman 126) his senior year to set the school record A native of Gering, he was definitely one of Chadron State’s that stood for 14 years. He also set the CSC outstanding players in the early 1980s. He was a three-year single-game scoring record of 45 points starter who played outside linebacker and end, depending on against Colorado College. Lotton received the Eagles’ alignment. He participated in 199 tackles during his Randy Lotton CSC’s outstanding player award both of the career. He earned all-district recognition as a years he played. He was smooth and was an senior in 1982, when the Eagles yielded just outstanding leaper with a 36-inch vertical jump. He operates the 225.3 yards and 6.6 points a game. CSC shut family farm near Bellflower, Mo. out five of its eight opponents and gave up just a field goal in another game. Don Mathis CSC had excellent defenses when At just 5-foot-7, 158 pounds, Mathis was a mighty mite for the Haberman and Hillman played.Their 1958 CSC football team that went 8-0. He was the center for the senior year, the Eagles shut out five of the Eagles’ single-wing attack. He was inducted eight opponents, gave up just a field goal into the Hall of Fame at the insistence of his in another game. Joyce Hillman, Terry’s coach, Bill Baker. mother, served as a state senator from the “It all started with the center,” said Baker, Terry Hillman 48th District in the 1990s. He lives in Rapid “and Don was a good one. I don’t think I ever City is now a sales manager for a firm that had a better one. He was small, but he was distributes products over a wide area. His daughter, Stephanie, mighty.” will be a junior on the Chadron State softball team this spring. Mathis played fullback and did the placekicking for Chadron High’s undefeated Rich King football team in 1954. He averaged eight “King Richard” was one of the Eagles’ better basketball players in yards a carry and scored 110 points his the early 1980s. For his career, he shot 50.3 percent from the field Don Mathis senior year. The latter was a school record and 79 percent from the free throw line, including 81.8 percent for 34 years. (81-99), as a senior in 1984-85. He averaged 14.8 points and 5.2 After graduating from CSC in 1959, Mathis taught and coached rebounds as a junior and 15.4 points and 5.8 at Taylor, Neb., for two years, at Hot Springs, S.D., for eight and rebounds as a senior. Fort Dodge, Iowa, for 10 before going into administration. In King drew raves during his junior season the early 1980s, he moved to Meridian, Miss., to become head in December 1983 when the Eagles played master, or principal, at a private school, then joined his brother Indiana State in Terre Haute. King poured in in a variety of business ventures. Don’s wife, the former Wyoma 22 of the Eagles’ 38 points in the first half. Brown, is also a Chadron native. During the radio broadcast, the Indiana During his career as a teacher and coach, Mathis led teams at State announcer said, “Who says Hakeem Hot Springs and Fort Dodge, Iowa, to undefeated seasons. Olajewon of Houston is the best basketball player in America? I say it’s Rich King of Chadron State.” Later, the sportscaster Rich King said, “There’s another basket by the world’s

55 Deb Spickelmier Noble Jenifer Durbin Proud Deb and her identical twin sister, Donna, helped put the Hayes She was a standout in both volleyball and track and field for Center Cardinals in the spotlight during the mid-1980s and then the Eagles in the late 1980s. had outstanding collegiate A 1985 graduate of Golden, Colo., High School, Jenifer track careers. Both initially was a four-year starter and a three-time enrolled at what was then all-conference volleyball selection at Kearney State College, but Chadron State. As a junior, she made the Deb transferred to Chadron all-tournament team at all six tournaments State after her freshman the Eagles entered. The following year, she year to major in family and was selected the most valuable player at the consumer science. Mesa State Tournament and earned NAIA While at CSC, Deb set District 11 all-star honors. school records both indoors Proud was a four-time All-American and outdoors in the 800 and in track and field, besides earning NAIA 1500. Her outdoor time of Scholar-Athlete honors. She set NAIA District 2:11.34 in 1987 still stands. Jennifer Proud 11 records in the heptathlon with 4,609 Her best time of 4:51.8 in the points and the 100 meters of 11.80 seconds 1500 in 1989 stood for 18 in 1988. That year, she scored 64 points at the district meet by years before it was broken winning those events as well as the 200, 100-meter hurdles and by Stacy Girard. Deb earned javelin and placing second in the shot put and third in the long All-American honors at NAIA jump. National Track and Field At the NAIA national meet that spring, Proud set national Meets four times. Indoors, heptathlon records in the 200 meters (25.19) and the shot put she was fifth in the 800 in (41-71/4) before she was injured and could not complete the 1987, fourth in the 800 in competition. Deb Spickelmier, right, edges her identical twin sister, Donna, ’88 and third in the 1,000 in When Proud graduated from Chadron State, she owned the during a race when both were ’89. She also was seventh in school records in eight events. The indoor records were in the 60 seniors. the 800 outdoors as a senior meters (7.11), 60-meter hurdles (8.19) and long jump (18-101/2) in 1989. In addition, she and the outdoor records were in100 meters (11.80), 200 meters won three medals at the national meet for Kearney State as a (25.11), 100-meter hurdles (14.74), long jump (18-71/4) and freshman. heptathlon (4,764 points). As a high school athlete, Deb scored 1,234 points for the She still holds the Chadron State indoor record in the 55 basketball team and won 15 medals and scored 80 points at the meters and the outdoor records in the 100 and 200. In most state track meet in individual events. She still holds the Class D instances, only one CSC athlete has eclipsed the records she state meet record of 2:13.45 in the 800 meters. once possessed With the Spickelmier twins leading the way, Hayes Center While at Chadron State, Jenifer married another member won state championships in both basketball and track and field of the track team, Larry Proud. Their oldest son, Lincoln, is a and was the runner-up in volleyball when they were seniors in freshman hurdler at CSC 1984-85. Hayes Center also was the Class D state champion in track and field the previous year. Dean Rickard After graduating from Chadron State, Deb married her CSC Coach Don Turner said Rickard was the track coach, Scott Noble. They now live at Atwood, Kan., where best offensive guard he’d ever coached. he is the high school athletic director and football coach and she Rickard played at CSC in 1985 and ’86 after is a middle school teacher and coach. They have three children. transferring from Eastern Oregon State, where he also played for Turner. He was a Todd Pierce tough hombre. He was 6-foot-2, 275 pounds, He was one of the Eagles’ outstanding was timed in 4.9 seconds over 40 yards and offensive linemen in the 1980s. He was a bench pressed 460 pounds. He earned all- three-year starter at center and earned NAIA district honors both years he was at CSC and District 11 first-team honors as a senior in was second-team All-American as a senior. 1983. He was a leader, both on and off the After graduating, he returned to his native field, serving as a member of the Student Dean Rickard Hawaii and is involved in law enforcement. Senate all four years he was in college. He now teaches physical education and is an assistant football coach at Natrona County High in his hometown of Casper, Wyo. His wife, the former Patti Kinney, also graduated Todd Pierce from Chadron State.

56 Duane Smith Gregg Stephens Smith was a dynamic athlete who set records in both football After transferring from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and track and field at Chadron State after transferring from where he played football, Stephens started at center on the CSC Riverside City College in his native California basketball team for 2 1/2 years. He tallied in 1984. Although just 5-foot-8, 150 pounds, 1,009 points, an average of 13.5 a game, and he set CSC records for most receptions in a grabbed 451 rebounds, an average of 6.0. game (13), most yards receiving in a game He switched schools and sports so he could (255), most receptions in a season (71), most play for Bob Davis, who had been his high yards receiving in a season (1,264) and most school basketball coach at Central City, Neb. touchdown receptions in a game (4) as a He was a hard-nosed, aggressive player. senior in 1985. He still holds or shares each He averaged 14 points each of his first of the records. two years at CSC. His scoring average Smith’s yardage, per catch average (17.8) dipped to 12.7 points his senior year in and his per game average (140.4) that 1983-84, largely because Randy Lotton Duane Smith season were the best in NAIA Division II. He Gregg Stephens became more of an offensive threat. also returned punts and kickoffs. He was Stephens poured in 39 points during a 95- second-team NAIA All-American as a senior. 88 victory over Wayne State during the final game of the 1981- Smith also was a jumper for the CSC track and field team. He 82 season. had bests of 23-3 1/4 in the long jump and 48-3 ½ in the triple Stephens also hit .299 and belted five home runs for the CSC jump. The latter mark is the second best indoors. He also went baseball team in 1981, the final year the sport was played at CSC. 48-1 1/2 outdoors to rank third on the all-time list. He was the He lives at Olathe, Kan., and is an air traffic controller. He also district champion in the long jump as a senior in 1986. After participates in eight to 10 triathalons a year and has completed graduating, he returned to California and is a technical specialist four Ironman competitions, which include a 2.4-mile swim, a for an organization called Worldwide Support. 112-mile bicycle ride and a 26.2 mile marathon.

2004 Inductees Carrie Roberts Antonovich 10 rodeos in the region her senior year, and won first at three She is a native of Casper who transferred from Casper College consecutive rodeos near the end of the season. Altogether, she and played on Marge Burkett’s outstanding volleyball teams in won the breakaway roping at seven rodeos during her career. 1982 and ‘83. The Eagles won the district As a freshman in 1982-83, she was a member of the Chadron championship and advanced to the bi-district State team that won the regional title and finished fifth in the finals her senior year. She was selected by nation following the national rodeo. She operates a landscaping her teammates as the most valuable player business in Riverton, Wyo. at the end of the season. Carrie played in the bi-district match with Rod Bussinger a badly sprained ankle, two sprained knees Bussinger was a versatile athlete who did that were heavily taped and a dislocated a lot for the Eagles. He started at defensive finger. Afterwards, CSC trainier Sue Kennedy end for the football team three years, taking called Carrie “the most courageous athlete part in 214 tackles. He made seven tackles I’ve ever seen.” for losses totaling 42 yards as a senior in Carrie Antonovich Carrie is married to her high school 1985. He also played in the offensive line sweetheart, Paul Antonovich, who played much of the time the last two years and was baseball at CSC and graduated from the college in 1984. They the Eagles’ punter for 3 ½ seasons. moved to the state of Washington in 1986 where both teach and He averaged 38 yards a punt during his coach. Carrie teaches health and physical education and is the career and was selected by the Omaha department head at Hanford High School. World-Herald as the punter on its state Rod Bussinger college all-star teams in both 1984, when Kerry Becker he averaged 38.6 yards, and ’85, when he A graduate of Hyannis High School, Becker averaged 39.8. He was selected the all-District 11 punter in 1984. was an outstanding breakaway roper for Bussinger was the Class B state champion discus thrower his the Chadron State rodeo team in the mid- senior year at Gordon High School, and threw the discus for the 1980s. She won the Central Rocky Mountain Eagles his first two years in college. Region’s breakaway championship in both After teaching and coaching at Kimball High School for eight 1984 and 1986 and finished fourth in the years, Bussinger was employed by the Farmers’ Cooperative National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association Elevator in Kimball several years and now is the battalion career standings as a senior in 1986. She placed counselor covering the western half of the state for the Nebraska first or second in her pet event at five of the National Guard. Kerry Becker

57 John Flynn Mike Max A native of Blair, Flynn was an outstanding offensive lineman Max was a two-time state champion and an all-state football for the CSC football team in 1979, ‘80 and ‘81. As a senior, he player at Burwell High School, graduating in 1980. He didn’t was selected by his teammates as the Eagles’ enroll at Chadron outstanding player. Offensive linemen don’t State until 1984, rack up statistics, but the Eagles’ fullback the but it didn’t last two years Flynn played was Willy Long, take him long to a three-time all-district selection. Prior to make his mark Flynn’s induction into the Hall of Fame, Long as a college said Flynn was the lineman he knew he could wrestler. He had depend upon the most to block well for him, a 27-5 record and added that he missed Flynn’s presence as a freshman in the line his senior year. with several John and his wife, Lisa (see next profile), of his losses John Flynn live near Sutherland, where he is an occurring while Mike Max was a two-time All American associate research scientist for Syngenta, he was injured. heavyweight wrestler at CSC. Inc., a large seed corn firm. He formerly was a product He placed eighth development agronomist for Golden Harvest Seeds. at heavyweight at the NAIA National Tournament that season and was Lisa Brott Flynn selected by Amateur Wrestling News as the outstanding John and Lisa Flynn are the only husband and wife duo in the freshman heavyweight in the nation regardless of the school’s CSC Athletic Hall of Fame. She was a product classification. The following year, Max had a 31-5 record, won of the outstanding volleyball program at the heavyweight title at the NAIA Area Tournament and placed Ogallala High School. At Chadron State, she third at the NAIA National Tournament, where he won six of his was second-team all-conference as a junior seven matches. and first-team all-district as a senior in 1982. After the 1986 season, a 275-pound limit was placed on Her coach at CSC, Marge Burkett, later the heavyweights. When the ruling was made, Max weighed about head coach at Mankato State in Minnesota, 125 pounds over the limit and he was forced to sit out the said Lisa may have been the best back row 1986-87 season. He was determined to wrestle again, lost weight player she ever coached. and returned to action in 1987-88. Despite needing arthroscopic Burkett also said Lisa may have been the knee surgery during the season, he finished second at the Area Eagles’ most consistent player her senior Tournament and wrapped up his career with a 73-23-2 record. Lisa Flynn season, when CSC won its most matches His winning .744 winning percentage ranks among the top 10 ever while going 22-15-1. Lisa had just five in Chadron State annals. He was inducted into the Nebraska serving errors in 237 attempts and had 86 ace hits and only 30 Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2004. His wife, Kelly, was a “dorm hitting errors in 294 attempts as a senior when she made the mom” while he attended Chadron State. He has taught and NAIA District 11 all-star team. coached at Ainsworth High School most of his career. Lisa has been a “stay at home” mom and is a part-time rural mail carrier at Sutherland. Jeff Parke Parke did well as both a football player and a wrestler for the Eagles in the mid-1980s. He started much of the time as a Leonard Hawkins sophomore and a junior at cornerback for the “The Hawk” was a Marine Corps veteran from Omaha when football team and was a regular at outside he arrived at CSC in 1983. His best sport was wrestling. He was linebacker as a senior in 1986. He participated a four-time Area Tournament champion and in 103 tackles, recovered two fumbles and placed fifth at the NAIA National Tournament intercepted two passes during his career. as a sophomore in 1985. He finished his As a wrestler, he was a three-time Area wrestling career with a 101-33-1 record. His Tournament champion and placed seventh victory total ranks fifth on the CSC’s list. at the NAIA Tournament at 177 pounds as He also played football. He was a a senior in 1987. The Area Tournament starting offensive guard in 1983, although in those days was a substantial event. It he admitted he did not enjoy playing the consisted of teams such as Black Hills State, position. The next year he shifted to running Dana College, Fort Hays State, Kearney State, back and led the team in rushing with 108 Jeff Parke Northwestern and Westmar Colleges of carries for 525 yards (4.9-yard average). He Iowa and William Jewell College of Missouri. Leonard Hawkins skipped the sport in 1985, but returned in Parke and Leonard Hawkins helped the Eagles win the Area 1986, was injured much of the season and Tournament championship in 1985 and 1987. Parke is a teacher wound up carrying the ball 33 times for 145 yards (4.4 average). and assistant wrestling coach at Kelly Walsh High School in his He is a probation officer in Sarpy County near Omaha. hometown of Casper, Wyo.

58 2005 Inductees Steve Aggers Lee Crawford A native of Laramie, Wyo., Aggers played basketball at Chadron Crawford died in an airplane crash State two years after transferring from Mid-Plains Community near Billings, Mont., in October 1991, College at North Platte. After graduating in 1971, Aggers spent just a year after he had completed 25 years as a college head basketball coach, compiling a 369-360 his athletic career at CSC. A native career record. of Greybull, Wyo., he was a rugged He was the head coach at Mid-Plains, College of Great Falls in 6-foot-2, 230-pound fullback that Montana, Wayne State in Nebraska, Eastern opponents hated to see coming their Washington and Loyola Marymount in way. California. He was the NAIA District 12 Coach A native of Greybull, Wyo., he of the Year at Great Falls in 1981-82, the helped open holes for tailback David NAIA District 11 Coach of the Year at Wayne Jones and was an excellent ball carrier State in1988-89 and the Big Sky Conference himself. As a senior, he rushed 107 Lee Crawford Coach of the Year at Eastern Washington in times for 725 yards, an average of 1997-98 and 1999-2000. His teams won nine 6.8 yards per carry, and scored 10 conference championships and made 13 touchdowns. Crawford also was an excellent calf roper who was postseason playoff appearances. named the CSC rodeo team’s outstanding contestant his senior Aggers also was an assistant coach at the year. His accomplishments that year included winning the calf Steve Aggers University of Nebraska-Omaha, University roping at the Colorado State University rodeo. of Wyoming, Pepperdine and Kansas State. He was rodeoing full-time when the plane crash occurred. He earned all-conference honors and was co-captain of the Chadron State basketball team his senior year in 1969-70, when Murray Johnson he averaged 11.7 points. While at CSC, Aggers was president Johnson was four days shy of his 90th birthday when he was of Sigma Tau Gamma Fraternity and a member of the Student inducted into the Hall of Fame. He was born Senate. His wife, the former Frankie O’Donnell of Chicago, was in Canada on Oct. 12, 1915, and graduated the first woman to be elected president of the CSC Student from Rushville High School in 1934 and Senate. Aggers is now the athletic director at West Los Angeles from Chadron State in 1942 with a degree College. in physics. Johnson spent three years in the Army in the South Pacific during World War Corey Anderson II. In the 1950s, he and his wife, the former An 8-man player at Sandhills High School at Dunning, Beth Rogers in Rapid City, S.D., who earned Anderson was an All-American linebacker for the Eagles. He a teaching certificate at CSC, purchased a was among Brad Smith’s first recruits, and store on the Spirit Lake Indian Reservation in served notice that he would be a terrific North Dakota. They operated the store for 20 college player when he made tackles Murray Johnson years and was the postmaster at Fort Totten, “sideline-to-sideline” and earned the Most N.D., for 28 years. He lived at Devils Lake, Valuable Defensive Player Award at the West N.D., when he was inducted. Nebraska All-Star Game in Scottsbluff in Johnson played center on offense and linebacker on defense 1987. That was his first 11-man game. for the CSC football team four years, earning all-conference Anderson played just three years at CSC recognition at least twice. He was a co-captain his senior year. He because he missed his junior year in 1989 was a campus leader, serving as the president of both the Junior with a pulled hamstring. Still, he finished his Class and Blue Key National Honor Fraternity, was a member of career as the Eagles’ all-time leading tackler the Student Council, an officer of Psi Beta Sigma Fraternity and Corey Anderson with 398 and is still second on the list. He was selected to Who’s Who. He was still going strong at age 93 claimed 17 turnovers—nine fumbles and when this was written. eight interceptions, the most ever for a linebacker—during his career. He was a first-team NAIA Division II All-American as a David Jones senior in 1990 and earned Nebraska all-state college honors from Until Danny Woodhead became college football’s all-time the Omaha World-Herald three times. He is the general manager leading rusher while playing at Chadron State, “The Casper of the Cabela’s distribution center at Prairie du Chien, Wis., Comet,” David Jones, was the Eagles’ rushing leader. He gained supervising approximately 900 employees. 4,533 yards while playing tailback. He rushed for more than 100 yards in 19 games and went over 200 yards six times. Just 5-foot-8, 170 pounds as a freshman, some believed he was too small to be a running back in college. He was not particularly fast in the 40-yard dash, but he could change

59 directions at Mary Perrien full speed and Mary scored 1,493 points during her four years at CSC, an had outstanding average of 18.2 points a game. Twice she was the leading scorer balance, vision and in NAIA District 11, made up of 11 colleges courage. in Nebraska, and was named the district’s It did not take Player of the Year in 1987-88. Her 20.6 per Jones long to make game scoring average that season is the his mark as a college second best in CSC history. back. He rushed Perrien holds the CSC career records for for 917 yards, then best 3-point shooting of 42.5 percent (147- the second highest 346) and free throw shooting of 82.5 percent total in CSC history, (284 of 344), and has the record for most his freshman year consecutive free throws with 33. She was in 1987. A knee chosen an NAIA Scholar-Athlete and earned injury limited him Mary Perrien honorable mention All-American in 1988-89. to just 532 yards his She is a rural mail carrier for the Ovid post sophomore year, office in her native Michigan. but he ran for 1,458 as a junior and David Jones holds the plaque he received Rick Samuels 1,625 his senior year as the leading rusher in NCAA Division II Like Steve Aggers, Rick Samuels is a native of Laramie, Wyo., in 1990. rusher his senior year in 1990. He also led and attended Mid-Plains Community College before coming to He received an NAIA that season, when he gained 1,625 CSC. Both became highly-successful college array of honors yards on 245 carries. coaches. Samuels was a guard on CSC following his final basketball teams three years, graduating in season. He led both NAIA and NCAA Division II in rushing, 1971. He was a starter the first two years earned first-team All-American honors from both NAIA and the and was an alternate his senior season after Associated Press and was a finalist for the Harlon Hill Trophy Rick Brown and Scott Jones, both CSC Hall of that is awarded to the outstanding player in NCAA Division Fame members, joined the team. II. A graduate of Natrona County High in Casper, Wyo., Jones Samuels began his coaching career at received both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Chadron Chadron High. The Cardinals won the State. After working as a drug prevention educator for the Western Conference championship in Casper schools for eight years, Jones is a subcontractor who 1973-74, his second year there. He was an frames residential and commercial structures. Rick Samuels assistant coach at Eastern Washington and Interestingly, Jones nearly always ate a cheeseburger that an Iowa State before serving as the head coach assistant coach, trainer or sportswriter would sneak to him just at Eastern Illinois University for 25 years. prior to kickoff. His career record at EIU was an even-Steven 360-360. When he resigned in 2004 his length of tenure was second nationally Danny Moore among Division I coaches, exceeded only by Jim Boeheim’s 29 A native of Rushville, Moore is one of CSC’s all-time years at Syracuse. outstanding track athletes. He placed fourth in the NAIA In 2000-01 after his team won 21 games, he was selected by decathlon in both 1987 and ’88, scoring the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association as the state’s Division I 6,628 and 6,624 points, respectively. Early Coach of the Year. Also, 64 of the 72 seniors who completed their in his career, he concentrated on the high eligibility while Samuels was the coach, graduated, placing the hurdles and the long jump. Only five CSC Panthers among the top 10 percent of the teams in the nation in athletes have run the hurdles faster than his graduation rate. best time of 14.7 seconds and only six have He was the first captain of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes long jumped farther than his top mark of huddle at CSC and was tapped by Blue Key National Honor 23-foot-4. Fraternity. He is now the development officer for Lincoln College Moore won the NAIA District 11 indoor in Illinois. His wife, the former Jan Fisher of Rapid City, S.D., also long jump and the decathlon as a junior is a CSC graduate. The Samuels live at Mattoon, Ill. in 1988. While training to be a decathlete, Danny Moore he learned to throw the javelin. His best of 206-7 is third on the CSC list with the current javelin. He placed seventh in the “open” javelin at the NAIA National Meet in 1988 and was third in 1989, when he also won the district championship. He lives in Denver and travels 70,000 to 80,000 miles a year as a field services representative for a water treatment firm based in California.

60 2006 Inductees Roxie Boehm Arens touchdown in a 10-7 victory over Doane. His blocked punt versus A native of Indianola, Neb., Roxie was a four-year starter at Wayne was recovered by a teammate for a touchdown, leading outside hitter for the CSC volleyball team. She led the Eagles in to CSC’s 14-7 win. After working in the Job Corps program 27 both hitting and digging each of her final three years, including several years at the Pine Ridge Job Corps south of years. As a senior in 1991, she was placed Chadron, he is now a prevention specialist for the Loudoun County on three all-tournament teams and on both Mental Health Center at Shepherdstown, W. Va. the NAIA District 11 (all the Nebraska small colleges) and the Rocky Mountain Athletic Jay Masek Conference first teams. She finished second A graduate of Chadron High, Masek was a tremendous in District11and third in the RMAC in kills placekicker the first four years that Brad Smith was the Eagles’ per game that season and was fifth and head football coach. He concluded his career sixth, respectively, in digs per game. She was in 1990 with eight school records. They were selected to three all-tournament teams as a most extra points in a season (43) and a senior. For her career, Roxie had 1,928 kills and career (116); most field goals in a game (5), Roxie Arens 2,052 digs. She still ranks third in kills per game a season (15) and a career (47); and most and fourth in digs per game on the Eagles’ all- points kick scoring in a game (21), season time lists. She and her husband, David Arens, and their two sons live (88) and career (256). Travis Atter has broken in London, Ohio. several of Masek’s records while doing the Eagles’ placekicking since 2006, but the most Scott Blachly field goals and points in a game and the career-scoring marks still stand. Blachly scored Altogether, Masek made 47 of 67 field 1,565 points, still fifth Jay Masek goal attempts and 115 of 130 extra points. best on the Eagles’ As both a junior and a senior, he received NAIA second-team all-time list, while All-American honors and as a senior was a first-team selection playing guard for the by C.M Frank, a Pennsylvania history professor who chose CSC basketball teams small college All-American teams. Jay is married to the former in the mid-1980s. The Nikki Rein of Chadron. They live in Kearney where he is a sales 3-pointer was adopted representative for a Coors distributorship. in 1986-87, his junior Scott Blachly (left) averaged 23 points year, and he definitely and Ted Niemann averaged 24.8 as se- cashed in. That season Todd McIntyre niors in 1987-88, making them the high- Blachly was 51 of 112 He had a particularly outstanding senior year in 1980-81 for est scoring duo in Chadron State men’s from 3-point range the CSC rodeo team. That year, he won the saddle bronc riding basketball history in a single season. for 45.5 percent. As at five rodeos in the Great Plains Region, finished second in the a senior, he was 56 event in the regional standings and also was of 119 from behind the arc for 47.1 percent. The latter mark the saddle bronc runner-up at the National is still the school record for best percentage in a season. He College Finals Rodeo. averaged 23.0 points as a senior, seventh best on the CSC all- McIntyre really put on a show at the time list. That season, the University of Denver coach, the late Chadron State rodeo his senior year. He Dick Peth, told CSC Coach Bob Wood that Blachly was the best won the steer wrestling and team roping outside shooter the Pioneers had played against. He lives in and was second in saddle bronc riding to his hometown of Fort Morgan, Colo., where he is an assistant easily win the all-around cowboy title. In manager of Dahl Plumbing. shades of Monty “Hawkeye” Henson, one of pro rodeo’s top saddle bronc riders in the 1970s, McIntrye usually “bailed” off his Dennis Fitzgerald Todd McIntyre saddle broncs at the end of the ride instead A native of New Jersey, Fitzgerald was of waiting for the pickup men. At a rodeo in an All-American at Indian Hills Community Rapid City, he won a Bailey hat in what was called “The Bailey College in Iowa before coming to Chadron Buck-Off Contest.” A native of Thedford, McIntyre now lives at State to play football in 1973 and ‘74. He Douglas, Wyo., where he works at a coal mine. had a terrific senior year, when he won all- district honors and was a Kodak All-American at linebacker. That season, Fitzgerald led the Eagles in tackles with 94, blocked three punts, intercepted three passes and recovered a Dennis Fitzgerald fumble. The latter resulted in CSC’s only

61 Ted Niemann Toby Spence Niemann and Scott Blachly were Spence transferred to Chadron State after classmates who were a formidable playing baseball two years at El Camino duo for the Chadron State basketball Community College in his native California. teams. Niemann finished his career He played well for the Eagles. He collected in 1987-88 with 1,490 points, ninth 38 hits in 99 at bats for a .384 average as a best on the all-time list. He averaged junior in 1976 and had 29 hits in 86 at bats 16.5 points as a sophomore, 15.0 as for a .337 average as a senior. His career a junior and 24.8 points as a senior. average of .362 (61 hits in 168 at bats) The latter average was the best ranks third in the history of the Chadron among Nebraska collegiate players State baseball program. Spence also was an Toby Spence that season and is the highest in CSC excellent third baseman. The 1976 team that history. Spence played on had a 19-12 record, the best in school history. Niemann made 61.7 percent (246 Ted Niemann is the ninth He is married to former CSC cheerleader Cathy Davey. They live of 399) of his field goal shots his leading scorer in CSC in Douglas, Wyo., where he works for the Burlington-Northern- senior season for a school record history. His 24.8 points per Santa Fe Railroad. that stood 15 years. Although just game average as a senior a shade taller than 6-foot-4, he is the best in CSC history. Chris Stein also averaged 7.7 rebounds his Stein played quarterback for teams coached by his father, Dick final year season. He was an NAIA District 11 first-team choice Stein, at Chadron High School, but played tight end at Chadron in both 1986-87 and 1987-88. A graduate of Hot Springs, S.D., State in the late 1980s. During High School, Niemann is a certified public accountant and is CEO his four years at CSC, he caught of Privacy Networks, which provides e-mail support services to 107 passes for 1,281 yards (12.0 large companies. He lives in Fort Collins, Colo. average) and 14 touchdowns. That tied him with Hall of Famer Dean Dr. Sam Rankin Palser as the all-time reception Rankin was president of Chadron State College nearly 12 years leader among CSC tight ends. Stein beginning in September 1986, and was inducted into the Hall of also was known as an exceptional Fame for meritorious service blocker, held for the placekickers Rankin exerted the leadership that brought many positive and snapped for punts. changes for CSC athletics. The achievements The “big” play of his career was in included obtaining membership for the the regular season finale at Mitchell, Eagles in the Rocky Mountain Athletic S.D., during his senior year in 1989, Conference and NCAA Division II, expanding when the Eagles edged Dakota and improving the stadium and press box at Wesleyan 38-34. Chris Stein Elliott Field, increasing support for athletics Stein caught the and hiring Brad Smith as the football coach winning touchdown pass from quarterback and then elevating him to athletic director. Steward Perez on about the 10-yard line and Also during Rankin’s tenure as president, carried two Tigers into the end zone for the the Eagles added women’s golf and took winning touchdown with 90 seconds to play. steps that improved the track and field The Eagles needed that victory to qualify for Sam Rankin program. Rankin stepped down as president the NAIA playoffs. Stein finished that game in June 1998 and was on the college staff with nine receptions for 112 yards. full-time as Board of Trustees Professor of History through the Stein was named to the Omaha World- 2005-06 school year. He and his wife, Sharon, now live near Herald’s all-state team and also received Dayton, Ohio, their hometown. Chris Stein honorable mention NAIA All-American his senior year. He was coaching the Wyoming Cavalry of the National Indoor Football League when he resigned to become a full-time member of the Chadron State football coaching staff in January 2005 after Bill O’Boyle was promoted to head coach. He is now the Eagles’ passing game coordinator and quarterback coach. He and his wife, the former Nancy Nitsch of Chadron, have five children.

62 2007 Inductees Dean Barent he was seventh in 1990 at Barent was a wrestler and bullrider at Chadron State in the 52-3 and third in 1991 at early 1980s. He was the 142-pound champion at the NAIA Area 55- ¼. His all-time best marks Wrestling Tournament as a junior and a senior after placing came at the national meets second his sophomore year. He had an 82-43-1 career record, his senior year in 1991. Both including a 26-9 mark as a senior in 1982-83 rank fourth on the Eagles’ all- when one of his losses was by an 11-9 score time lists. He placed second at the national tournament to Ronnie James in the shot both indoors and of Central Oklahoma, who was on his way to outdoors at the RMAC Meets his third national title. his junior year and won the In rodeo, Barent placed in bullriding six event at both meets as a times during his college career, including a senior. pair of firsts as a senior. As a senior at Chadron High The 2008-09 school year is his 18th year in 1987, Bowman was the Class B shot put champion as an industrial technology teacher and Both Dawn Brammer and Kail wrestling coach at Worland High School at the state meet and was second in the all-class Bowman earned All-American Dean Barent in Wyoming. His teams won the Class 3A honors in the shot put four times state championship in 2000 and 2001 and standings with a throw of 58- in the 1990s. annually ranked among the top five at the state tournament 8. He also placed third in the during a 10-year stretch. Class B discus with a throw of In 2005 he took a leave of absence from his teaching and 160-7. In both high school and college, he had a knack for nearly coaching duties to serve as a platoon sergeant with the always having his personal best marks at the big meets. He is a Wyoming National Guard in Iraq. He and his wife, Kerri, who also biology instructor at Western Nebraska Community College in graduated from CSC and teaches in the Worland Middle School, Scottsbluff. have two sons, including Cody, a former wrestler for the Eagles and a CSC graduate. Dean’s younger brother, Dan, was the first Dawn Brammer CSC wrestler to win 100 matches for the Eagles and was inducted Brammer was an excellent thrower for the Eagles in the into the CSC Hall of Fame in 2001. Their older brother, DeWayne, early 1990s. She won the NAIA District 11 discus championship also wrestled and played football at CSC. in 1990 with a mark of 131-feet. She was the RMAC shot put champion both indoors and outdoors in 1991 and earned All- Bill Boness America honors four times in the shot put in NAIA competition. Boness earned four letters as a football player for the Eagles. Indoors, she was second in 1990 at 44-2 ¾, fourth in 1991 at He began his career at linebacker, but switched to the offensive 44-5 and second in 1992 at 45-2 ½. Outdoors, she was seventh line after his freshman season. He was a three-year starter, in 1992 at 43-8. Her best shot put marks were 45-7½ indoors playing one year at guard and two at tackle. and 44-2½ outdoors. She owned the school records in the event As a junior in 1990, he was named to the when she graduated. Her best discus mark was 141-10. She also Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference’s lettered in volleyball, coached the CSC volleyball team eight first-team and was a second-team NAIA years and helped coach the track and field team six years. She All-American. The Eagles led NCAA Division now teaches physical education at CSC. Brammer and Bill Boness II in total offense at 480 yards a game and were classmates at Alliance High School. David Jones was the nation’s leading rusher with 1,625 yards that season. The following Mike Sorensen year, Boness was second-team RMAC and Sorensen was the Eagles’ starting right guard three years. He was first-team Nebraska NCAA Division II as was selected to the Omaha World-Herald’s state college all-star selected by the Omaha World-Herald. He team in both 1989 and ’90 when he blocked Bill Boness played semi-pro football in England for a for David Jones, who rushed for more than year after concluding his eligibility at CSC. 3,000 yards, averaged 6.8 yards a carry and His father, Dick Boness, who played football and was a track scored 27 touchdowns those seasons. standout at Chadron State, was inducted into the Hall of Fame in At the end of the ’90 season, CSC Coach 1985. Bill lives in his hometown of Alliance and is an engineer for Brad Smith was quoted as saying Sorensen the Burlington and Santa Fe Railroad. may have been the best guard for his size (6-0, 220 pounds) in the nation. “He played Kail Bowman like a 250-pounder. What he got done was Bowman was a four-time All-American in the shot put in the amazing. He’s been a great worker and a early 1990s. He was fourth at the NAIA National Indoor Meet in great technician,” the coach said. A native of both 1990 and 1991 with marks of 52-4 ½ and 54-8 ¼. Outdoors, Mike Sorensen Wheatland, Wyo., he’s now the principal at

63 Chase County High School at Imperial, Neb. His wife, the former Bob Waldner Nancy Schnell, is an Alliance native and a graduate of CSC, where Waldner is Chadron State’s only three-time All-American she played volleyball. wrestler, finishing fourth at 177 pounds in 1988, seventh at 177 in 1989 and sixth at 190 in 1997 at the Josh Robinson NAIA National Tournament. His 96-33 career Robinson is Chadron State’s all-time leading men’s basketball record gives him a .745 winning percentage, scorer with 2,041 points, nearly 400 the second best in Chadron State history more than any other CSC player has behind only 1972 national champion Bob tallied. He earned the admiration of Lynch. both fans and foes because of his Waldner was both an NAIA Area tremendous work ethic and hard- Tournament champion and a RMAC nosed play. Although just 6-foot-4 champion in 1990, his senior year. During his and a post player, he found a way career, he pinned 37 of his opponents and to take the ball to the basket for was pinned just twice. Waldner holds the a variety of layups against taller Bob Waldner Chadron State record for fastest pin, in nine opponents. seconds. He was the team’s Outstanding Besides his career scoring Wrestler three times. While attending CSC and immediately record, Robinson also holds the afterwards, he won several “tough man” competitions, often school records for most points against much larger opponents. “His head was made of in a game (51), most field goals concrete,” said Darold Andrist, who was Waldner’s first wrestling (762) and most free throws (515). coach at CSC. After he worked several years at the Pine Ridge Job Corps He averaged 18.7 points and 8.4 Josh Robinson rebounds as a four-year starter Center south of Chadron following graduation from CSC, 1988-92 and posted double-doubles 34 times during his final two Waldner is a social student supervisor at the Mingo Job Corps seasons. Center at Puxico, Mo. Waldner and his wife, Kim, a 1993 CSC His many honors included being a two-time NAIA All-American graduate, have five children. Scholar-Athlete, an NAIA second-team All-American and an Academic All-American his senior year. He is the only CSC basketball player, male or female, to receive the latter two Bob Waldner is honors. Chadron State’s only three-time All Ameri- Josh was followed to CSC by his brothers Jason and Jeremy. can wrestler. He During the eight-year span, the Robinsons scored 5,081 points finished with a .745 and grabbed 2,138 rebounds, making them one of the most winning percentage, successful brother trios in college basketball history. Josh has a second best in CSC woodworking business in his hometown of Loveland, Colo. history. 2008 Inductees Wendy Grint Alexander college career. She played volleyball at Chadron State two years after A native of Sargent, Wendy is now a teacher and coach at Ord transferring from Eastern Wyoming College, where she had been High School. Her volleyball team won the Class C championship a first-team All-American and Academic All-American. She had at the Nebraska State Tournament in 2007. Her husband, Jason similar success at CSC. Alexander, a native of Lusk, Wyo., also graduated from CSC. They As a junior in 1992, she led the Eagles were married while attending CSC. in hitting (.270), kills (478) and digs (440) and was second-team all-Rocky Mountain Russ Anderson Athletic Conference. As a senior, Wendy led A native of Anselmo, Anderson was an the Eagles to a 22-8 record and a 10-2 record excellent linebacker for the Eagles in the late in the RMAC. She set the school records 1980s and early ’90s. He became a starter as and led the RMAC in kills per game (4.5) a sophomore in 1989 when his cousin, Corey and hitting percentage by a front row player Anderson, who was inducted into the Hall of (.324). Fame in 2006, was sidelined by a hamstring Wendy was named first-team all- injury. Russ responded by leading the Eagles Wendy Alexander conference and all-region and was selected in tackles with 142 and was selected the as a first-team Academic All-American by team’s best defensive player. the College Sports Information Directors of America at the After Corey returned in 1990 and earned conclusion of her senior season. She graduated from CSC with All-American honors, Russ took part in 43 a 3.97 GPA, receiving just one B and all the rest A’s during her Russ Anderson tackles while alternating with Corey and 64 Jason Irvine, a senior that fall. During his senior year in 1991, In the late 1990s, Chadron State named a facility, the Elliott Russ again led the Eagles in tackles with 132, was first-team Field pressbox, in Marshall’s honor, making him one of only a RMAC, first-team Nebraska NCAA Division II and honorable few people to have that distinction while still employed at the mention NAIA All-American. He concluded his career with 131 college. unassisted and 196 assisted tackles, including seven tackles Marshall has been recognized numerous times by the College for losses of 40 yards, three fumble recoveries and three Sports Information Directors of interceptions. He also broke up 10 passes. America throughout his career Russ is married to the former Cheryl Bolen, a native of Alliance for his writing and publications and a CSC graduate. They are ranchers in the Hyannis area. efforts. In recent years, Marshall has received distinguished service Tricia Lukawski awards from the Nebraska Athletic A graduate of East Chicago (Ind.) Central High School, Tricia is Directors, Nebraska Coaches Chadron State’s all-time women’s Association, the Chadron Chamber basketball leading scorer and of Commerce and the Chadron possessed 12 school records when Youth Baseball Program. In 2004, she graduated in 1993. She poured he was presented the first Chadron in 1,869 points in 100 games for the Basketball Tradition Award. He Eagles. She averaged 16 points as also has received a 25-year award a freshman, 20.3 as a sophomore, from the CoSIDA and serves on the 18.3 as a junior and 19.7 as a selection committee for the Harlon senior. She was a three-time Rocky Hill Award, presented annually to Con Marshall was the Mountain Athletic Conference the outstanding player in NCAA Sports Information Direc- first-team selection and was an Division II football. tor at CSC for more than unanimous choice as the player Perhaps one of Marshall’s biggest three decades. of the year as a senior in 1992-93. honors came in late September She also was a third-team NCAA 2008 when he was inducted into the Nebraska High School Division II All-American as selected Sports Hall of Fame as a contributor. In 1986, Marshall authored and compiled “The History of by the American Women’s Sports Tricia Lukawski Federation her senior year. Chadron State College,” a 232-page publication to commemorate At least since 1970, Tricia and Josh Robinson are the only CSC the college’s 75th anniversary. basketball players to be placed on an All-American team. The He also wrote the majority of this publication. school records that she still possesses include most career points Marshall’s knowledge of the northwest Nebraska and the (1,869), most points in a half (30), most field goals in a career state’s Panhandle goes far beyond sports. After earning a (667), most 3-pointers in a game (8), most 3-pointers in a season bachelor’s degree from Chadron State in 1963 he worked three (78) and most 3-pointers in a career (238). She also is tied for most years each as a sports and news reporter at the Chadron Record assists in a game (10) and most field goals in a season (191). and farm and feature reporter for the Scottsbluff Star-Herald. He She graduated with a 3.83 cumulative grade point average and returned to Chadron in 1969 to become Chadron State’s first full- is in her 14th year as a physical education teacher and coach at time director of information. He left Chadron State in the 1970s schools in the East Chicago area. She was inducted into the East to become editor of the Sidney Telegraph for a year and was Chicago Sports Hall of Fame in 2007 and was elected to the RMAC’s editor of the Chadron Record for 16 months before returning to 12-member all-time women’s basketball team in late 2008. the staff of his alma mater. In addition to his journalistic endeavors, he is active in the Chadron Christian Church, Kiwanis, and helps in the preparation Con Marshall and reporting of a number of community events. Con Marshall, who served as Chadron State College’s Marshall’s wife Peggy helps prepare elementary education director of information services and sports teachers at Chadron State. They have three adult children -- information for more than three decades, Tyler, Sara and Perry – and seven grandchildren. is inducted into the CSC Hall of Fame for meritorious service. Although Marshall stepped down as a full- David McCartney time employee at CSC, he has stayed highly McCartney is one of the Eagles’ all-time involved with the activities on campus. great running backs. He succeeded David Marshall, a native of Chadron and a Jones as the Eagles’ primary running back as graduate of Chadron State, has completed 37 a sophomore in 1991, when he carried 159 years as a CSC employee. During that time, times for 840 yards and 14 touchdowns. he has produced volumes of news stories McCartney had a particularly outstanding junior season, when he rushed 267 times Con Marshall and photographs, in addition to frequently serving as a resource for anyone looking for for 1,359 yards and scored 25 touchdowns information about Chadron State, its athletic programs and the and two 2-point conversions to lead NCAA history of the surrounding region. Division II in scoring with 154 points. He David McCartney rushed for at least 100 yards in nine of the

65 10 games that season and earned are available he averaged 15.2 per game. first-team RMAC and third-team He tallied 39 points three times and 41 against Southern Associated Press Little All-American Colorado in 1963-64 during a 112-111 double overtime victory honors. over Southern Colorado for the school record at that time. He A native of Wright, Wyo., he also also pulled down 31 rebounds in that game for a CSC record that began his senior year well, rushing likely will never be broken. for a career-high 209 yards against A slender 6-foot-6 Chicagoan, Sanford was recruited by Mack Black Hills State before suffering Peyton with help Marques Haynes, player-coach of the Harlem a sprained ankle that forced him Magicians. Sanford was CSC’s first black athlete. He was placed to miss considerable playing time. on the Omaha World-Herald’s state college all-star team all four He still finished that season with years he was at CSC, including his junior year when he played 127 carries for 679 yards and eight in just eight games after missing the first semester because of touchdowns. academic problems. For his career, he carried 568 He was a graceful athlete who seemed to glide down the floor. times for 2,947 yards, an average of He had a variety of hook and jump shots, outstanding leaping David McCartney 5.2 per carry, and 48 touchdowns. ability, a long reach and great stamina. He often played the He ranks fourth in career rushing at entire game. CSC behind Danny Woodhead, David Jones and Corey Campbell, Through Vester Van, who came to CSC with Sanford to CSC in and is second in scoring behind Woodhead. the fall of 1960, it was learned that Sanford died of sickle-cell McCartney is married to the former Stacy Drabbels, a Hay anemia when he was middle-aged. Springs native and a CSC volleyball player and graduate. They live in Chadron, where he is employed by Great Plains Cory Shinkle Communications. A native of Jackson, Wyo., Shinkle had played basketball at Northwest College at Powell, Wyo., two years and had not Steward Perez competed in track and field since high school when he enrolled Perez started every game for the Eagles at quarterback all at CSC. four years he was at CSC, and was one of Upon the recommendation of his high the major factors in the success the team school coach and at the urging of CSC achieved under coach Brad Smith. He played coach Scott Noble, Shinkle worked hard with lots of moxie. to become a decathlete after joining the When Perez concluded his career in 1991, Eagles. He placed fourth at the NAIA District he owned nearly every CSC passing and total 11 decathlon with 6,195 points his first year offense record. He completed 594 of 1,086 at CSC. But his efforts paid off handsomely passes (54.6 percent) for 8,574 yards and his senior season in 1990, when he won the 73 touchdowns. The TD total is still a school NAIA District 11 decathlon with 6,613 points. record. He also rushed for 213 yards and 15 Two weeks later, he placed third at the NAIA touchdowns. Cory Shinkle National Meet with 6,879 points to earn All- Steward Perez Entering the 2008 season, Perez’s passing American honors. yardage and total offense yardage figures His total at the national meet is still the Chadron State record were second only to Trevor Moon’s career totals. He threw 63 and would have placed fourth at the 2008 NCAA Division II interceptions, a fairly high number, but 21 of them came his Meet. Shinkle’s marks at the national meet were: 100—11.09, freshman year. With Perez running the show, the Eagles were long jump—21- ¾, shot put 39- ¾, high jump—6-4, 400—50.59, 8-2 in 1989 and 9-2 in 1990 and went to the NAIA playoffs both 110 hurdles—15.08, discus—96-10 ½, pole vault—13-8, years. javelin—159-0, 1500 meters—4:37.36. A graduate of Converse High School in Texas, Steward lives in Shinkle is a math curriculum and advanced placement San Antonio and works for a health care facility. coordinator at the Glendale Union High School District in Arizona. Felix Sanford While compiling this book, it became Caryn Martin Ziettlow evident that a major oversight had been A multi-talented person, Caryn excelled made by not inducting Felix Sanford into the in both track and field and music while Athletic Hall of Fame years ago. attending Chadron State. Sanford is tied for sixth on the Eagles’ She was a two-time state meet low hurdle career scoring list with 1,532 points in 77 champion while attending Chadron High games for a 19.8 average. His 24.5-point School and developed into a terrific all- average as a senior in 1963-64 ranks second around track athlete for the Eagles, earning to Ted Niemann’s 24.8 average in 1987- All-American honors seven times. 88. Sanford’s rebounding statistics are Her first All-American laurels were at the incomplete, but in the 48 games that records NAIA National Indoor Meet in 1992, when Felix Sanford Caryn Ziettlow 66 she was fifth in the 60-yard hurdles in 8.44 seconds and fifth in the long jump at 17-11¾. In addition, she was the runner-up in the NAIA District 11 heptathlon as a freshman in 1990 and won it as both a sophomore and a junior. She placed seventh in the heptathlon at the NAIA National Meet as a sophomore with 4,490 points and was third as a junior with 4,967 points. Prior to her senior year in 1993, the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, which the Eagles had recently joined, switched to NCAA Division II. That year, she won the 55-meter hurdles in 8.34 seconds and the high jump at 5-4 at the RMAC Indoor Meet and the 100-meter hurdles in 14.71 seconds and the long jump at 18-7 ½ at the outdoor meet. Also in ’93, she also was fourth in the long jump at 18-9 ¼ and fifth in the high jump at 5-5 at the NCAA DII National Indoor Meet. But her greatest achievement came at the National Outdoor Meet that spring when she tied for second in the heptathlon by scoring 5,151 points. Her national marks that season: 100 hurdles—14.76, high jump—5-6 ½, shot put—35-5, 200—25.51, long jump—18-5, javelin—95-9, 800—2:22.42. Caryn Ziettlow still holds the CSC long jump records of 20-0 When Caryn graduated, she owned the CSC school records (indoors) and 19-3 (outdoors). She also holds the 55-meter high in five indoor and four outdoor events. She still has eight of hurdle record of 7.95 seconds and the 100-meter high hurdle re- the nine records. cord of 14.40. She also holds the heptathlon record of 5,151 points. In addition to her track and field accomplishments, Caryn in her fourth year as the elementary principal at North was the piano accompaniest for the CSC concert choir several Bend. She earned her master’s degree from CSC in 2001 years, often sang the National Anthem at CSC athletic events and is scheduled to earn a doctorate from the University of and was the college’s homecoming queen in 1991. Nebraska in December. After graduating, she taught at the Antelope School in She is married to Todd Ziettlow, a native of Ekalaka, Mont., Dawes County two years. She then moved to Hemingford, who was a football and track and field athlete at CSC and where she taught music three years, sixth grade two years teaches math at North Bend. and was the elementary principal four years. She is now 2009 Inductees Russ Crafton J.J. Feddersen Russ was an outstanding off-guard for the Eagles, starting Another four-year starter for the CSC basketball team, J.J. was three years and earning all-RMAC first-team honors as both a point guard who could score. Like Russ a junior and a senior. He averaged 19.5 points a game both Crafton and Jason Robinson, he helped the seasons, and finished with 1,520 points, Eagles rise from the bottom of the RMAC to eighth best on CSC’s all-time list. He holds the top during his career. He was the Eagles’ both the Chadron State and the RMAC point guard and finished with 307 assists, records for most 3-pointers in a game with third highest on CSC’s all-time list, and also 12. He sank 40.7 percent of his 3-point scored 1,242 points that ranks 15th on CSC attempts during his career, and scored as all-time list. many as 48 points in a game, second high J.J. averaged about 12 points a game in CSC annals. He also tallied 40 points once each of his four years on the team. He and 38 twice. ranked second in the RMAC in free throw Russ also was a capable defender. He came J.J. Feddersen shooting as a senior, when he made 91 of up with 62 steals as a junior and 58 as a 117 attempts for 77.8 percent. He also hit Russ Crafton senior. Russ lives in Overland Park, Kan., and 39.3 percent of his 3-point attempts that season and finished his is an accounting manager for an advertising career by making 178 of 480 treys for 37.1 percent. agency. His wife, Emily, works for the same agency. He has two J.J. lives in Cheyenne, Wyo., and sells medical equipment. His boys, Ryder and Avner. wife, Saralyn, works for Great Lakes Airlines. They have three children, Kalli, Cole and Cooper.

67 Cody Gamble the team’s outstanding defensive player as a senior in 1994. He Cody started three years at safety for the Eagles. He completed was placed on the RMAC second-team all-conference team each his career with 176 tackles, including 112 that were unassisted. of his final three years. He also had 21 interceptions, a CSC record Chad is a partner in the family’s ranching operation in at the time, and now second on the list. He southern Sioux County. He is married to a neighbor girl, the returned the interceptions 324 yards. In former Carlyle Laucomer. They have two children, Quincey and addition, he also broke up 34 passes and Sullivan. averaged nine yards on 54 punt returns. Cody was first-team all-RMAC as a junior in Joe Planansky 1993 and a senior in 1994. He was a second- Joe was a four-year starter and a three-time unanimous all- team selection his sophomore season. He conference selection at tight end. He also was placed on the was placed on the World-Herald’s Nebraska Omaha World-Herald’s Nebraska NCAA NCAA Division II first-team all three years. Division II first-team three times. He was a Cody also participated in track and field as second-team All-American as a junior and Cody Gamble a freshman at CSC and won the NAIA District a first-team selection as a senior. He caught 11 decathlon. 154 passes for 1,879 yards during his career, Cody is an elementary teacher and coach in the Leyton and was the first Chadron State player to Schools. His wife, the former Julie Guzzy, was a track standout be selected to play in the Snow Bowl in at CSC and is a creative manager at Cabela’s. They have two Fargo, N.D. His coach, Brad Smith, called him children, Scout and Shawnee. “probably the best blocker I ever coached.” Joe was invited to the Pro Combine in Shauna Smith Golembiewski 1995 and signed a contract with the Miami Shauna initially attended UNL, but transferred to CSC at the Joe Planansky Dolphins. He spent most of the 1995 season end of the first semester and was immediately put in the starting on the Dolphins’ developmental squad lineup. She was an impact player the next three seasons. As a before being activated for two games. He was inducted into the sophomore, she shot 48.6 percent from RMAC Hall of Fame in 2005 and this past July he was one of two the field and averaged 11.4 points and 8.6 CSC players selected for the 12-man RMAC All-Time Offensive rebounds. As a junior, she shot 50.7 percent Team in observance of the conference’s 100th anniversary. from the field and 67 percent from the Joe is a chiropractor in Windsor, Colo. His wife, Kim, was a line while averaging 13.2 points and 5.8 volleyball standout at Nebraska Wesleyan and is a part-time rebounds. During her senior year, she shot consultant for a Dallas, Texas, firm while caring for their two 50.4 percent from the field and 75 percent children, Kaley and Jensen. from the line while averaging 17.8 points and 6.3 rebounds. Angela Woodworth Rhoades Shauna was second-team all-conference as Angela came to Chadron State in 1993 after playing volleyball a junior and was placed on the first team as two years at Northwest Community College in Powell, Wyo. Shauna a senior. The Eagles went 18-9 overall both She was a setter and is the only CSC volleyball player to earn Golembiewski seasons and were 10-2 in the conference in all-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference first- 1992-93 and 9-3 in 1993-94. She finished her team honors twice. career with 1,215 points, sixth best on the Eagles’ all-time list, In 1993, Angela led the RMAC in assist and 614 rebounds, which ties her for first on the list. She also average at 12.10 per game and in hitting earned first-team Nebraska NCAA Division II all-star honors from percentage at .417, coming on 64 kills the Omaha World-Herald as a senior. and only nine errors in 132 attempts. As a team, the Eagles led the conference in Shauna and her husband, Eric, a public safety officer for the hitting percentage (.279) and kill average city of Sunnyvale, Calif., live in San Jose and have two children, (15.20), undoubtedly, in part, because of Leo and Vivian. Woodworth’s setting and hitting abilities. Chadron State was 22-8 that season and Chad Johnson 10-2 in the RMAC to finish second in the Chad was an outstanding middle Angela Rhoades conference standings. linebacker for the Eagles. He led the team In 1994, Woodworth was fifth in the in tackles each of his final three seasons, conference in assist average at 10.66 per game and ranked finishing with a total of 371. That was fourth in hitting percentage at .383, coming on 118 kills and 13 the Eagles’ second highest total when he errors in 274 attempts. Chadron State was 22-10 for the season graduated and now ranks third on the all- and 11-3 in the conference to finish in third place, one game time chart behind only Kevin Homer and behind Mesa State and Fort Lewis. After graduating, Angela married Jay Rhoades, a CSC football Corey Anderson. He was named to the player. She has been a high school English teacher and volleyball Omaha World-Herald’s Nebraska NCAA coach, first at Chadron and now at Douglas, Wyo. She was an Division II all-star teams in both 1992 and excellent student at CSC, compiling a 3.85 GPA during her three 1994 and was selected by his teammates as Chad Johnson years of undergraduate work. 68 Jay Rhoades Jason Robinson Jay was a three-year starter at wide receiver for the Eagles and Jason was the second of three Robinson brothers to play caught 108 passes for 2,137 yards and 22 touchdowns during basketball for the Eagles. His older brother, Josh, was inducted his career. Both the yardage figure and touchdown totals were into the Hall of Fame in 2007. Jason was a career records at CSC when he graduated. four-year starter and averaged in double The yardage figure now ranks third and figures in scoring all four years. He made the touchdown total is tied for first on the 48.1 percent of his field goal attempts all-time lists. His 13 touchdown receptions as and 67.3 percent of his free throws during a senior in 1991 tied the single-season mark his career. He finished with 1,581 points, set by Don Beebe in 1988. fourth highest on CSC’s all-time list. He also Jay was a first-team All-Nebraska choice by averaged 4.9 rebounds during his careers the Omaha World-Herald in his senior year and ranked second in the RMAC in steals and was second-team all-conference that with 56 his senior season. season. Jason earned first-team all-RMAC honors He compiled a 35-13 record as head Jason Robinson and was first-team on the World-Herald’s Jay Rhoades football coach at Chadron High from 2001 Nebraska NCAA Division II all-star team as a through 2005 and is now the head football senior in 1993-94. The Eagles finished at 17-10 overall and were coach at Douglas High School in Wyoming. His team won the 9-3 and tied for first in the RMAC that season. He is married to Class 3A state championship in 2008 and 2009. Jay and his wife, the former Tresha Hill, also a CSC graduate. She is a veterinarian Angela, who is also being inducted into the Hall of Fame, have and he is a farrier at Queen Creek, Ariz. They have three children, two children, Harley and Haedyn. Ty, Truitt and Tanner.

The 2009 inductees into the Hall of Fame incuded these ex-Eagles. In front, from left, are Jay Rhoades, Angela Woodworth Rhoades, Shauna Smith Golembiewski, Cody Gamble. Those in the back, from left to right, are Russ Crafton, J.J. Feddersen, Jason Robinson, Joe Planansky and Chad Johnson.

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