Celebration of the 1984 and 1989 Softball Seasons
Article & Picture Courtesy of Enterprise
July 01, 2009
Members from two past Crusader softball teams, former coaches and parents reunited here last weekend to celebrate the 1984 and 1989 softball seasons.
Hosted by the players and coaches of the current 2009 Crusader softball team, the event was a great success even though the rain chased all Friday night’s scheduled activities into the high school commons and force organizers to improvise. Player introductions were originally scheduled to begin prior to the varsity ball game between CRB and Walnut last Friday, but the afternoon rain made the softball field unplayable and the game was cancelled.
Twenty five years ago in the summer of 1984, and again five years later, Crusader Coach Darrel Bartling led his team to the state tournament in Fort Dodge. While these two Crusader teams stand out, Crusader softball over the past 25 years has remained strong, with teams winning over two-thirds of all games since 1984 including numerous conference and district championships.
Current CRB Coaches Kent Halstead and Brian Kraft and their 2009 team players served a banquet dinner to the honored guests on Friday evening. Among the honorees included Paul Jensen of Forest City, who coached the Crusader softball team from 1977 to 1982 and was credited for building much of the early Crusader softball tradition. Darrel Barlting of Creston, who was at the helm of the CRB softball program from 1984 to 1997, was also honored, as were two long time assistant coaches: Keith Hjelle of Guthrie Center, who coached under both Jensen and Bartling from 1977 to 1990, and former assistant coach Doug Wanninger, who worked under Bartling from 1989 to 1995.
School Board President Roger Tapps served as Master of Ceremonies and provided much of the commentary.
“It took Jensen a few years to get the program established,” said Tapps, “but once it was established, Coon Rapids made its mark. His 1982 and 1983 teams won conference and district titles, with the 1982 team losing in the game to go to state,” said Tapps.
Tapps noted the team of 1984 was especially important as it was the first team to compete as Coon Rapids-Bayard; its success was instrumental in setting a positive tone as the two school districts, once rivals, moved from athletic sharing to a total consolidation four years later in 1988. Tapps recalled that 1984 season.
“As the season wore on and the players became comfortable with each other as teammates, the team showed signs of great potential,” said Tapps. “At the end of the regular season the team captured the prestigious IKM tournament and was ready to make its district and regional tournament run. The team won six games on the trail, culminating with a 4-0 win over Prairie of Gowrie in the regional championship to earn a state tournament berth.”
Eight members of the 1984 team attended last weekend’s reunion including Lisa (Andersen) Lindaman of Hubbard; Lori Brown of Bayard; Lisa (Dorpinghaus) Young of Johnston; Kaye (Kennedy) Goetzinger of Bennington, NE; Maureen Kennedy of Ankeny; Denise (Kraft) Downey of Bussey; Vicki (Lyons) Namanny of Grimes; and Becky (O’Toole) Bianchi of Des Moines.
Tapps said the 1989 team, like many of Bartling’s teams, “jelled late in the season, clinching the conference championship and playing well in the IKM tournament against tough competition. The team...won the district tournament with relative ease,” Tapps recalled. “Winning its first two regional games set up a showdown with a heavily-favored Ogden team at Ogden for the regional championship. The underdog Crusaders scored five runs in the fifth inning to pull off the upset by a 5-0 score and advance to the state tournament.”
Thirteen members of the 1989 team attended the reunion, including Katie (Bartling) Gehringer of Hudson, Kathy Clayburg of Minneapolis, MN; Janel (Frohlich) Sporrer of Dedham; Judy (Frohlich) Nissly of Newton; Tonya (Hilgenberg) Schlepp of rural Bayard; Angie (Kenyon) McAlister of Coon Rapids; Tracy (Kopaska) Clipperton of rural Bayard; Christy (Palmer) Rusdal of Montana; Andrea (Richadson) Richards of Madrid; Tammy (Thorn) Rebuhn of Des Moines; Deb (Wallace) Irlmeier of Audubon; Denise (Wallace) Schultes of Dedham; Diane (Wallace) Baumhover of Carroll; Peggy Wanninger of Omaha; and Sarah (Wanninger) Askren of Olathe, KS.
Tapps noted that during Coach Bartling’s years as CRB coach, he won nearly 300 games including 10 conference titles, 11 district titles with two state tournament appearances. Tapps also acknowledged Terry Vitzthum of Bayard, who coached the Bayard Reds from 1974-1980 and also 1983, and whose daughter, Jenny, still holds the CRB record for most wins by a pitcher.
Many of the players and former players enjoyed a picnic at the Coon Rapids Parker Shelterhouse on Saturday afternoon.
