Central Dewitt Hall of Fame Induction Class 2009

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Central Dewitt Hall of Fame Induction Class 2009

Central Dewitt Hall of Fame Induction Class 2009

In 1984, the Central Sabers were only experiencing their fourth season for Girls Cross

In 1984, the Central Sabers were only experiencing their fourth season for Girls Cross Country. While the team only won one meet all year, that win was the IGHSAU District meet which propelled the team to a State Runner Up finish in Class 2 A.

At the beginning of the 1984 fall sports season, only one thing was known

At the beginning of the 1984 fall sports season, only one thing was known about the Central girls cross country team — they were bigger. After fielding a team of four members in 1981 — the first year the program existed — and five members in both 1982 and 1983, the squad more than doubled to a whopping 11 members in ’ 84. By the end of the season, the entire state found out that the Sabers were not only bigger — they were better too. The 1984 team went through the entire season without finishing worse than fourth and then saved their best two performances for the last two meets of the year, winning a district title and following it up with a runner-up showing at the 2 A state cross country meet. “That was only three years into the program, so it was a whole new deal, ” said Jim Hetrick, who has been the only head coach in the program’s 28 -year history. “When you think back to that particular team, all you can say is that they were a good team. ” Nobody knew what to say about the Sabers at the start of the 1984 season. Only two runners returned from a Central squad that finished 14 th at the district meet a year before and neither senior Kim Alkire Engel nor

sophomore Cathy Rheingans Dalldorf had any cross country experience prior to the 1983 season.

sophomore Cathy Rheingans Dalldorf had any cross country experience prior to the 1983 season. Central, though, had some exciting newcomers to the team. Junior Melanie Selby Dou. Brava had run 800 -meter legs of relay teams at the state track meet and freshman Karen Scheckel Easton was standing out at practice. Other members of the 1984 squad included Wendy Moore Brandt, Traci Bruns, Donna Galloway, Milissa Knudson Hoffman, Jean Hahn Richardson, Laura Hetrick and Angie Trimble Schneck. Janece Seward and Julie Dittmer Walrod were managers for the squad. The season got off to an auspicious start as the Sabers opened the season with a third place finish at the Maquoketa Quadrangular. Selby Dou. Brava — who would lead the Sabers in every meet during the season — was the top Central finisher after crossing the finish line seventh with a time of 13: 47. Scheckel Easton was six seconds behind in eighth, while Rheingans Dalldorf was ninth with a time of 13: 57. Galloway rounded out the scoring with a time of 14: 33 to place 14 th.

The team did not record a team score in their next meet — the

The team did not record a team score in their next meet — the Cedar Rapids Jefferson Invitational — as Hetrick split the team according to age, running just three varsity runners and the rest running junior varsity and sophomore. Selby Dou. Brava cut 26 seconds off her first time to finish 29 th, while Galloway was 63 rd and Alkire Engel rounded out the varsity squad with an 89 th-place finish. The Sabers’ fortunes began to change at their next meet, the Maquoketa Invitational, as they finished second. Selby Dou. Brava was third in the meet after cutting another 24 seconds off her time, while Rheingans Dalldorf also finished in the top-10 with an eighth-place finish of 13: 13. Scheckel Easton added a 12 th-place finish, while Galloway was 16 th and Hahn Richardson was 20 th. Third-place finishes at the Cascade Invitational and Muscatine Invitational soon followed before the Sabers split their team again for the Clinton Invitational and finished fourth — their lowest finish — at the Bellevue Invitational. With just three meets remaining, the Sabers took things to another level, performing admirably in the final three meets of their season.

The run started with a third-place finish at a Big Bend meet that also

The run started with a third-place finish at a Big Bend meet that also included Pleasant Valley — ranked-second in class 3 A and the team champion — and Cascade — the top-ranked team in 2 A. Selby Dou. Brava (eighth), Scheckel Easton (ninth) and Rheingans Dalldorf (11 th) finished within four places of each other and Galloway rounded out the Sabers’ scoring with a 15 th-place finish. Even with the nice finish, Hetrick still was just hoping for a top-four finish at the district meet that would allow the girls to go to state. The Sabers had other ideas, though, and won their only meet of the year with 36 points — 24 more than second-place Davis County. Selby Dou. Brava finished four with a time of 12: 30, while Scheckel Easton was right behind her in fifth with a time of 12: 39. Galloway was 12 th with a time of 13: 19 and Rheingans Dalldorf rounded out the scoring with a 15 th-place time of 13: 22. A week later, the Sabers wrapped up their season with a second-place finish at the state cross country meet despite using four runners who were new to the sport. Selby Dou. Brava wrapped up her fine season with a 10 th-place finish, while Scheckel Easton was 14 th and Rheingans Dalldorf was 19 th. Galloway rounded out the Sabers’ scoring with a 58 th-place finish, while Hahn Richardson had Central’s final time a 14: 02.

Even with a great finish, the Sabers were not able to catch Cascade which

Even with a great finish, the Sabers were not able to catch Cascade which won the meet going away. “We always ended up running against Cascade, ” Hetrick said. “And they would always finish first. ” Still, the second-place finish was an extraordinary accomplishment for a squad that had plenty of question marks entering the year. It also proved to be a catalyst for the girls cross country program — the number of runners increased to 13 the next season and now sits at 37, a far cry from the fours and fives of the program’s first three years. “They were a competitive set of girls, that’s for sure, ” Hetrick said. “You can talk about it all you want, but you need to be talented to make it to the state meet and that group was talented. ”