Central Dewitt Hall of Fame Induction Class 2013

Central Dewitt Hall of Fame Induction Class 2013

Stephanie is a Central Hall of Fame “automatic”. She was a dominant 3 sport student-athlete, NHS member and Yearbook Editor. She helped lead our Volleyball team to two 3 rd Place State finishes and three Big Bend Basketball titles. She is the only 4 X First Team All-Big Bend Volleyball and 4 X First Team Basketball player. She was a 3 X First Team All-State Volleyball and 2 X First Team Basketball player. In 2003, she was named the Quad Cities Times Female Athlete of the Year. She helped lead the Louisville Cardinals to four conference volleyball titles where she earned an MBA in 2008. She later coached for Bellarmine and Syracuse University.

Stephanie Marsh Cantway had just moved from Wisconsin to De. Witt for her eighth-grade year. Central coaches were all atwitter about the tall, athletic girl who had a keen interest in playing volleyball and basketball. Right away, the man who eventually would be her volleyball coach, Greg Weller, could tell the talk wasn’t just hype. “She seemed like someone who was very driven at such a young age, ” Weller recalls. “She wanted to be challenged at a higher level. ” Cantway’s skills were above and beyond those of a person her age. She had a natural ability for the game, and her love of volleyball was evident. Weller describes her as a very intense player and a student of the game; the type of player who truly wanted to improve her own skills as well as those of her teammates. “For her it really was about the team, ” Weller notes. “It was all about the team. ” Cantway put in the extra time she needed outside of the regular season to sharpen her abilities and make herself a force to be reckoned with when she stepped out on the court. “That in and of itself was an indicator she wanted to play at a higher level and excel, ” Weller relates.

Her perseverance paid off as Cantway lettered four years in both volleyball and basketball. She was honored by the Quad City Times, which named her 2003 Athlete of the Year. Cantway was a three-time selection to the first team all-state squad in volleyball and twice was chosen for first team all-state in basketball. She was first team allconference for both sports all four years. Cantway helped her volleyball team to its first state tournament in 2000 as a sophomore and again in 2001. They finished third each time, and it earned her two allstate tournament honors. Weller says as a coach, his philosophy is it’s important for athletes to give something back to their sports, and that’s exactly what Cantway did and still is doing today. “She always had an interest in helping the younger kids, ” he relates. “She coached at the club level, and that’s always been a selling point for me; that really defines a true athlete — how she gives back to the sport. ” Cantway attended the University of Louisville where she was a three-year starter for the Cardinals volleyball team and became known for her versatility as the team’s utility player.

Nancy Worley, the associate director of sports information at Louisville, says she admired Cantway’s natural talent and leadership she showed on the court. “She literally could play every position, ” Worley notes. “That’s what her true gift was; she was a such a graceful, good athlete who always knew where to be, what to do and how to play. She was the most valuable player we had on the court. ” Worley also describes Cantway as exceptionally smart, a true problem-solver and a great teammate. If she wasn’t playing, Cantway was cheering on her team from the sidelines. While on the court, she was firing them up. Throughout her career, Cantway played left side, right side, middle and libero. She was team captain her junior and senior years and helped the team finish in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA tournament in 2004 and 2005. In each of her four seasons at Louisville, the Cardinals took home at least a share of the conference championship. As a junior at right side, Cantway was fourth on the team in kills with 208 and third in aces with 28. After becoming a starter as a sophomore,

Cantway earned All-Louisville Invitational honors and had seven matches with double-digit kills. She had 223 kills, 21 aces and 593 attacks for a. 228 hitting percentage as a sophomore. Worley says recruiters knew they needed to get to Central volleyball games fast because the team would win games so quickly. Coaches always respected her for both her intelligence and talent. “She’s tall, athletic and knows the game, ” Worley notes. “I know for a fact she treasured her years at Central. ” After completing her bachelor’s degree in business administration in three years with highest honors, Cantway pursued her MBA at Louisville, graduating in 2008. She then began a career in collegiate coaching, starting at her alma mater and continuing on to Bellarmine University in Louisville, Ky. She currently is at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York. She and her husband have a son, Collin, who was born in the summer of 2011.

Inducted for Outstanding Contributions as an Individual There was little doubt that Stephanie would be a first ballot entry into the Central Hall of Fame. She was as dominant of an athlete in two sports that our school has ever produced. She later had an outstanding career as a collegiate volleyball player for the Louisville Cardinals. Besides athletics though, Stephanie was an outstanding student and member of the National Honor Society. She was also extremely busy as the Editor of our school Yearbook, which is very time consuming job. But in spite of all her curricular successes she still found time to become one of the most decorated female athletes in school’s history. Stephanie was a 3 -sport athlete although her track career was short lived. She was dominant though, as a basketball and volleyball player. In basketball, she Lettered for the Sabers 4 X and is one of only two 4 X First Team All-Big Bend Basketball selection. She helped Central win the Conference three times with combined records of 37 -5 during those years. She still holds HS and Conference records for Blocked Shots and led the Big Bend all 4 years in that category. She was named to the All-State Basketball Team 2 X. Volleyball though, would become her “signature” sport. Again she was a 4 X Letter winner and the only 4 X First Team All-Big Bend selection. She still holds records for Kills, Blocks, Attack Efficiency and Aces. She helped

Central win Conference titles in 2000 and 2002 going 7 -0 in 2002. That title was always a battle with rival Dyersville Beckman during those years. The 2000 and 2002 teams were the first ever Saber volleyball teams to qualify for State and both teams placed 3 rd at the State meet. Stephanie would be named to the All-Tournament Team both years as well as being selected as a 3 X First Team All-State Volleyball player. To top it all, she was named the 2003 Quad Cities Times Female Athlete of the Year. She earned a Volleyball scholarship from Louisville University and became a 3 -year starter for the Cardinals. There, she helped them win at least a share of Conference titles all 4 years making the NCAA Sweet 16 in 2004 & 2005. Her Sophomore year she had seven matches with double-digit kills, 223 total kills, 21 aces and 593 attacks for a. 228 hitting percentage. She was Team Captain her last two seasons. Stephanie earned her Business degree in 3 years from Louisville and her MBA in 2008. She later coached volleyball for Bellarmine University and Syracuse University. She has recently moved back to Louisville with husband Tyler and son Collin. Please help me welcome the newest member of the Central High School Hall of Fame, 2013 inductee… Stephanie (Marsh) Cantway