Hall of Fame: I-K

Since 1972 the IATC has inducted coaches and athletes into their Hall of Fame who have won multiple state titles, were state champions in more than one sport, went on to achieve collegiate All American honors, made Olympic teams, and the list goes on and on.

Today, on December 7, 2013, we have an inductee who holds the oldest overall state meet record in a running event, led his high school football team to a state title and rushed for over 100 yards in a game for the Iowa Hawkeyes.  This inductee is Newton High School’s Treye Jackson.

Treye won state titles in the 100 and 200 as a junior for the Cardinals, but it was the accomplishments of his senior year that established him as one of the state’s best ever and created a national buzz about his talents.

In the fall of 1980, Jackson led Newton to its first and only state championship in football, a 28-14 victory over Bettendorf.  Despite being a bit under the weather, Jackson rushed for 111 yards in leading Newton to the win and 12-0 record.

Treye was a high school All American in both football and track and field while competing for Newton and was selected to participate in the Shrine Bowl and the AAU Jr. Olympics in Seoul South Korea.

After college he moved to Australia and competed in both track and football.  He is back in his home state, near his hometown, living in Kellogg with his wife Jennifer and daughter Monet, and running his own floor care business.

I asked Treye’s close friend, high school teammate and current Newton football coach Ed Ergenbright if there was one word that would describe Treye Jackson and without hesitation he said: “Special”.

“He is a special friend and he was a special athlete. He longed jumped over 20 ft in 7th grade and ran a 51 flat quarter in 8th grade, on a cinder track!  That’s special.  He and I grew up in the same neighborhood, have been friends since first grade and he is very deserving of this award!!

Cortney Jacobs

Her achievements at the Drake Relays have become something of legend after helping Atlantic to numerous come from behind wins in the sprint medley, which she anchored to victory four straight years, and the 4×400, which she led to three consecutive gold medals on the legendary Blue Oval.

Hall of Fame coach Bruce Henderson called Cortney Jacobs a “coach’s dream”.  Henderson added, “She was a great team member, a great team leader and very low maintenance”.  Henderson mentioned all of these characteristics before saying anything about the immense talent Jacobs had shown while becoming one of the state’s best ever quarter milers.

Before graduating from Atlantic high school in 2004, Jacobs had helped her team to 3 state team titles.  She qualified to state in 13 events winning gold 11 times, including four in the 400 meters; only 2 others have accomplished that feat.  She held the 3A state meet 400 meter record of 55.52 for 10 years.

Jacobs won three events at the state meet three different times.

Running at Drake Stadium seems to bring out the best in competitors and Cortney Jacobs was no exception.   Going into the 4×4 at the 2004 state meet, the last high school meet of her career, Jacobs took the baton 15 meters behind the leaders with Atlantic trailing Mt. Pleasant in the team point race.  As she had done so many times before, Cortney brought the Trojans from behind, to the victory, and a tie with Mt. Pleasant for the first place trophy.

In addition to track and field Cortney was an accomplished cross country runner and basketball player.  She was a four time state qualifier in cross country, finishing in the top ten three times, including a runner-up finish in 2001.  She was a starter and the defensive stopper on the 2004 state semi-finalist basketball team.

After graduating from Atlantic, Jacobs took her talents to Kansas to compete for the Jayhawks where she earned indoor and outdoor All Big 12 honors.

Cortney currently lives in Lenexa, Kansas.  She stays busy working as an account manager at a staffing firm and caring for her daughter Kiara.  She has recently become certified as a Revelation Wellness Group Fitness Instructor for Christian Fitness Ministry and plans to start leading group fitness classes.

Jeff Jacobs

Jeff was born on June 29, 1964, in Clinton, Iowa. He attended Clinton High School graduating in 1982. Jeff’s high school career was outstanding and included the following accomplishments. He was the 1981 State Cross Country Champion. He led Clinton High School to the 1981 State Title. He was the runner-up in both 1979 and 1980. Jeff was the Class 4-A State Champion in the 3200 m Run in 1981 and the runner-up in 1980. He was also the Class 4-A runner-up in the 1600 in 1981. Jeff holds the Clinton High School the record in the 2-mile run with a time of 9:10 Jeff continued his career at the University of Illinois in Champaign, Illinois. He was a 2-time All-American in Cross Country and won the Big ten 2-mile run indoors in 1986 with a time of 8:08.02, and finished second behind Craig Virgin in the 5000 Meter Run with a time of 13:52.95. Jeff graduated from the University of Illinois in 1986 with a Bachelors of Arts Degree in Engineering. Jeff continued his career after college and was a three time Olympic Trials Qualifier. In 1992, he placed 10th in the 10,000 meters and 9th in the 1996 marathon trials and 15th in the 2000 marathon trials. He was selected as the Illinois runner of the year. Jeff is still in the top 15th all-time in the Drake Relays 10,000 meter run with a time of 28:38 finishing 10th in a race that still ranks as one of the best of all times. His best times are as follows: 3:43 in the 1500, 3:58 in the mile run, 8:05 in the 3000 meter run, 13:46 in the 5000 meter run, 28:37 in the 5000 meter run (on the track) 28:08 on a road course, 1:03.54 in the half-marathon, and 2:13.44 in the marathon. Jeff and his wife, Anita are proud parents of three children; Ryan, Kevin, and Alexandra. He work as a program/design engineer for Sundstrand Areospace in Rockford, Illinois. Jeff and his family reside in Roscoe, Illinois.

Callan Jacobson

Benton Community/Iowa State 2021 IATC Hall of Fame

I think everyone in this room today, knows that Track and Field is a numbers game.

From coaches concerned about quantity when it comes to team members and team scores……to student athletes concerned about times and distances and measuring improvement.

So many Iowa high school student athletes have recorded numbers in Track and Field over the years that we often wonder if their efforts can be duplicated. While at Benton Community High School from 2005-2008, Callan Jacobson accumulated numbers that are about as impressive as you will find.

Keep the number 16 in mind. That is the number of times an athlete can compete in a conference, regional or state meet during their Iowa high school career.  Callan Jacobson qualified to the State meet 16 times and medaled 16 times, 10 of which were gold with 4 of those gold coming in the 200 meters and 3 in the 100.

Of her 16 Regional meet performances, she was a first place finisher 14 times, including 4 times each in the 100 and 200 and was a runner-up twice. In the WAMAC Conference meet she won 13 gold medals, 4 each in the 100 and 200, and was second 3 times.

If the results of these three meets aren’t enough Jacobson qualified to the Drake Relays 12 times, was a six time finalist with 4 of those came in the 100 meters where she finished twice as the runner-up.

Before moving onto Iowa State, Callan left Benton Community holding 3A state meet records in both the 100 and 200 meter dashes and a total of 11 school records, 5 outdoor and 6 indoor, was a member of 2 state championship teams, was a 7 time IATC Elite All State selection and an 11 time Class 3A All State honoree.  As a Cyclone, she had continued success earning 6 All Big 12 honors plus a spot in ISU’s Elite Letterwinners Club.  In 2013 she was inducted into the I-G-H-S-A-U Hall of Fame.

Callan now calls Cedar Rapids home and is a Senior Strategic Services Account Manager at Integrated DNA Technologies in Coralville.

Ken Janvrin

Ken Janvrin was born on February 29, 1940 to Howard and Geraldine Janvrin. He was raised in Hawarden, Iowa and graduating from Hawarden High School in 1958. After graduation Ken played football at Iowa State University and the University of South Dakota. He was an outstanding student and athlete in high school. Some of his accomplishments in the classroom were Class Valedictorian, National Honor Society member, Class Officer and Mathematics Award recipient. On the athletic field he earned letters in Football, Basketball and Track & Field. As a senior he carried the ball 103 times for 1241 yards for an average of 12.1 yards per carry. He ran on the 1958 State Champion 440 yd. Relay team. He also qualified in the 4 X 880 yd. Relay and the Shot Put. Ken continued his success in college where he earned 4 letters in football. He held the rushing record at the University of South Dakota. He ran for 202 yards on 9 carries against North Dakota State University. He began his teaching and coaching career at Panorama High School in 1963. He taught and coached at Panorama for 34 years retiring in 1997. He served as the Athletic Director for 25 years. During his time at Panorama, Ken oversaw the construction of the high school track facility, developed the cross country course, helped with the Panorama Days Fun Run, and served as the Drake Relays High School Referee in 1996. Ken received the 25 year awards for service from the Iowa Athletic Directors Association and the Iowa Association of Track Coaches. Kens’ coaching accomplishments are many but here are some of the highlights. In Boys Cross Country he had 11 state qualifying teams and two One-Mile Team Race Teams. He coached Phillip Keys who placed 7th in the 1996 State Meet. In track & field he had 9 teams finish in the top 10 climaxed by winning the 1997 State Title. His teams finished 2nd and 3rd twice each. Ken’s teams 11 district titles and 15 conference titles. He has coached 17 individual and relay state champions. He has also coached three State Pentathlon Championship teams. His most famous athlete he has coached is his son IATC Hall of Fame member Kip Janvrin. Ken has received many honors over his career. Here are a few of those honors. Ken was selected the Regional Coach of the Year five times in Track & Field and once in Cross Country. He was the Class 1-A Boys State Coach of the year in 1997. Ken is a member of the Panorama High School Hall of Fame. He was the Western Iowa Coach of the Year in 1997 as selected by the Omaha World Herald. Ken and his wife Karen are the parents of Kristi and Kip. He enjoys gardening, playing bridge, hunting, fishing and attending athletic events.

Kip Janvrin

Kip Janvrin attended Panora-Linden High School graduating in 1984. While in high school he was a 4 sport participant. As a freshman, he was a letter winner. As Sophomore, he was state meet qualifier in cross country, 4th in the state in the pole vault, and a participant in the 4×800 relay. His junior year he set a school record in the 1600 meter run and at the state meet he was a participant in the high jump and placed 4th in the state pentathlon. His senior year he placed 9th in the state cross country meet, set school and conference records in the pole vault, high jump, 400 meter dash, and the 80 meter run. At the state track meet he placed 1st in the pole vault, 2nd in the 400 and 800 meters, plus being a participant in the high jump. He was the state pentathlon champion, placed 9th in the National Junior Olympic Decathlon, received honorable mention High School All American by U.S.A. Today, was ranked 6th nationally in the decathlon by Track and Field News. Simpson College at Indianola was his choice for college and he held the record in 12 events. Some of his accomplishments in college while competing in the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference were:

• Pole Vault champion 3 times;
• 400 Hurdle champion 3 times;
• 110 Hurdle champion 2 times;
• High Jump, Triple Jump, Javelin, and 400 meters champion one time;
• Drake Relays Decathlon 9th, 2nd, and 1st 5 times.
• Some best efforts:
  • Pole Vault in high school 13’7″ – career best 17’4 1/2″;
  • 400 = 48.07; 110 hurdles = 14.71.

He was selected the Iowa Intercollegiate Athlete Conference MVP 3 times and received National Division III All American honors 11 times. He is the only person to ever win three titles – Pole Vault 16’5 1/2″ – 400 meter hurdles .52.02 – Decathlon 7,482 points in the same national meet in 1989. He also maintained a grade point average of 3.2 and was on the Deans’ list 4 semesters. Some Post Graduate Honors in Decathlon: In 1989 – United States Decathlon champion. In 1990 – Russia Dual – 2nd at Spokane, Washington; Canada Dual – 2nd at Levelland, Texas. In 1991 – Spanish National Championship – 3rd at Barcelona. In 1993 – Germany Dual – 2nd; Deca Star – 7th at Talence, France; One Hour Decathlon – 4th at Dstrava, Czech Republic. He is the former holder of the American record with 7,433 points in the one hour Decathlon. Kip participated first and was done 40 minutes before his teammates.

John “Jack” Jennett

Coach – UNI 1962-1975

Carl Johannsen

Carl taught physical Education and coached for 43 years at Burlington High School. He came to Burlington in 1927 after earning a BA Degree from Drake University and an MA from the University of Iowa. In 1967 the high school gymnasium was named in his honor for his life-long contribution to the students of Burlington. A life size photo graph hung in the gymnasium and a street leading to the high school also in his honor. He was awarded the Drake University Double D award in 1984. He has also earned the Iowa High Schools Athletic Directors Outstanding Service Award. His Track teams compiled outstanding records, including the 1949 state championship. Carl also coached football, basketball, wrestling and swimming over his great career. He also devoted many hours to help student athletic groups without asking for pay. Thousands of young men benefited from Carl’s positive influence and fair-mindedness. Beyond the impressive accomplishments of his students he is remembered for his humility and modesty. Carl’s kind and gentle nature enabled him to see he best in others. He was a role model for all ages. He always gave his best.

Mark Johnson

Mark Johnson attended Mason City High School and the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Mark was very modest when asked to list his high school and college accomplishments so with the help of Dave Long, His high school coach, some of Mark’s accomplishments are:

1. Mark is one of two cross country runners to ever win four individual State Cross Country titles. He won as a Freshman-Sophomore-Junior-Senior. The other runner is from New Mexico.
2. He led his team to two Team Titles in Cross Country. In winning the title in 1972 the team scored 20 points and their 5th runner placed 11th and was not counted.
3. He won the 2-mile run at the state meet in 1971 and 1973.
4. He won the 2 mile a Drake in 1971 and 1973. His time of 9.02 still stands. Injury prevented him from winning in 1972.
5. He ran one competitive mile in 4:22.
6. At the Dodger Relays in Ft. Dodge in 1973, Mark ran 9:17 in the 2-mile run only to come back 20 minutes later to run 1:59 on the 3rd leg of the 2-mile relay.
7. Heavily recruited by 30-40 colleges he decided to attend Wisconsin. His biggest achievement was when he beat Craig Virgin in the 2-mile run indoors at Illinois in a time of 8:34.

Richard “Dick” Juhl

A few of Richard Juhl’s accomplishments include:

1. In 27 years of coaching Cross Country he has 108 total victories: 3 state championships, 2 state championships; 2 conference championships; 1 district championship.
2. In his 28 years of coaching Track and Field he has accumulated 198 wins, which includes 8 district and 11 runner-up titles, 8 conference championships, and 3 state runner-up positions. He has had 12 individual and 3 relay champions. He has coached 2 All-Americans, Leon Walterman in the shot put and Jim Hansen in the 2-mile. He has had 9 individuals place at the Drake Relays.

Some other awards and contributions include:

1. National High School Athletic Coaches Association Award “Coach of the Year for Region 6 for 1989 in Track.
2. State Region Coach in Track 4 times.
3. State Region Coach in Cross Country 6 times.
4. State Cross Country coach in 1973-74.
5. Secretary-Treasurer of our own IATC from 1974 through 1989 and still going.
6. Speaker at the National Track clinic in 1969 as well as at many state clinics.
7. Has served several times as high school referee at the Dickerson Relays. During his high school career he was a state champion in the mile and was a member of the state winning Cross country team.

He is a record holder in the indoor mile at Iowa State Teachers College (UNI). While in college he ran the 1/2 mile even in Track and Cross Country. When you talk and work with this individual, you marvel at his enthusiasm for the sport, our organization, and for kids.

Natasha Kaiser (Brown)

Natasha competed for Des Moines Roosevelt High School in the 1980’s, graduating in 1985. While in high school “Tash” (as she is known) won 9 state medals, 4 Drake championships. She was Iowa’s all time leader in the 100 and 400, All-American Honorable mention 4 times, was homecoming queen and inducted into the Iowa High School Hall of Fame in 1986. Graduation from high school saw “Tash” enroll in the University of Missouri at Columbus. Some of her accomplishments are:

1. Big 8 MVP 2 times.
2. All-American 6 times.
3. Set Big 8 400 record – 51.48.
4. Big 8 female athlete of the year in 1989.
5. The only American to have beaten Diane Dixon indoors in the 400 meters.
6. Was the indoor 44 meter collegiate record holder from 1989-91.
7. Ranked 10th in the world in 1990 in the 400 meters – personal best time of :50.42. 8. 3rd at the past U.S. Olympic trials in the 400.
8. As a member of a 4 x 400 relay they placed: 1989 – Quad meet in England – Gold; University games in Germany – Gold 1990 – Goodwill games in Washington – Silver 1991 – PanAm games in Cuba – Gold; World championship in Japan – Silver 1992 – Olympic games – Silver What a pleasure to watch the Olympics and cheer for our own “Iowan”. On August 29, 1992 she married Brian Brown, a 4 year All-American high jumper and indoor NCAA champion. She received the key to the city of Des Moines in 1991.

Robert D. Karnes

Born in Overbrook, Kansas and a graduate of the University of Kansas, this individual has left his imprint in Track in every school he has attended and coached at.

1. He was 2 time State champion in the mile in high school.
2. He won 13 individual conference championships in Cross Country, mile and 2-mile runs in track while attending college.
3. He has spent 5 years coaching high school track and 14 years at Drake.
4. While at Drake he has coached 15 Missouri Valley Conference Championships in Track and Cross Country.
5. President of NCAA Cross Country Coaches.
6. Member of the U.S. Olympic Committee, 4 years.
7. Member of the NCAA Track and Field Rules Committee.
8. President of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletes.
9. Drake Relays Director.

Phil Kauder

Phil was born on March 13, 1961, in Monticello, Iowa. He was the son of Fred and Joan Kauder. He was one of 10 children. His siblings are Amy, Kris, Kathy, Wendy, Tammy, Cindy, Andy, Fred, and Joseph. Phil graduated from Cascade High School in 1979. He graduated from the Loras College with a BA in Physical Education in 1984.

Phil’s high school accomplishments include earning four year letters in cross country, three letters in track & field and one letter in basketball while at Cascade High School & Cascade Aquin High School. He was a member of the 1975 Class C State Championship team from Cascade Aquin. In 1976 Cascade Aquin became Cascade High School. He was a member of three State top ten teams in cross country at Cascade High School and placed in the top 10 both his junior and senior years. Phil was a two-time place winner in track. He was 3rd in the Class B 2-mile run in 1978 with a time of 10:01 and in 1979 he was fifth in the Class A 3200 meter run in a time of 9:52. He also ran the 1600 meter run in 1979.

Phil started his college career at Westmar College but soon returned home and later enrolled at Loras College in Dubuque. He was a four year letter winner in cross country and track. He was a three-time National Qualifier in Cross Country. Phil was a two-time NAIA Indoor Track & Field All-American in the three mile run, placing 4th in 1983 (14:37) and 3rd in 1984 (14:16).

In the fall of 1985, Phil became the Activity Director and Boys Track & Field Coach at Cascade High School. During his time at Cascade he assisted IATC Hall of Fame Coach and committee member Bob Davidshofer in cross country. As the Boys Track Coach, Phil coached three of his younger brothers, Andy, Fred, and Joseph. Andy won the 1600 meter run his senior year and ran 9:36 for 3200 meters. He is now a very successful coach at Xavier High School winning the last two Class 3-A State Titles. He left Cascade High School in 1999, to take a job as the Director of Activities with the Iowa Department of Corrections in Anamosa.

Since 2005 Phil has been the head Cross Country Coach at Anamosa High School and last spring took over the girls track program as well. Honors he has received include induction into the Loras College Athletic Hall of Fame in 2004. In 1987, Phil won the Kansas City and Drake Relays Marathons. He holds the state records for Master Runners for 10-mile run (53:40), 20K (1:06.56), the ½ Marathon (1:12.56) and the Marathon (2:34.39).

He is a member of the Fitness Sports racing team. He was awarded the Dan McClimon Award in 1984. Phil has contributed to the sports of cross country and track as an official as well as a coach. He is a member of the IATO. He has been a starter for both cross country and track & field meets in the cascade area. He has volunteered his time to serve as the bowling coach at Cascade High School from 1985 – 1993. He has assisted with the Cascade Canter Road Race since 2002. Phil and his wife Karen are the parents of daughter Mariah and son Preston. Mariah ran as a 7th grader for Coach Davidshofer. She finished 2nd in the small school division of the IATC Statewide Cross Country Meet in 2007.

Mark Kauk *NEW! 2022 Inductee

We have all heard the terms “Servant Leader” or “Servant Leadership”.

While traditional leadership is focused on helping an organization thrive, servant leaders put the needs of those around them first. They focus on developing individuals to perform their best.  Some examples of servant leaders are Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr., and Mother Theresa.

When it comes to servant leadership our next inductee, Mark Kauk, talks the talk and walks the walk.

His goal was to be a teacher and coach who was able to provide leadership in helping student athletes develop Christ like character, discover their calling in life and develop their God given abilities to their fullest potential.

Mark graduated from high school in Sutton, Nebraska in 1972 and Dordt College in 1976, before moving to Orange City, Iowa where he spent his entire professional career.

Upon retiring from teaching and coaching at Unity Christian, Mark had been the Girls Head Cross Country Coach for 43 years and Head Girls Track Coach for 42.

Kauk coached Cross Country teams won 5 state championships, were 5 time state runners-up, 24 time conference champions, 14 time regional champions and had 2 individual state champions.

On the oval, he led his squads to a state team title and a state runner-up finish while taking home 13 individual titles and 5 relay golds.

He has served on the IGHSAU Track Advisory committee and the IATC Cross Country ranking committee.

Coach Kauk was selected as a National Coach of the Year twice, and was a finalist on 3 other occasions.   He has been a IATC state Coach of the Year 7 times and a recipient of the prestigious I-G-H-S-A-U Golden Plaque of Distinction Award.

In January, Mark and his wife Melissa, began a 2 year commitment to mission work in Haiti.  Mark is serving as the lead of leadership development for a staff of over 90 Haitians.  Melissa is working to impact the first 1000 days of a child’s life through nutrition and education.  They live and work in Haiti 7 months of the year.

Together, Mark and Melissa have five children and 11 grandchildren.

Mike Kautz

Mike Kautz was born and raised in Muscatine, Iowa and graduated from Muscatine High School in 1954.  He went on to Coe College, graduating in 1958 with a BA in Biology and a minor in Physical Education and coaching.  After a brief stint in the army, he taught science and coached girls’ basketball at Nichols High School until it closed.   He accepted a job at Lone Tree where he taught science until his retirement in 1997, and at various times coached baseball, softball, girls’ basketball and girls’ track.

Mike was selected for the IATC Hall of Fame by our committee on June 6, 2015.  We lost Mike just 11 days later.

It is for Mike’s success in track and field that we honor him today.  He was the head girls’ track and field coach at Lone Tree High School for 44 years, and his teams put together, some very impressive stats.

In 268 regular season meets, his teams won 60 championships and were 2nd 56 times.

His teams finished in the top 3 in 39 conference championships, and he was named conference Coach of the Year 4 times.

His teams finished in the top five 20 times in 44 district meets.

Lone Tree qualified one or more events to the state meet, 35 of the 44 years he coached, including at least one qualifying event each of the last 22 years.  The total number of state qualifying events during his tenure was 107.

Of those qualifiers, 28 were place winners, another 8 won state titles and another 8 were runners up.

The team placed in the top 10 at state 5 times, the top 5 three times and the 1988 team was 2nd.

77 of Mike’s former athletes took the time to send me an email in support of their track and field mentor.  Here are a couple of examples of what I received:

1) I remember the belief Coach Kautz had in his athletes. He believed in me more than I believed in myself at times. His encouragement and motivational techniques helped me lower my times and gain the school record in the 800. He helped me gain confidence as an individual; that if I work hard I can reach new goals that I didn’t know were possible.

2) His strategic decisions were always made with the team first. While it may have upset some runners, Mr. Kautz didn’t always put runners in the race they would excel at the most individually or he might put individuals in four events;  knowing that would lessen their chances of winning their specialty.  He strategized from a team framework – placing individuals in the events that would add up to the most points for the team.  His strategy paid off – we won countless meets when I was a runner and it was done because of true teamwork and sacrifice of all, not simply because we had a few outstanding athletes who excelled in their individual events. This was a great learning lesson for me; to value the team more than myself. This helped prepare me for real life! Thinking of others’ success and not just how to attain my own.

Mike and his wife Janet had two children, Lori Swinton and her husband, Mitch of Lone Tree and Doug Kautz and his wife, Bonali of Tucson, Arizona, and three grandchildren, Kenyon, Kamden and Ross.

Bill Keck

When the Drake Relays begin the last full weekend of April 2020, it will mark NINE consecutive decades, not years, DECADES, that Bill Keck has competed in or officiated at, a Track and Field meet in Drake Stadium.

He ran a leg on the Hubbell Elementary School Shuttle Relay at the 1949 and 1950 Drake Relays.

He led off the Des Moines Roosevelt Junior High Shuttle Relay that finished 5^th at the 1951 Drake Relays.

In 1954, 55 and 56 he ran on a total of 4 different Roosevelt relays that earned Drake Relays medals.  In 1955 he won 2 state meet gold medals running on the Roughriders winning Mile and Mile Medley relays.

In 1958, 59 and 60, while competing for Cornell College, he won a total of 4 Drake Relays medals including 2 gold in the Iowa College Mile Relay and 1 gold in the Iowa College 880-yard relay.

In 1964, at the urging of long time Relays Official Gus Rump, he started officiating at both the Drake Relays and the Iowa High School State Meet.

He has missed a few State meets for family commitments over the years, but 2019 marked his 56^th consecutive year officiating at the Drake Relays, currently making him the longest tenured Drake Relays official.

Bill started out on the timing crew, at both Drake and State, but with the advancement of technology he has since moved on to be a Clerk at both meets.  He has been on the Drake Relays Committee for nearly 40 years. He is a Relays Champions Club member; helping to ensure that generations will celebrate America’s Athletic Classic for years to come; and the family business, Keck Parking, provides round the clock transportation for elite athletes during Relays week.

Bill and Barbara, his bride of 60 years, are the proud parents of Joan, Cindy and Dave.  They have been blessed with 12 grandchildren and 7 great grandchildren, with number 8 joining the family in March.

Ryan Kedley

When he was growing up in Eastern Iowa and attending North Cedar High School, all Ryan Kedley wanted to do was play basketball, and he was pretty good at it, earning first team All State honors as a senior.

But his father, Pat, a Hall of Fame basketball coach, would have none of it. Pat had a track background too, and he let young Ryan know that his starting, freshman point guard was not going to devote all of his time to one sport; that he would go out for track in the spring because, “You will regret it if you don’t”.

The basketball coach could see the potential in the future track star. Ryan had coaches during his high school career, Bill Bails and Tonee Martin, who were enthusiastic and knowledgeable about the sport, and were great influences on the future All American.

I asked Ryan if there was a particular race that stands out as the one that was really a game changer for him and his career.

His reply was: “I had taped a piece of paper in my high school locker at the beginning of my senior year of high school which said “47.5”. That was the mark Kim Sykes of Waterloo East had set years earlier. I had prioritized going low-47 and setting a state record in the 400-meters as the top goal of my senior year, and identified the Big East conference meet in Tipton, where my favorite track was, as the place to do it. The weather was perfect. The competition was perfect. And everything fell into place.

Turning my head, looking back after crossing the finish line and seeing that 47.04 on the scoreboard – was just a beautiful feeling I was so fortunate to have experienced. Setting that all- time state record, along with setting the state meet record of 47.43 a few weeks later at Drake Stadium, truly did change my life.

Ryan finished his career at North Cedar with three state titles, two in the 400 and one in the 200. He recorded a total of three top three finishes in the 400 and 2 top seven finishes in both the 200 and the 800. His high school career bests were even more impressive when you look at the quality of his range: 11.07 in the 100, 21.72 in the 200, 47.04 handheld and 47.43 FAT for the 400 and 1:56.83 in the 800. Not a bad list of PR’s for someone who only wanted to play basketball.

Ryan was a letter winner at Baylor before coming back home to UNI and earning school records, Missouri Valley Conference championships and Indoor and Outdoor All American honors on Panther 4×400 relays. When asked about his career at UNI Ryan mentioned teammates and fellow Iowans like Dirk Homewood, Cody Eichmeier and Terrance Reid and the Panther coaching staff of Chris Bucknam, Doug Case, and Travis Geopfert. “I stumbled onto a dream team of coaches. By the time I left the University of Northern Iowa, those three coaches maximized my abilities as an athlete and provided me with great lessons on professionalism and preparedness.”

Ryan’s family has been instrumental in his growth and success on and off of the track. His wife Kathleen and their young sons Lucas and Cormac, his parents, Pat and Peggy, his sister Kate, brother Daniel and his extended family have all had a hand in helping mold this young basketball prodigy into one of our states best ever quarter milers.

In closing, when I asked Ryan what are some memories that he holds dear; his love for life and his love for our great sport rang out with every word from this humble champion.

“As a kid, I was fascinated with my dad’s stories of competing at Drake Stadium and being a part of a state championship team. The further I get away from my time as a track athlete at North Cedar High School and at the University of Northern Iowa the more I realize it was those quiet moments that I think about and miss the most.”

Ryan graduated from UNI with a degree in Criminology and has spent the last nine years working as a Special Agent with the Iowa DCI.

Stan Kirchhoff

Stan Kirchhoff graduated from Oelwein High School in 1956 and Iowa State Teachers College in 1960 where he majored in Physical Education and was a four year letter winner in track and field. He went on to earn his Master’s Degree from the University of Northern Colorado in 1965.
Stan taught Physical Education at Newton Berg Middle School for 40 years retiring in 2000.  Over the years, he wore many different hats, serving as athletic director, 9th grade basketball and track coach; Varsity Girls Basketball, Varsity Girls Cross Country and Girl’s Varsity Track and Field coach.  He enjoyed working meets with some stalwarts not only of our sport, but of all Iowa high school athletics. He started clerking the Cardinal Relays in 1961 and met Hall of Famer E. Wayne Cooley who was the meet starter.  He also started a number of meets with Hall of Famer Gerald Kuiper and enjoyed his very professional attitude.  Stan said, “Starting Track and Field meets has been very enjoyable and rewarding over the years.   You are able to converse with the athletes and get to know them by seeing them at various meets.  Stan enjoys his time working as an Umpire near the finish line at Drake Relays and Co-ed State Meet.
Stan also said, “The biggest change to starting a Track Meet is the automatic timing and video equipment this takes care of the problem of dealing with coaches and parents who felt their athletes times and places may have been missed in the dashes”.
Stan and his wife Carolyn have a daughter Rae and son Brian and four grandchildren.

LaVerne Kloster

A graduate of Cleghorn High School and Buena Vista College, he has coached at Hempstead High School in Dubuque. His best years were at Woodbine where his basketball teams were champions in 1968, 3rd in 1969, and 3rd in 1974. His track teams were state indoor champs in 1975-76 and outdoor champions in 1973-74-75. He has coached 12 state individual champions and 8 state relay champions plus 5 Drake Relays champions. He has been honored as college coach of the year by Buena Vista College twice. He was Drake Relays Women’ Referee in 1976 and Girls High School Referee in 1984.

Evan Knapp

Evan Knapp grew up on a farm outside of LeMars, Iowa. He attended LeMars Central High school and starred in track and field. He ran college track at Westmar College and he received his bachelor degree from Westmar in 1957. Evan moved to Cherokee, Iowa in 1957 and began a highly successful teaching and coaching career. He coached football and track and the last nine years of his teaching career he directed the Cherokee varsity wrestling program. He retired from teaching and coaching in 1992 after 36 years in public education. All of them right there in the Cherokee, Iowa . Evan began his career as a track official in 1958 when he started his first meet in Cherokee. Thanks to people like Russ Kraai, Art Sutton, George Hicks and Bernie Saggau, he seems to become more involved every year with working track and cross-country. In the year 2000 he was recognized at the state track and field meet for 40 years of service by the Iowa Association of Track Coaches. In 2005 he received the state official of the year award by the Iowa Association of Track Officials. In 2006 he was recognized by the Iowa High School Athletic Association for being a registered official for 50 years. Evan has been married to his wife Nancy for 30 years and they have 4 children, 6 grandchildren. All their children are graduates of Iowa State University.

William Knoedel

Graduated from City High in Iowa City in 1972 and the University of Iowa in 1977. During High School he went undefeated in the High Jump event but once at the State outdoor meet. He placed second though. His highest height was 6’7″ which earned him All-State recognition. Bill took his High Jumping talent to the University of Iowa where he was a two time Big Ten Champion and held the Big Ten Recprd at 7’3″.

Individual accomplishments –

• Place in every Big Ten meet.
• Freshman season – 6th indoors and out.
• Sophomore season – 2nd indoors and out.
• Junior season – Champion indoors and out.
• Senior season – 2nd indoors and out.
• Second heighest Staddle Jumper ever in the USA at 7’4.25″, which is an Iowa all time record. 1976 – National AAU indoor Champ at 7’3″.
• Ranked as one of the Top 30 Jumpers in the world in 1975-1976-1977.
• Placed eighth at the 1976 Olympic Trials.
• Five time NCAA All-American at the University of Iowa.

After graduation from the University of Iowa, Bill served as a graduate assistant while working on his masters degree in Exercise Physiology and competed for the Chicago Track Club. With all his accomplishments, William Knoedel was given the nickname of “Hawkeye”.

Dave Koos

Dave graduated from Avoca High School. In 1959 he earned a BA in Mathematics form UNI were he also played 4 years of football for the Panthers. In 1963 Dave graduated from Northern Colorado with a Masters in Mathematics. Dave taught in several Iowa high schools and coached football and track from 1959 to 1969. He also served as an assistant football coach at Simpson College along with teaching mathematics from 1969-1972. In 1972 Dave left the teaching and coaching to work as a math/science consultant with a publishing company. Dave started his officiating career in 1969 working high school and college level track and also officiating football, basketball, and baseball. Dave has been a Drake Relays official since 1972. He was inducted into the Drake Relays “Wall of Honor” in 2004. Dave has been an official at the state meets since 1972 and has served as the Chief Umpire since 1999. Dave’s officiating resume includes:

• The NCAA D-I Outdoor Championships in Buffalo, N.Y. The NCAA D-I Cross Country Championships in Ames.
• The Big 12 Indoor Conference Championships in Ames.
• The NCAA D-III Outdoor Championships at Wartburg.

Currently Dave is the PA announcer for the Harlan Community High School Track meets. In 1997 Harlan Community High School named the Girl’s track meet “The Dave Koos Relays”. Today Dave is back at coaching with the Harlan Girls track team. Which placed 2nd at the 2005 State track Meet. Dave spends his spring and summer in Harlan and the fall and winter in Chandler, AZ. Dave has been married 44 years to his wife Kay. They have two sons, Tom and Todd, and 4 grandchildren.

Russ Kraai

Inducted to the IATC Hall of Fame in 1974 and the IATO Hall of Fame in 2000 ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

• Taught and coached several sports over a period of 46 years. Was an Athletic Director for 41 years.
• Coached Football for 24 years having 161 wins, 44 losses and 3 ties, teams were Conference Champions 16 times, had 10 undefeated seasons.
• Had a winning streak of 25 games in a row. During those good years, they were usually ranked one or two and in those days there was only two classes.
• Coached Boys Basketball for 16 years having 210 wins and 152 losses, teams were Conference Champions 8 times and won their Conference Tournament 6 times. Served as manager for many State Series Basketball Tournaments.
• Coached Girls Basketball for 39 years having 674 wins and 237 losses, teams played in 11 State Tournaments, finishing second twice and third twice, teams also won several Conference Tournaments and Conference Championships.
• Coached Boys Track for 44 years, 33 of those years as the Head Coach.
• Was the Director of the Holstein Relays for 41 years.
• Served as Referee at the Boys State Track Meet for Class 1A and 2A for 27 years.
• Hosted Conference and District Meets for many years.

HONORS:

• Inducted into the Iowa Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1969. Received the Golden Plaque of Distinction to the Superlative Iowa Coach from the IGHSAU in 1970.
• Inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame at Northwestern College in 1983.
• Received three separate plaques for the Iowa High School Association of Athletic Directors (IHSADA), one for District AD of Northwest Iowa, second for Outstanding Dedication and Service to Athletics in the State of Iowa and the third for 45 years of service as an Athletic Director, all in 1984.
• Inducted into the IHSADA Hall of Fame in 1985.
• Received the NFOA Outstanding Official Award for Boys Track and Field for the State of Iowa in 1993. Received the Lyle T. Quinn Award from the IHSAA in 1993.
• Received a plaque from the IHSAA for 50 years of active service in 1996
• Received an Honorary Doctorate Degree of Humane Letters for Morningside College in 1996.
• Received the NFOA Distinguished Contributor Award for Section 4 in 1997.
• Inducted into the National High School Hall of Fame as a Coach in 1997.
• Received a plaque from the Iowa Association of Track Officials (IATO) for 56 years of active service as a Track Official in 2000.

Married to wife Wilma and they have two grown children, a daughter, Connie and a son, Bob and they also have six grandchildren.

Gerald Kuiper

Gerald was born and raised on a farm north of Pella. He attended a one-room country school until 5th grade then through 12th grade at Pella Community Schools. His senior year found him captain of the football team and he quarterbacked his team to an undefeated conference title. Gerald was also captain of the basketball team that year which won the conference title. He earned 12 varsity letters at Pella High School and went on to play freshman basketball at Iowa State, later transferring to Central College and started every game for Central his sophomore year on. He received several awards and All Tournament honors while playing at Central. Gerald served as the head football and head track coach as well as coached 9th and 10th grade basketball at Pella and Knoxville, and a partner in Vic Young Sporting Goods and an Adidas rep for several years. The past 20 years has been spent in fund raising, currently working for a foundation as “Director of Major Gifts and Planned Giving”. He has served on several boards, is a Kiwanis member, and as a Deacon of his church. He has been a Drake Relays official for 28 years and has officiated High School football and basketball for 25 years. He has been officiating track since 1970 and has worked both Boys and Girls State meet for many years as an umpire. Gerald has earned many honors here are just a few of them:

• Starter at Iowa Conference Track Championships in the 1990s Starter at the Small College Track and Field meets in the 1990s Officiated several Division I National track meets throughout the country serving as an umpire.
• Officiated the Nike Masters meet in Eugene, Oregon, in 1999 The National Federation of Officials Association names him “Official of the Year” for Iowa Girls Track and Field in 1998
• He was named the IATO Southeast Regional “Official of the Year” three times IATO “Official of the Year” for Girls track in 2001 A starter at the Girls State Track meet for nine years.

A long time resident of Pella, Gerald is in the process of moving to Indianola Married to wife, Nancy, for 42 years; has three grown children and seven very special grandchildren and one on the way. Joining Gerald for his induction is his family: Wife – Nancy, Daughters – Lana and Lisa, Son – Tom and his wife Tammy.