WISTCA Hall Of Fame Class Of 2019
Source: Press Release by Jason McMahon
Wisconsin Track Coaches Association PR Czar

The Wisconsin Track Coaches Association (WISTCA) is pleased to welcome eight members to its Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2019, including six state champion athletes and two of our most accomplished coaches. The WISTCA Hall of Fame began with its inaugural class in 1990 and has enshrined more than 150 athletes and more than 50 coaches. All inductees can be found at the WISTCA website.

WISTCA HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2019: Amanda Nechuta (Bailey), Mosinee, Melissa Oleson (Tasson), Marinette , FlaTria Horne (White), Racine Park , Ray Neosh, Green Bay East, Josh Dickerson, Schofield D.C. Everest, Marques Johnson, Milwaukee Vincent, Coach Arlan "Bud" Hilgendorf, Wausaukee/Orfordville Parkvew, and Coach Greg Peterson, Schofield D.C. Everest.

Three other individuals will be honored at the Hall of Fame banquet. WIAA Administrative Assistant Sheila Schulfer will be presented with the WISTCA Merit Award. The late Dan Fregien will be presented with the Officials Merit Award. And WISTCA Fundraising Coordinator Mike Price will be presented with the WISTCA Service Award. Price also serves as transportation coordinator and on the coaching staff for Team Wisconsin at the Midwest Senior Spotlight Meet and has previously served as WISTCA high jump chair and WISTCA Clinic door prize chair. Price, a Green Bay native, coached at a number of schools in the Green Bay area and is currently an assistant coach at Deerfield High School.

In addition to the Hall of Fame class, WISTCA will honor the 2018 boys and girls Athletes of the Year (as selected by the WISTCA Executive Committee), along with boys and girls District Coaches of the Year (as voted on by their colleagues).

2018 ATHLETES OF THE YEAR: Kenny Bednarek [Rice Lake] and Brooke Jaworski [Wausau West].

KENNY BEDNAREK will go down as one of the greatest track and field athletes in Wisconsin history after posting one of most dominant performances ever seen at the WIAA state meet in June. Bednarek swept the 100, 200, and 400, setting Division 2 state records in every event. His times of 20.43 in the 200 and 46.73 in the 400 are the fastest ever run at the state meet in any division, and his 200 time was the eighth-fastest ever recorded by a high school athlete, according to National Federation of High Schools data. Bednarek's three gold medals - giving him seven for his career, after winning the 200 and 400 as a sophomore and junior - helped lead Rice Lake to the Division 2 state championship. The record he set in the 400-meter preliminaries marked the third consecutive year he broke the Division 2 state record in that event. Bednarek has moved on to Indian Hills (Iowa) Community College, where he has posted world-leading times in the indoor 200 and 400 this season.

BROOKE JAWORSKI becomes the sixth girl to win the WISTCA Female Athlete of the Year award twice, after becoming the first freshman winner two seasons ago. She won her third consecutive WIAA Division 1 400-meter dash state title in June, coming within four-hundredths of a second of the record she set in the event a year earlier, and then raced to a new state record in winning the 300-meter low hurdles, a new event for her in 2018. Her hurdles time of 41.40 was the fifth-best among the nation's high schoolers. She also medaled in the long jump and 4x400-meter relay, helping Waukesha West to the Division 1 team championship. Prior to the high school season, Jaworski set the facility record for high school girls in the 400 at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio, during the SPIRE Scholastic Showcase. She followed that up with an eighth-place finish at the New Balance Indoor Nationals at The Armory in New York City. After the high school season, Jaworski finished seventh in the 400 hurdles at the 2018 IAAF World U20 Championships in Finland.

2018 DISTRICT COACHES OF THE YEAR:

District 1 GIRLS - Julie Schunk/Matt Peterson, Shell Lake. BOYS - Matt Tebo, Rice Lake.
District 2 GIRLS - Mike Balliet, Wittenberg-Birnamwood. BOYS - Andy Wyss, Three Lakes.
District 3 GIRLS - Adrian Ugo, Viroqua. BOYS - Kevin Kravik, Bangor.
District 4 GIRLS - Brad Hoerth, Kimberly. BOYS - Craig Zellner, West De Pere.
District 5 GIRLS - Todd Bastian, Benton/Scales Mound (Ill.)/Shullsburg. BOYS - Randy Skellenger, Lodi.
District 6 GIRLS - Doug Siegert, Jefferson.BOYS - Sean Currie, Cambridge
District 7 GIRLS - Chris Ramsey, Waukesha West. BOYS - Mackenzie Laska, Wawatosa East
2018 Wisconsin T & F coaches of the Year - Girls Chris Ramsey, Waukesha West - Brad Hoerth, Kimberly.

The HOF posters to the right, left and above were produced by Keith Klestinski of Marquette High Schoool.

In preliminary remarks WISTCA Hall Of Fame MC Mark Maas stressed the dignity and respect coaches can impart to the athletes they coach. Maas talked about coaching the life lesson of "failure is not the end but only the beginning of learning." Maas ended his remarks by saying "all kids can find a home in this amazing sport."

Seeing senior Brooke Jaworski talking to Wisconsin track legend Mark Winzenreid prior to the Hall Of Fame ceremony brought to mind the thought of how much track history has been made in the last 50 years in Wisconsin. Mark is a HOF member being inducted into the original HOF Class of 1990.

In 1994 when Wisconsin Track Online was struggling with organizing the Honor Roll lists Mark's brother Dan who was head coach at Sauk Prairie laid out a plan to get Wisconsin Track Online rolling in the right direction. Dan is a Class of 2013 HOF member .

Kenny Bednarek was unable to attend as he and his family were at the University of Nebraska for a college track meet.

Bednarek's Indian Hills Team was competing in the Frank Sevigne Husker Invite held in Lincoln Nebraska. At the meet Bednarek set a record in the 200m dash with a time of 20.30. This time is the World and American leading time for the 200m dash as of February 2, 2019.

WISTCA President
Joe Hackbarth ~ La Crosse Logan

WISTCA 2018 Male Athlete Of The Year
Kenny Bednarek ~ Rice Lake

WISTCA 2018 Female Athlete Of The Year
Brooke Jaworski ~ Wausau West

HOF Inductee
Flatria "Horne" White ~ Racine Park

HOF Inductee
Melissa "Oleson" Tassone ~ Marinette

HOF Inductee
Amanda "Nechuta" Bailey ~ Mosinee

HOF Inductee
Josh Dickerson ~ D.C. Everest

HOF Inductee
Ray Neosh ~ Green Bay East

HOF Inductee
Marques Johnson ~ Milwaukee Vincent

HOF Inductee - Coach
Arlan "Bud" Hilgendorf ~ Wausaukee,
La Farge, and Orfrodville Parkview

HOF Inductee - Coach
Greg Peterson ~ D.C. Everest

Officials Merit Award - WIAA Referee
Dan Freigen ~ "Awarded Posthumously"

Award Of Merit
Sheila Schulfer ~ Stevens Point

Officials Merit Award - WIAA Referee
Terrrie Fregien ~ Wife of Dan Fregien

WISTCA Awards Chairman
Jim Stephnany ~ Wausau West

WISTCA Hall of Fame MC
Mark Maas ~ Whitewater

WISTCA Secretary and Woman4Woman Cordinator
Kari Krakow ~ Portage

WISTCA Clinic Co-Director
Mark Hoffman ~ South Milwaukee

WISTCA President Elect
Tom Hoogester West Bend East

WISTCA Historian
John Masanz ~ Wausau West

WISTCA Service Award
Mike Price ~ Deerfield