ANDY STEPHAN
- 1992
Probably the second best Pole Vaulter ever to
compete at Park. Andy holds the Park indoor record of 13'
'9". Andy performed one of the most courageous feats
in the history of Park Track at the 1991 Sectional Meet. The
day before the meet, Andy took a terrible fall while vaulting.
He was taken to the emergency room and could hardly walk.
The next day he vaulted 13' 9" to win the Sectional meet
THIS IS WHAT CHAMPIONS ARE MADE OF! WHAT ARE YOU MADE OF??
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STEVE GANNAWAY
- 1992
Steve is an excellent example of a self made
athlete! As a freshman he was not fast, strong, and had little
endurance. It was suggested that he go out for cross country
in his sophomore year because it would help him become a better
track athlete. He went out for cross country and became a
good cross country runner and an excellent hurdler and quarter
miler for us on the track team. As a senior he ran 40.8 in
the 300 intermediate hurdles and had a mile relay split of
51.7. Steve is just another example of an athlete who decided
that he was going to would as hard as he could to try and
become the best athlete that he could possibly be. Steve's
times are an indicator of how far hard work can take an athlete.
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Craig Johnson
- 1993
Another one of Park's sub 2:00 half milers in
1993. (We had three athletes who had times of less than 2:00
that year) Had a best time of 1:59.2. As has been our tradition
at Park, a multitude of 800 Meter runners have come into our
program with just average ability and by applying themselves,
have had undreamed of success. Craig was one of these athletes.
Four years of Cross Country and four years of Track made Craig
the performer that he was as a senior. What an athlete!!!
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Anthony Wooden
- 1993
The greatest Intermediate Hurdler in School
History and one of the finest all around hurdlers in state
history. Anthony ran times of 38.0 in the 300 Intermediate
Hurdles and 14.2 in the 110 High Hurdles in the 1993 season
when he was a senior. He also high jumped 6', triple jumped
43' 10", and ran a 50.0 split in the 1600 Meter Relay.
In short, Anthony could do just about anything that we asked
of him. He was a very unselfish athlete. He was not always
such a great performer though. In his first High Hurdle race
he ran a very slow time of 19.2 and never ran a 400 meter
race in less than 55 seconds until he was a junior. As a senior
in the 1993 W.I.A.A. State Meet he placed 2nd in the 110 High
Hurdles, 7th in the 300 Intermediate Hurdles, and led off
the 1600 Meter Relay that finished 2nd. Anthony was a truly
great performer.
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Jason Norton
- 1993
Placed 7th in the 800 Meters in the 1993 W.I.A.A.
State Track Meet and ran on the second place 1600 Meter Relay
team. Ran a personal best time of 1:57.9 in the 800 Meters
at the State Meet. Jason was "tougher than nails".
He hated to get beat or perform poorly and trained like it.
He was one of the hardest workers and fiercest competitors
that we have ever had at Park. At 5'6" tall, Jason was
one of the strongest athletes on our team in 1993. He was
another example of an athlete who had good but not great ability
who became great through hard work and dedication.
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JR MAY - 1994
Every time that JR ran a race, he left it all
on the track. In other words, he always gave 100% in every
race he ran. If we needed someone to run a great leg in a
relay, JR would always give us exactly what we needed. That
means any relay. 4x100, 4x200, 4x400, or 4x800. On several
occasions during his career, he ran a 400, a 200, and then
finished the meet by running a great leg on the 4x400 relay.
Quite often, he asked to do this because he felt that it would
help the team do well in the meet.
Probably the most outstanding achievement of his career was
at the 1994 W.I.A.A. State Meet. We needed someone to run
a great leg on the 4x800 relay and JR came through with outstanding
results. He ran a time of 1:58.8, which was over a second
better than his previous best.
JR was a tough gutty athlete with an enormous heart. How many
potential JR Mays' do we have on this track team??
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Dan Verway
- 1994
After 20 years the outdoor pole vault record
was finally broken by Dan in 1994. Because of all his hard
work and dedication, nobody deserved to break that record
more than Dan did. It was 8:30 and beginning to get dark at
the prestigious Monona Grove Invitational. Dan had just cleared
his personal best vault of 13' 9" and only he and another
vaulter were left in the competition. Dan had missed on his
first two attempts at 14" as had the other vaulter. On
his final attempt, Dan came flying down the runway and cleared
the bar by at least 8" to win the pole vault title at
the biggest track meet in the state with the exception of
the State Meet. Many of us have watched Dan over the years
through his ups and downs. He is richly deserving of the title
of "The Greatest Pole Vaulter in Park Track History".
How many athletes are there out there who are capable of working
hard enough to break Dan's record???
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Matt Bouwens
- 1994
Matt always had talent. As a freshman he ran
6.7 in the 55 meter dash. What he didn't have was good self
discipline and a totally healthy body. As a young athlete
he had a problem with coming to all of our practices. As a
result he was kicked off the team as a sophomore.
Matt also suffered from rheumatoid arthritis. It was so bad
that at times he could hardly walk. With all of these problems,
how did he achieve such success as a senior? He matured as
an individual which allowed him to be a team leader and allowed
him to deal with the pain of his arthritis.
As a senior he ran 10.9 in the 100 meters, 22.7 in the 200
meters, and 52.1 for the 400. I think that Matt always wanted
to be a great performer and a leader. He just never knew how
until he was a senior.
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