The Saginaw County Sports Hall of Fame: Class of 2003 (Part 2)

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The Saginaw County Sports Hall of Fame:
Class of 2003 (Part 2)

By Jack Tany
Review Sports Desk

Eleven individuals and a pair of teams highlight the second class of the
Saginaw County Sports Hall of Fame.   The induction ceremonies for the
Class of 2003 will be held Saturday, November 8 at Saginaw Valley State
University's Curtiss Hall.

Over 400 people attended last year's inaugural banquet to see 11
individuals and Arthur Hill High School's undefeated and unscored upon
football team of 1973 receive induction.
A breakdown of the individual recipients for 2003 includes five from
Saginaw High School, two from both Arthur Hill and SS. Peter & Paul, and
one from Birch Run High School.
Six are living and five are deceased.

In addition, two sets of teams are up for induction: Saginaw High School's
track and field teams from 1945-49, who were crowned state champions, along
with Carrollton High School's girls' varsity basketball teams of 1979, 1981
and 1982.

The Michigan High School Athletic Association started the girls' basketball
tournament as we know it today, back in 1973. The Lady Cavs became the
first girls' team from the county to capture a state title, winning the
Class C championship three times in four years.
The Sports Hall of Fame can be found on the web at www.saginawcountysports.com.

The committee has scheduled two upcoming fund-raisers. Their
second annual golf outing will be held May 31 at Swan Valley Golf Course.
Cost for the four-person scramble is $80 for Lifetime members and $90 for
non-members. Entry deadline is May 21. For more information, please call
Jim Buckley at
790-0484.

Hall of Fame committee members are also taking orders for its Shish-Ka-Bob
sale. Seasoned meat (pork), with baby redskin potatoes and green peppers on
a stick can be purchased in time for your Fourth of July cookout. One dozen
Shish-Ka-Bobs can be purchased for just $15.

Last issue we presented profiles on the first slate of 2003 inductees. The
following roster offers a brief glimpse into the remarkable achievements of
the remainder of the  'Class of 2003':

RONALD 'RON' STELTER

Ron Stelter was a starting guard on SS. Peter & Paul's

state finalist basketball team in 1949-50, but he would

go on to become one of the finest golfers to tee it up

in Saginaw County.

He played in college at the University of Detroit where he captained the
golf team his senior year.

From 1949-51 he captured the Junior Chamber of Commerce title two times and from 1952-57 he was the Saginaw Country Club champion five times. He won the Fisher championship at U-D in 1953-54 and captured 10 Saginaw District titles. He was the Rolling Green club champion two times and a five-time club champion at Maple Hill Golf Club.

Stelter won an impressive 72 tournament victories from 1949-present,
including 44 best-ball tourneys throughout the state.
He was the long-time athletic director at Douglas MacArthur and Heritage
high schools, and coached MacArthur to a pair of state golf championships
and one runner-up finish.
Stelter also was one of the finest athletic officials in the state,
refereeing both basketball and football games at the prep level, as well as
prep tournament games and college basketball games.

SAGINAW HIGH SCHOOL
CLASS A STATE TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIP TEAMS

1945 - Coach Carl A. Nordberg's Trojans nosed out Flint Central by a single
point (29 1/2 to 28 1/2) when the half-mile relay team sped to a 1:32.7
victory in the last event of the meet.
Making up the foursome were Marvin Cichowski, Jim Hickey, Darrell Byers and
Jim Blenkhorn.
Aside from the relay, the Trojans' only first place was Amien Carter's
victory in the high hurdles (15.5).
Saginaw High, which also won the Class A State Indoor Championship, was
nearly perfect on the season.
Its only loss of the season came in the Saginaw Valley League meet where
they lost by one-half of a point to Flint Northern.

1946 - Under the direction of a new coach, Herb Korf, the '46 team nearly
duplicated what the '45 trackmen achieved.
The Trojans triumphed over Arthur Hill 36 1/2 to 28 for its second
consecutive state title.
First place winners included K.D. McKinnon in the shot put (47-10 7/8),
Marvin Cichowski in the 200-yard low hurdles (23.6), and the half-mile
relay team, which was made up of Cichowski, Jim Blenkhorn, Vernon Revell
and Darrell Byers (1:34.4).
SHS, which placed in eight of the 12 events, dropped just two meets on the
season - the State Indoor meet and a dual meet with Arthur Hill.

1947 - The Black and Gold trackmen were perfect on the year, culminating
with the state title.
SHS rolled up 42 1/3 points for first place, while Flint Central was a
distant second (31). Marvin Cichowski did it again as he won the 200-yard
low hurdles in a time of 22.6. K.D. McKinnon won the shot put with a
winning heave of 52-5 3/4. Tim Keyes took home first place in the broad
jump (22-3 1/2), teammate Jim Johnson won the high jump (5-11 3/4) and Bill
Conley won his division of the 440-yard dash (52.2).
The Trojans' medley relay team - Jim Bond, Ray Garrett, Glenn Webb and Bob
Parson - was victorious in a record time of 3:49.2.
Cichowski and McKinnon haven't been beaten in two years.

1948 - Saginaw High won the 880-yard relay in the meet's final event to
capture its fourth state title in a row.
The Trojans had 37 1/2 points to nip Arthur Hill, who had 34 1/2. The
Trojans, who equaled Detroit Northwestern's feat of grabbing four straight
titles, won three events.
The 880-yard relay team, made up of Ray Garrett, Bob St. John, Jimmy Ellis
and Bill Conley, had a first place time of 1:32.90.
Warren Keyes won the broad jump with a leap of 22-4 1/2, while Bob Parson
captured the half-mile in 2:02.2.

1949 - The Trojans eclipsed the record set by Detroit Northwestern in the
1920s as they won their fifth state title in a row.
Saginaw scored in nine of the 13 events for 44 points. Saginaw High's
medley relay team, made up of Dick Gnirs, Nate Taylor, Dick Conley and
Gaylord Nelson, had a first-place time of 2:33.7.
Jimmy Ellis won his heat of the 440-yard dash (50.5) and Warren Keyes
captured the broad jump with a leap of 21-5 3/4. Nelson, Ray Garrett, Bill
Conley and Ellis won the half-mile relay in a time of 1:31.6.

CARROLLTON HIGH SCHOOL
CLASS C GIRLS
STATE BASKETBALL TEAMS

1979 - The Lady Cavs, coached by Gary Zimmerman, finished a perfect season
by winning the Class C state championship in a 50-31 victory over Royal Oak
Shrine at MSU's Jenison Fieldhouse.
Carrollton, 28-0, was led by the one-two punch of Sharon Sawyers and Lori
Gnatkowski with 15 and 13 points, respectively.
Debbie Goodwin had 10 rebounds for the Cavaliers. Vonnie Thompson and Kelly
Maturen were brought up to the varsity from the JV team when standout Laura
Collison was sidelined with a knee injury midway in the season.
Other team members included Mel Quellette, Kelley Berkobien, Kathy Love,
Monica Davis, Marcey Wiechman, Kelly Burns and Sue Williamson.  Saun Behr
was the manager.
Carrollton averaged 75 points per game while holding their opponents to
only 32 points per contest.
Zimmerman was 75-6 in his three years coaching the Cavs. Collison, a
junior, joined seniors Gnatkowski and Sawyers in the newly-formed
1,000-point club as all three went over 1,000 points in their career.

1981 - Carrollton lost its first game of the season 54-51 to Midland High
School. The Cavaliers wouldn't lose again for the rest of the regular
season, including a 70-9 massacre of Bullock Creek.
Coach Bill DeLong's squad made its way through tournament play before
disposing of Addison, 53-46, to win its second state title.
Carrollton, 26-1, was paced by Vonnie Thompson, Kelly Maturen, Dawn
Fleschner and Laura Goodwin.
Other Cavs included Kelli Manry, Ann Mayes, Kelly Burns, Marianne Lamia,
Sue Mayes, Linda Wachowicz, Marcie Weigandt and Kelly Cyborowski.
Kim Cherry was the manager.

1982 - Carrollton won its second consecutive Class C title when they
bombarded White Cloud 60-32 at the University of Detroit.
The Lady Cavs, coached by Bill DeLong, were 26-2 on the season; its only
losses were to Saginaw High and Frankenmuth.
Vonnie Thompson, who was on the two previous state championship teams with
Kelly Maturen, scored her 1,000th career point during the regular season.
Thompson poured in 22 points and came away with eight steals in the game.
Sue Mayes came through with 18 points and 12 rebounds.
Other Cavaliers included Marianne Lamia, Jill Yaklin, Lisa Lambert, Marcie
Weigandt, Kelly Cyborowski, Tammy Wallschlager, Patti Anklam, Anita
Engelma, Lori Lagalo, Kelli Manry, Mary Beth Bartlett and Dawn Fleschner.

Kim Cherry was the manager.

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