2B
COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL April 13, 2016
HALL OF FAME
CONTINUED FROM PG 1B
The third inductee was Shau-
na Pupke. Pupke was a “ground-
breaking pioneer for Cottage
Grove athletics” and attended
the school from 1970 to 1974.
She participated in track, swim-
ming and basketball. She held
the record for the 440-yard dash,
the 880-yard dash and the mile.
Overally she competed in six
different state meets, winning
11 varsity letters as a Lion.
“This was memory lane,”
Pupke said. She actually found
something that she had once
written while she was in high
school 40 years ago. Her pas-
sage commented on her blissful
memories as a star athlete.
“Cottage Grove was an in-
credibly wonderful place for me
to grow up,” she said. “The net-
work and the community was
very whole. I’d like to thank
the committee and everyone
involved who made this night
happen.”
After Pupke was her teammate
Lynn Wiltse. Wiltse attended
CGHS from 1972 to 1975 and
was a two-time All American
swimmer. With her specialty
being the 100-yard backstroke,
Wiltse was a two-time district
champion and earned second
and third-place medals in two
different state meets against the
highest classifi cation competi-
tion.
Her coach, Bud Taylor, sent
in a testimony that praised the
toughness of Wiltse.
“At one point, she fi nished a
length of the pool a few strokes
early and she smacked her head
into the wall. It set her back, but
she pushed on and eventually
won her heat.”
Wiltse was honored but
stressed her excitement for the
current students earning awards
throughout the night. Several
student-athletes were given
awards inbetween inductees.
“It’s really cool to see current
athletes winning these honors,”
she said. “All I can say to you
guys is to really enjoy this time
and work hard. The choices you
make right now will make all
the difference in the health you
have in the future and the qual-
ity of life you have.”
Up next was David Dawson.
Dawson was an elite wrestler
from 1981 to 1985. He was ex-
ceptionally small as he earned
a fourth place medal at state in
1982 and a second place med-
al in 1983, weighing only 98
pounds. Dawson also competed
in football, baseball and golf.
He enjoyed the singularity of
wrestling and enjoyed manag-
ing his own success.
“What made Dawson one
of the best wrestlers was just
his drive and his commit-
ment. He put in the extra time,”
Bill Thompson wrote of him.
Thompson was Dawson’s wres-
tling coach while he attended
CGHS.
“I’m truly honored and hum-
bled to be here,” Dawson said
in his short but heartfelt speech;
he occasionally choked up as he
thanked his family, friends and
coaches. He went on to thank
Thompson, who encouraged
him to stay in Cottage Grove
after his freshman year. Dawson
originally had plans to transfer,
but Thompson and the wrestling
team pushed him toward creat-
ing a strong program.
The last individual inductee
was Jason Saunders. Saunders
attended CGHS from 1986 to
1989, where he earned fi rst team
Midwestern League in both
football and basketball. He was
a tight end on the football team
and led the league in receptions
in 1987. Saunders also earned
an honorable mention as a fi rst
baseman in baseball.
Saunders thanked many
CGHS athletic staff including
Jerry Braunberger, who coached
Saunders in baseball.
“It’s great to see that so many
are still here contributing,” he
said. “They showed us how to
be winners as small kids from
Cottage Grove,” he added of his
coaches such as Coach Heck-
man and Coach Donn Pollard.
The fi nal inductees were the
entirety of the 1979 football
team. In their tribute video, it
is stated that no Cottage Grove
football team has achieved more
against the state’s top competi-
tion. The Lions were coached
by Bill Siler, who took his team
to an 8-1 season in league play.
The team then beat Canby and
an undefeated Grant team. The
Lions fell short in the playoffs,
losing to would-be state cham-
pion Corvallis. The team out-
scored their opponents 176-83
and used a strong veer-style of-
fense. The team included Rudy
Hudson, Pete Payne, Steve
Phillips, Mike Pressly, Duane
Ramsey, Bill Siler, Brett Siler,
Scott Tobiasson and Ed Wojick.
In between the inductees,
the ceremony honored current
students and coaches as well.
First, Keana Hemenway and
Kory Parent received honors
for making fi rst-team all state
in soccer and basketball. Katie
Dennis was honored along side
them for winning a state title in
wrestling.
Reily Boyce and Josie Mootz
were awarded the Amy Reserve
Scholar-Athlete Award for ex-
celling in their academics as
well as athletics. Brad Geisler
and Hannah Arnold were hon-
ored with a scholarly athletic
award as well.
The Coaches’ Award went to
Jayden Tucker for hard work
and dedication in track and bas-
ketball.
The fi nal student award was
the Doyle Higdon award, an
honor that Cottage Grove High
School and the University of
Oregon both present. The win-
ners of these awards share the
same honor as names such as
Steve Prefontaine. For outstand-
ing GPAs and acquiring three
varsity letters in different sports,
Hannah Albrecht and Kory Par-
ent were awarded the Doyle
Higdon award.
Finally, track coach Ricky
Knutson was awarded the Mi-
chele Portmann award for his
great success with his students
in the classroom and athletes on
the track and fi eld.
The ceremony did a fi ne job
at displaying the rich history of
Cottage Grove sports and the
present success that the Lions
celebrate each season.
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