BENNETT'S MINUTES: Greencastle to honor 1973 football, volleyball teams next month

Tuesday, September 18, 2018
Contributed photo

The 1973 athletic sports year was a pretty special one at Greencastle High School.

Two of the best athletic teams in GHS history will be honored on Oct. 12 at halftime of the Cubs’ regular-season football finale.

This year is the 45th anniversary of the 1973 “Perfect Purple” GHS football team, as well as the 1973 GHS volleyball team that went to the final four of the state tournament.

Reunion organizer Rick Wokoun is working to locate and contact members of both teams as well as other school officials, teachers, fans and other groups involved in athletic events.

“We’d like to invite all the players, managers and coaches from both of those teams to attend the reunion at the game,” Wokoun said. “We’d also like to invite cheerleaders, band members, drum majors, twirlers, Tigerettes, GHS administrators, teachers and other fans to join us that night.”

The organizing committee has set up a Facebook page to exchange information and to reach as many people as possible.

The page is titled “Greencastle High School 1973 Football Perfect Season” and can be reached by going to https://www.facebook.com/GreencastleHighSchool1973FootballPerfectSeason/?ref=boo....

The page can be accessed without having a Facebook account.

Wokoun can also be reached by his e-mail account at rickwokoun@hotmail.com.

GHS athletic director Doug Greenlee has invited all reunion attendees to gather in the school cafeteria before the game. Wokoun said Greenlee is working to arrange a seating section so that everyone being honored might all enjoy the game together.

Wokoun is requesting that anyone planning to come should leave a note on the Facebook page so he can give the school a number count. The game is the Western Indiana Conference “crossover” playoff game, matching Greencastle against the East Division team finishing in the same place in the standings.

Tiger Cub seniors will be honored prior to the game, and the recognition of the 1973 teams will take place at halftime.

As the list accompanying this column indicates, the coach of the Greencastle volleyball team that year (Ann Lawver) is being inducted into the Indiana University Hall of Fame in November for her coaching and administrative accomplishments.

Being inducted the same night into the IU Hall of Fame is Brian Evans, who happens to be first cousins with Tiger Cub head coach Mike Meyer.

Small world.

WIC update

Linton-Stockton officials attended a meeting of Western Indiana Conference officials recently, and the Miners were extended an offer to join the conference to replace departing Cascade.

No action was taken yet, but the general feeling among WIC administrators is that this marriage isn’t going to happen.

The biggest stumbling block seems to be Linton-Stockton’s desire to have co-membership in the Southwest Indiana Athletic Conference. With football the biggest stumbling block due to the limited number of regular-season games, this shouldn’t be an issue.

The SWIAC only has four schools in football, and Linton-Stockton isn’t even one of them.

The other sports all have enough space to accommodate both the divisional play/crossover format of the WIC and whatever system the SWIAC uses.

So it appears the WIC will move forward with 11 schools, with some divisional changes tyet to be determined — presumably for football only.

Possibilities that have been floated include North and South divisions (with the North including the four Putnam County schools, Northview and West Vigo) and a Big School/Small School split with the four Putnam County schools and West Vigo forming the five-school “small” division.

Football would be the only sport to need a divisional format, due to the mathematical inability to play all of the other 10 teams in the regular season. The last-place team in the division with six schools, in any format, would be shorted one game unless a “wild card” school can be found to play that team every year.

What a nightmare.

Bits and pieces

Some smaller notes from here and there:

• If you did not read Gregg Doyel’s recent story from the Indianapolis Star on former North Putnam and University of Mississippi basketball standout Fred Cox, you should find it online.

Doyel tracked down the seven-footer in northern Putnam County and wove a fascinating tale of his basketball career.

• Former Cloverdale basketball standout Rod Hervey passed away this summer.

Hervey led the Clovers to the 1966 Final Four and later played both basketball and baseball at Indiana State.

He was named to the 1991 “Silver Anniversary” team.

• A couple of girls’ basketball players who have been thorns in the side of Putnam County teams for the past few years have made their college choices.

Western Boone’s Madison Jones will play for Division II Davenport University in Michigan, while Owen Valley’s Dazia Drake will play for NAIA Huntington University near Fort Wayne.

As gifted as they are on the basketball court, Jones and Drake are such elite athletes that they shine in other secondary sports. Jones has scored 100 goals in her career as a soccer player at WeBo, while Drake was a state finalist pole vaulter last spring.

Local connections earn college HOF honors

Three people with connections to Putnam County have earned Hall of Fame honors at their respective college.

Ann Lawver

Local connection: Greencastle High School volleyball coach in 1973 state finals season.

College: Manchester.

Honor: Will be inducted into Indiana University Hall of Fame in November.

As a multi-sport coach and administrator, Ann Lawver was one of the pioneers of Indiana University women’s athletics. She was the first coach for the Hoosier volleyball program, leading the squad to a 158-148-9 record from 1975-83.

In both 1976 and 1977 her Hoosier teams won 28 matches, which still stands as the program standard for single-season victories. In the midst of her eight-year run with IU Volleyball, Lawver also had an enormous impact on IU Softball. She spent three years as the program’s head coach from 1977-79 and quickly turned the Hoosiers into a national contender.

In her third and final season with the program, she guided IU to a 32-14 record and the program’s first-ever trip to the Women’s College World Series, where they placed fifth.

A standout athlete in her own right at Manchester University, Lawver was inducted to Manchester’s Hall of Fame in 2010.

Carrie Nealon

High school: Greencastle, class of 1988

College: Kenyon

Honor: Was inducted into Kenyon College Hall of Fame on Saturday

Nealon emerged as the Ladies’ first elite distance swimmer. As a freshman, she captured conference titles in the 200- and 500-yard freestyle events, as well as the 800-yard freestyle relay, and claimed third place in the 1,650-yard freestyle. Her times in the 500 and 800 relay were both conference records.

When it came time for the national meet, Nealon stepped up to win the Ladies’ first-ever NCAA title in the 1,650-yard freestyle. She also helped win an NCAA title in the 800-yard freestyle relay and nailed down runner-up finishes in the 200- and 500-yard freestyle races.

A year later, Nealon, a 14-time All-American, doubled-up on the distance titles, defending her NCAA crowns in both the 1,650-yard freestyle and the 800-yard freestyle relay. At Greencastle, Nealon was an all-state swimmer who still holds the school records in the 200- and 500-yard freestyle.

Brian Evans

High school: Terre Haute South, class of 1991

College: Indiana University

Local connection: First cousin of Greencastle residents Mike and Tony Meyer,

Honor: Will be inducted into IU Hall of Fame on Nov. 9.

The native of Terre Haute earned letters in men’s basketball from 1993-96 and is one of only 12 Hoosiers to win Big Ten Most Valuable Player honors in men’s basketball.

Evans earned the award after averaging 21.2 points and 7.1 rebounds as a senior in 1996, capping a career that included 1,701 points (12th in school history) and 750 rebounds (10th on IU’s all-time list). During his Big Ten MVP and third-team All-America senior season, Evans also became the first player in the Bob Knight era to lead the conference in scoring.

In addition to his first-team All-Big Ten honors in 1996, Evans was also a third-team All-Conference selection in 1995 after averaging 17.4 points and 6.7 rebounds.

Following his senior season, Evans was drafted in the first round of the NBA Draft by the Orlando Magic, and spent four years in the NBA with Orlando and New Jersey.