March 18, 2024

CMB inducts latest athletic hall of fame class

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BAXTER — The latest athletic hall of fame inductees at Collins-Maxwell/Baxter range from a female athlete who once scored 51 points in a basketball game to a pair of all-state football standouts who played in the same backfield.

It also includes a track coach of 19 years, a pair of outstanding track and field athletes and a standout baseball player who later became an All-American at Grand View University.

Their accomplishments go on and on. But one thing they all will have in common now is being a part of a tradition that's in its third year at CMB.

"I got a letter in the mail and it was fairly surprising because I graduated 58 years ago and I didn't even know that CMB had a hall of fame," said Marilyn Johnston-Miller, one of the seven who were inducted on Dec. 13. "It was pretty exciting to get the news."

CMB recognized the former standout athletes during halftime of the Raider boys basketball game against Grand View Christian. A ceremony in the East Gym followed the game and the group was inducted later that night.

Joining Johnston-Miller as 2014 CMB Hall of Fame inductees were Joe Neville, Diana Atwood Oswalt, Mindy Ketchum Waseskuk, Brett Fuller, Joe Langenberg and Danny Samson.

Neville coached the CMB girls' track team for 19 years and is still currently teaching at Collins-Maxwell High School.

The Raiders won four conference championships and a district title under Neville's direction. CMB also won 65 meets, qualified 72 events in the state track meet. Neville was named 2A Regional Coach of the Year twice during the 19-year span.

"You put in a lot of time and have a lot of memories," Neville said. "A lot of the kids that I coached in track and field are actually teaching where I teach at now. It's a neat honor."

Neville coached Ketchum Waseskuk in track and field and was Fuller's teacher and junior high basketball coach.

Being part of the Hall of Fame with student-athletes he was connected to makes the honor even more special for Neville.

"It's a pretty big deal. It was cool to be able to catch up with the ones that are back in town," said Neville, who started teaching at C-M back in the early 1980s.

Ketchum Waseskuk participated in volleyball, basketball, softball and track and field for four years. But it was on the oval the former Raider made her biggest mark.

Her biggest accomplishment may have been being part of the school's two state championships in the 4x200 relay during her junior and senior seasons.

"It's special to me because my parents were so supportive of me. I am honored to be a part of this," said Ketchum Waseskuk, who graduated from Collins-Maxwell and currently works for a wine distributor in Cedar Falls. "I think it's something to be able to look back on and it gave me the chance to reflect on what I did back then."

Atwood Oswalt was part of the group that brought home state indoor and outdoor track and field championships back in 1972. That title came between two seasons in which the Collins Clippers captured third as well.

Oswalt was an individual state champion in the hurdles but also played guard on the basketball team and led the Clippers in rebounding and steals during her final two high school seasons.

"It was fun to go back and re-live the times when I was in high school," said Oswalt, who still currently lives between Collins and Colo. "I never really thought about being in something like this. We were state champions back in the day so we did well I guess."

Fuller was two years behind Ketchum Waseskuk in high school. He was a multiple sport athlete who earned all-state recognition in both football and baseball. The former Collins-Maxwell standout took his baseball talents to Grand View University, where he earned All-American honors in 2004.

"At first I thought, when you get to a Hall of Fame, it must mean that I am old," said Fuller, who is married with two children and a fifth grade teacher at Bondurant-Farrar. "But I was honored to get the news and it makes you really appreciate the coaches and the relationships that you built at that age. We take it for granted at a young age but you realize it was a special time as you get older."

The honors meant a lot to Langenberg and Samson, who are the youngest athletes in the group. They both played on the same CMB teams for three years.

Langenberg graduated from Baxter High School in 2008, and still holds the career record for rushing yards, rushing touchdowns and scoring for the CMB football team.

He also participated in the state wrestling tournament and advanced to state in the long jump during his track and field career.

"It's an honor be inducted with him. We both share the same similarities," said Langenberg, who moved to Denver, Colo., with his girlfriend a few months ago. "I have been friends with Danny since the third grade. It's sweet that we get to share this with each other."

Langenberg went on to play football at Central College and then gave the sport another shot at Coe College after suffering from a back injury during his only season for the Dutch.

"Just walking through the hallways and seeing the trophies and others who have been inducted was pretty cool," Langenberg said. "I talked with Danny a bit about the games we played in and how that time was. It was a good walk down memory lane."

Samson currently works on his father's farm and resides in Ankeny with his girlfriend, Amanda Aukes, who graduated from CMB with Samson in 2009.

The former Raider QB was a first-team all-state football selection after throwing for more than 1,000 yards and rushing for more than 1,000 yards during his senior season.

Samson also won the Class 2A state shot put title during his senior year. He started his collegiate football career at Truman State before winding up as an All-American defensive linemen at Central College.

"It was exciting. It's a big honor. It was nice to get that call," said Samson about the Hall of Fame. "The fact that Joe got in with me makes it more exciting. We played together and it's pretty cool to know that a lot of people were watching us and thought highly of what we did together."

Johnston-Miller said several of her classmates made the trip to Baxter to celebrate the honor with her.

She doesn't consider herself to be a CMB star athlete, but she scored 46 points in a basketball game during her junior season and bettered that with 51 her senior year. She also hit 22 straight free throws in a single game once.

"You look at all the criteria. The higher you finish in a particular sport the better chance you have to stay near the top of the list," Collins-Maxwell Athletic Director Henry Haupert said. "It's pretty cut and dry when you break it all down."

Haupert is a part of the eight-member panel who votes in the Hall of Fame members.

That group also includes Baxter Athletic Director Lori Fricke, Baxter Principal and CMB football coach Rob Luther, assistant football coach Jason Aker, CMB track and cross country coach Jerry Meinerts as well as Jean Birchmier, Marcus Fricke, Stan Allspach and Dana Berry.

"We got together two or three times and went through some of the nomination sheets together," Meinerts said. "There are a lot of people that deserve recognition. I just went through the list of nominations and selected the ones that I thought had the best qualifications compared to the rest."

The CMB Hall of Fame currently sits at 30 members. Allspach was voted into the first class in 2012, which also included current CMB coaches Dennis Hennick and Jodi Beavers Girard and former Iowa football player Clint Huntrods.