State Basketball -- Teutopolis Boys Are 1985-86 State Champions

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Published on December 28 2020 12:50 pm
Last Updated on December 29 2020 6:44 am
Written by Millie Lange

Members of the 1985-86 Teutopolis High School state champions were, first row, left to right, Tony Meyer, Rob Fisher, Christy Westjohn, Todd Burrell and Brad Koester. Second row, left to right, Ted Wiessing, Dean Hille, Theo Hemmen, Jeff Hardiek, Todd Kroeger, Mike Donaldson, Larry Johnson, Ken Crawford, Scott Thomas, Rich Hartke, Dennis Ruholl, Craig Pals, Kevin Ruholl, Tim Smith and Bob Zerrusen.

The basketball season was 1985-86 and the Teutopolis High School boys squad would put up some big numbers before the campaign came to a close with a state championship.

Coach Ken Crawford started his coaching career at T-town during the 1981-82 school year and had a team that finished 13-14. Going up from that, the next year was 18-9 and the two years after that were 21-7. None of those first four Crawford teams made it past regional play.

So, did Coach Crawford know this team was going to be as good as they were?

"I knew we had the potential to be a very good team but winning a state championship was a bit of a stretch," said Crawford. "I also knew we would have to beat Flora in the regional and they had a very talented team and certainly one of the finest coaches in the state, Tom Welch.

"They beat us by about 14 in the 1983 regional final game at Newton. They also beat us by two in 1984 in the championship game at the Teutopolis Regional and by one in the championship game of the 1985 St. Anthony Regional.  In addition, it was Flora’s turn to host the regional in 1986.
"The opponents anyone from the Flora Regional would meet in the sectional were sure to be great teams.  Casey and Martinsville were excellent teams and the representative from the southern-most regional was sure to be very good.  Carmi ended up being that regional representative.  The winner of our sectional would meet the winner of the Vandalia Sectional in the Charleston Super-sectional and that representative was certain to be an excellent team.  Two teams from the Vandalia Sectional, Madison and Venice, had already won three state titles and Vandalia came very close to beating an undefeated Lawrenceville team and eventual state champion in the 1982 Charleston Super-sectional.  Lawrenceville also went undefeated and won the state championship in 1981. Under Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame Coach, Ron Felling they still hold the IHSA record at 68-0 for the 81 and 82 seasons.  

"Indeed, our area of the state was loaded with very good teams in 1986.  Therefore, winning the state championship was a dream but our immediate goal was to be the very best team we could be and then we would have the opportunity to win the regional and possibly capture the first sectional title in the rich history of Teutopolis Wooden Shoe basketball history.  

"The summer before the 85-86 season we did a very unconventional thing.  We scheduled a number of games and a couple of tournaments in the month of June.  About two weeks into that summer schedule we played in a tournament in Olney which was run by IBCA Hall of Fame Coach, Ron Herrin.  I was not very happy with our effort and dedication in the early games in June and was really unhappy with our performance in that Olney summer tournament. 

"We had an excellent summer coach in Doug Smith, who was volunteering, and simply doing a great job.  I, however, was not pleased with our team effort.  After the final game of that tournament, I called the team together and informed them that I was not pleased with their effort or dedication.  I informed them that Doug and I certainly had better things to do than waste our time with a crew who were highly talented but were not demonstrating the qualities needed to maximize their ability to become a great team.  I told them that the rest of the summer games were being cancelled and I would not be opening the gym for the rest of the summer or fall and that I would see those who were interested at the fall open conditioning program in mid-October.  I also told them that anyone who did not plan to work extremely hard to be the best they could be should look to transfer to another school or simply do something else during the 85-86 basketball season.

"Every one of those players showed up for the open conditioning program and were hungry to prove that they were not quitters and were willing to work harder than they had ever worked in their athletic career to be winners and work they did from day one and throughout the season." Coach Crawford talked about his players on the 33-0 squad.

"Let me preface the question about my players that year by stating that I have been asked many times what was your best team.  I have not nor will I ever answer that question. Any answer I could give would short-change the many teams I had through the years that worked their hardest to maximize their individual talent then utilize that talent to help develop the things they could to contribute to overall team success.
"The same question has been asked about my opinion on who was my “best player”.  Basically, my answer to that question is the same as the “best team” question. I did and do not believe in a “star” approach to team and program development.  

"A great player is first and foremost a great teammate. A great teammate is determined by many things and none of them have anything to do with ability to score, rebound, pass, shoot, dribble, cut, screen, and play individual and team defense.  However, a great teammate puts in the time and effort to maximize his individual ability in all areas and works hard to make everyone on the team better on the floor, in the classroom, in his school, community, and family.
"Scorers always get the headlines but I always told our players that they may have the potential to be the best scorer in school history but they would not play if they would not play defense and rebound on both ends of the floor.

"If I ever gave an answer to the “best player” or “best team” question it would take a lot of the fun out of the discussions and arguments that go on in the taverns, coffee shops, and family gatherings. These types of discussions need to continue on for generations to come.

"The 1986 team was blessed with a strong and deep group of seniors as well as an undefeated JV team. Our seniors were Mike Donaldson, Theo Hemmen, Bob Zerrusen, Ted Wiessing, Kevin Ruholl, Dean Hille, Craig Pals, and Dennis Ruholl. There is not a single one of these seniors who could not have played a significant role on any team I ever coached and I would have put the ball in any of their hands when the game was on the line. They were great teammates who drove each other to excellence each night in practice.

"Mike Donaldson was a very athletic player but suffered a serious knee injury in baseball which took its toll on him.  Never-the-less he worked hard to rehabilitate and gave 100% on and off the court. Mike always had a heart of gold and he pushed his teammates both physically and psychologically to improve. We could only give him limited playing time due to the injury and each time we put him in the game we were concerned for his welfare. When you look up the word success in the dictionary it should say “see Mike Donaldson”.

"Theo Hemmen came out as a short and somewhat pudgy freshman and probably ranked about 19 out of 21 freshmen in playing time on an undefeated freshman squad. However, there is no question in my mind that he ranked at the top of those 21 freshmen in determination. By his sophomore year he was starting to grow and played a significant role on the sophomore team. By his junior year he was starting on an undefeated junior varsity and by his senior year he was a starter on an undefeated state championship team. He could score, rebound, defend, pass, and screen with the best of them and was simply a great player and teammate in every aspect. He was another poster boy for success.

"Dean Hille was a strong and rugged player who went to the boards in a ferocious manner and defended with the best of them. Like Mike, he also was hampered with a knee injury that effected his mobility but not his spirit. He brought a great competitive spirit to every practice and every game. He was willing to sacrifice personal glory for the good of the team.  Like Mike, we tried to give him as much playing time as possible but were on edge each time we put him into a game. We knew he only knew one way to play and that was hard and we were very concerned about doing long term damage to his knee.
"When Patty and I moved to Teutopolis in 1981, we rented a house on Oak Street. Every morning I got up to the sound of a kid dribbling and shooting a basketball in his driveway down the street.  It went on most of the day and into the evening.  That kid with the obsession for basketball was Craig Pals. He was determined to be the best he could be and there is no doubt he had big dreams. He was a huge factor in the success we had in 1986.  He came off the bench the entire season and gave us quality minutes. He was an excellent outside shooter and was deadly from the free throw line. We put him in several tight games that year while trying to protect a slim lead due to his ability to hit free throws and he always came through. He was certainly they type of person who put the team before himself and it paid off for everyone.

"Dennis Ruholl came to every practice and every game with a positive attitude toward making himself and everybody on the team better. No player wanted Dennis to guard him in practice because he would make their life miserable. Every player wanted him on their team because he would sacrifice personal glory to get the ball to a teammate in a position that would lead his team to a score. We should have nicknamed him Dennis the Menace because he was a true menace to our opponents in every game when he came off the bench. He played a pivotal role when he came off the bench and made plays on both ends of the floor that put us into position to win each game. I was fortunate to have coached a number of hard-nosed and unselfish players at Teutopolis and Rossville but Dennis could have played with any of them.

"Kevin Ruholl was a 6-2, 165-pound guard who could light it up from the outside and take the ball to the hole with authority. He was also an excellent passer and led our team in assists in 1986. On a lighter note, the first pass Kevin attempted in almost every game resulted in a turnover as I remember it. The coaching staff would laugh and say, “he has that one out of his system” so now he will be ok and we will be ok. We knew that in most games that would be his only turnover and he would be consistent for the rest of the game. At this point it should be pointed out that all five starters on the 1986 team averaged in double figures and we had excellent scorers coming off the bench. Any one of these players was capable and did, at times, go off for 20 to 30 points and give us a lift when we needed it, but on a typical night it was five guys scoring in double figures, playing defense, and rebounding like demons. Kevin was no exception to this characteristic of the individuals on our team. 

"Another great memory of Kevin came in the opening game at Champaign against Westmont. They had scouted us in our game with Venice in the super-sectional. While Kevin had played well on both ends of the floor in that game, he did not shoot the ball well. Westmont should have looked at his year-long statistics that each team was given on the Thursday night before the opening game on Friday because they chose to play off him early in the game and he lit them up.  By the time they decided to get after him he was already on fire and they could not put it out. He got us off to a great start and the entire team played very well to kick off our play at the state tournament in Champaign.  

"I do not think you can speak of Bob Zerrusen without speaking of Ted Wiessing and vice-versa. They were truly a twin tower duo whose unique skills and personalities could be adversarial in a constructive manner and always complimentary to one another. Both Ted and Bob were tremendous rebounders and defenders who could score anywhere inside of 17 feet.  In addition, each could pass the ball extremely well which gave us a great high-low offensive game.  

"Ted liked to have fun but had a more serious personality while Bob delighted in joking, teasing, and laughing. They both were ferocious competitors and we would often put them in direct competition with one another in practice situations.  While we did this with all of our players and it made each of them better, at times the competitive friction between Bob and Ted in practice was hot but at the end of the day they were great teammates who simply wanted to get better and win.

"We also had a very talented and determined group of juniors on the varsity. Of that group one player, Todd Kroeger, started every game on the varsity both his sophomore and junior years while the other four started on an undefeated JV team their junior year.

"Todd Kroeger, also known as “Mr. Defense”, was simply a tremendous person and basketball player. In addition to being a great defender he was also a prolific scorer and passer. His freshman year, we played him in the post on the freshman team where he averaged about 30 points per game. His sophomore year he was a varsity starter as a #2 shooting guard. His junior year we moved him to the point guard position as a varsity starter. We had plans to put him into more of a scoring position his senior year to highlight his tremendous scoring ability and give that team an extra weapon. 
"Unfortunately, tragedy struck in October of 1986 when Todd was killed in an auto accident that also seriously injured two of Todd’s teammates and killed another fine young man from Dieterich. This was a devastating blow to our players, program, school, and community. It remains, along with the sudden passing of Andrew Gobczynski and accidental death of Tommy Ordner who played through his junior year, as the darkest days of my coaching career and of our school and community.

"Another junior who came off the bench and played a pivotal role in many crucial situations in the 1986 varsity season was Jeff Hardiek. Jeff was a JV starter but came into many varsity games and played in the post in many close games.  If you stretched him a little he was 6-2 and skinny as a rail but he had a heart of gold and played as hard as any player I ever coached sacrificing his body to gain advantage on both ends of the floor.  

"In the championship game of the Charleston Holiday Tournament Bob Zerrusen got in early foul trouble. Jeff came into the game and went up against two big, strong, and talented post players from Casey. Jeff played superbly in that game and in many games during that magical season. He played a huge role in our success on the JV and varsity that year.

"The remainder of the varsity was made up of JV starters Tim Smith, Rich Hartke, and Todd Westjohn. With eight talented seniors and two juniors playing significant varsity time, there was simply not enough time to get Tim, Rich and Todd much varsity playing time. That does not diminish the critical role they played in practice in pushing the other varsity players to the limit nor their contribution to the program both at the varsity and JV levels.   

"Unfortunately, the IHSA limited the number of players you could dress for the state tournament series to 12 players.  I guess there was not enough room at Flora, Newton, Lance Gymnasium, or  in the Assembly Hall to accommodate one or two extra seats or a couple of extra players and they did not have enough money to purchase a couple of extra medals for the players who made it to Champaign. Therefore one of our 13 varsity members did not get to dress for the regional, sectional, super-sectional, or finals in Champaign. The decision was mine and I hated to make it but Todd Westjohn did not get to dress for the tournament after dressing for every varsity game that season. The IHSA has since changed that policy and now allows 15 players on the roster but that did not help Todd.  

"He did, however, accept the decision with dignity and respect and I will always be grateful to him for his loyalty to the coaching staff, team, and program.  I must add that it does give me great pleasure to tell people about Todd Westjohn’s sacrifice and the fact that his senior year in 1987 he scored the first three-point basket in Teutopolis boys’ basketball history."

Coach Crawford commented on some of the games from that season that stood out in his memory.

"Several games stand out from the 1985-86 season. The championship game of the Charleston Holiday Tournament stands out. The CHS Holiday Tournament was always loaded with talented teams that were coached by great coaches such as Ron Felling, Ed Butkovich, Jim Maxedon, Ron Herrin, Steve Simons, Monte Nohren, Lee Emry, and Bob Durham to name just a few. These were the guys from my first few years of coaching a participating team in the tournament.  I could fill up a full page of the many great coaches I met and had the pleasure of knowing and coaching against during my entire time coaching Teutopolis in that tournament.

"Bob Durham, an Illinois Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame Coach, was one of the aforementioned great coaches and he had one of his excellent Casey Warrior teams in the tournament in 1985 and we met them in the final game. The Casey player many fans would remember is Jeff Finke but the Warriors were very balanced, very physical, had excellent scorers and were very good defensively. We got into early foul trouble in that game but our depth proved itself in that game as every player off the bench came in and were the determining factor in our win over the previously undefeated Casey team.

"Charleston came to Teutopolis as our first regular season opponent after the holiday tournament.  They were coached by another IBCA Hall of Fame Coach, Steve Simons. Steve’s teams were always extremely well coached in every aspect of the game and his game preparation was always second to none. That Charleston team was loaded with talent and we finally pulled the game out late and won in a very tight and well-played game.

"Pana came to town shortly thereafter and they were coached by Charlie Strasburger who would lead Pana to the 1988 Class A state championship. Once again, we faced a highly talented and well coached team with an excellent record.  We won another close contest.  

"The road to the state tournament was not for the timid. We met Flora at Flora in the regional championship game and once again a team coached by one of the great Illinois coaches, Tom Welch. Tom always had his team well prepared and the crowd and atmosphere was electric. We played well in the first half but trailed by one or two at halftime. We decided to go with a “combination” defense the second half and utilized our version of the triangle and two.

"We put Todd Kroeger in a full deny on their best perimeter shooter and put Bob Zerrusen on Phil Lieb who could score from anywhere but was really dangerous inside the paint. That put Theo Hemmen, Kevin Ruholl, and Ted Wiessing in the triangle so any time Lieb went inside he had not only Bob guarding him but he was helped by one of those three.  Our defense was stifling in the second half and we executed very well on the offensive end of the floor. The result was a 10 point win and was my first time to be in the regional victory circle as a varsity coach. 

"The first game of the sectional we faced Martinsville, an excellent team who “upset” Casey in the regional championship.  In all reality both Casey and Martinsville were great teams and had played at least twice previously in very close games leading up to the regional final, which in reality was no upset.

"Once again, we were facing a highly talented and prepared team. Many would remember the Lauritzen boys who played on that team but the entire team was very strong. They were coached by Randy Bishop who is also in the IBCA Hall of Fame as coach and one of the toughest coaches one could face.

"Randy utilized mainly a tough to counter zone defense that presented a multitude of challenges. In addition, he had tremendous shooters and scorers. There were several lead changes in the game and both teams executed well on both ends of the floor and both teams shot the ball well. There were only three turnovers in the entire game which is phenomenal when one considers how good both teams were defensively. We turned the ball over on our first possession of the game and did not turn it over for the remainder of the game. Martinsville only had two turnovers and if memory serves me correctly, these both came early in the fourth quarter. We scored on both of those possessions and obtained a small lead that we held until the end of the game.

"We faced Carmi, coached by Randy Goin, another IBCA Hall of Fame coach in the sectional final game. They had a very good team including two players named Campbell and Gaddy. Our team played extremely well from start to finish and won by a sizable margin giving Teutopolis its first sectional championship in boys’ basketball history.

"We faced Venice in the Charleston Super-sectional at Lance Gymnasium on the campus of Eastern Illinois University.  They were coached by Clinton Harris, who won the state championship in 1987. Venice was a very well prepared team that played great pressure defense, were very quick and athletic and had great scorers. The player most would remember on that team was Jesse Hall.  He went on to play his freshman year at Michigan State then transferred to SIU-Edwardsville where he completed this career. 

"We trailed almost the entire game and were down by eight points with 1:54 left in the game. Venice came out in a delay pattern after a time out.  We stayed in our half court man defense but went into the fouling mode. We also went to a very aggressive 1-2-2 full court press after we scored. Venice missed some key free throws and turned the ball over against the press. We scored on all but one possession in the final 1:54 and we pulled out a two-point nail-biter victory.

"In the closing minute of the game, Ted Wiessing made the ultimate sacrifice for the team when he committed his fifth foul in order to force Venice to the free throw line for a one-and-one which they missed. Just one great example of a player doing what he had to do to give his team a chance to win.   

"We played well in all three games at Champaign. In two class basketball, when you reached the Elite 8, there were no weak sisters and very few easy predictions for any of the quarterfinal games.  
"We played Westmont in the quarterfinals and their leading scorer was Mark Porter who had scored 45 in the sectional final game. Todd Kroeger defended Porter who did not score a single field goal until the fourth quarter and after the game had been decided. Todd’s full deny defense on Porter was a big factor in our large margin of victory.

"In the semifinals we faced Hoopeston-East Lynn. This was HEL’s third consecutive trip to Champaign under Coach Randy Feller. Players some would remember from those great Hoopeston teams were Greg and Thad Matta (Greg would later become the head coach at Ohio State and their dad was the long time A.D. at Hoopeston and was a good friend of mine from my days at Rossville-Alvin). Other great players were Kevin Root who played at Eureka and the 6-9 Busch kid who went on to play at SIU-Carbondale. Root and Busch were both on the team we faced in the semifinal game and they were part of an AP second-ranked team which was very balanced. We felt we played OK in the first half but we had to do a few things better because we trailed HEL by four at halftime.  

"The Busch kid was a good player and he was an intimidating factor in the paint on the defensive end.  We felt that Bob Zerrusen was not taking the ball right at Busch and making him play defense. The coaching staff and players reminded Bob that he was better than Busch and he needed to take the ball to him and through him. Bob answered the challenge and took the ball right at him on the first play of the second half and scored in his face then Theo followed up and scored on a layup and the score was tied. Kevin followed up with a couple of successful jump shots. Ted went around Busch for an offensive rebound and score then went around him again on a missed free throw by Bob and scored again. We got a stop on the defensive end and Bob took it to him again, scored, and was fouled. All the while the team was playing great defense and Todd Kroeger was keeping Kevin Root in check on the offensive end. Again, each player fulfilled his role including some key defensive stops and some great offensive rebound-put back baskets by Theo, Ted, and Bob.  In the fourth quarter Bob simply dominated Busch and the game was over.

"We faced Ohio, coached by Lloyd Johnson another of the great ones, in the Class A state championship game. They had won a close game in the afternoon over a very good West Frankfort team coached by David Lee. Coach Lee had played high school basketball at Mcleansboro with Jerry Sloan. He then went on to play at SIU-Carbondale and coached Mcleansboro to the state championship in 1984.

"Ohio had two prolific scorers in Brad Bickett and Lance Harris. We started in a man-to-man and Ohio was figuring out ways to score which was a credit to any opponent. Early in the game we switched to a triangle-and-two “combination” defense which put Theo Hemmen, Ted Wiessing, and Kevin Ruholl in the rotating zone triangle. Bob Zerrusen took Bickett in a full deny man and Todd Kroeger took Harris in a full deny man defense. The play of each of these players and every player off the bench contributed to a lopsided victory for us and a state championship trophy. Every player on the bench got into that game which made the victory even more enjoyable to the coaching staff and team."

A lot of teams have great stories about their season. Coach Crawford talked about some of those stories down the tournament trail.

"With regard to funny stories, there are far too many to tell. However, throughout my career there was an unwritten rule that what happened in practice stayed in practice. There are many philosophical and practical reasons for this rule but it gave the players and staff a degree of trust in each other that is necessary to build a team and maintain a program.

"Therefore I can share just a few things that will make the players smile but will not reveal any team “secrets” or embarrass anyone, including myself. This team and coaching staff had a wide range of personalities but they all liked to laugh and make practice fun while understanding when it was time to be totally serious. 

 "I had a great coaching staff in Scott Thomas and Larry Johnson which I will go into detail later.  Larry had a very warm and caring personality and he had a way of handling situations in a controlled manner and the players loved him. He served as an insulation and calming factor between the players and myself. Think of it as a good cop – bad cop situation if you will. However, when he said the following words the players knew he had reached the absolute maximum of his patience threshold, “Boys, this is not milk and cookie time”. The players understood they better shape up because it was serious.

"When we scrimmaged in practice, Larry and I officiated the contests. The players had nicknames for us when we took on that role and it referred to us and a couple of officials who often called varsity games in our area. I think the names probably originated in the mind of one Bob Zerrusen but I have no fact to back up that statement, only an educated guess. It was not something they said behind our backs as they called us that to our face almost every day when scrimmage began and we usually had a comeback for them. Everyone had a great laugh. I will not reveal what they called us but it sure was funny and I am sure the players smile when they think of it.

"We always felt practice and games had to be very serious but it could not be all work and no play. There has to be some structured and some spontaneous fun in practice and games because basketball is supposed to be fun and after all, it is not brain surgery. Larry, Scott, and I pulled several practical jokes on our players and they returned the favor. It was all in good fun and was important.  In closing the book on this rather vanilla approach to answering this question, a story about Coach Johnson is rather telling of the fun we had.

"After the championship game we took the team back to the hotel where we had pizza and soda ordered. It takes a while for the players and coaching staff to settle down after an experience like a state tournament run. I do not know what time we all went to bed but I know it was very late and we all knew we had to get the players up early and to breakfast so we could get back to the welcome home ceremony planned the next day by the parents, fans, and boosters.

"I am not a natural early riser but Coach Johnson was and at 6 a.m. I heard somebody dribbling a basketball up and down the isle of the floor on which we were all staying. I looked out my door and it was Larry dribbling the championship game ball up and down the floor, smiling, and using it as an alarm clock for everyone on our floor and probably a few other floors that it was time to rise and shine and get on with the program. Stories like that cannot be made up and can only be told with a big smile on one’s face."

Coach Dennis Koester's 1985-86 girls team also claimed the state championship. Crawford and Koester were good friends.

"Dennis and I had a friendship that transcended our relationship as fellow teachers and coaches," reminisced Crawford. "We spent a great deal of time together both inside and outside of our professional responsibilities. We hunted and fished together and we both enjoyed just sharing ideas on a variety of subjects.  We also spent a great deal of time discussing the potential of our teams and the challenges we faced in helping our teams reach their maximum potential.

"Winning a state championship is certainly a dream of every high school coach that is worth his weight in salt. Dennis and I both discussed our dreams but more importantly, we discussed the things we had to do to attain the short-term goals a team has to accomplish which can lead to an ultimate goal of winning a state championship.  

"Did we ever discuss the possibility that we could both win the state championship in the same year, absolutely not. Dennis was coming off a year in 1985 where he won second place in the state in a heartbreaking close contest.  I was coming off a year in which we took second place in the regional in a heartbreaking close contest. Although he knew that his road to a championship would be difficult, he had the potential to get back to Champaign if everything fell into place. I hoped we did but my main hope was that we would play well enough in the regional to beat Tom Welch and the Flora Wolves who had beaten us in the three previous regional final games.  

"I was always the type of coach that, along with my assistants, thoroughly scouted our opponents both in person and the utilization of any game film we could get. Help from common opponents was always welcome as well. I was always the eternal pessimist and was never confident in any of my own scouting analysis or game preparation. Therefore, I always told our players that we had a game plan A and a plan B but in many games we would win because of Plan C which the players developed as the game proceeded based on whatever knowledge we had given them and the knowledge they were gaining as the game proceeded.

"I knew there were many excellent teams in our area that were capable of beating us on any given night. My thoughts were verified in our games against Flora, Martinsville, and Venice. Plan C and possibly a little luck won all three of these extremely close games which resulted in our trip to Champaign."

The Wooden Shoes edged Venice 75-73 in the super-sectional. They won over Westmont 75-45 in the quarterfinals at Champaign's Assembly Hall and then defeated Hoopeston-East Lynn 58-43 in the semifinal contest. In the championship, the Shoes downed Ohio, 82-45 to win the state championship.
Named to the All-Tournament Team were 6-foot-6 junior Bob Zerrusen and 6-foot junior Todd Kroeger.

(In the next segment by Coach Crawford, he'll talk about his assistant coaches, his managers and statisticians, his other super-sectional and state tournament teams and his family.)