News : Record setters, basketball greats among new VS Hall of Fame honorees

Bill Zenk, Class of 2000, with his wife, Melissa.

Gabe Wyckoff, Class of 1993, receives his Hall of Fame plaque from his baseball coach, Jim Struve.

Thera Froning Cavin, and her brother, Dr. Thomas Froning.

Sylvia Froning Mundt and her brother, Dan Froning.

Jack Fry's widow Yvonne Weideman, accepts his award from Don Weideman

The 2011 Viking/Vikette Hall of Fame Inductees were introduced to the crowd during halftime of the Vikings Homecoming football game Friday night.

The honorees include the following individuals and teams. The infomation below was read to the audience that evening:

1937 440 RELAY TEAM

In 1937 the 440-Yard Relay Team of Melbert Bieber, Hoyt Carrier, Eugene Crisman and Millard Jones were coached by Fred Cameron. They qualified for the State track meet in Ames, where they set a school record of 44.85. In the 1980’s the state athletic association published a chart converting all yardage times to metric times making this time 44.60. This school record was not broken until 1993 – 56 years later.

The Hall of Fame Committee regrets that we were unable to locate family members to be here tonight.

DONALD FARIS, CLASS OF 1927

Our next inductee is a 1927 graduate, Mr. Donald Faris. While in high school, Don was a four-year varsity letter winner in basketball and a four-year member of the track team.

Don was Captain of the basketball team for two seasons. In 1927 he was recognized as an All-stateCenter. According the Vinton Arrow Yearbook, even though Don was small he played smart ball and ranked as one of the best athletes in this section of the state.

After high school he attended Coe College, where he played basketball and football. In 1996 Donald A. Faris was inducted into the Coe College Basketball Hall of Fame.

Don coached high school boys and girls basketball at Wellsburg, Iowa, taking both teams to state in 1936. The girls’ team qualified for State two more times under his leadership. He also coached the Olin, Iowa girls’ basketball team to state and won a State Championship while coaching at Seymour. He then served as Superintendent at Belmond, Iowa for 23 years. In 1969 Don was awarded the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union Plaque of Distinction.

Mr. Faris’ son John resides in Florida. He wishes to express his sincere appreciation for this Honor and regrets that he was unable to attend tonight.

JACK FRY, CLASS OF 1950

Next, we have Jack Fry, a 1950 graduate. Mr. Fry was a 3-year varsity letter winner in basketball and a 1-year varsity letter winner in baseball. In 1947 his freshman basketball team was WaMaC champion and in 1949 sub-state qualifiers. Jack was a 2-time All-WaMaC honoree and in 1950 he received All-state Honorable Mention. He averaged 14 points per game in an age when the team average was 38 points per game, scoring over 30% of the team’s points.

In 1949 Jack was a member of the first Vinton High School baseball team.

After graduation Mr. Fry went on to play basketball at the University of Iowa, earning his freshman numeral prior to serving his country in the Korean Conflict.

Jack’s contributions as a booster dwarf these considerable athletic contributions. A longtime Booster Club member, he was known for a remarkable attendance stretch for all Viking/Vikette sporting events, despite health issues. Two of his children, Mark & Ann, are also members of the Viking/Vikette Hall of Fame. Jack arranged for the donation and planting of trees west of the baseball diamond to commemorate his 35 years in the insurance business. Jack Fry was a proud Vintonian. He richly deserves and would be grateful for this recognition.

Accepting the award on Mr. Fry’s behalf is his widow, Yvonne Weideman and their children Clark, Mark & Ann. Presenting the award is Don Weideman, Hall of Fame Committee Member.

SYLVIA FRONING MUNDT AND THERA FRONING CAVIN

Our next inductee is Sylvia Froning Mundt, a 1957 graduate of Garrison High School. Ms. Froning was a 4-year member of the Garrison Rockettes Basketball team. In 1956 the team was State runners-up and Sylvia was the State Tournament leading scorer with 160 points in 4 games. She was named 1st Team All-county, 1st Team All-sectional, 1st Team All-district and 1st Team All-state in both 1956 & 1957. In 1957 the Garrison Rockettes were State Champions. Ms. Froning finished her high school career with 3,011 points. Sportwriters expressed that that was an amazing number considering Coach Corbett always wanted everyone to play and wasn’t interested in creating a star just to break records. He often benched the first team players during easier games. This was a philosophy Sylvia totally agreed with. Their team motto was “All for one and one for all.”

Sylvia was later named to the Des Moines Register All-time All-state Team. In 1963, her first year of eligibility, Sylvia Froning was inducted into the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union Hall of Fame. The newspaper article at that time stated: “Sylvia is considered to be the best of modern day forwards. Experts say she had the finest “moves” on a basketball court they had ever seen. She could shoot from anywhere on the court. Natural team leader”.

Mrs. Froning Mundt traveled all the way from California to accept her award. She is being escorted by her brother, Dan Froning, also a Garrison High School graduate. Her award is being presented tonight by Hall of Fame Committee member, Mindy McClintock.

Also here from Californiais Sylvia’s sister, Thera Froning Cavin, a 1962 Garrison High School graduate. Thera played basketball and softball during her days as a Garrison Rockette. In 1959 the Rockettes were Consolation winners at the State Basketball Tournament. In 1962 they set the school record for the longest winning streak, 27 games, and again qualified for the State tournament. Thera was named 1st Team All-county in 1961 & 1962, and 1st Team All-district, 1st Team All-sectional and 3rd Team All-state in 1962. She was the high scorer in every game during the 1961-62 season, averaging 35 points per game.

After high school, Thera went on to play amateur basketball for “Look” Magazine, traveling to many surrounding states.

Escorting Mrs. Froning Cavin tonight is her brother Dr. Thomas Froning, a Vinton High School graduate. Her award is being presented by Janet Woodhouse, Hall of Fame Committee member.

GABE WYCKOFF, CLASS OF 1993

Our next inductee is Gabe Wyckoff, a 1993 graduate. Gabe was an 8-time letter winner in Baseball, Football & Track.

Mr. Wyckoff was a member of the 1991 baseball team that was WaMaC champions and 3A State Tournament qualifiers – the first Vinton-Shellsburg baseball team to go to state. Gabe was named to the All-tournament team. He also set a state record for single-season hits that season with 75 hits. He was a unanimous 1st-Team All-state selection in 1991, 1992, and 1993. At the end of his Viking career, Gabe held 19 school records: 8 single-season records, 3 of which still stand today and 11 career records, six of them still standing.

Gabe was a 3-time Drake Relays qualifier and 2-time State qualifier in the 4x100 Relay. On May 7, 1993, Gabe Wyckoff, Jim Sarchett, Matt Geissinger and Charlie Williams, broke the 56-year 4x100 record set by the 1937 Relay team recognized earlier tonight.

Their time was 44.52 – 8/100ths of a second faster than the 1937 team.

After high school, Gabe played baseball at the University of Iowa for 2-years and the University of Northern Iowa for 2-years. He also played one year with the Rochester Honkers and one year with the Waterloo Bucks.

Gabe is being escorted tonight by his wife, Heather, and their two sons, Brady & Nate; and also by his father, Jim Wyckoff. Presenting Mr. Wyckoff his award tonight is his former baseball coach, Jim Struve.

BILL ZENK, CLASS OF 2000

Our last inductee tonight is Bill Zenk, a 2000 graduate. Bill was a 6-time varsity letter winner, participating in baseball, basketball and cross country.

Bill was a member of the 1998 3A State Championship baseball team and the 2000 3A State Semi-finalist team. He set a state record with a 1-Hit Shutout in a 3A State Championship game. Bill was named 1st Team All-conference three times, 2nd Team All-district one time, 2nd Team All-state two times, and 1st Team All-state one time. He received the Most Valuable Pitcher Team award in 1998 and the team MVP award in 1999 & 2000.

In 1998 Bill received 2nd Team All-conference recognition in basketball.

Bill pursued his baseball career at Kirkwood Community College where he played for 2 years.

Bill would like to share his appreciation for the coaches that committed so much of their time to teaching the fundamentals of the game and the value of team. And also to his teammates, the incredible athletes he was blessed to have shared these great accomplishments with.

Mr. Zenk is escorted by his wife, Viking/Vikette Hall of Famer Melissa Hanneman Zenk. His former baseball coach, Jim Struve is presenting him with his award.