Sunday, February 08, 2009

SUNNY AND WARM YESTERDAY, IN UPPER 40'S.
TODAY, CLOUDY AND IN THE 30'S.

FOUR MAQUOKETA WRESTLERS TOOK FIRST OR SECOND PLACE YESTERDAY IN THE SECTIONAL WRESTLING TOURNAMENT AT DAVENPORT ASSUMPTION'S GYM.
DAVENPORT ASSUMPTION TOOK FIRST PLACE. MAQUOKETA TOOK 3RD, JUST IN FRONT OF DEWITT , IN THE 6 TEAM FIELD.
TAKING CHAMPIONSHIPS FOR MAQUOKETA...
RYAN FLAGEL AT 152 POUNDS AND THOMAS MAYBERRY AT 160 POUNDS.
TAKING SECOND PLACE, TIM O'CONNELL AT 130 AND LARRY EGGERS AT171.
ALL 4 WRESTLERS WILL NOW WRESTLE IN THE DISTRICT TOURNAMENT
THIS SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 14TH. AND THE TWO TOP WRESTLERS IN EACH WEIGHT CLASS WILL GO ON TO THE STATE TOURNMENT.

CHECK THE PHOTOS BELOW.

THANKS FOR YOUR VISIT.

DENNIS VOY

SHOOT...SORRY THIS PHOTO IS TURNED WRONG. IT WAS BILL FLEMING NIGHT LAST NIGHT AT THE NEW MAQUOKETA HIGH SCHOOL GYM. HE WAS HONORED BETWEEN THE GIRLS AND BOYS GAMES......RECOGNIZED FOR BEING NAMED TO THE IOWA HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION HALL OF FAME. HE COACHED IN MAQUOKETA FOR 33 YEARS. HAD 27 ALL-STATE BASKETBALL PLAYERS. TOOK 6 TEAMS TO THE STATE TOURNAMENT. 6 OTHER TEAMS MADE IT TO SUBSTATE. WITH BILL AS COACH, MAQUOKETA WAS CONFERENCE CHAMPION 17 SEASONS. OVER 50 OF BILL'S PLAYERS HAVE BECOME BASKETBALL COACHES. HIS CAREER RECORD, 500 WINS AND 197 LOSSES. BELOW, SOME OF THE PHOTOS I TOOK LAST NIGHT. THE CAKE ABOVE WAS ENJOYED IN THE NEW CAFETERIA AFTER THE GAMES, WITH PUNCH. AND LATER, MANY WENT TO COSTELLO'S OLD MILL TO TALK MORE BASKETBALL WITH COACH BILL. NO PUNCH THERE.
DENNIS VOY

HERE, AS BILL STARTED HIS TALK TO THE AUDIENCE. AT THE START HE WAS "CHOKED-UP" AND A TEAR OR TWO ALMOST CAME ....BUT....ONCE HE GOT STARTED, HE TALKED QUITE AWHILE. NONE OF HIS KIDS WERE PRESENT, BUT HE
TOLD HOW ALL ARE DOING WELL IN LIFE AROUND THE COUNTRY. BILL IS NOT MARRIED, DIVORCED THREE TIMES. HE HAD VERY NICE COMMENTS ABOUT THE NEW MCHS GYM. MAQUOKETA WON BOTH GAMES BY THE WAY, OVER MONTICELLO. NON-CONFERENCE GAMES. MONTICELLO IS NO LONGER IN THE WAMAC.
DENNIS VOY

CLICK ON THE PHOTO TO ENLARGE IT. SOME OF THE MEN WHO PLAYED BASKETBALL FOR BILL OVER THE YEARS. KENNY BOWMAN OF MAQUOKETA
IN THE CENTER UP FRONT FOR ONE. THERE WERE ALSO SEVERAL FORMER COACHES PRESENT.
DENNIS VOY

BILL STOPPED BY TO SAY HELLO TO NANCY AND I IN THE STANDS. NANCY'S SON
STEVE PLAYED ON TWO OF BILL'S STATE TOURNAMENT TEAMS, IN 1976 AND 1977.
HER SON KEN ALSO PLAYED BASKETBALL FOR BILL. NANCY STARTED SUNSHINE
SCHOOL BACK IN THE ANSIL BRIGGS DAYS. SHE NOW WORKS FOR KEN.
DENNIS VOY

ON HAND FOR THE FESTIVITIES: LEFT TO RIGHT: CARL SMALL, CAMANCHE
VARSITY GIRL'S COACH....RETIRED MCHS TEACHER CLAIRE HOYE....NFL, HOUSTON TEXANS QB SAGE ROSENFELS....DON LYONS, BOYS VARSITY COACH AT DENISON (FOR MANY YEARS THEIR WINNING GIRL'S COACH) AND ROCKY LAMAR, HEAD COACH AT
MID AMERICA NAZERINE UNIVERSITY IN KANSAS. BILL COACHED ALL BUT CLAIRE
WHO WAS A LITTLE TOO OLD TO MAKE THE TEAM, BUT WAS GOOD FRIEND OF
BILL DURING THOSE 33 YEARS.
DENNIS VOY

BILL HAD SOME KIND, WELL-DESERVED REMARKS ABOUT LONGTIME LOCAL
SPORTSWRITER, JACK MARLOWE. JACK GOT A STANDING OVATION TOO.
BOTH LOOK GOOD AND ARE HEALTHY, BUT BOTH HAVE HAD HEART PROBLEMS.
DENNIS VOY

DURING BILL'S FIRST YEAR OF TEACHING MATH IN JUNIOR HIGH, ROCKY LAMAR
WAS ONE OF HIS STUDENTS AND THEY HAVE BEEN FRIENDS EVER SINCE. ROCKY PLAYED WELL FOR BILL IN HIGH SCHOOL, WENT ON TO COLLEGE AND HAS OVER 500 WINS AS THE HEAD COACH FOR MID AMERICA NAZARINE COLLEGE IN OLATHE, KANSAS. BILL HAS BEEN HIS ASSISTANT THE LAST COUPLE YEARS. THEY WON THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP A COUPLE YEARS AGO AND THIS YEAR, THEIR RECORD SO FAR IS 10 AND 1. ADAM HEPKER WAS A STARTER ON ROCKY'S TEAM THAT
WON THE TITLE.
DENNIS VOY

DENNIS STREETS HAS MORE BASKETBALL WINS THAN BILL, WHO HAS 500 EVEN.
DENNIS, NOW VARSITY ASSISTANT, IN BILL'S TIME, GROOMED THE PLAYERS
TO BE VARSITY WINNERS AND MAKE BILL LOOK GOOD. HE WAS THE SOPHOMORE COACH DURING ALL THE YEARS BILL WAS HEAD COACH. GREAT FRIENDS STILL.
BILL ALSO INTRODUCED JULIE STREETS WHO WAS UP IN THE STANDS ENJOYING THE FESTIVITIES. MANY MORNINGS, SHE DISCUSSED BASKETALL AT THE BREAKFAST TABLE.
DENNIS VOY

ONE OF SEVERAL GIFTS PRESENTED TO BILL! HE ALSO GOT TWO SIGNED BASKETBALLS, ONE BY THE PRESENT CARDINAL TEAM AND THE OTHER BY HIS FORMER PLAYERS THAT WERE HERE IN TOWN FOR THE SPECIAL WEEKEND. FRIDAY NIGHT, THE FORMER STATE TOURNAMENT PLAYERS WERE HONORED. BILL SCHWENKER, PRESIDENT OF THE MAQUOKETA SCHOOL BOARD IS SHOWN IN THIS PHOTO.
DENNIS VOY

ONE OF BILL'S PLAYERS, NOW LOCAL COACH RAY CAVANAGH, AND ON BILL'S LEFT,
SUPT. KIM HUCKSTADT, PRESENTED BILL WITH A MAQUOKTA JERSEY. KIM
WAS EMCEE FOR THE PROGRAM.
DENNIS VOY

SAGE ROSENFELS FOUR BIGGEST FANS!

KMAQ-FM (AND ON INTERNET) BROADCAST BOTH GAMES LAST NIGHT AND DURING THE HALFTIME OF BOY'S GAME, BILL WAS LEIGHTON HEPKER'S GUEST.
ROCKY LAMAR STOPPED BY AND I GOT THIS PHOTO. KMAQ NOW HAS A NICE
NEW BOOTH FOR DOING GAMES IN THE NEW GYM. BILL CAME TO KMAQ MANY, MANY TIMES TO DO HIS WEEKLY COACHES SHOW WITH LEIGHTON. HE LIKED TO STOP IN ALSO AND USE OUR COPY MACHINE.
DENNIS VOY