CHSCA to honor 2015 Hall of Fame Inductees

The Colorado High School Coaches Association is proud to announce its Hall of Fame class for the year 2015.  This is the 52nd class to be inducted.

The Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will be held on Saturday, March 28^th at the Radisson Hotel Denver Southeast 3155 S. Vaughn Way, Aurora, CO 80014.  A reception will be held at 5:30 p.m. with the dinner and induction starting at 6:30 p.m.  Ticket prices for the event are $42 per person and reservation forms may be obtained from the CHSCA web site at www.colohsca.org or by e-mailing CHSCA executive director John Burke at jburke24@cox.net.

Below is a brief biography of the 5 inductees.

Judy Beardsley – Volleyball –Merino High School

Judy Beardsley coached volleyball at Merino High School for 20 years and led the Rams to a remarkable ten State Championships.  The first was recorded in 1985 and the most recent in 2001. During her tenure at Merino, the teams made the trip to the state tournament every year except one and secured three runners-up trophies in addition to the championships.  From 2003-2010 she served as an assistant coach at Sterling High School, and helped the Tigers secure the State Championship in 2005.  Beardsley served as the Volleyball President for the CHSCA from 2000-2004.  She is a 24-year member of the Colorado High School Coaches Association.  She married Wally Beardsley in 1981, and they have five children: Casey Randa, Bo, Haley, and Alex.    

Patty Childress – Volleyball – Grandview High School

A 1980 graduate of Limon High School, Patty Childress has coached volleyball at Otis, Palisade, Ferndale, Colorado Mesa University, and Grandview.  She has been the Head Volleyball Coach at Grandview since 1998.  Her teams have been to the state tournament every year since 2000, and won the Class 5A Colorado High School State Championship five times.  The Wolves claimed back-to-back titles in 2013 and 2014.  She entered the 2014 season with an overall coaching record of 453-154. 

Childress served as president of the CHSCA in 2003, and has coached in their All-State Games four times.  She was the Dave Sander’s award recipient in 2013.  Patty is married to Gary Childress, the long-time boys’ basketball coach at Grandview, and they have two sons, Spencer and Christian.  Both are graduates and former athletes of Grandview High School.

 Ken Shaw – Basketball – Regis Jesuit High School

A record setting basketball player for the Merino Rams, Shaw turned to coaching after graduating from New Mexico State University in 1974.  His overall career record is 669-223 in 39 seasons.  Shaw’s teams have won state titles at Yuma (1), Sterling (1), and Regis Jesuit (3).  The teams he coached at Rocky Mountain and Smoky Hill were regular entrants into the Colorado State Tournament and each set marks for the best season records in the history of the school.  Ken has been a member of the CHSCA for 41 years and currently serves as an at-large member on the Board of Directors.  Shaw is a regular speaker and clinician at coaching clinics in Colorado and nationally.  Susan broke into Shaw’s world of basketball 27 years ago when the two were married, and they have a son, Kelly, 24, and a daughter, Setera, 20.  Shaw has the third most wins in the history of coaching boy’s basketball in the state of Colorado.  Even with this remarkable winning record, he may be best known for his sporting behavior and gentlemanly sideline mannerisms.

Dennis Tjaden – Volleyball – Boys Basketball – Julesburg High School

A graduate of Wheatland High School in Madrid, Nebraska and Kearney State College, Dennis Tjaden spent most of his 28-year coaching career at Julesburg/Sedgwick County High School.  His head coaching assignments included 23-years in boy’s basketball and 13-years in girl’s volleyball.  That work produced three state basketball championships and two state volleyball titles.  Dennis was a business teacher at Julesburg since joining the staff in 1984 and also took on Athletic Director duties in 1994.  He coached in the CHSCA All-State basketball and volleyball games multiple times and spoke at several CHSCA Coaching Clinics.  He served on the Colorado Athletic Directors Board of Directors from 2000-2007 and on several CHSAA committees including a term on the executive committee.  Dennis and his wife Carla have been married for 30 years and have a daughter, Jessica, 26, and son, Justin, 24.

Jim Trahern – Basketball - Football - Kit Carson High School

A 1997 graduate of Flagler High School, Coach Jim Trahern, started his career in Walsenburg.  After two years he landed in Kit Carson where he has coached for 29 years.  At the helm of the Kit Carson boy’s basketball program, Jim has amassed a 441-225 record with two state championship and two second-place finishes.  His overall record in 26 seasons directing the football program is 161-73, which includes two state runner-up finishes, ten semi-final appearances and 21 trips to the quarterfinals.  He also has been the head track coach for 11 years.  CHSCA has presented Jim with the Don DesCombes Outstanding Service Award 2001, Tom Sutak Basketball Award 2006, and Boy’s Basketball Coach of the Year Award in 2005 and 2008.  He and his wife Susan, also a teacher and coach at Kit Carson, have been married 32 years. Their two sons Jake and Ty were star athletes for the Kit Carson Wildcats, and had stellar careers in basketball at CSU-Pueblo.  Both are teacher-coaches at Burlington High School.  Jake is the Head Boy’s Basketball Coach and Ty the Head Girl’s Basketball Coach.         

Otis' Wallin-Kuntz To Be Inducted Into Colorado High School Coaches Association Hall-Of-Fame

***Press Release**

The Colorado High School Coaches Association is proud to announce its Hall-of-Fame class for the year 2014.  This is the 51st class to be inducted.

The Hall-of-Fame induction Ceremony will be held on Saturday, March 29^th at the Red Lion Hotel, 3200 S. Parker Road, Aurora, CO.  A reception will be held at 5:30 p.m. with the dinner and induction starting at 6:30 p.m.  Ticket prices for the event are $42 per person and reservation forms may be obtained from the CHSCA web site at www.colohsca.org or by e-mailing CHSCA executive director John Burke at jburke24@cox.net.

Following is a brief biography of the 5 inductees.

Carl Fetters – Football – Basketball – Cheyenne Mountain High School

A 1959 graduate of Cheyenne Mountain High School, and three-sport All State Athlete, Carl Fetters returned to work for much of his career in the same high school.  Carl coached the same three sports football, basketball, and baseball that he was All State in for the Indians.  He served as the head football coach from 1968-1997.  His teams won 203 games while appearing in the state semi-finals four times and twice were state runners-up.  During that tenure Coach Fetters was the head baseball coach for four years, head girls’ basketball coach for 8 years, and head boys’ basketball coach for 8 years.  Since leaving Cheyenne Mountain in 1997 he has been an assistant football coach at Manitou Springs, Palmer, and currently at Colorado State University at Pueblo.  In addition to coaching for 46 consecutive years Carl has been married to his wife Susan since June 1, 1963, and is the proud father of Gwen, Jill, and Monte.

Ron Keller – Cross Country – Track & Field – Durango High School

Ron Keller was the Head Boys’ and Girls’ Cross Country and Track and Field Coach at Durango High School from 1978-2002.  Ron ran track and field and played football at Littleton High School and received a track scholarship to Northeastern Junior College.  While at the helm of the Cross Country programs Ron’s boys team set a state record for consecutive years qualifying a full team to the state cross country meet. The Durango Cross Country Team’s won eight team state championships under Coach Keller’s tutelage.  Numerous Durango athletes won medals at the Colorado State Cross Country Championships and State Track and Field Championships.  The one that Coach Keller has fond memories of a relishes to this day is his daughter Kati (Keller) Moore who medaled in both events.  She continued her career collegiately at Colorado State University.  Ron received the Cross Country Coach of the Year Award from the CHSCA in 1994 and 1998. 

Mike Provenzano – Hockey – Palmer and Cheyenne Mountain High Schools

Mike Provenzano a 1963 graduated of Roy J. Wasson High School returned to work in the same district at Palmer High School in 1968.  Mike graduated from Colorado State University where he helped formed the Club Hockey Team.  Mike’s hockey teams won three state championships while he coached at Palmer from 1968-1999.  There were four other state runner-up teams in that span.  Mike was the coach at Cheyenne Mountain High School from 2002-2011 and added one more state championship and two state runner-up teams.  In addition to his duties as the head hockey coach Mike also served as football and baseball assistant coach while at Palmer.  Mike and Jackie, his wife of 41 have two sons Freddie and Tony.  Mike’s hockey teams posted an impressive overall record of 394-200-15.

Bonnie Wallin-Kuntz – Volleyball – Otis High School

Bonnie Wallin made her way from Newman Grove Nebraska to Otis High School where she has been coaching for the past 27 years.  She married Roger Kuntz in 1990 and they have three children Karson, Kati, and Kylee.  Bonnie’s Volleyball teams won state championships in 1998, 2002, 2009, and 2011.  There were two runner-up teams in that same time frame.  Her teams have an amazing 505-145 over the past 24 years under her rein.  In addition to her duties as the head volleyball coach she also been the head coach in boys’ basketball for one year, girls’ basketball for five years, track for eleven years, and has coached junior high sports for 27 years.  She serves as the athletic director for Otis High School and was named the 1A Athletic Director of the Year by the Colorado Athletic Directors Association.

 

Randy Yaussi – Cross Country – Track & Field - Poudre High School

Randy Yaussi did not venture from the city of Fort Collins.  A graduate of Poudre High School and Colorado State University the record setting athlete continued his successful ways coaching at Poudre High School.  He served as the Boys’ and Girls’ Cross Country Coach for 25 years, and the Track and Field Coach for both genders 27 years.  Coach Yaussi’s teams won state championships in Cross Country in 1990 in the boys’ division and 1993, 1994, and 1995 in the girls’ division.  His coaching efforts garnered 30 league or conference team championships, and he coached 23 individual state champions.  Since hanging up the coaching attire in 2001 Randy has been serving as a school administrator, and is currently the principal at Highland-Ault High School.  Randy and his wife Carol have a daughter Tiffany and son Deric.