The Central Lee Community School District has inducted three new members to its Athletic Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2022.
This year, the Hall of Fame is honoring a former coach and two former student-athletes.
The Athletic Hall of Fame was created as a means of recognizing, preserving, and promoting Central Lee's rich history and tradition of excellence in athletics. It emphasizes the importance of high-achieving graduates and former staff members who made a big impact on the school community during their time at Central Lee.
“We are honored to recognize a few of the many outstanding student-athletes and coaches who have left an impressive legacy on our Central Lee community,” said Dr. Andy Crozier, CLCSD Superintendent. “This year, we are recognizing the achievements of two successful, multisport athletes, along with an incredible three-sport coach whose accolades continue to inspire our athletic community. We look forward to reuniting with these individuals and recognizing their accomplishments together.”
Inductee Lon Spurgin served as a coach at Central Lee for over three decades. Over his career, he coached girls’ basketball, volleyball, and baseball. Spurgin’s career highlights as the girls’ basketball coach include leading the team to a second-place finish at the state tournament in 2000 and coaching the team in the 1999 All-Star Game. He was recognized for coaching girls’ basketball throughout his career, being named the 3A Coach of the Year in 2000 and Burington Hawkeye Land Coach of the Year in 1985, 1993, 1998, and 2000.
Spurgin also made an impact on the baseball team, leading them to fourth in the state in 1977 and coaching the All-Star Game in 1987. He became a member of the 300-win club and was named district coach of the year in 1987, assistant coach of the year in 1992, conference coach of the year in 2005, and Hawkeye Land Coach of the year in 1997, 1984, and 1985.
Also inducted this year is Rick Schiller, who had an unmatched athletic career during his time as a student-athlete. He was the first person to receive first team honors in three sports (basketball, baseball, and football) in the history of the Blackhawk Conference. He earned first team all-conference in basketball for three years.
Schiller held the scoring record for basketball at Central Lee for 35 years, with 40 percent of his shots made outside of what is now considered the three-point line. Central Lee basketball became conference champions in his senior year, and despite a knee injury taking him out of competition, Schiller and other area basketball players were undefeated in intramural basketball for 20 years. He also received all-conference recognition in baseball and football during his time at Central Lee.
Megan (Weirather) Warneke is a Central Lee Class of 2006 graduate who held 19 school athletic records, including 11 in softball and eight in volleyball. Warneke started on varsity softball as an eighth-grade student and earned all-state honors in softball three times. She received both the Bernie Saggau Award and Army Reserve National Scholar Athlete Award in 2006.
Warneke's career highlights included finishing as a 1,000 point-scorer in basketball, being recognized as academic all-conference between all sports from 2005-2006, and being named to the academic all-state basketball team as a senior.
Families, staff, alumni, and community members are encouraged to nominate individuals for Hall of Fame recognition. A committee then reviews all nominations and determines each year's inductees. Central Lee also has Academic and Fine Arts Halls of Fame.
For individuals to qualify for a nomination, they must have graduated from Central Lee schools or have been a staff member. They also must be at least five years removed from their time in the district. The nomination form is available at https://bit.ly/CLHOFNomination.
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