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The
Official Newspaper of Anamosa, located in Jones County, Iowa
Anamosa News
Since 1855
 Thursday, August 21, 2008 |
Fawn Creek second at Three Rivers tourney
By
Daryl Schepanski - Sports Editor |
PEOSTA—Looking to claim their first back-to-back Three Rivers golf tournament championships since 1996-1997, Anamosa’s Fawn Creek Country Club was in the hunt all day long playing solid golf at a tough, hilly and challenging Timberline Golf Course in Peosta Saturday, August 16.
Fawn Creek, not only winner of the 2007 tournament they hosted last summer, but winners of a whopping 15 championships (more than any other Three Rivers golf team) since 1979, saw their run come up a mere two strokes shy Saturday falling to host Timberline.
Fawn Creek tallied a 958 team score in what proved to be a three-team race all day long at the Three Rivers tournament with Timberline and Wapsi Oaks.
In the end, the Anamosa team, playing in difficult conditions that saw extremely dry fairways making stopping the ball difficult, was edged by Timberline’s 956 total, the first-ever Three Rivers tournament championship for the club.
Mike Carrier, who helped the Wapsi Country Club team to a runner-up finish at the Eastern Iowa tournament in DeWitt just a weekend earlier, topped all Fawn Creek scorers firing a sensational round one-over par 73 to tie for second-place overall at the one-day, 18-hole tournament.
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Study session
Fawn Creek’s Mike Carrier studies the line on his putt on the 18th green during Three-Rivers playoff action Saturday, August 16, at Timberline Golf Course in Peosta. Carrier won a one-hole playoff over Bellevue’s Ric Nemmers to secure runner-up tournament medalist honors. (Journal-Eureka photo by Daryl Schepanski) |
Carrier carded a 37 on the front nine at the 18-hole Timberline Golf Course, and came back with a sensational even-par round of 36 on the difficult back to finish in a tie with Bellevue’s Ric Nemmers, who also made his way through the day with a 73 (34-39).
The two golfers squared off in a playoff for Three Rivers runner-up medalist honors, and after one playoff hole, Carrier recorded a par on the par-5 18th hole to claim the honor.
Lowden 3/30 club member Andy Kahl claimed the Three Rivers individual championship firing a two-under par round of 70 (36-34).
While the Fawn Creek men were second overall in the team scoring, individually they fared very well recording three scores in the top-5 overall which was more than any team at the tournament.
Anamosa also placed a solid six golfers in the top-20 (second to only champion Timberline’s seven).
Rich DeLong (37-38) and Mitch Martensen (39-36) tallied cards of 75 each, which tied with Little Bear’s Shane Leslie (37-38), Timberline’s Marty Berger (36-39) and Wapsie Oaks’ Kennie Nicholsen (36-39) for fifth in the tournament.
Maquoketa’s Dan VanPelt was fourth firing a round of 74 (33-41).
Fawn Creek’s Darin Sander (36-41) and Tom Ridgeway (42-35) each scored top-20 rounds making their way through the 18-hole layout with rounds of 77 while Steve Vaughn added yet another top-20 score with a 78 (38-40) for the Anamosa team.
Dennis Frasher added an 82 (42-40) while Justin Doser came through with an 83 (40-43) for the Fawn Creek team.
Darwin Carstensen (40-44) and Chuck Shada (43-41) scored cards of 84 each while Jamie Orr (43-42) and Bill Edleman (38-47) each added scores of 85 for the Anamosa effort.
Jeff Politte (44-46) and Dan Messerli (40-51) rounded out the Fawn Creek effort with scores of 90 and 91, respectively.
Wyoming Little Bear also competed at the tournament placing seventh as a team with a 1,026 card overall.
Little Bear scoring included rounds from Leslie, Scot Rains (77), Jonny Moore (78), D.J. Topping (80), Riley Williams (85), Don Topping (87), Kasey Brecht (88), Mike Williams (89), Doug Dammann (90), Terry Rushford (92), Terry Williams (92), John Koppes (93), Lee Williams (95) and Curtis Thornhill (99).
Rounding out the tournament top-20 scoring saw Bellevue’s Chris Frank (37-39) and Preston Plum River’s Clive Zeimet (36-40) tied for 10th overall while Sander, Ridgeway, Little Bear’s Rains (39-38), Lowden 3/30’s Dave Herman (37-40), Timberline’s Kevin Behnke (36-41) and Ron Blume (39-38) as well as Wapsie Oaks’ Al Olson (38-39) all tied for 12th overall with cards of 77 each.
Included in a huge group tied for 18th overall was Vaughn and Little Bear’s Moore (40-38) firing rounds of 78 each.
Bellevue’s Doug Even (41-37), Timberline’s Tom Berger (39-39), Barry McDermott (39-39), Rod Berger (37-41) and Gary Danzer (37-41) as well as Bellevue’s Jacob Gothard (38-40) and Wapsie Oaks’ Brian Cavanaugh (36-42) and Dave Bousselot (39-39) all added scores of 78 at the tournament.
Three Rivers final team scoring included: Timberline (956), Fawn Creek (958), Wapsie Oaks (966), Bellevue (971), Maquoketa (995), Lowden 3/30 (1,013), Little Bear (1,026) and Preston Plum River (1,065).. |
Raider ready to take aim at retirement
By
Daryl Schepanski - Sports Editor |
ANAMOSA — As students filtered into classrooms for the first day of school in Anamosa Wednesday, August 20, Denny Christenson, for the first time in 37 years, won’t be one of the teachers waiting for his kids to arrive.
Anamosa’s popular gym teacher of the last 28 years and successful high school wrestling coach for much of that stretch, has decided it is time to retire.
“The last 28 years here at Anamosa has been an absolute blur,” said Christenson who plans now on spending a lot of time on the golf course as well as working in his backyard at his home here in town and riding his motorcycle. “It all has gone by so fast. I have so many great memories of my teaching and coaching career, I just can’t put it all into words. The friends I have met and the people I have been fortunate enough to work with here and everywhere I’ve been have made this career a great one for me.”
Christenson, born in Long Beach, California, moved to Iowa when he was a mere six-years-old.
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Comfortable surroundings
Anamosa gym teacher Denny Christenson sits in his room surrounded by the hundreds of photos he’s collected over the years on his last day as an Anamosa High School staff member last June. Christenson wrapped up a 28-year Raider teaching career last spring and is looking forward to a prosperous retirement. Overall, Christenson taught for 37 years at Morning Sun, Belle Plaine and Anamosa High Schools. (Journal-Eureka photo by Daryl Schepanski) |
“My mom and dad were both Iowa natives and they wanted to be closer to home and relatives,” said Christenson. “We moved to a small town called Industry near Fort Dodge.”
Shortly after his family returned to Iowa, Christenson’s father Dennis passed away due to complications from polio. His mother, Yvonne, and sister also came down with the disease forcing Denny to move in with his grandparents in nearby Vincent.
Once his mother and sister recovered, the three moved to Eagle Grove where he spent the rest of his prep career graduating in 1965.
While at Eagle Grove, Christenson was an all-conference football player as well as state qualifier in wrestling and state champion track star as well as a member of the baseball team.
“Back then, I guess I had some wheels,” he said. “Football and wrestling were my passions. I went out for track just to help with the other sports.”
While at the state track meet in 1964, Christenson first crossed paths with a school named Anamosa.
“We beat Anamosa for the state title in track in 1964 and 1965,” said Christenson who was the lead-off runner for the Eagle Grove team in the 440, 880 and medley relays. “I had never heard of Anamosa before until that 1964 track season. They had some pretty fast runners there, that’s all I knew at the time.”
Christenson was undefeated as a junior wrestler before getting hurt late in the season but bounced back his senior year and qualified for the state tournament.
“I wasn’t able to wrestle at the varsity level until my junior year because I was always behind state champions,” he said. “Eagle Grove has a great wrestling tradition, and I just wanted to be a part of that.”
After graduating from high school, Christenson chose to attend Morningside College where he played football and wrestled for the Mustangs.
Christenson was a starting defensive back on the football team and earned NAIA second-team all-American wrestling status as a junior grappling at 177 pounds.
“On the freshman football team at Morningside I was a running back. Then on the varsity team I moved to defensive back, and by my senior year they had me playing offensive guard,” said Christenson. “Once I got to the line, that was the most fun I ever had on a football field. That was a great time in my life.”
Once graduating from Morningside College with an education degree and minor in economics, Christenson took his first teaching job in the fall of 1971 at a tiny high school called Morning Sun, near Burlington.
“I jumped head first into that job,” said Christenson who taught physical education as well as social studies and history while coaching wrestling, boys track, junior high football, assistant varsity football, junior high wrestling and junior high track. “I look back at that now and wonder how in the world I was able to do all that. The exuberance of youth I guess.”
Christenson’s second year at Morning Sun saw him promoted to full-time K-12 gym teacher and also saw him sign his first contract for $8,600.
After a second year at Morning Sun, Christenson made the move to Belle Plaine, where he took over the varsity wrestling coaching position and led the Plainsmen to a pair of South Cedar League championships. “We had a tremendous group of wrestling athletes at Belle Plaine,” said Christenson who also led the school to three sectional titles, two district crowns and even a class 1A state team championship in 1976, his fourth year guiding the program. “I had the support of the parents, administration and the kids all bought into what we were trying to coach.”
Over his six-year run at Belle Plaine, Christenson coached numerous state champions.
“Things were very intense and after a while, I got a little burned out,” said Christenson who left the teaching profession for one year and worked at a motor supply company in Belle Plaine. “Having that time away refreshed me, and in 1980, I got my teaching license renewed and got the job in Anamosa. The rest is history I guess.”
Christenson took over as P.E. teacher at Anamosa High School in the fall of 1980 and accepted the position as head wrestling coach as well.
During his 18-year Raider wrestling coaching run, Christenson guided the team to one WaMaC Conference championship (1986) and produced numerous state qualifiers and state place-winners.
“We never did get that state champion under my watch though,” he said. “We came close many times but couldn’t get all the way over the hump.”
Christenson and his wife Joyce, have three children who all graduated from Anamosa.
Jason, a 1987 Raider graduate, is not only a highly successful wrestling coach at Southeast Polk High School, but is also on the national wrestling stage as well as on the AAU circuit working with the Iowa Federated Team coordinating national events.
David graduated in 1997 where he, like Jason, wrestled for his dad. He now lives in Des Moines working for Principal as a financial planner.
Amanda, an accomplished shot put star and state qualifier for the Raider girls track team, graduated in 1998 and currently is employed as a special-ed teacher at Anamosa High School. She also sat by her dad’s side as a wrestling manager and stat keeper for many years.
“Having Amanda here for her first year teaching at Anamosa during my last year teaching here was special,” said Christenson, as all three of his kids were also National Honor Society members. “Coaching Jason and David in wrestling is also something I will never forget and will be something I will always cherish.”
Christenson’s immediate future plans include an extended trip to Canada with his wife this fall as well as spending as much time as possible with his only grandson, Gabe.
“Beyond that, I’m just going to take it day-by-day and see what plays out,” he said. “I really am looking forward to just doing nothing. I know that sounds funny, but it’s what I want to do. I will miss being around the students and staff on a regular basis though. I guess it all comes down to, hopefully I made a difference in someone’s life. I know the people I’ve been involved with teaching and coaching over the years have had an impact on mine.” |
Working w
By
Daryl Schepanski - Sports Editor |
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Box 108, 208 W. Main Street, Anamosa, IA 52205
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