1957 DeWitt DeHawks Boys Track Team Central Dewitt Hall of Fame Induction Class 2007

Inducted for Outstanding Contributions as a team/ group of Central High School

Biography The 1957 DeWitt DeHawk Boys track team accomplished the same feat as the 1956 Football team; they completed an entire track season, never losing a meet. The culmination of their efforts landed them a DOUBLE State Championship.

Article from the Observer A few months later many of the same athletes were preparing themselves for an exceptional track season. The DeHawks became the program’s first team to win a state indoor championship and an outdoor championship. At the state indoor meet, held in Iowa City, the DeHawks edged Clarinda by a point, 30-29, for the championship. They ended the season beating second-place Indianola by four points (33-29) at Ames for the outdoor title. In between the team won 14 meets without a loss. Among the wins were championships at the Fulton Relays, the Davenport Relays, the Illowa conference meet, the Clinton Gateway Classic and the district meet held at Mount Vernon. At the state outdoor meet, Runge won state championships in the long jump with a then state record 22-0.5 leap and in the 440-yard dash with a time of 51.1 and Dockendorf won the discus title with a 144-4.25 effort. During the season, the team won 39 events in the 16 meets it competed in. Of the 16 wins, nine set new meet records. When the season ended, members of the 1957 team held eight program records.

The Observer (cont.) Many of the same names from the football team were associated with the track team, as well. The coaching staff was nearly identical with Birney, Oles, Ehrler and Vining on board. Members of the football team who also competed in track include Boyer, Clement, Dockendorf, Doughty, Fischer, Hulting, Kaufmann, Martin, Mumm, Neessen, Otto, Runge, Schnack and Seifert. The rest of the team included John Dierks, Paul Elmergreen, Alan Goddard, Gary Holst, Jim Larsen, Gary Mohr, Bill Noel, Bill Warneke and Larry Wood.