60th is the new 50th — anniversary reunion, that is

A tremendous turnout from members of the Class of 1956 showed just how true it is that Edgewood High School graduates form friendships that last a lifetime. The attendees marked their 60th Anniversary Reunion with a cocktail reception followed by dinner on Saturday, September 24, at Babe’s Bar & Grill.

The Reunion was Golden!

The Class of 1966 had an extended reunion weekend from Friday through Sunday, September 9-11. Golfers met for an outing on Friday morning and then in the evening all class members were invited to a casual gathering at a brew pub. Saturday was the date of the main reunion reception that had strong attendance and was a terrific 50-year anniversary celebration of continued and renewed friendships. Sunday began with a tour of Edgewood followed by Mass in St. Joseph Chapel at Edgewood College.

Mary Anne Thurber ’73 in the UW Marching Band Hall of Fame

Mary Anne Thurber ’73 was one of two women to be the first females to participate in the UW Marching Band, thus opening the door for countless young women to follow, like the ones in the accompanying photo from 1981. For her barrier-dropping participation, on Saturday, September 10, Mary Anne became one of the newest inductees to the UW Marching Band Hall of Fame.

Members of the
UW Marching Band
cheer with the crowd
at Husky Stadium.
(Barry Wong / The Seattle Times, 1981)

University of Notre Dame alumni, come say hi and share your experience!

In addition, Mary Katheryn Snyder from Notre Dame will also be visiting with students at Edgewood High School at 11:20 a.m. on Tuesday, September 20. If you attended the university and are interested in talking casually with students or families, please contact admissions@nd.edu

Girls Golf Team Goes Pink

Peggy Kelly Gierhart ’86 has coached the Edgewood Girls Golf Team since 2003, continuing a record since 2001 in which the team has taken 13 Conference titles and 13 WIAA State Championships and been State Runner-up twice. In addition to coaching the girls toward becoming a golfing dynasty, Peggy has encouraged the team to support community causes. The Girls Golf Team sponsors the annual Crusade Fore A Cure to raise money for breast cancer research and treatment. The event, hosted at Maple Bluff Country Club, brings together area high school teams every year and all the entry fees plus other fundraising proceeds are donated to Susan G. Komen®

This year’s event, held on August 29, raised $18,000 and earned the girls recognition as Prep Mania Team of the Month by Channel 3 television in Madison as well as coverage by NBC 15 in Madison.

Jon Masson of the Wisconsin State Journal wrote a feature about the event and one of the players in the invitational whose mother has breast cancer.

In response to the day, Peggy received a note from one of the cancer doctors whose programs and patients benefit from the funds raised:

• I just spent the last 8 hours in clinic seeing breast cancer patients and can't thank you enough for the support and work you did in fundraising for Komen South Central…Please know that the funding provided to Komen South Central supports so many fantastic programs for our local patients including the Treatment Access Fund (Wisconsin Well Woman), the Catholic Multi-Cultural Center programs for our patients of Latino descent and the Cancer Navigators who work here at UW and in Beloit to make sure our patients have the care and support they need on their journey through cancer treatment. As a Komen South Central Board Of Directors Member and a cancer surgeon I thank you for helping organize this great event for young women.    — Lee Wilke

Peggy was inducted to the Edgewood Athletic Hall of Fame in 2014. At the time, she said, “Edgewood High School is a very special place to me. I had an extremely fulfilling experience here. It has been my pleasure to return and coach these student-athletes and continue to be a part of this community. I truly believe Edgewood offers an environment of competitive academics, personal attention, faith, community and opportunity. I feel lucky to be a part of the Edgewood family and look forward to future years.’

Jim Wermuth ’53 earns banking service award

Jim Wermuth visits with a client

Jim Wermuth ’53 was featured in an article by Ed Avis that was posted to the Independent Banker news site on July 25, 2016. As a “traveling banker,” a service offered by Capitol Bank, 81-year-old Jim takes his suitcase full of banking accoutrements out on the road to 13 retirement communities in and around Madison. He helps clients with their day-to-day banking needs, acts as a notary and even sells stamps for those who are homebound. He had already retired from a 25-year career when Capitol Bank reached out to him shortly after the bank was founded in 1995. Now, his efforts have paid off in a 2016 National Community Bank Service Award from the Independent Community Bankers of America.

Photo Courtesy of Unified Newspaper Group

EAA Hall of Fame Inductees for 2016

Prior to the August 29 Crusader Kickoff celebration hosted by the Edgewood Athletic Association for all families and friends of EHS, a large group gathered in the Wilke Gym to recognize three individuals and a team for their athletic accomplishments.

Craig Carlson ’69 was a three-sport student-athlete at Edgewood High School who earned a total of 10 varsity letters. He was a standout baseball player with an 18-3 pitching record over three years and a four-year batting average of .366. Craig earned All-City Honorable Mention as a freshman and a slot on the First Team each of the next three years. He played on three WISAA State Championship teams and was a member of the Junior American Legion Champion team in summer 1967. As a Crusaders football fullback, Craig led the team in rushing yards during both his junior and senior year and scored 15 touchdowns. Occasionally, Craig also filled in on defense as a linebacker. Besides earning All-City honors, he was named to All-State Second Team. The third sport Craig played for the Crusaders was basketball, where he sank 10 points per game as a senior. After high school, Craig attended UW-Madison where he lettered in baseball. He was a member of the 1971 Semi-Pro Championship baseball team sponsored by Leske’s Supper Club and has played on numerous City and State Champion fast pitch softball and touch football teams. Craig also served as a manager and coach for West Madison Little League.

Katie Elliott ’04 was a talented student and athlete who lettered three years in basketball at Edgewood and led the golf team in scoring average all four years. She won an increasing number of golf events and tournaments annually, earning recognition on All-City, All-Conference, All-State, State Tournament, and Academic All-State teams. As a freshman, Katie helped Edgewood take 2nd Place at State at a time when there was only a single division for Girls Golf. When she was a sophomore, the Crusaders won their first State title, still within the single division, and Katie added City Player of the Year to her honors. She also won the state PGA title and a trip to the Junior PGA Championship. When Edgewood joined the Badger Conference in Katie’s junior year, she scored nine individual tournament victories, including taking City through Sectional titles. The Crusaders captured the State title again and Katie returned to the Junior PGA national. As a senior, she led the Crusaders to a third consecutive State title as she marked an incredible 13 individual 1st Place finishes, including titles from City through State. Katie was named State Player of the Year, Wisconsin Section PGA Player of the Year and the Madison Sports Hall of Fame’s Sportswoman of the Year. At UW-Madison, Katie led the Badger team in scoring average three out of four years, won a pair of individual titles, was chosen twice as Big Ten Player of the Week, and earned All-Big Ten Team and Academic All-Big Ten Team honors. She holds the second-lowest all time scoring average for UW-Madison Women’s Golf. Katie played on the USA’s World University Games team, which won the Gold Medal, and she also continued to participate in and win state PGA events. After beginning a professional golfing career, Katie was hired as assistant coach for the UW-Madison Women’s Golf Team for six seasons, and was again chosen for the USA team at the World University Games, this time as assistant coach, helping guide the team to a Silver Medal. Recently, Katie has left coaching to follow another new challenge as tournament coordinator for the American Family Championship of the PGA TOUR Champions tour.

Katie Lenz Marron ’96 was a three-sport student-athlete who earned 11 varsity letters over the course of her high school career. She was a four-year member of the Girls Tennis Team, qualifying twice for the WISAA State Tournament as half of a doubles team. She also played three seasons on the Crusaders Girls Soccer team. Katie truly made her mark on the Crusader athletic program as a member of the varsity Girls Basketball Team, on which she played even as a freshman. Katie earned All-City First Team her sophomore through senior year and twice earned All-Area Honorable Mention. In 1996, she was named to the WISAA All-Tournament Team and was also selected to play on the WBCA All-Star Team. In her senior year, Katie was a leading scorer and rebounder, helping to power the team through a season during which the Crusaders defeated the state’s #1 team. At a total of 1,070 points for a 12 points per game career average, she is one of only a handful in the 1,000+ club, and at 56% she has one of the top career field goal shooting averages. In addition, Katie has an astounding 797 rebounds to her name, the best in Edgewood history. Coach Lora Staveness noted that Katie’s soft touch with the ball, combined with her great physical strength, made her extremely tough to guard. Katie played the game the right way—she always gave her all and showed respect to her teammates, coaches and opponents. She attended Cornell University where she played Division 1 basketball in her freshman year. Katie is currently corporate director of marketing for North Central Group. She has volunteered for organizations including United Way, Habitat for Humanity, Second Harvest Food Bank, and CATCH (Community Around the Children’s Hospital), an interest she shares with Katie Elliott.

Undefeated and WCIAA State Champion

1961-1962 Boys Varsity Basketball Team

In fall 1961, nobody foresaw that the Edgewood Boys Basketball Team would so completely dominate the season, winning all 25 games against 20 different opponents. The Crusaders were only the third Catholic school team to have an undefeated season. From start to finish of the season, the Crusaders put 1,884 points on the board, with Denny Sweeney leading the way at 454 followed by captain Fred Kinney at 374 and top rebounder Larry Moston (who pulled in a total of 256) hitting the bucket for 302 points. The boys sank 70% of attempts from the free throw line for 396 of their total points. In the only close game of the regular season, the Crusaders defeated Waunakee by a single point the first time they faced one another. When the rivals met for a second time, Edgewood was hoping to put a 19th mark in the win column. The Wilke Gym was packed to capacity and some disappointed fans for both teams had to be turned away at the doors, missing the excitement as the Crusaders dominated the Warriors, 70-52. Along the way, as the team racked up wins and attracted attention, area sports reporters dubbed them “Roadrunners,” praised for their fast-paced play and surprising efficiency at vanquishing one opponent after another. The team also earned the top spot in the United Press International’s rankings of Catholic school teams. The boys kept up the pressure in post season with decisive wins at the WCIAA Regional and State Tournament until the final game against reigning champion Eau Claire Regis. The Crusaders trailed throughout the first three quarters of the game by as much as 13 points, but battled back and won by six points. Coach David Brown was named Coach of the Year, having accumulated a pair of undefeated regular seasons in four years. In 1962-1963 he and seniors who had been juniors on the 1962 team kept Edgewood’s winning streak alive, leading the way with 21 more wins for an incredible streak of 46.