Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Where are they now?

Lance Christenson

Lance Christenson was a standout wrestler for Wartburg College from 1989 to 1993. He was a two-time NCAA Division-Three All-American. Lance finished third in the Nation in 1992 and was a National Champion his senior year in 1993. A four-year starter, he compiled a 111-36 record. He was captain of the 1993 team that finished second in the nation.

Lance, a Norwalk native, had several reasons why he chose to attend Wartburg. He had friends that already were attending the school, he liked the campus during his visits and it was the right distance away from home. His favorite memories from wrestling was winning the National title at 167 his senior year and a dual team tournament Wartburg was involved in his junior year. The Tournament took place in Atlanta, Georgia and featured many Division-One and Division-Two schools. Despite being only one of two Division-Three schools there, Wartburg won the tournament. He realized then how good that year’s Knights team was.

Lance graduated with a Marketing/Management major at Wartburg. After college he returned to Norwalk and sold medical devises for 13-years. He currently resides in West Des Moines where he works for Dice Holdings, a company that owns and operates six niche career web sites. In 2003 he married his wife Angie. They have two daughters, 5-year old Carly and 3-year old Paige.

Lance feels that competing in wrestling at Wartburg paid big dividends for him in the work force. He feels without the lessons he learned about time management, dedication, and motivation, he wouldn’t be as successful as he is now. He still follows the Knights in wrestling and makes it to one or two meets a year.

This year at homecoming Lance was honored by being named to the Wartburg Athletic Hall of Fame.

Friday, October 23, 2009

Wartburg vs. Luther Rivalry

It’s a tradition that’s been around since the 50s. It takes creativity, ingenuity and a whole lot of Wartburg spirit. The Wartburg rivalry with Luther College has long been intense, and so have the pranks.The pranking tradition began with the mystery of the missing Knight armor which was kept in a special little cubicle in the P.E. Complex, which was rather inaccessible.

To retaliate, Wartburg students painted Luther’s statue of Martin Luther yellow. The pranks continued the following years and some pranks became quite destructive. Students often went overboard trying to top each other. Luther students put a big ‘LC’ in the middle of the Wartburg football field.

Wartburg students responded by burning a huge ‘W’ in the Luther football field. Wartburg students used a chemical called atrazene, so Luther had to dig down three feet to get rid of the Knight’s symbol. But apparently Luther hadn’t dug deep enough because the big ‘W’ on the Norse field showed up for three years after the prank occurred.

The pranking tradition has slowly disappeared, but the traditional rivalry between Luther and Wartburg students and alumni will always hold true. Here is a story that was shared with us about a friendly Wartburg/Luther rivalry from Brian King ’92.

He was the first in his county to get a Wartburg plate (“REVD UP”) and their new Christian Education Director at Bethany Lutheran Church, Kristin Elerding was the first to get a Luther plate (“4 DINGS”). Besides helping her decorate her office with various Wartburg promotional materials and a lot of razzing back and forth at services and youth events, they decided to take it the next level.

They are doing a year-long Sunday School food drive for their local food pantry and have divided the Sunday School up into Wartburg (boys) vs. Luther (girls) and are keeping weekly and monthly tallies with various “penalties” for the “losing” team’s captain: Brian or Kristin. At the end of the year, the winning side gets to decorate the losing captain’s yard and there might be some blue or orange-dyed hair along the way!



Go Knights!





Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Homecoming 2009!

Fight on you Wartburg Knights! Homecoming week is finally here! All of those hours of planning are about to pay off in this awesome week of events. The Homecoming Committee is excited to welcome all knights; past, present, and future. Be sure to check out all these exciting events coming at you this week. You can get a list of all the events by clicking here. You can also follow us on Twitter.

We have introduced all of our committees, it’s now time to introduce ourselves. We, Nicole Lequia and Cassady Bolding, are the co-directors of the homecoming committee this year. It has been great serving on this committee in our positions and have loved working with our subcommittees and advisors. We are really thrilled to see all the hard work our subcommittees have put into this year’s homecoming come together throughout this week and into the weekend. We want to especially thank Jeff Beck and Renee Voves, our advisors, for all their help and guidance inside and outside all our weekly meetings!!! Hope to see everyone very soon!

Friday, October 9, 2009

Wartburg's 17th President

As I look just days ahead to the exciting events of next week—the annual celebration of Homecoming and the Inauguration of Wartburg’s 17th President—I’m finding it hard to believe that we’ve already arrived at this moment. It really seems as though I just yesterday moved into the office here in Luther Hall and began to work. Where have the last four months gone? As many of you know, Christy and I have been out and about, traveling the Midwest and West to meet alumni and other friends of the College in their native habitats. It’s been a grand adventure; we’ve had more fun than we could possibly have imagined. Next week is going to be even more adventurous, with more events happening than we can possibly count. I look forward to reconnecting with those of you I’ve already met and meeting those of you I haven’t. Let’s celebrate together this College we all love.

President Colson

Countdown to Homecoming 2009

The countdown to Homecoming 2009 continues! With less than one week left until the official week of homecoming, our group is becoming more and more zealous for the upcoming activities. As our meetings progress, the buzz in the air has become louder and louder in the meeting and around campus. We look forward to your arrival on campus for all of the fantastic events that our committee has put together.

Committee Spotlights

Parade:
These three lovely ladies are hard at work putting together the final touches on what is to be one of the best parades yet! Look for the Homecoming Committee in our sleek and stylish ride for the parade. Bring all your friends and family down to Bremer Ave for a fun filled morning of Orange Power!

Service: This year we are honoring the heroes of our country by doing a DVD and CD donation drive for our men and women serving overseas. On your way up to Homecoming, be sure to stop by Wal-Mart or Target and pick up a DVD to bring. Anything little thing you can do can make a huge impact in the life of a soldier serving our country in a foreign land.

Pep Rally: The three rockin’ ladies have been hard at work putting together a Pep Rally that is sure to be a crowd pleaser. Cheerleaders and dance team will be there to pump up the crowd and bring the orange power. The committee has some fun activities that will get the crowd involved and given a chance to win some prizes! So, be there after Kastle Kapers to show off your orange spirit!

The Renaissance Faire Committee is hard at work getting ready for the big day. Every year campus organizations and local businesses come and sell some pretty cool things to all of the Homecoming participants. The campus mall is transformed into a street fair where you can buy freshly made mini doughnuts to a new Wartburg water bottle. You will never be disappointed with all Renaissance Faire has to offer.

The Banners and Windows contest has started. Students are given the opportunity to sign-up and paint either their dorm windows or the window of a local business to earn cash prizes. There are already ready a lot of people signed up for the contest, but there’s always room for more! So if you’re feeling artsy or just want to have fun sign-up today!

Oktoberfest is one of the last Homecoming activities, but is always a crowd pleaser. Come eat, drink, and be merry and celebrate Wartburg’s German heritage as you listen to polka music and enjoy the company of friends and family.

2009 Homecoming Committee

Chicago Outfly

Downtown Chicago Outfly

Downtown Chicago Outfly at the Fortnightly club was an amazing evening. The fortnightly club provided the perfect environment for our alumni to socialize, have a great meal and then some more socializing. The events hosts, Ray and Judy McCaskey, gave us a great welcome as well as some interesting information about the Fortnightly club. This was my first Alumni Outfly, and to be honest I was a little intimidated to meet so many alumni. Through all of the warm conversations and great stories I ended my evening on a high note. It is so great to know that Wartburg Alumni love and care about Wartburg to the extent to take time out of there busy lives and spend time with fellow Knights.

Naperville Outfly

Naperville Outfly at Maggianos was wonderful. There was a great mix of Alumni generations which provided the perfect ingredients for a fun time. Considering the event surpassed the full capacity, we had just enough room to hold side conversations. My favorite part of the Alumni events is not only hearing others stories but sharing some of my own as well. I have great pride in becoming a Wartburg Alumni and I am well aware of what I must live up to.


Jennifer Rodriquez '11
One of the most successful female athletes to compete for Wartburg College was Trina Steines. Steines, now Trina Kuh-Nucky, was Wartburg College’s first female National champion in any sport. Kuh-Nucky claimed that honor when she won the NCAA Division-Three outdoor 800-meter run title. Kuh-Nucky had a banner career for the Knights in Track and Field and Cross Country. Kuh-Nucky was a 10-time indoor and outdoor Iowa Conference track champion in the 800 and 1500, a seven-time indoor and outdoor track All-American and a three-time All-Iowa Conference Cross-Country selection. She was also a top-ten finalist for the 1998 NCAA Woman of the Year Award.

Trina, a Calamus native, chose Wartburg as she liked the campus, the small college atmosphere and she received an academic scholarship. She felt Wartburg was always her home away from home.
Trina felt the encouragement and confidence she received from Coach Steve Johnson was one of the reasons for her success. While she had a solid prep career at Calamus-Wheatland, even she is surprised by how successful she was at Wartburg. Winning the National Championship in the 800 in St. Paul, Minnesota her junior year was by far the biggest highlight of her Knights career.
A Marketing-Management Major, Trina lives in Calamus. She’s been the marketing manager at First Trust and Savings Bank in Grand Mound for the last nine-years. She and her husband James have been married since 1999 and have a 6-year old son Chase and a 3-year old daughter Courtney. Still an avid track fan, for the last seven years Trina was the Girl’s Track coach at Calamus-Wheatland.

Trina felt her participation in athletics at Wartburg held her to develop a strong work ethic, be self-disciplined and become goal oriented.

On October 17th Trina will be inducted into the Wartburg Athletic Hall of Fame.

Where are they now?

Lynn Koob

One of the more special seasons in Wartburg College football history was in 1968. After struggling in previous seasons, the Knights stunned everyone by going 7-1-1 and winning the Iowa Conference Championship. A key contributor to that team was Lynn Koob. Lynn, a reserve defensive back, was like many on that 1968 team who contributed in any way possible to help the Knights succeed.

Lynn felt the 1968 team played so well is because they had good athletes, gelled together quickly and players knew their roles.

Lynn chose Wartburg as he felt it was good fit for him with Academics and allowed him to play football, a sport he had a great passion for. One of Lynn’s favorite memories was when the Knights beat Luther during the 1968 season. A pre-Med major, Lynn also was the Knights trainer in Basketball, Baseball and Track.

Following his graduation from Wartburg in 1969, Lynn began medical school at the University of Iowa. After Medical school he began his intern and surgery residency at La Crosse Lutheran Hospital in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Lynn now works as a general surgeon at Lakeview Memorial Center in Rice Lake, Wisconsin. He’s been there since 1980.

Lynn loved the small school atmosphere at Wartburg and is grateful to the opportunities in athletics the school allowed him. Lynn’s two children also went to Wartburg. Daughter, Marnie was a 2000 graduate and son, Dave graduated in 2002. Lynn is still a big Knights fan and stays posted on the sports teams through the Wartburg College website.

Where are they now?

Grant Bearbower was a key member of the Wartburg football team’s defensive lines of the mid 1990s. A dominant defensive end, he was a two-time all-Iowa Conference first team selection. In his senior year in 1995 he was named the team’s defensive MVP and earned second team All-American honors. Bearbower played a large role as Wartburg won Iowa Conference titles in 93 and 94 and qualified for the NCAA Division-Three playoffs. He finished his career with 79 unassisted tackles and 95 assisted. He also recorded 24-career sacks.

Grant, a Vinton native, chose Wartburg as he liked the family atmosphere the football program offered. He also had a good relation with the Knights coaches; head coach Bob Nielson and line coaches Roger Britton and Don Erusha. One of Grant’s favorite memories as a Knight was a come from behind 22-21 playoff win at Central in the NCAA Playoffs. The victory avenged a one-point loss to the Dutch during the regular season.

A Business Administration Major, Grant now resides in Burnsville, Minnesota where he is a territory manager for Dentsply International, a dental supply company. He and his wife Lori have a 7-year old daughter Natalie, a one-year old son Braden and are expecting their third child this November.

Grant felt his time in football at Wartburg helped him develop a strong work ethic. He also learned how important it is to be prepared in doing the right things to be successful in life.
Grant still has close relations with many former Wartburg football players and considers them to be his best friends.

On October 17th Grant will be inducted into the Wartburg Athletic Hall of Fame.

Where are they now?

Sheri Dean was multi-sport athlete at Wartburg College. She played for the Knights on the volleyball court and softball field from 1981-1985. Volleyball was where she shined brightest. From her setter position she was named the Knights team MVP in 1983 and 84 and first team all-Iowa Conference honors in 1982, 83 and 84. Dean still holds school records for most assists in a season with 1,167 and best setting percentage for a season at .973. In softball, she appeared in 73 games and hit .208 with 40 hits and 13 RBIs.

Sheri, an Osage native, originally didn’t know much about Wartburg but enjoyed the way she was treated by the admissions director and the rest of the faculty when she visited the school. Sheri quickly fell in love with the campus and the small college atmosphere. She’s most grateful to the liberal arts program that exposed her to many classes and subjects that weren’t in her major.

Sheri doesn’t have one special memory in athletics that stands out but instead many. She felt all her moments were precious… the practices, preparation, the games and just sharing time with teammates.

A Double Major in Social Work and Leisure Services, Sheri currently lives in Rockford, Illinois. She worked 21-years for the Lutheran Social Services of Illinois. Sheri also keeps busy as she’s a licensed massage therapist.

Sheri feels her participation in athletics at Wartburg held her to develop a strong work ethic, work well with others and be a team leader.

On October 17th Sheri will be recognized for her athletic accomplishments as she’ll be inducted into the Wartburg Athletic Hall of Fame.