Lisle Blackbourn, Class of 1925
Among the first of Lawrence's many great football players, Lisle Blackbourn played for one of the Vikings' early coaching legends, Mark Catlin. After earning "all-state" honors three times for the Vikings, Blackbourn went on to become something of a coaching legend himself. He spent twenty-two years at Washington High School in Milwaukee, compiling a 141-30-6 record. He also coached at the University of Wisconsin and Marquette University before the NFL and the Green Bay Packers called. He spent four years (1954-57) as the Green Bay head coach and was responsible for drafting such Packer greats as quarterback Bart Starr, running backs Paul Hornung and Jim Taylor, and linebacker Ray Nitschke. Blackbourn's coaching success was rewarded in 1978 with his induction into the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame. He died in 1983 in his hometown of Lancaster, Wisconsin.
Charles "Sal" Cianciola, Class of 1955
Success followed Sal Cianciola from Milwaukee's Riverside High School to Lawrence, where he earned twelve varsity letters during his Viking career -- four each in football, basketball, and track. As a sure-handed receiver, Cianciola became the first Viking to earn all-Midwest Conference honors in football four consecutive years. The Associated Press accorded him All-America honors after both the 1953 and '54 seasons. His fourteen receptions against Ripon in 1953 still stand as the Vikings' single-game record, while his 105 career receptions put Cianciola sixth on the Vikings' all-time list. In addition to football, Cianciola was a member of the Vikings' Midwest Conference champion mile relay team, and he earned all-Midwest Conference recognition in basketball.
Coach Gene Davis
For most of the thirty-five years (1956-91) Gene Davis spent in the Lawrence athletic department, he needed a three-hook hat rack in his office -- one for each hat of the sports he served as head coach. He guided the swimming, cross country, and track teams throughout his coaching career, and when women's varsity teams emerged in the 1970s and '80s, he took the athletes of those sports under his wing as well. For several years early in his coaching career, Davis wore two hats on Saturdays, directing the Viking harriers during their cross country meets in the mornings, then dashing to the football field to help out as an assistant coach during the games. Davis racked up seven Midwest Conference championships in the three sports, including three consecutive cross country titles from 1983-85. Six of the athletes he coached went on to earn All-America honors.
James Fieweger, Class of 1943
In the early 1940s, it was impossible to hold a conversation about the Lawrence track program without mentioning the name Jim Fieweger -- repeatedly. An explosive jumper, Fieweger was the Vikings' top point scorer in every dual meet during the 1942 and '43 track seasons. He dominated at the '42 and '43 Midwest Conference championship meets, winning five events both years. When he graduated, he held school records in the high and the low hurdles as well as the high jump. As a senior, he earned All-America recognition by placing in the national A.A.U. meet in New York City. In addition to track, he also earned three letters in basketball. Originally from Kimberly, Wis., Fieweger died in 1992 in Connecticut.
Eric Griffin, Class of 1986
Most of Eric Griffin's Midwest Conference competitors could be excused if they didn't always recognize him on first sight -- they were more accustomed to looking at his back as he led them around the track or cross country course. Griffin's lanky, effortless stride made him one of the conference's premier runners in the mid-1980s. He won four Midwest Conference steeplechase titles, twice qualifying for the NCAA nationals and earning All-America honors with a seventh-place finish in 1986. He led the Vikings to three straight conference cross country titles, claiming league medalist honors twice. A five-time team most valuable runner during his career, Griffin still holds Viking records in the 5,000-meter run (15:05.6) and the 3,000-meter steeplechase (9:04.29) as well as the conference steeplechase record (9:17.24).
Coach Bernard Heselton
For nearly three decades (1938-64), Bernie Heselton embodied the heart and soul of Lawrence athletics in general and Lawrence football in particular. His drive to win was legendary, and his reputation for hard but fair play by his teams was widespread. Always a relentless competitor, Heselton saved his greatest disdain for archrival Ripon College -- he once sent an assistant coach home to change when he showed up at Alexander Gym wearing red pants. During his 26-year coaching career, Heselton won a school record six Midwest Conference championships -- including his first in his initial season as Vikings' head coach -- while amassing a 111-79-5 overall record, the second-most wins in school history. His coaching accomplishments were recognized by the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame, which inducted him posthumously in 1982. Heselton, who grew up in South St. Paul, Minn., died in February 1981.
Peter House, Class of 1968
Peter House became very well acquainted with the victor's stand during a remarkable swimming career at Lawrence. In three years of regular season competition, House didn't lose a single individual event, winning ten Midwest Conference titles along the way. As a senior in 1968, he led the Vikings to the conference championship and qualified for the NCAA national championships. House's fourth-place finishes in both the 50- and 100-yard freestyle events at the NCAA nationals earned him All-America honors. They were the only two races of his Lawrence career in which he didn't finish first. Twenty-nine years later, his time in the 50-yard freestyle (21.8) still stands as a school record. Outside the pool, House earned three letters in track, throwing the javelin.
Charles McKee, Class of 1968
As a senior at Appleton West High School, Chuck McKee sparked a recruiting war between the University of Wisconsin and Lawrence. The Vikings won out, as Ron Roberts happily recalled years later, because Lawrence recruited McKee as a doctor, while Wisconsin recruited him as a football player. At Lawrence, McKee continued his prep success in football and track, earning six varsity letters for the Vikings. A three-time all-Midwest Conference quarterback, he led the Vikings to a 20-4 mark as a starter, including an 8-0 mark in 1967 -- the only one in Lawrence history -- helping Roberts win his first league championship. Twice named the Vikings' most valuable player, McKee was honored as a first-team All-American his senior year by the Associated Press. Also a multi-talented trackman, he was the Vikings' top point scorer in both the 1967 and '68 seasons, and he won a total of six Midwest Conference track titles, including the long jump and the high hurdles twice.
Coach Mary Heinecke Poulson
Mary Poulson came to Lawrence in the fall of 1964 as part of the college's consolidation with Milwaukee-Downer College, where she had been chair of the physical education and health department. As she later recalled, Poulson thought, "I'd come up for a year, see how things went, and then look for something else." Instead, she wound up staying twenty-nine years. A leading advocate for women's athletics in their infancy, Poulson coached women's tennis (Lawrence's first varsity sport for women), men's tennis, and women's basketball and was the driving force behind the elevation from club to varsity status of the men's and women's fencing teams, which she also coached. Her women's tennis teams won seven conference championships, including five in a row from 1975-79.
Claude Radtke, Class of 1950
In the era when playing on both sides of the line of scrimmage was the rule, not the exception, Claude Radtke earned four varsity letters as an offensive and defensive end, helping the Vikings win three conference championships. In Radtke's four years, Lawrence never lost more than one game in a season, compiling a 27-4-1 overall record. In 1947, Radtke anchored a defense that recorded seven shutouts and only allowed opponents nineteen points the entire season. A two-time all-Midwest Conference selection and the Vikings' most valuable player as a senior, Radtke became the first Viking to earn All-America honors from the Associated Press with first-team recognition as an offensive end in 1949. He also earned three letters each in basketball and track. He competed in the shot put, discus, and javelin, and garnered all-conference recognition as a center in basketball.
Scott Reppert, Class of 1983
"Catch Me if You Can" would have been an appropriate theme song for former Appleton West High School standout Scott Reppert. Few opponents were able to corral the Viking running back. When Reppert graduated, he held twenty-two school records, among them career rushing yards (4,442), touchdowns (45), and kickoff return average (27.3), all of which still stand. The most honored football player in school history, he was named to a total of eight All-America teams. He still is the only player in NCAA Division III history to win three consecutive national rushing titles, and his career average of 127.6 yards per game ranks 13th-best in NCAA Division III history. Reppert also earned four letters in track and one letter in wrestling.
Dick Rine, Class of 1957
A two-time state doubles champion at Neenah (Wis.) High School, Dick Rine's tennis pedigree served him well at Lawrence. With two singles and three doubles titles to his credit, Rine won more Midwest Conference tennis championships than anyone in Lawrence history and is still the only Viking ever to win the conference's number-one singles crown twice. He finished his career with a 28-4 record in singles, and his .875 winning percentage is the second-best in school history. Rine also earned team most valuable player honors and all-conference recognition as a running back/defensive back in football. As a guard during the 1956-57 basketball season, he broke Sid Ward's '52, single-season scoring record as well.
Coach Ron Roberts
Ron Roberts, who received the head coaching-torch from Bernie Heselton in 1965 after two seasons as his assistant, knew football games were often won as much from Monday to Friday as they were on Saturday afternoons. Meticulous organization and pregame preparation helped him guide Lawrence to unprecedented success and national prominence. After finishing 5-3 in his first season, Roberts captured the first of his school-record six Midwest Conference titles in just his second season. His third-year encore was an 8-0 finish and his second straight conference crown. From 1974-83, the Vikings never lost more than two games in any season, posting a 77-15 record. He directed the Vikings to three consecutive league titles and to the national semifinals of the NCAA playoffs, still the farthest postseason advancement by any member of the Midwest Conference. His .690 career winning percentage (121-54-2) ranks among the top 25 in NCAA Division III history. In March of this year, Roberts was inducted into the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
William Simon, Class of 1980
Among Lawrence athletes, Bill Simon is in an exclusive club of one: He is the only Viking ever to earn All-America honors in two sports -- baseball and football. Team captain and most valuable player as a catcher his senior year, Simon still holds the Vikings' record for career batting average (.374) and ranks among Lawrence's all-time leaders in nearly every major statistical category, including second in both hits (120) and runs batted in (78). A four-time all-conference selection in baseball, Simon led the Vikings to league titles twice, as well as two trips to the NCAA regional playoffs. In football, he earned All-America recognition from the Associated Press as a defensive end his senior year after leading the team in tackles and quarterback sacks. He helped the Vikings post a 9-1 record in 1979 and win the conference championship.
Ron Wopat, Class of 1978
Off-campus travel became an annual spring ritual for Ron Wopat, with the site of the NCAA national track championships the usual destination. Wopat made four trips to the NCAA national meet, earning All-America honors (a top-six finish) a total of six times -- three times each in both the shot put and discus events. He was the Vikings' top point scorer in track four straight years and still holds Lawrence records in the shot put (53 feet, 9.5 inches) and discus (171-0) as well as the Midwest Conference record in the discus. He was the conference's discus champion four times and won the league's shot put title three times. Wopat also earned four letters in football as an offensive end. His 241 receiving yards against Beloit in 1976 still stand as the Vikings' single-game record.
