Four enter Hurley Athletic Hall of Fame

HURLEY - The Hurley Quarterback Club inducted its 18th class into the Hurley High School Athletic Hall of Fame on Saturday at the Hurley K-12 School.

The new inductees included: The 2000 and 2001 girls' cross country teams and multi-sport athletes Ron Lundgren and Scott Rainaldo. Kayla Anderson was also an individual inductee as well as a member of the cross country teams.

The day was filled with camaraderie, humor, great memories and plenty of thank yous.

KAYLA ANDERSON (Class of 2002)

Presenter Chris Kelly said he knew Kayla Anderson was going to be a great athlete when he first saw her play in fourth grade and Hurley coach Scott Erickson had high praise for Anderson.

"Kayla was one of the most competitive athletes I've ever seen," Erickson said. "She was very passionate about playing sports."

Anderson said all she wanted to do was to play sports, since she was a little girl and always had goals, but they never included being "honored" with an induction into Hurley's Athletic Hall of Fame.

"I'm proud to be from Hurley," she said. "I knew I wanted to be a teacher and coach, because the teachers and coaches in Hurley gave me the character and leadership and taught me so much. I had Chris Kelly all four years in sports."

Anderson went on to be one of the most accomplished athletes in Hurley High School history, earning all-conference honors eleven times in three sports and participating in five state tournament finals.

Anderson was a first team all-conference performer in basketball three times and was always among the team leaders in steals, assists and field goal percentage.

In cross country, Anderson was an integral runner in three WIAA sectional championships for Hurley and her teams participated in four state finals finishing third and fourth in 2000 and 2001. She was named to four all-conference teams.

Anderson's track teams won conference and WIAA regional titles three times. She qualified for the state track meet as a sophomore with the 3200 meter relay team and they still hold the school record in that event. She was all-conference four times.

Among the many honors Anderson received while at Hurley was the prestigious WIAA Scholar Athlete Award in 2002.

Kelly pointed out an athlete has to be compete in the state finals before they can even be considered for the Scholar Athlete Award.

Anderson now lives in Appleton, Wis. with her husband Andrew Sutton and children Avery and Taylor.

2000 and 2001 GIRLS' CROSS COUNTRY TEAMS

The 2000 and 2001 Hurley High School girls' cross country teams were the most successful in school history finishing fourth and third respectively in the state finals. They were also Indianhead Conference and WIAA sectional champions both years.

The teams played a part in 20 conference championships in cross country track, softball and basketball. They won 11 WIAA regional championships and eight WIAA sectional championships. The teams had four scholar athletes, school record holders in three track events and a one thousand point scorer in basketball. Individually, the team members made over 30 appearances in the WIAA state finals.

Kristin Zinsmaster was proud to be part of both cross country teams.

"I've never been on teams like that," she said. "They were amazing teams. There was no real star, but all five runners would always finish within 12 seconds of each other in almost every race. We were all packed together."

And coach Chris Kelly kept it short and sweet when he addressed the teams on the starting line.

"'Hurry back' is about all I told them," Kelly said.

In a moving moment, Zinsmaster called up Levon Ladwig, whose daughter Danielle ran on the 2000 team but passed away unexpectedly in 2005. Zinsmaster, along with other team members in attendance, presented Danielle's mother with flowers, some of their marathon running medals and Danielle's Hurley Athletic Hall of Fame plaque.

"For most of us, cross country was work," Zinsmaster said. "But Danielle loved to run and she had a great spirit. We looked up to her as a teammate and person. Those of us who still run in races think of her often when running."

The 2000 team included: Kayla Anderson, Angela Kutz, Zinsmaster, Amanda Kutz, Danielle Ludwig, Jill Engstrom, and Jamie Romanowski.

The 2001 squad was made up of Anderson, Angela Kutz, Zinsmaster, Amanda Kutz, Engstrom, Kim Mieloszyk, Samantha (Kuchta) Leinon, Jessica (Soine) Strand, Sarah Zani and Ashley Windt.

Along with Anderson, Zinsmaster was also named a WIAA Scholar Athlete in 2003.

RON LUNDGREN ( Class of 1982)

Presenter Gary Gotta started off his introduction of Ron Lundgren by telling the large number of peoplein attendance that Hurley should be proud of its athletic programs because they were "second to none."

Gotta pointed out that Lundgren became an athletic force to be reckoned with when he grew seven inches in one year and shot up to be 6-5.

"By his sophomore year, he was dunking a basketball with two hands or one hand," Gotta said. "And when they threw the ball inside to him, he was almost guaranteed to score."

Lundgren excelled in track-and-field and football in Hurley, but it was basketball where he received most of his accolades.

As a junior, Lundgren was named to the Gogebic Range Conference All-Conference team. As a senior, he led the conference in scoring (18.2 ppg) and was once again selected to the all-conference team and led Hurley to the league championship.

Lundgren also received the Jack Kraemer Award as the conference's outstanding player and the school's MVP Award. He scored 36 points in a game against Three Lakes and 28 points in a WIAA tournament contest. Both are still among the school's best.

In track-and-field, Lundgren was outstanding in the discus event and usually found himself in the winner's circle at track meets. In his senior year, he took first place in both the Kraemer and Gogebic Range area meets.

In football, Lundgren was a big target for Hurley quarterbacks and he once hauled in seven passes in a game against Bessemer, which is third best in school history.

With a number of his family members decked out in orange Hurley t-shirts with Lundgren printed on the back, he was quite humble in his induction speech. He thanked all of his coaches by name from seventh grade through high school and he said he was thankful for the teammates he had in Hurley.

He even thanked the custodians and talked about the excellent girls' athletic teams in Hurley as he grew up.

Sports weren't the only thing Lundgren had going for himself as he received a Master of Science Degree in physics from UW-Milwaukee and is a senior systems engineer for GE Healthcare. He lives in Lisbon, Wis. with wife Liz and children Jessica and Joshua.

SCOTT RAINALDO (Class of 1995)

It was obvious the high regard Hurley football coach Scott Erickson holds for Scott Rainaldo when he said it was a "true honor" to be his presenter at the induction ceremony.

"When I talk about players who have played for me, Scott Rainaldo's name is right at the top of the list," Erickson said. "His strength, toughness and quickness made him one of the best linemen we have had. Scott was a tremendous player on both sides of the ball."

Erickson pointed out that Rainaldo was such a dominant offensive lineman in 1994 that he was named the Northern Lakes Conference Offensive Player of the Year without ever touching the football.

He was the only player to be named to the All-Conference First Team on both offense and defense and anchored Hurley's line in Erickson's first three years as head coach.

In 1994, Rainaldo was selected to the Wisconsin Football Coaches All-Northwest Region Team and received All-State honorable mention.

He was also a captain on Scott Erickson's first playoff team in 1994.

Rainaldo was a versatile enough athlete to make his mark in other sports as well. In track-and-field, he competed in the shot put and discus as well as running sprints and relays. In his senior year, he was the WIAA regional champion in the shot put and ran a leg of the first place 400 meter relay team.

In his speech, Rainaldo said his induction into the Hurley Athletic Hall of Fame was "a great honor" but acknowledged the help of many people.

"My Hall of Fame induction is due to my teammates," Rainaldo said. "I loved growing up in Hurley and playing sports here. I thank my family for all their support and they kindled my interest and love of athletics. And congratulations to coach Erickson and coach (Dave) Lundin for 20 years of a great football program. I'd also like to thank the track coaching staff."

Rainaldo earned a Bachelor's Degree in computer science from Michigan Tech University in 1999. He currently works for Optum, a division of United Health Group and is the Director of Strategic Initiatives.