2013 football team, 4 individuals inducted into Hurley Athletic Hall of Fame

By JASON JUNO

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Hurley - One of Hurley's best football teams, two of the school's top basketball players, one of their best linemen and a pioneer in women's sports were welcomed into the Hurley Athletic Hall of Fame Saturday.

It was the Hurley Quarterback Club's 26th annual induction ceremony.

2013 State Semifinal Football Team

The 2013 team was one of three Hurley teams to advance to the state semifinal. The team finished 11-2 after winning three straight playoff home games and finishing with a loss to eventual state champion Shiocton in the state semifinal.

"The 2013 Hurley football team was one of the strongest in school history," Erickson said.

He said it was a different type of team than the other Hurley teams that went that far, or further.

"The team was really put together. We had some massive offensive and defensive linemen and we had a lot of speed," Erickson said. "We had the right mixture."

It wasn't just the right mixture of size and speed.

"I think this team's got the right makeup," Erickson remembered saying before the season started. "I think we've got the right amount of kids that are high achievers academically. We got the right chemistry of guys who are down in the shop working with their hands all the time. And I said I think we have enough foxhole guys that this team can be outstanding. What I meant by that is you gotta have the guys who are going to lay it out on the line and give everything for that group that they're playing for. You could see that chemistry was pretty good when we first started."

They overcame adversity, too. It started right away. Top receiver Jacob Colassaco, who was moving to running back, broke his ankle in the first game. They broke a school record for rushing anyway. It continued. Before the playoffs, quarterback James Sukanen went out with an illness. And Jake Tenlen stepped into that role and kept it going.

Hurley rushed for a then-record 4,183 yards and were led by the single best season in Hurley history, 2,047 rushing yards by Mark Saari, who walked on at the University of Wisconsin.

"I played five years at Madison. This is my favorite team that I've ever played on," Saari said. "Very, very fortunate to play alongside this group of people."

The 2013 team included: Wayne Allen, Erik Barker, Michael Brannigan, Matt Christoferson, Noah Clark, Jacob Colassaco, Devin Czerneski, Chris Edyvean, Nick Fink, Tandrell Foster, Jeff Franzoi, Cole Huotari, Austin Kolpin, Jordan Kolpin, L.J. Kutz, Jacob Leinon, Roman Lupino, Mitchell Maki, Tate Massoglia, Jordan Moore, A.J. Mosconi, Ronnie Nickel; Zach Ofstad, Cameron Rowe, Chris Rye, Jacob Saari, Mark Saari, James Sukanen, Jake Tenlen, Jared Wendt, Jake Zeller, and coaches Scott Erickson, Dan Rye, Dave Lundin, Bob Ross, Greg Rigoni, Paul Jurakovich, Mike Swartz, Wayne Binz, Jeff Gulan and Jay Aijala.

Mike Swartz

Class of 2006

Swartz led Hurley to regional basketball championships in 2005 and 2006, the team's first since his dad's team won it in 1979.

On Saturday, he joined his dad in the Hurley hall of fame, becoming the first father and son to make the hall of fame individually.

Swartz's hall of fame resume as a player is unquestioned. He became the fourth Hurley boy to pass 1,000 career points, finishing with 1,056. He was more than just a basketball player. He threw for 1,129 yards and 18 touchdowns on the football team and he snagged 12 interceptions on the other side of the ball. He was an all-conference baseball player as well.

"Mike's basketball career is what is most impressive" though, said Gary Giancola, who was Mike's coach at Hurley and is his father in law. "From Mike's early days, it was evident that he possessed a unique blend of skill, determination and relentless drive to succeed. Honing his craft in his younger days on his Timberwolves hoop in his driveway, playing one-on-one against his dad, brother Marcus and his friend Marco Gotta; being the smallest of the four, he learned how to be physical, crafty and use his body inside."

He could have scored more, Giancola figured, but he wanted to win more than he cared to add to his stats.

"He put the team first and he had a work ethic and drive to win that cannot be taught," he said.

Giancola remembered an 0-3 start to his sophomore season. They needed a win with rival Washburn in town to play at the college (because of a fire at the Hurley school). Swartz dove for a loose ball in the paint and got kicked in the head. Giancola went to check on him and Swartz pleaded with him to stay in the game.

"He took the game over and he made the plays at crunch time as a sophomore," Giancola said. "We got that first big win and it seemed like from there, we knew what kind of player, what kind of athlete we had, that he was going to be that guy we were going to build this team around. He had that perfect blend of athletic ability and that toughness you need your leaders to have."

He was a true leader. He would hold teammates accountable to work hard and not take plays off.

"He was not going to accept anything but your best effort," Giancola said. "He let you know, whether you liked it or not, and then he got your respect."

Swartz said he was fortunate to play with some great athletes in high school and college (he played at Gogebic and Northland) and the really good coaches he had.

Swartz's coaching resume is already hall of fame worthy, too, one could easily argue, with a trip to state part of a run of three straight regional basketball titles.

"Great coach, you deserve it, and let me tell you right now, this won't be the last time you come here," former Hurley softball coach Jim Kivisto said, referring to his inevitable induction as a coach down the line.

It was a dream come true getting to the state tournament.

"The effort and sacrifices involved in turning that dream into a reality, there's a lot that went into it," he said. "My dad would always take me and my brother down (to Madison to watch). When we finally made it back in 2022, it meant a lot to share that with my dad. Having Scotty and Gary on the bench with me made it even more special."

Frances Mrozinski

Class of 1971

The Title IX legislation that made sports widely available to female athletes was still a few years away when Frances Mrozinski was in school at Hurley.

"I think it's always amazing when you think about that era, a lot of our younger female athletes here, I don't think they can realize that," Hurley athletic director Steve Lombardo said. "There was not a lot of female sport programs. ... at the high school level."

She took advantage of what limited opportunities there were at the time, setting a record in the 100-yard dash in a grade school track meet and starring with the James Gang of Pence in the summer softball league.

After graduating from Hurley, she took advantage of the early sports programs at the University of Wisconsin-Superior.

She took part in five sports - volleyball, basketball, track-and-field, tennis and badminton – there from 1971 to 1976 and she earned the first Outstanding Athlete of the Year award presented to a woman. She entered their Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007.

Mrozinski became UWS' first woman to qualify for a state championship meet in a sport other than gymnastics. She threw the javelin. Her 1974-75 volleyball team took third place in the state conference meet won by UW-Madison.

She returned to Montreal in 2015 and has been a Hurley bus driver since then.

"It's been an honor to be a bus driver ... for the women," Mrozinski said. "Since I've been driving bus for eight years now, I've seen quite a few women who were girls at the time have grown up, show what their athleticism is and I can't be more proud to have them as part of my family."

Lombardo said she put up inspirational signs for the girls when she drove his basketball teams to late-season games and playoff contests.

Daniel Perlberg

Class of 2000

Perlberg was the first Hurley defensive lineman who was named to the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association All-Central Region Team, in 1999.

He checked in at 275 pounds when he played, "which was really big back then," Hurley coach Scott Erickson said.

"He was our first truly big, athletic offensive and defensive lineman," he said. "He was gifted with his hands and his feet. You may have heard the term dancing bear before, that describes Danny. He had long arms, good, quick feet. He could get out of blocks. Coach (Dave) Lundin used him in what we call two-gap defense. You line right up on the guard, punch him, ship him, make plays, pursue to the ball. He was good."

As an offensive tackle, Perlberg provided a lot of space for their fullbacks.

"We ran the option and he had to go down and pick off a linebacker or he could knock off an edge when we were running our off-tackle game," Erickson said.

His teams went 17-4. They made the WIAA playoffs both years - that was the start of Hurley's run of 26 straight postseason appearances.

Perlberg received a football scholarship to play at the University of Minnesota Duluth.

He was also strong in track-and-field, winning conference and regional championships in the discus.

"The Hurley school has profoundly shaped who I am, the lessons learned, the values instilled and the community spirit has left a lasting mark on my life," Perlberg said.

Perlberg returned to the Hurley school in 2013 to begin a career as a high school special education instructor. Several of his young throwers have qualified for the state track-and-field meet. He also helps out in the weight room.

"He is helping the next generation of Hurley athletes," Erickson said.

Sam Ofstad

Class of 2013

Sam Ofstad helped the Hurley softball team go to state twice and the basketball team win three regional championships.

"She's one of the finest female athletes ever to compete for Hurley High School," former Hurley softball coach Jim Kivisto said.

Ofstad was an All-Region 13 basketball standout at Gogebic Community College and she started 49 games for Division II Upper Iowa University. She led the team in assists in both of her seasons on the team.

"Everybody really thought how good of a basketball player she was, and she was fantastic," Kivisto said. "But I'm telling you right now, she was one of the best softball players I ever (coached). If she decided to go on in softball, she would have excelled in softball 100%.

"She was the ultimate team player. Wherever I needed her to play, she played. She played outfield, she played shortstop, she was catcher, she played first base. She never complained. Every year I switched her somewhere else because this is where we needed her and she just went and did it without complaining. The ultimate competitor. She made everybody on her team 100% better because she pushed every one of her teammates."

"One thing that everybody who played with her knew, you better keep an eye on the ball because it may hit you in the back of the head," Erickson said of her basketball days. "She would throw dimes down at people and she didn't even know they were coming."