Third Class Gets Inducted Into Triton Hall Of Fame
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
Third Class Gets Inducted Into Triton Hall Of Fame
By Staff Report-
On the night, the hall of fame recognized two contributors, one coach and four student- athletes, including William Moriarity (contributor), the late Kenneth Keller (contributor), Mark Heeter (coach0, Julie Lozier (athlete), Jack Carpenter (athlete), Curt Kreft (athlete) and James Erwin (athlete).
The hall of fame weekend began with the seven inductees being honored at the Triton boys basketball game against Culver Friday.
The inductees were then honored at a dinner ceremony at the Back Forty in Bourbon on Saturday.
The Athletic Hall of Fame was developed by Triton High School Athletic Director, Mason McIntyre, in 2011.
“I believe it’s important to know and understand our rich athletic tradition,” McIntyre said. “Since the school’s inception during the 1963-64 school year, many athletes have worn the blue and gold. But these athletes, coaches and contributors that were recognized set themselves apart by running the fastest, winning championships, and otherwise distinguishing themselves in high school and college athletics.”
The inductees were chosen by a selection committee of five members who include Larry Lemler of Bourbon, Dave Shively of Etna Green, Ken Blackford of Tippecanoe and members at-large Duane Walters and Hal Kuntz.
Todd Gongwer, author of “Lead…for God’s Sake,” was the featured speaker for the evening.
Since writing the book and having it endorsed by coaching greats such as Urban Meyer and Lou Holtz, Gongwer has become a sought after speaker, teacher, and coach on the subject of leadership throughout the nation.
At the ceremony, he gave the inductees and the 170 person crowd an inspirational speech about reaching excellence by focusing on being your best instead of being the best.
Retired Triton bus driver William Moriarity was the first contributor inducted into the Class of 2013.
Moriarty began driving the bus full-time for the Tippecanoe schools in 1957.
When Tippecanoe consolidated with Bourbon and Etna Green in 1963, he officially became a Triton School Corporation employee until he retired in 2007 after 49 years as a full time bus driver.
During his time, Moriarty drove as many athletic trips as he could and has two championship rings as the bus driver for the girls basketball IHSAA State Championship teams in 2000 and 2001.
The late Keller was the second contributor inducted and was represented by his daughters, Maria Keller, Ramona Keller, and Cindy Keller Shaffer. His grandson, Craig Keller Shaffer was also on hand.
Keller was a long time teacher, guidance counselor, athletic director, and IHSAA official and was also in charge of the construction of the current Triton High School Baseball field named in his honor, “Ken Keller Field.”
Heeter followed the Keller family as he was inducted as the third Triton Hall of Fame Coach.
“I have always said that great players make good coaches look great,” Heeter said. “I know this was certainly the case for me,”
As he addressed the crowd, Heeter talked about former players, coaches, faculty, staff and students.
Heeter is best known for the back-to-back state championships that his teams won in 2000 and 2001.
Lozier was the first student athlete who was inducted.
During her time at Triton, Lozier scored 1,421 career points and went on to play basketball at Ball State University.
She was twice named MAC player of the week and still sits toward the top of the record books in field goal percentage and blocked shots at Ball State.
She currently resides in Muncie where she is the Director of Operations at Central Indiana Orthopedics.
The next athlete inducted was 1981 graduate Jack Carpenter, who currently is the Triton Elementary Physical Education teacher and is no stranger to being in a hall of fame, as he’s a member of the Bethel College Hall of Fame as he was inducted in 2005.
His distinguished basketball and golf careers at Triton High School and at Bethel College are something to celebrate.
However, Jack said, “Being a hall of fame member is great, but I want to ensure that I am a hall of fame father, a hall of fame husband, and a hall of fame son.”
Kreft, a current Triton Elementary third grade teacher, is one of Triton’s greatest male cross country and track athletes, having participated successfully at Triton and also at Liberty University in Virginia.
He is the current Triton record holder in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:56, and also the 1600-meter with a time of 4:20.
He also remains in the top of the record book at Liberty University in the indoor 1500-meter and the indoor Mile running a 4:07.
During his acceptance speech, Kreft recognized his grandpa saying, “As I look back and reflect about achieving those goals, though fun and exciting, I realize that they didn’t satisfy me as I thought they would. My grandpa Kreft wrote me a letter while, while I was at Liberty, and though I don’t remember much of what was written in the letter, I have never forgotten his closing words, ‘Only Jesus can satisfy the soul.’ That’s a truth that has helped me live through achievements and disappointments.”
The last induction of the evening was Erwin.
A 1973 graduate, Erin was a man of firsts.
He was a member of the first winning season in Triton football history in 1970 going 8-1 and was member of the first Triton wrestling team in 1971 and was also the first Triton individual wrestler to advance to the IHSAA state finals.
He confessed to purposely tripping up a teammate, during the final seconds of a game against North Miami, so he couldn’t make a tackle to prevent a touchdown.
“North Miami hadn’t scored a touchdown all year and this was the final game of the season,” he said. “I didn’t want them to finish the year without at least scoring one. I’ve held that in for all of these years and I’m so relieved to finally confess.”
The induction banquet was full of laughter, tears, stories, and highlights from the many accomplishments, contributions and lives that have been touched by these inductees.
“Although I am saddened to see the evening come to an end, I’m excited about tomorrow and what the future holds for the Triton Athletic Hall of Fame,” McIntyre said.[[In-content Ad]]
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On the night, the hall of fame recognized two contributors, one coach and four student- athletes, including William Moriarity (contributor), the late Kenneth Keller (contributor), Mark Heeter (coach0, Julie Lozier (athlete), Jack Carpenter (athlete), Curt Kreft (athlete) and James Erwin (athlete).
The hall of fame weekend began with the seven inductees being honored at the Triton boys basketball game against Culver Friday.
The inductees were then honored at a dinner ceremony at the Back Forty in Bourbon on Saturday.
The Athletic Hall of Fame was developed by Triton High School Athletic Director, Mason McIntyre, in 2011.
“I believe it’s important to know and understand our rich athletic tradition,” McIntyre said. “Since the school’s inception during the 1963-64 school year, many athletes have worn the blue and gold. But these athletes, coaches and contributors that were recognized set themselves apart by running the fastest, winning championships, and otherwise distinguishing themselves in high school and college athletics.”
The inductees were chosen by a selection committee of five members who include Larry Lemler of Bourbon, Dave Shively of Etna Green, Ken Blackford of Tippecanoe and members at-large Duane Walters and Hal Kuntz.
Todd Gongwer, author of “Lead…for God’s Sake,” was the featured speaker for the evening.
Since writing the book and having it endorsed by coaching greats such as Urban Meyer and Lou Holtz, Gongwer has become a sought after speaker, teacher, and coach on the subject of leadership throughout the nation.
At the ceremony, he gave the inductees and the 170 person crowd an inspirational speech about reaching excellence by focusing on being your best instead of being the best.
Retired Triton bus driver William Moriarity was the first contributor inducted into the Class of 2013.
Moriarty began driving the bus full-time for the Tippecanoe schools in 1957.
When Tippecanoe consolidated with Bourbon and Etna Green in 1963, he officially became a Triton School Corporation employee until he retired in 2007 after 49 years as a full time bus driver.
During his time, Moriarty drove as many athletic trips as he could and has two championship rings as the bus driver for the girls basketball IHSAA State Championship teams in 2000 and 2001.
The late Keller was the second contributor inducted and was represented by his daughters, Maria Keller, Ramona Keller, and Cindy Keller Shaffer. His grandson, Craig Keller Shaffer was also on hand.
Keller was a long time teacher, guidance counselor, athletic director, and IHSAA official and was also in charge of the construction of the current Triton High School Baseball field named in his honor, “Ken Keller Field.”
Heeter followed the Keller family as he was inducted as the third Triton Hall of Fame Coach.
“I have always said that great players make good coaches look great,” Heeter said. “I know this was certainly the case for me,”
As he addressed the crowd, Heeter talked about former players, coaches, faculty, staff and students.
Heeter is best known for the back-to-back state championships that his teams won in 2000 and 2001.
Lozier was the first student athlete who was inducted.
During her time at Triton, Lozier scored 1,421 career points and went on to play basketball at Ball State University.
She was twice named MAC player of the week and still sits toward the top of the record books in field goal percentage and blocked shots at Ball State.
She currently resides in Muncie where she is the Director of Operations at Central Indiana Orthopedics.
The next athlete inducted was 1981 graduate Jack Carpenter, who currently is the Triton Elementary Physical Education teacher and is no stranger to being in a hall of fame, as he’s a member of the Bethel College Hall of Fame as he was inducted in 2005.
His distinguished basketball and golf careers at Triton High School and at Bethel College are something to celebrate.
However, Jack said, “Being a hall of fame member is great, but I want to ensure that I am a hall of fame father, a hall of fame husband, and a hall of fame son.”
Kreft, a current Triton Elementary third grade teacher, is one of Triton’s greatest male cross country and track athletes, having participated successfully at Triton and also at Liberty University in Virginia.
He is the current Triton record holder in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:56, and also the 1600-meter with a time of 4:20.
He also remains in the top of the record book at Liberty University in the indoor 1500-meter and the indoor Mile running a 4:07.
During his acceptance speech, Kreft recognized his grandpa saying, “As I look back and reflect about achieving those goals, though fun and exciting, I realize that they didn’t satisfy me as I thought they would. My grandpa Kreft wrote me a letter while, while I was at Liberty, and though I don’t remember much of what was written in the letter, I have never forgotten his closing words, ‘Only Jesus can satisfy the soul.’ That’s a truth that has helped me live through achievements and disappointments.”
The last induction of the evening was Erwin.
A 1973 graduate, Erin was a man of firsts.
He was a member of the first winning season in Triton football history in 1970 going 8-1 and was member of the first Triton wrestling team in 1971 and was also the first Triton individual wrestler to advance to the IHSAA state finals.
He confessed to purposely tripping up a teammate, during the final seconds of a game against North Miami, so he couldn’t make a tackle to prevent a touchdown.
“North Miami hadn’t scored a touchdown all year and this was the final game of the season,” he said. “I didn’t want them to finish the year without at least scoring one. I’ve held that in for all of these years and I’m so relieved to finally confess.”
The induction banquet was full of laughter, tears, stories, and highlights from the many accomplishments, contributions and lives that have been touched by these inductees.
“Although I am saddened to see the evening come to an end, I’m excited about tomorrow and what the future holds for the Triton Athletic Hall of Fame,” McIntyre said.[[In-content Ad]]
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