Jackie Brummer

New York

Without a doubt, Jackie Brummer is the most accomplished female gymnast in New York state history, and she is the first female gymnast to be inducted into the National High School Hall of Fame.

At Sweet Home High School in Amherst, New York, Brummer won the all-around title four consecutive years – the only gymnast to accomplish that feat in state history and only the second nationally. Brummer competed on the varsity squad as an eighth-grader, and then claimed state titles from 1979 to 1982. She also won the vault three times, uneven bars twice and balance beam three times. Brummer set sectional records in all events, including the uneven parallel bars and balance beam as an eighth-grader in 1978.

During her high school years, Brummer enjoyed tremendous success in out-of-school competition as well. She was scholastic champion in the all-around at the 1978 Empire State Games and won the uneven bars and vault at the 1979 Empire State Games. In 1979, she won the all-around at the Junior Olympic AAU competition. She was 12th at the USA Championships in 1981 and was a member of the 1981 U.S. travel team.

Brummer's success continued at Arizona State University as she won the NCAA championship in uneven bars in 1984 and was NCAA balance beam and all-around champion in 1986. She set an NCAA record with a 9.8 performance on the balance beam and is the only Arizona State gymnast to win two NCAA titles in the same year. In addition, she won five Pacific-10 Conference titles and was a four-time all-conference selection.

As a professional gymnast, Brummer traveled with the Kurt Thomas Gymnastics America U.S. tour from 1987 to 1989. She then served as a mentor to USA Gymnastics team members in the late 1990s and, since 2001, has coached and mentored aspiring gymnasts at Gleason School of Gymnastics in North Tonawanda, New York.

Brummer is a member of the Screen Actors Guild and has appeared in several television commercials, on the TV show "Moonlighting" and was a dancer in the movie, "The Purple People Eater." She earned her doctor of jurisprudence degree in 1992 and is a licensed attorney in California, Colorado and New York. She also is a "C" licensed skydiver and has completed 255 jumps since 1998.

Brummer was inducted into the Arizona State University Sports Hall of Fame in 1996, the Sweet Home High School Sports Hall of Fame in 2004 and the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame in 2006.

Natasha Kaiser-Brown

Iowa

When it comes to the history of high school girls track in the state of Iowa, Natasha Kaiser-Brown is unquestionably alone at the top. During her days at Roosevelt High School in Des Moines in the early 1980s, "Tash" Kaiser dominated the competition like no one else since.

Remarkably, Kaiser-Brown lost only one race in four years of competition and claimed nine state championships (six individual events and three relays). She graduated in 1985 with school and state records in the 100 meters (:11.5), 200 meters (:24.1) and 400 meters (:54.09). Twenty-three years after her graduation, all of these marks remain in the top five all-time event performances. At the famed Drake Relays, she won the girls high school invitational 100 meters in 1984.

Kaiser-Brown left Iowa to excel collegiately at the University of Missouri, where she set a collegiate record in winning the 400 at the 1994 NCAA championships. She was a six-time NCAA All-American in the 400 and was a five-time Big Eight Conference champion at 200 and 400 meters. In 1989, she was named Big Eight Conference Female Athlete of the Year.

Kaiser-Brown was a member of the 1992 and 1996 U.S. Olympic teams. She ran the opening leg on the women's 4x400 relay team that won a silver medal at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. She was then, and still is today, the only Iowa female track and field Olympian.

From 1989 to 2000, Kaiser-Brown represented the United States on 17 national teams. She was silver medalist in the 400 at the 1993 World Championships and won gold and silver medals at the Pan American Games and World University Games, in addition to the World Championships. She competed in 16 Drake Relays, winning the women's special 400 in 1990, 1993 and 1998.
Not surprisingly, Kaiser-Brown has accumulated many honors, including induction into the Theodore Roosevelt High School Hall of Fame, Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union Track and Field Hall of Fame, Iowa Track and Field Coaches Hall of Fame, University of Missouri Athletic Hall of Fame, Drake Relays Hall of Fame and the Des Moines Register Athletic Hall of Fame.

After serving as an assistant track coach at Missouri for seven years, Kaiser-Brown returned to Des Moines in 2000 to coach the men's and women's track teams at Drake University. In eight years at the helm, she has coached 17 Missouri Valley Conference individual champions, 19 NCAA regional qualifiers and four NCAA qualifiers.

Tom Kropp

Nebraska

Playing four high school sports in one year is remarkable enough, but to play well enough to receive NCAA Division I scholarship offers in all four sports is off the charts, which is exactly where Tom Kropp was at Aurora (Nebraska) High School from 1967 to 1971. He becomes the first inductee from Nebraska in the National High School Hall of Fame.

Kropp played football in the fall and basketball in the winter, and he competed in track and baseball in the spring. In football, he was two-time all-state and the most valuable player in the 1971 Shrine Bowl. He was honorable mention Sunkist All-American and was considered the No. 1 in-state recruit between his junior and senior seasons.

In basketball, Kropp was all-state two years and averaged 32.7 points and 23 rebounds as a senior. He was selected one of the top 34 seniors nationally in 1971 by Coach and Athlete magazine, and the Omaha World-Herald named Kropp one of the top five basketball players in Nebraska high school history.

Kropp pitched the Aurora baseball team to a state championship and added three hits along the way. In the state semifinals, he pitched a no-hitter. In track, Kropp was undefeated in the shot put and discus in his senior season. His discus toss of 182-10 in 1971 was fourth longest in the nation.

Kropp played football and basketball at the University of Nebraska-Kearney, and was first-team NAIA All-American in both sports. Following graduation in 1975, he was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League and the Washington Bullets of the National Basketball Association. He opted for basketball and after two years in the NBA, Kropp played four years in Belgium, where he averaged more than 30 points per game each season.

Among his countless honors, Kropp was named one of Nebraska's 10 greatest athletes by the World-Herald, Prep Athlete of the Decade for the 1970s as chosen by the Lincoln Journal-Star and one of Nebraska's 50 Greatest Sports Figures by Sports Illustrated. He is a member of five halls of fame.

Kropp has taught and coached at his alma mater, Nebraska-Kearney, for 27 years, including the past 18 as head basketball coach. His career coaching mark is 389-148, and his teams have qualified for the NCAA Division II tournament 11 times.

Karen Smith

California

During her days as a high school and college basketball player in the state of California, no one was more highly regarded than Karen Smith.

At Rio Americano High School in Sacramento from 1976 to 1980, Smith was considered the best in a state filled with outstanding athletes. She was the California Interscholastic Federation Division I player of the year in 1978 and 1979, and was a high school All-America selection in 1979 and 1980. Smith was a four-time all-league selection and still holds school records for points (2,335), assists, steals and games played.

Basketball was not her only claim to fame, however. In softball, Smith was a four-time all-metro and three-time all-league selection and led the team in batting (.444), innings pitched and runs batted in. The three-sport standout also played volleyball and was chosen to the all-league team twice. She is still regarded today as the greatest all-around female athlete in the Sacramento area. As an example of her versatility and skills, three days after finishing her senior season of basketball, Smith donned a softball uniform and pitched a no-hitter, coming within two outs of a perfect game.

As the state's top basketball player in the class of 1980, Smith was recruited heavily and opted for the University of California over Stanford and UCLA. Smith made the all-Pacific-10 Conference team three times, was a two-time All-American and was a Wade Trophy finalist in 1984. She left the Berkeley campus as the all-time leader in assists (male or female) and still owns that record today.

Smith was asked to try out for the 1984 U.S. Olympic women's basketball team and also was drafted in the Women's Basketball League. Though she undoubtedly could have played professionally, Smith pursued a career in coaching. She was an assistant basketball coach at her alma mater for seven years and then was head women's basketball coach at San Jose State University for seven years. During her seven-year stint as assistant at Cal-Berkeley, Smith earned her master's degree from San Francisco State University.

Smith then moved from college coaching to high school administration. She serves as assistant commissioner of the CIF-North Coast Section, the second-largest section (180 schools) in the CIF structure behind the Southern Section. She has been a speaker at numerous events, including the CIF-NCS' "Women in Sports Day," and also works for the Pacific-10 Conference as an observer of basketball officials.

Louise Crocco

Florida

Louise Crocco announced her retirement as volleyball coach at Cardinal Gibbons High School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, after the 2007 season, ending one of the most successful volleyball coaching careers in history.

In 39 years as volleyball coach at Cardinal Gibbons, her alma mater, Crocco's teams won 1,132 matches and lost only 123, an average yearly record of 29-3. Her teams won 18 Florida High School Athletic Association state championships, 31 district championships, 25 regional titles and 15 sectional crowns.

After graduating from Florida Atlantic University in 1969, Crocco returned to her alma mater to start varsity girls programs in volleyball, basketball and softball. She coached basketball until 1982 (142-79) and softball until 1986 (252-71), and also served as the school's athletic director. Combined with her volleyball record, Crocco's overall coaching record at the school was 1,526-273.

In 39 years as volleyball coach, her teams had four undefeated seasons and had no more than seven losses in any one season. Crocco's teams won 368 consecutive regular-season matches within their classification from 1975 to 2001. She finished her career ranked fifth nationally in all-time victories, according to the NFHS National High School Sports Record Book.

Among her numerous honors, Crocco was chosen Ft. Lauderdale News Coach of the Year 17 times, Miami Herald Coach of the Year 11 times and NFHS National High School Volleyball Coach of the Year twice. She was the first woman inducted into the Florida Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1990 and the first female chosen for the Cardinal Gibbons Athletic Hall of Fame in 2003. She is also a member of the Broward Community College Hall of Fame (1997), Florida High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame (1998) and the American Volleyball Coaches Association Hall of Fame (2005). In 1995, the Women's Sports Foundation selected Crocco as its National Coach of the Year.

More than 100 of Crocco's players received college scholarships at such prestigious universities as the University of Florida, Florida State University, the University of Texas, U.S. Naval Academy, Purdue University and Georgetown University. In addition to the 18 state volleyball titles, during her stint as the school's athletic director, Cardinal-Gibbons teams won 30 state championships in various sports.

James Drewry

Mississippi

In October 2004, Jim Drewry became the first public school football coach in Mississippi history to crack the 300-victory plateau. The 77-year-old coach at Booneville (Mississippi) High School remains active today and is making plans for his 47th season this fall.

Drewry began his storied career in 1958 at his alma mater, Kossuth (Mississippi) High School. After coaching there for seven years, Drewry was an assistant coach at Brandon (Mississippi) High School for five years and head football coach at Booneville (Mississippi) High School for 13 years before returning to Kossuth for nine years as head coach. After two years away from coaching, Drewry returned to the sidelines for one year at Tishomingo (Mississippi) High School in 1989 and since 1990 at Booneville.

Drewry has coached three state championship squads - ironically all since his return to Booneville in 1990. Drewry's 1990, 1999 and 2000 teams won state championships, and his 1997, 1998, 2003 and 2004 teams finished second in the state playoffs.

Through the 2007 season, Drewry's overall coaching record stands at 327-151-5, with only six losing seasons. He ranks in the top 40 in all-time victories by a high school football coach, according to the NFHS National High School Sports Record Book. Thanks to outstanding coaches like Drewry, Mississippi was named the best football state in the nation in 2006 by USA Football.

In 1992, Drewry was inducted into the Mississippi Coaches Hall of Fame and, in 2000, he was chosen for the Delta State University Alumni Coaches Hall of Fame. Other honors include Tombigbee Coach of the Year in 1967, 1969 and 1978; District 1 Coach of the Year in 1985; 1-3A Coach of the Year in 1986; Daily Corinthian Coach of the Year in 1993, 1997 and 1999; Tupelo Daily Journal All-Area Coach of the Year in 1999; and State 2-A Coach of the Year in 1999 and 2000.

In 2003, Drewry was named All-American Football Foundation's Gerald R. Ford All-American High School Coach of the Year, and, in 2005, he was the first Mississippi recipient of the NSSA-USA Football Champions Award. Most recently, Drewry was included in "Gridiron Gold," a book about legendary coaches in Mississippi.

Tim Carr

Utah

From officiating on the football field and basketball court, to conducting rules clinics, to leading officials associations, to writing articles for national publications, Utah's Tim Carr has been a major contributor to the avocation of officiating for the past 35 years.

Carr has been a registered official in Utah since 1973. He officiated basketball from 1972 to 1986 and has worked as a football official from 1975 to 1978 and since 1986. Carr has officiated more than 70 football playoff games, including 12 state championships. Before retiring from active basketball officiating in 1986, Carr officiated 25 playoff games.

Carr's accomplishments and contributions off the field and court are perhaps even more remarkable. He was evaluator of basketball officials for the Utah High School Activities Association (UHSAA) from 1986 to 1993. Carr has served on the Salt Lake City Football Officials Association Board of Directors for more than 10 years and was a member of the Salt Lake City Basketball Officials Association Board of Directors from 1984 to 1986. He also was chairman of the Wasatch Front Football Officials' Joint Board from 1995 to 1999.

Carr conducted rules clinics for the UHSAA in 1998, 2000 and 2001 and has given officiating presentations in Utah, Nevada and New Mexico. In addition, he is a nationally recognized speaker on character and value developments, having developed programs for children in these areas and presented workshops in 20 states.

Nationally, Carr was state director of the NFHS Officials Association for six years and has served on the NFHS Citizenship Committee and the NFHS Officials' Quarterly Publications Committee. He has written numerous articles for the Officials' Quarterly and currently serves as vice-chair.

Carr was a school administrator for 24 years and was selected Teacher of the Year at Judge Memorial High School in Salt Lake City in 1987. He has given many hours of volunteer work for many organizations, including Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Utah, United Way, Women Against MS, Boys and Girls Clubs of Salt Lake City and the Hispanic Leadership Foundation. He received a Distinguished Service Award from the UHSAA in 1997 and Outstanding Service Award from the National Football Foundation in 2005. At the NFHS Summer Meeting Luncheon yesterday, Carr received the NFHS Officials Association Citation for his contributions to officiating.

Dick Deitz

Illinois

Dick Deitz is one of the most prominent officials ever to don the stripes in Illinois, having worked his first contest 50 years ago. Since 1958, Deitz has officiated basketball, football and baseball. He also was a softball official for 26 years.

In basketball, Deitz was assigned to 33 consecutive regionals, 29 sectionals and 10 super sectionals. He was chosen for boys basketball state finals in 1972, 1973, 1974 and 1996, and worked boys state title games in 1974 and 1996. In Illinois, officials are limited in the number of times they can be appointed to work state finals, and Deitz has reached his limit. He has officiated state titles in football as well, making him one of a handful of officials in Illinois to officiate state finals in both major sports.

While 50 years of officiating is impressive, it is only the beginning of Deitz's contributions. Since 1976, Deitz has been the state's rules interpreter in basketball and baseball. He also is an Illinois High School Association (IHSA) clinician and travels throughout the state to review rules changes. Deitz has been instrumental in developing the IHSA's new officials education program as well.

Deitz has officiated holiday basketball tournaments for 35 years, including the silver and golden anniversaries of the Centralia Holiday Tournament. From 1966 to 2003, he officiated the title game of the Wayne City Holiday Tournament as the coaches' choice.

In 2007, Deitz received the IHSA Distinguished Service Award as well as special recognition from the IHSA for 50 years as a licensed official. Other awards and honors include induction into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1998 and selection as Football Official of the Year in Illinois in 2000. In 1975, Deitz assisted the NFHS and the IHSA in Lebanon, Indiana, with the production of the NFHS rules film entitled, "Winning Ways."

Deitz is a lifelong resident of McLeansboro, Illinois. He was born March 29, 1939, in McLeansboro; graduated from McLeansboro High School in 1957; and still resides there today. Since 1993, Deitz has been mayor of McLeansboro, after serving as alderman from 1989 to 1993. He was honored as Person of the Year in his hometown in 2005 by the Chamber of Commerce. He is a member of the Southeastern Illinois Planning Commission and the Illinois Municipal Utilities Association.

Jerry McGee

North Carolina

From his days as a high school coach to his many years as a director of athletic programs at the local, state and national levels, Jerry McGee, CAA, has devoted his life to improving athletic experiences for high school student-athletes.

McGee started his illustrious career at John Holmes High School in Edenton, North Carolina, where he was football coach and athletic director. He had two undefeated seasons as football coach and two regional championships. McGee then coached at the collegiate level before returning to the high school ranks in 1976.

McGee continued his dual role of football coach and athletic director at Northeastern High School in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, from 1976 to 1981 before devoting his total energies to athletic administration. In 1981, McGee was appointed director of athletics and physical education for the Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Public School System and served in that position for 16 years. During his tenure at Elizabeth City-Pasquotank, McGee added more duties to his plate as executive director of the North Carolina Athletic Directors Association and has served in that role since 1991.

Perhaps his greatest contribution to athletic administration came in 2002 when McGee started the National Executive Directors Council (NEDC). As founder and chairman of the NEDC, McGee's vision was to bring together leaders of athletic directors groups from across the country, and the NEDC, through McGee's leadership, has been transformed into a thriving national organization.

McGee has had extensive involvement with the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA). He has been the North Carolina liaison to the NIAAA since 1991 and served on the NIAAA Certification Committee. He also has given countless hours to the North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA), serving on the NCHSAA Board of Directors since 1991 as well as the NCHSAA Hall of Fame Selection Committee.

Among his numerous honors, McGee received the NFHS Citation in 1997, the NIAAA Distinguished Service Award in 1998, the NIAAA Thomas E. Frederick Award of Excellence in 2003 and the NFHS Award of Merit in 2007. He was inducted into the North Carolina Athletic Directors Hall of Fame in 1998, the NCHSAA Hall of Fame in 1999 and the National Council of Secondary School Athletic Directors (NCSSAD) Hall of Fame in 2007. This past November, McGee was presented "The Order of the Long Leaf Pine" - the highest award for a North Carolina civilian - by the governor of North Carolina.

Barbara Seng

Minnesota

With regard to high school speech and debate in Minnesota, Barbara Seng is an icon. In the 54 years since she began her teaching and coaching career, Seng has positively impacted the lives of thousands of high school students.

While Seng's students received well-deserved recognition in Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) debate tournaments, one-act play festivals and speech contests, she never kept records of wins and losses. Her philosophy was as follows: "The most important aspect of what I've done is dependent upon what each student has gained from being involved in the activity of his/her choice."

Seng retired from active teaching and coaching in 1997 after 43 years as coach/director of speech, drama and one-act play at Henry Sibley High School and White Bear Lake High School in St. Paul, Minnesota, as well as a brief stint to begin her career at Sarasota (Florida) High School. But that was only a slowdown as Seng has continued in her role as statewide consultant and judge for speech, debate and one-act play for the Minnesota State High School League, a position she has held since 1976.

Today, at the age of 78, Seng conducts certification clinics for speech judges and "how-to" in-service clinics for speech coaches, and produces speech instructional videotapes. She also assists with the administration of MSHSL debate, speech and one-act play state tournaments and continues to serve as speech/debate/one-act play judge, a position she has held for 54 years.

In other service to fine arts at the state level, Seng wrote and delivered television learning tapes for the 13 speech categories, edited the MSHSL's Fine Arts Manual, trained staff members in conducting fine arts state tournaments and spoke to speech/English majors at numerous colleges to encourage them to pursue fine arts activities.

In honor of her immense contributions, Seng received the MSHSL Award of Merit in 1994 and was inducted into the MSHSL Hall of Fame in 1995. She was recipient of the Minnesota Speech Association 25-year Coach Award and the NFHS Outstanding Speech Educator Award. Seng was a founder and past president of the Speech Association of Minnesota, a member of the executive board of the Central States Speech Association and served on the NFHS Speech Committee.