Wauwatosa West honors coaches and athletes with induction to new Athletic Hall of Fame

Nostalgia and Trojan pride reigned as 13 former Wauwatosa West High School coaches and athletes were inducted into the school's Athletic Hall of Fame Saturday evening at the high school.

Wauwatosa West Principal Frank Calarco and Athletic Director Jeff Gabrielsen decided to create the Hall of Fame this year to honor athletes and coaches from the school's history and provide an ongoing way to acknowledge stand-outs in athletic programs.

A new wall of plaques now hangs in the school to honor the Hall-of-Famers, including longtime coaches Daniel Benson, John Thomsen, Tom Janssen and Bob White, who all helped establish West's sports programs after the school opened its doors in 1960.

"It felt like we did something right," said Principal Frank Calarco, himself an '83 grad who played under some of the inductees, referring to the Hall of Fame. "We had a group of men who really started athletics at this school and set the foundation to where we're at now. They laid the foundation, too, for the climate of the school and how we were going to represent Wauwatosa West."

Father and son share the stage

The group included many multi-sport athletes and a father-son combo, Coach Benson and his son, Daniel Benson, class of '77, who was inducted as an athlete.

Although he handled several sports, Coach Benson's true love was track and field, and he established what's now called the Dan Benson Invitational meet, in its 36th year.

"I think it's one of the greatest things that happened to me since I've been in sports," Benson said of his induction.

During the ceremony, Benson recalled having to coach track and field without a track from 1961 to 1971. He jokingly called it "track and field: mostly field."

"We practiced wherever we could practice, and sometimes got into trouble," Benson said.

Benson remembered a confrontation with a police officer over running time trials on Center Street. He also took sprinters out on the highway before its construction was complete.

"Facilities now are much superior to what we had to work with," Benson said, looking back. And the kids today? "They seem to be getting better and better. Better techniques are being taught," he said.

Benson's son was honored for his own accomplishments as an athlete. The younger Benson gave plenty of credit to his father, although he was never coached directly by him.

"He was the distance coach in track. No way was I running more than a lap," Benson said. "But the neat thing was he coached me every day of my life in the big-picture things and I take that with me every day."

Among other accomplishments, the younger Benson was state long jump champion and is now track coach at Homestead High, leading his team to a state championship in 2010. That follows a pattern of the regional impact many of these Hall of Famers have had, as many went on to coach at other schools.

"It's really special being the first inaugural class," Benson said.

He recounted a chant that his father had inspired upon being called "Bennie" by a player after a loss. The coach wasn't in the mood for nicknames. "Don't you ever call me Bennie when we lose," went the chant.

Four athletes represent class of '75

The class of 1975 had the most representation on stage, with four athletes, including two standout tennis players, Karen Weis and Debbie Arps.

Arps, class of '75, won the first-ever WIAA state tennis singles championship as a freshman.

"My whole life was based around sports and my whole career was based on sports, which started here at Tosa West," Arps said.

Now retired and living in Florida, Arps was a special agent with the FBI and says the agency recruited her because she was an athlete.

Teammate Weis was a two-time state tennis champ and coached tennis at West for 25 years, dividing her time between the school and a job at MillerCoors. She commended the school for starting a Hall of Fame to reward those who are as committed as she was.

"All of the new athletes coming up, now they have something good and something solid to strive for," Weis said. "I can't tell you how much being at this school and being a student athlete has done for myself and my career. It's built so much discipline into my life. I'm so proud to wear my green and white and say I'm a proud Trojan. I keep continuing to say, 'I'd rather be dead than red'" — a reference to Tosa East's colors.

Also from the class of '75, Daniel Relich excelled as a running back and defensive back, earning a full football scholarship at UW-Madison. Relich recounts a fun memory of fellow inductee Weis, who was shooting hoops in the gym and "beat the hell out of me one-on-one, and I was getting so upset." Relich plans to move back to the area from Illinois, as son Ryan Relich is assistant principal at Whitnall High School in Greenfield.

Swimmer Jeff Marohl, class of '75, wasn't able to attend the ceremony, but asked someone to stand in for him. Marohl was a state backstroke champion in '74 and '75 and got a full swimming scholarship at UW-Madison.

Other athletes span range of sports

Art Sanders, class of '64, is legendary for his performance at the state track and field championship, where he scored all his team's 14 points, securing a second-place finish for the Trojans.

"I'm really humbled and awed," said Sanders, who came from Texas to attend the ceremony.

Sanders remembers being the first African-American student at West and he doesn't remember competing against any other black students in the conference. He was coached by Benson, who he called a "surrogate father."

"What else can you do with the guy who drives you home from practice every night?" Sanders said.

Tim Foulks, class of '68, was a state diving champ and has produced seven state champions as coach at Neenah High School. Back then, West didn't have the "awesome" facility with a separate diving well that it has now.

"We were across the highway at Whitman. It was adequate," he said. "It's good to be back in Wauwatosa."

Jill Schindhelm (maiden name Weidenbaum), class of '95, finished with a record 1,061 career points in her basketball career at West. She went on to be named student athlete of the year at UW-Madison.

"Some of my coaches are here tonight, which is really nice," she said. Schindhelm is now a sixth-grade teacher at Horning Middle School in Waukesha.

Youngest inductee Becky Cera, class of '05, earned 12 varsity letters in basketball, soccer and cross-country. She said she was humbled by the others on stage.

"They were incredible athletes and coaches," she said of her fellow inductees. "They set the bar, set the standard." Cera lives in Wauwatosa and is going back to school to study nursing.

Coaches also honored

Like Benson, retired swim coach Bob White has an eponymous meet: the annual Bob White Invite, one of the area’s biggest meets. White coached boys and girls and led his teams to two WIAA state titles. He began his Tosa coaching days in 1951, and is going into Tosa East’s Hall of Fame in May.

“I'm the only one who's been at both schools as a head coach,” he said. His top memory: “All the great kids I've had.”

Coach and athletic director Tom Janssen started the wrestling program at the school in 1962. He said the program began because football coach Ron Carlson wanted some of his players to be wrestlers to stay in shape. Janssen credited fellow inductee John Thomsen for helping the program really take off. 

Janssen, who also coached football, said he was honored to be part of the Hall of Fame. He came from Arizona for the ceremony.

“It’s like earning your first varsity letter. It’s a thrill,” Janssen said.

Athletic director John Thomsen organized the Wauwatosa Athletic Booster Club in 1989 and was with the school for nearly three decades, starting in 1967. He coached wrestling, tennis and football.

“When I walked through those doors today, a million different thoughts went though my brain about all the memories that I had about this school and about the students that I work with and how much they influenced me,” he said. “I got a lot more than I think they did.” 

Hall of Fame to expand

Calarco said there will be Hall of Fame inductions every year for a few years, to catch up with a backlog of great West athletes and coaches.

Next up is the Wall of Inspiration, which will be launched in 2016. 

“It's going to be anything other than athletics, people from the fine arts, people who become astronauts, people who own their own businesses,” Calarco said.

Calarco said the school will eventually alternate years for inductions into the Athletic Hall of Fame and the Wall of Inspiration. He said he hopes the honorees will serve as special role models for students at West. 

“We all know how hard it is to be great,” Calarco said at the end of the ceremony. “If you really want to succeed in life, whether it’s a sport or in business, you have to have commitment, dedication — all those things we learned in sports. The recipe for success is simple to know, hard to do. This group of 13 up here have done it.”