Staples Motley Athletic Hall of Fame selects new inductees

The Staples Motley Athletic Hall of Fame announced the selection of new inductees into the hall of fame. It includes six athletes, two teams, two coaches and one community contributor.
The athletes are, Jeff Brever, Mark Carlson, Mark Redemske, Chad Walthall, Mark Lelwica and Al Haugen.
The two state champion teams are the, 1983 Staples baseball team and the 1990 Staples Motley golf team.
The two coaches selected  are, Rollie Penfield, boys golf coach, and Gene Mattila, cross country and football coach.
The community contributor is Rita Stone.
An induction ceremony will be held Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022 at the Staples-Motley High School auditorium.
Athletes
Jeff Brever (2001)
Participated in 15 state tournaments in cross country, basketball and track and field, earning 27 state level medals.
He was a two time individual state champion in cross country, competing at state all six years and leading four state champion teams, including the 1999 team that was ranked fifth in the nation.
Jeff was a four year starter in basketball, which included, two state tournament teams that finished fourth and third in 200 and 2001 and set school records for steals and assists.
He won two individual state track titles, was on a state champion 4x800 relay team, was part of three True Team Track and Field state teams, earning eight medals in those competitions.
Brever ran cross country and track and field at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, becoming all conference in both sports. After college, he taught and coached at Pine City and Pequot Lakes.
Mark Carlson (1999)
Three time state wrestling champion, was also a top football and baseball player.
Carlson was a five time state tournament entrant in wrestling with a career record of 170-19, including an undefeated senior season. Mark was on three state tournament teams, setting school records for pins, takedowns, wins and team points.
In football, Carlson was team captain, named all-conference, rushing for 997 yards as a senior, returned kickoffs and punts.
In baseball, Carlson was played  infielder and a good hitter. He also participated in track and field.
Carlson went on to wrestle at Augsburg and currently coaches the Staples-Motley high school wrestling team.
Mark Redemske (1978)
Mark was a three sport athlete in football, basketball and baseball.
In football, Redemske was team captain, named all conference two years as the team quarterback.
In basketball, he was on the WCCO Prep All State Team his senior year, named all conference twice and was the school’s first 1,000 point scorer, finishing with 1,004 points.
In baseball, Redemske was the starting shortstop, batted cleanup on the 1977 state runner-up team, named all-conference twice and played in the state-wide all star game.
Redemske played football at Concordia College, Moorhead, where the team won conference titles and the NAIA national title. He also played baseball in college and was a four year all-conference player.
Redemske became a high school coach, rebuilding the Crosby-Ironton basketball program into a powerhouse. As assistant basketball coach, he helped the C-I boys team earn three state tournament appearances.
Chad Walthall (1987)
Was a three sport athlete in football, basketball and baseball.
Was named State Honorable Mention as quarterback for Staples football team, going 9-1 and 9-2. Mid State Conference scoring champion, led team to undefeated records in conference. Played quarterback and defensive back for three years.
Played four years on varsity basketball team that won four Mid State  Conference titles and played on state runners-up teams. Chad was selected to the Outstate All Star Team in 1987.
In baseball, Walthall played three years as a starting pitcher, outfielder, and was the team MVP in 1987 with .357 batting average.
Walthall played quarterback at Concordia College, in Moorhead earning All Conference two seasons and winning two conference titles. Is on the colleges’ all time career list for passing efficiency, passing yards and total offense.
He coached basketball at several high schools and colleges including; St. Cloud State, St. Olaf, Eastern Michigan, Loras and the University of Iowa. He is currently the coach at Moorhead State, where his teams have had winning seasons for 17 of his 18 years. His 2015 team made the Elite Eight in the Division II National Tournament, with Staples Motley graduate Jordan Riewer as his starting point guard.
Mark Lelwica (1989)
Two time state champion swimmer, winning the 100 yard freestyle in 1988 and 1989 in the one class state competition. Was selected Swimmmer of the Year by state coaches in 1989, and was undefeated in every race his senior year. After high school, Lelwica swam for the University of Minnesota, where he had a successful career competing in the Big Ten.
Lelwica was a member of the 1989 True Team State Championship track and field team. Mark was one of the leading sprinters and a member of a variety of relay teams.
Al Haugen (1957)
Al competed in four sports for Staples High School, football, basketball, baseball and track, earning 11 letters during his high school career.
In football, named All Conference three years, named All State and was selected for the North-South All Star Game.
In basketball, Haugen was a key player on Staples’ first District 24 championship team and was named All Conference for two years.
In baseball, he was a four year starter, was named All Conference and All District two times.
In track, he set school and Mid State Conference records for shot put and discus, along with district and regional records in both shot put and discus.

Teams
1983 Staples baseball team
The only state champion baseball team from Staples or Motley, was coached by Jerry Riewer.
The Cardinals won the Region 6A title with a 3-2 win over Perham. In the state tournament, the Cardinals won over Montevideo 3-2,  took top ranked Dassel-Cokato 9-7 and won 7-5 over Windom in the championship.
All season, the Cardinals relied on the pitching of Dave Hagenson and Tom Hollister, who helped get them the first two wins at state. In the state title game, D.J. Anderson and Tom Hegre held off Windom while Hollister pitched one inning. In the game, Randy Card stole four bases, Dennis Shequen stole three, Mike Lauer had an RBI hit while Card and Shequen had hits in the five run fourth inning.
Catcher Randy Card turned a 1-2-3 double play to get out of a bases loaded jam in the sixth and then picked off a runner stealing in the seventh. The Cardinal defense stranded 15 runners in the game.
1990 Staples Motley golf team
Down seven shots after day one of the state boys golf tournament, the Cardinals dominated the course on day two and ended up winning the state title by seven strokes. Brad Anderson placed third individually, followed by teammates Jeremy Rohr, Chad Etzler and Darin Gronewold. Brian Caqulien and Derek Hasselberg, and coached by Rollie Penfield.
Because of bad weather during the season, the team only played six regular season meets, all large invitationals. They finished first in five of the meets and fourth in the other.
The team was second in the state for academic honors, a year after being academic state champions.
Coaches
Rollie Penfield
Was teacher and coach at Staples from 1968-1998. Joined the coaching staffs of Cardinal football, basketball and golf teams. Was a statewide leader in coaching, serving on the Minnesota  State High School League Board of Directors and was President of the Minnesota High School Golf Association. Penfield was inducted into the Minnesota High School Golf Hall of Fame. One of Penfield’s coaching highlights was winning the state golf title in 1990.
Gene Mattila
In 11 seasons as Staples Motley cross country coach, Mattila led the boys and girls cross country teams to 16 conference titles, 18 subsection titles and 14 section titles.Those teams earned eight state titles. Mattila’s boys teams went to state every year he coached, earning seven state titles. The girls team earned one state title and three second place finishes in multiple state appearances.
In track, he coached 47  distance runners to state appearances, with 41 medalists, including four runners-up and five individual or state champions.
Mattila also coached football from 1994-1997.
Community Contributor
Rita Stone
Working as a teacher’s aide during the day, Stone was a great sports and fine arts supporter after hours, always attending the local games. Rita was chaperone for marching band trips, travel coordinator for cheerleading squads, planning trips for games and tournament.
Known as an in-school parent, Stone was a student advocate, used a firm hand to keep students on the right path, provided encouraging smiles and hugs when students needed them most.