Hawks receive memorable accolade Saturday
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By Kent Coultas
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The 1997 Carrollton Hawks won the Winchester Tournament. Team members were honored at the half-time of the Carrollton-North Greene game, Saturday. Team members present Matt Ruyle, Andy Brannan and Ben Goetten. Also present were head coach Jeff Krumwiede and assistant coach Kevin Brannan.
After a 2-2 start that included losses to Piasa Southwestern and Virginia, Carrollton went on an 11 game win streak. This included the championship of the Carlinville Holiday Tournament and the title at Winchester.
The Hawks, under third-year coach Jeff Krumwiede, were ranked second that year behind defending champion North Greene. Carrollton defeated Barry and then Greenfield in a 62-61 thriller to reach the finals.
Snowstorms that year pushed the championship game to Monday night, where the Hawks defeated the Spartans, 61-47. It was the third consecutive year the Greene County rivals had met in the finals. Interestingly, the next evening North Greene snapped the Hawks win streak with a 54-52 WIVC regular season win in White Hall.
The Hawks went on to win the Carrollton regional with wins over North Greene and Southwestern. Their historic seven overtime win over Bluffs in the PORTA Sectional is the longest, 60 minutes, game in IHSA history. Carrollton bowed out with a heartbreaking 46-44 loss to Pleasant Plains in the sectional final, finishing the season 25-5.
Members of the team were Jared Staples, Josh Tepen, Justin Peters, Hart Walker, BJ Symes, Jeremy Dirksmeyer, Mark Tepen, Brian Hires, Kraig Garber, Ramsey Shinn, Ronnie Stuart, Ryan Day, Tyson Bottom, Matt Ruyle, Andy Brannan and Ben Goetten. The head coach was Jeff Krumwiede, and the assistants were Kevin Brannan, Jeff Wollenweber and Nate Goetten.
Goetten was a three time all-tournament selection and is the 13th ranked all-time leading scorer in tournament history, and his 1,930 career points ranks second all-time at Carrollton.
Krumwiede is one of three coaches to win six Winchester tournament championships.
