Three individuals and the combined Tipton High School girls’ cross country (2003-06) and track and field (2004-07) teams will be inducted into the 2022 Cedar County Sports Wall of Fame. The ceremony will begin at noon Sunday, July 17, on the Cedar County Fairgrounds at the Custom Builders Pavilion east of the grandstands.
Individuals are Kevin Braddock of West Branch, Dave Paul of Tipton, and Chris Schaefer of Clarence-Lowden/Lincoln.
The Tipton girls’ cross country teams won four consecutive Class 2A state championships from 2003-06, scoring 58 points in 2004 and winning by 88 points. All-state performers in those four seasons were Ashley Miller (runner-up in 2003, champion in 2004, fifth in 2005, champion in 2006), Ashley Tholen (runner-up in 2004), Kelsey Stueland (fourth in 2004), and Missy Miller (fifth in 2006 competing with a torn ACL).
The Tigers also won four Class 2A state track and field championships from 2004-07, scoring 73 points in 2005. Ashley Miller was 15-for-15 in state finals races, never losing a race at a state competition. State champion relay competitors were Tholen, Steph King, Brittney Latare, Carrie Larson, Christine Marchik, Kaylee Kotz, Clarissa Kotz, Ashley Miller, Ashton McNutt, Nadine Dils, Missy Miller, Gus Reichert, Maggie Wehde, Ashley Chapman, and Brittany Foulks.
Braddock, a 1992 graduate of West Branch High School, was a five-sport athlete for the Bears, participating in football (four years), basketball (four years), golf (four years), track and field (four years), and baseball (two years). A running back, Braddock helped West Branch to a 13-0 record as a senior in the fall of 1991, rushing for 1,498 yards. In the championship game (a 42-12 win over West Bend-Mallard), he set a championship record with 311 rushing yards, five touchdowns, and a 91-yard touchdown run. Braddock was elected to the Iowa High School Athletic Association Football Hall of Fame in 2019. He was a member of a Class 2A state champion 4×400-meter relay team in 1992.
Paul, a 1971 graduate of Tipton High School, is regarded as one of the most versatile and talented athletes in Tiger history. When Paul was a junior and senior, Tipton won 16 of 18 football games. In his final high school game, he kicked field goals of 33, 34, and 37 yards to defeat West Liberty, 9-8. In 1970, Paul led the WaMaC Conference in receptions and receiving yards and set a conference record with nine touchdown receptions.
As a senior, he led Tipton’s basketball team in points, rebounds, field goal percentage, and free throw percentage. Paul was WaMaC champion in the 120-yard high hurdles, high jump, and 880-yard relay. He was fourth at state in the 120 hurdles. After high school, he won the state pentathlon.
Tipton started its baseball program when Paul was a sophomore and he played three seasons. A successful slo-pitch softball player, Paul helped Sports Column to the 1986 state championship in the open division.
Schaefer, an exchange student from Germany who attended Clarence-Lowden in 1994-95, won a conference, district, and state championship for Lincoln in 1994. On the track, he won the 1995 Class 2A title in the 3,200 meter run and was runner-up in the 1,600.
At Loras College from 1995-99, Schaefer was a two-time NCAA Division III All-American in cross country and a three-time All-American in track and field. He earned an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship and while competing for the University of Arizona in 2000, placed fifth at the Pac-10 Championships in the 1,500-meter run.
The Cedar County Sports Wall of Fame was formed in 2008 and is under the control of the Cedar County Historical Society. To nominate for the Wall of Fame, contact committee members Mike Bixler, Pat Kedley, Verl Lekwa, Jeff Linder, Darren Miller, Gene Schroeder, Bruce Seehusen, Derek Sawvell or Mike Quinlan.