By Harold Bechard
Special to the KSHSAA

Last week we wrapped up the special "50 For 50" series, highlighting the 50th anniversary of the passage of Title IX.

Fifty stories in 50 weeks on some of the most influential administrators, athletes, coaches and teams in a half century of girls high school athletics in Kansas.

Featured were all-state players, championship coaches, long-time administrators and innovators. There were Hall of Famers, professional athletes and Olympians.

All in all, quite a group to write about, and our thanks goes to the writing expertise of Joanna Chadwick, Todd Fertig, Brad Hallier, Brett Marshall, Jim Misunas, Larry Moritz, Diane Gasper-O'Brien and Rick Peterson. They brought to life many of the all-time female greats in Kansas high school sports history and helped us remember just how rich a tradition we have in the Sunflower State.

Unfortunately, we couldn't feature them all.

Any time you put together a list, there's bound to be some omissions you wish you could've found room for, such as multi-sport greats Kari Jones of Skyline and Emily Bloss of Wellsville, basketball star Shauna Porter of Waconda East, track standout Jennifer Gruver of Scott City or hurdler Lindsay Eck of St. John's Beloit.

There's track and field stars Chris Hall of Chanute, Leesa Wallace of Lincoln, Lorraine Davidson of Buhler, Shawnee Call of Ellsworth and Lori Lowrey of Norwich. Add to that list Renee Zimmerman of Sterling, Jeanne Daniels of Valley Center, Tamra Strano of Leavenworth, Molly Born of Shawnee Mission Northwest and Lori Green of Topeka West.

Programs with lengthy all-time winning streaks - Chase County and Sacred Heart in softball and Hoxie in basketball - also just missed making the "50 for 50" list, as did Olympic coach Billie Moore, volleyball coach Laureli Kitchener of Concordia and the Gove County volleyball dynasties of Wheatland and Grinnell High School.

We could add many others to this list, but you get the point. Kansas has been loaded with talented and successful female athletes and teams for the past half-century. Title IX gave them the opportunity to shine.

Here's a look back - today, June 23, on the 50th birthday of Title IX - of our "50 For 50" series.

   Happy Birthday Title IX.

   1. Former KSHSAA administrator Cheryl Gleason finished runner-up in the first-ever individual sanctioned event for girls - the 1972 state tennis championship.
   2. The late Clemma Stone was the first female to officiate a boys basketball game, at the Dodge City Tournament of Champions in 1962.
   3. Former KSHSAA administrator Cheryl Gleason was part of the Kansas Association for Youth (KAY) for a half-century as a student camper, camp staffer and, for the last three-plus decades, the state director.
   4. In 2006, Adriana Franch earned the starting goalkeeper position for the Saina South soccer team as a freshman.  Seven years later, she was a first-round pick in the National Women's Soccer League college draft.  Now, she's an Olympian.
   5. Since 2002, Baldwin High School cross country teams have won 12 state championships and finished runner-up another five times.
   6. Amy Mortimer of Riley County struggled as a youngster to find a sport she could be successful in until running a 7:35 mile as a 10-year-old.  She finished her high school career with 13 state titles in track and cross country.
   7. Jacque Struckhoff of Grinnell, one of the greatest distance runners in Kansas history, didn't compete in an event longer than 400 meters until her junior year in high school.
   8. Brittany Dietz of Osborne was perfect as a tennis player in high school (149-0), but also made 306 3-pointers in basketball and played that sport in college.
   9. Jessica Smith of Wichita Southeast scored 128 goals on the soccer pitch during her prep career - a state record at the time.
   10. Dani McHenry, who starred in volleyball at Shawnee Heights, would become the first-ever AVCA All-American for Washburn University.
   11. Cailie Logue of Girard, one of the greatest distance runners ever in Kansas, had some big shoes to fill in her family. Her mother, Christie, was a four-time state medalist in cross country and won several medals at state track while at Labette County. Her father, Matt, was a two-time state cross country champ at Lansing and won state titles in the 1,600 and 3,200 at the 4A state meet in 1989.
   12. Dodie Martin of Stanton County concluded her high school career with nine state individual gold medals in track and four more in cross country.  But, Martin chose to forego running in college and instead went back to the basketball court where she played two years at Otero Junior College (Colo.) and two years at Wayne State (Neb.).
   13. St. Thomas Aquinas in Overland Park has won more than 100 state championships, but there had to be a first. The Aquinas girls golf team claimed a championship in 1992 and has continued to set the pace at the school. Since 1992, Aquinas has claimed 13 state titles, three second-place finishes and eight third-place finishes. Eight times, an Aquinas player has taken home the gold medal.
   14. Any player who tries out for Wichita Collegiate's girls tennis program makes the team according to coach Dave Hawley, whose girls teams have won 27 doubles titles, 20 singles titles and 32 girls team titles.
   15. During her time at Bishop Miege, Gwen Pike's Stags won 21 state volleyball titles while posting a record of 1,224-239.  In March, 2021, during Women's History Month, Pike was selected as the best Kansas female coach in Kansas high school history by Maxpreps.
   16. Jill Simpson became the first Kansas girls to win four state golf titles, while leading Columbus to three state team titles and a runner-up finish. The Titans finished in the top two at state every year in the 1990s, including seven titles.
   17. During 19 years at Centralia, Kim Tennal and her volleyball team posted a record of 582-47 (.926), and made 17 state tournament appearances, winning nine Class 1A state titles with a state record of eight in a row from 1997-2004.  In 20 years as head volleyball coach at Nemaha Valley (3A) and Centralia, Kimbrook Tennal's record was 791-49 (.941).  In 19 trips to the state tournament, his teams won 11 state titles, along with five runner-up and three third-place finishes.  Kimbrook's teams at Nemaha Valley posted a state-record 137-match winning streak and other streaks of 80, 78, 76 and 52 consecutive wins.
   18. Joan Wells spent 27 years as the volleyball coach at Lawrence High and during her Hall of Fame career, led the Lions to the state volleyball tournament every year but one - 1971 - her first year at the school and the first year for state volleyball tournaments sponsored by the KSHSAA. When Wells retired after the 1997 season, she had a career record of 865-89, along with 15 state titles and seven runner-up finishes.
   19. Sarah Noriega of Ulysses went from a "tall, skinny, uncoordinated girl" barely playing on the C-team as a seventh grader, to one of the state's best volleyball players ever. She was a first-team All-American at Loyola-Marymount and eventually was selected to the 2000 U.S. Olympic team.
   20.  St. Thomas Aquinas won the first-ever girls soccer state championship in 1993.  It was the first of 18 state titles for Aquinas, 16 of them with Craig Ewing as the head coach.
   21. Allison Meads of Olathe East is the greatest high school gymnast in Kansas history, and very few people in her life know it. She completely dominated at the state level during her career, earning 12 of 15 possible first-place medals at the state competition.
   22. Topeka native Susan (Schober) True was a pioneer for Title IX, despite never competing in high school or collegiate sports. She always believed women should have an equal opportunity to compete in sports activities.
   23. Laurie Koehn (Moundridge), Nicole Ohlde (Clay Center) and Kendra Wecker (Marysville) were fabulous high school basketball players and carried that success to Kansas State University as teammates.  From 2000 to 2005, the trio combined for 6,307 points and 2,447 rebounds for the Wildcats.
   24, Terry English coached Bishop Miege girls basketball for 45 seasons and led the Stags to 22 state titles.  His head coaching record was 910-169, an average of 20 victories per season - for 4 1/2 decades.
   25.  Brooklyn Hunter of Topeka Hayden became the first girls tennis player in Class 4A, and only the third all-time, to win four state singles championships.  She also helped the Wildcats win three Class 4A-Division II state volleyball titles and played on a Hayden basketball team that advanced to the state championship game.
   26. Little River's historic winning streak in basketball - 91 straight games from 1995-98 and four straight Class 1A state titles - remains the stuff of legends.  Several of those wins by coach Shane Cordell's teams came against 2A, 3A, 4A and even 5A competition.  Little River's streak was featured in the video, "91 to History – The Streak," produced by Kipp Cordell of the Mutual Telephone Company.
   27. Shalee Lehning was simply a winner, from a 32-0 record on the basketball court in middle school to back-to-back 26-0 seasons and Class 2A state titles in 2004 and 2005.  When she graduated from high school, Lehning ranked No. 1 in Kansas prep history in career rebounds and assists, No. 2 all-time in career steals and No. 5 all-time in scoring with 2,510 points.
   28. Jim Baker helped build the first girls basketball dynasty in Kansas.  The Crusaders won back-to-back state titles when the KSHSAA first sanctioned a girls state tournament in 1973. Baker would coach the Crusaders to four more state titles, including Class 3A championships in 1976 and 1977, and Class 5A titles in 1983 and 1987.
   29. The girls basketball program at Central Plains High School owns the state record with an incredible 138 straight victories, which started in the first game of the 2015 postseason and ended in the third game of the 2020-21 season. The previous streak was Hoxie's 107 straight wins.  The Oilers won 2A state titles in 2014, '15, '16, '17 and '18, and the 1A title in 2019 and '21.  The 2020 season ended in the state quarterfinals because of Covid-19.
   30. Brenda (Bruggeman) Cox had an outstanding basketball career at Hays High School in the 1980s, which carried over to her and husband Dennis' four daughters.  Their oldest, Lauren, is a 6-foot-4 WNBA player for the Los Angeles Sparks, who is currently playing in Europe. Whitney, a 6-0 senior, plays basketball for Division II power Lubbock Christian. Kaylee, 6-2, chose to play volleyball in college and is a sophomore at the University of Missouri.  Maddie, also 6-2, is a high school senior, who is being recruited for the next level.
   31. Mya Kretzer of McPherson won individual titles at each of the three end-of-the-year Kansas Girls Wrestling Championships, and was voted the Outstanding Wrestler of the Tournament her final two years. She never lost a match to a female opponent at the high school level, finishing 33-0 with 28 pins. Mya and her father - Bullpup wrestling coach Doug Kretzer - were instrumental in the KSHSAA sanctioning a state girls wrestling tournament, but Mya never had the opportunity to compete in one.
   32.  The 2022 state girls wrestling tournament was held over two days and had 16 qualifiers in each weight class. The meet expanded in 2021 to two state championships, with 6A and 5A girls in one division and 4A through 1A in the other. Before the sport was sanctioned by the KSHSAA, head coach Doug Kretzer of McPherson hosted the first of three Kansas Girls Wrestling Championships in 2017.  There were 112 girls from 60 schools competing in girls wrestling in 2017. That number ballooned to more than 900 athletes in the first year the sport was sanctioned, and has now topped 1,500 individuals from 178 schools in 2022.
   33. Marilynn Smith, legendary golfer and native Kansan, was and would still be proud of the advancement of women's athletics since Title IX became law in 1972. Smith, born in Topeka in 1929, was ahead of her time in so many ways. She won three consecutive Kansas Women's Amateur Championships when she was 17, 18 and 19 years of age in 1946-1947-1948. Upon graduation from high school, she attended the University of Kansas; well ahead of the NCAA bringing women's athletics into its fold after Title IX was passed.
   34.  Emily Ryan of Central Plains owns girls state basketball records for career steals, career free throw percentage, career field goal percentage, season field goal percentage and best single game free throw percentage.  In her final high school game, Ryan surpassed the 3,000-point barrier. Ryan's most remarkable statistic is a perfect 104-0 record as the Oilers swept three consecutive state basketball titles. A fourth title was prevented because of Covid-19 in 2020.
   35. Legendary basketball coach Rebecca Morrisey said her mother's experiences are what motivated her and her sister to take advantage of Title IX opportunities in Atwood in the 1970s. In the 1950s, boys could compete in football, basketball, and track in high school, while the only sport her mother, Wilda, was allowed to participate in was cheerleading.
   36. Jackie Stiles of Claflin - 3,603 career points ... 1,252 points in a season ... 71 points in a game ... a 35.7 career points per game average ... a 46.4 season scoring average ... 1,374 career field goals made ... 490 field goals made in a season ... 662 career free throws made. 
   37. In just three years at Wichita North, Lynette Woodard scored 1,678 points (27.6 points per game), leading North to the 1975 Class 5-4A state championship as a sophomore and a second title in 1977 as a senior. At the University of Kansas, Woodard was a four-time All-American and finished her career with 3,649 career points – the most ever scored by a women's college basketball player both before and since. Her record isn't recognized as an NCAA record since the NCAA did not govern women's college basketball until the 1981-82 season.
   38.  Sandra Myers, a graduate of Little River High School, rightfully earned her reputation as one of the greatest female track and field stars in Kansas high school history. She won 13 individual gold medals at the State Outdoor championships, one relay gold and sparked Little River to three team titles. Myers was a four-time state champion in the 100 and 200 meters, a three-time long jump champion and two-time 400-meter champ. Myers' 1979 long jump (19-7 1/4) at the State Outdoor easily remains the best-ever in Class 1A and her leap of 20-6 1/2 during the 1979 AAU meet in Memphis, Tenn. is the all-time state record in any class. She still owns Class 1A state records for the 200 (25.0) and 400 (56.5).
   39. The late Janell (Smith) Carson still owns the all-time state record of 52.3 seconds in the 400-meter dash and also recorded a best of nearly 20 feet in the long jump, but was an athlete ahead of her time. The first KSHSAA state girls meet was not held until 1972, seven years after Carson graduated from Fredonia High School.  But, despite missing out on high school and college athletics, Carson became one of the best known track athletes in the world in the 1960s.  She qualified for the 1964 Olympic Games as a 17-year-old, set several Junior Olympic national records, was a two-time AAU national champion in the 400, competed in the 1963 Pan American Games in Brazil and was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1965.
   40. Amy Oberhelman was enshrined in the KSHSAA Hall of Fame in 2012 as one of the greatest swimmers in Kansas history. Her accomplishments earned her 13 All-American honors during her career at Manhattan High School from 1990 to 1994.  Later, at Stanford University, Oberhelman was the 1995 Pac-10 Conference champion in the 1,650 freestyle and a three-time All-American. She earned an invitation to the 1996 Olympic trials.
   41. The introduction of softball to Bishop Carroll soon after the passing of Title IX has spawned five decades of excellence that include 14 state titles, four unbeaten seasons, 22 title games appearances and a 77-game winning streak. Carroll has won titles in every decade since Title IX was passed in 1972. The last 11 titles have been in 5A, the first three when all classes were combined.
   42. Trisa Nickoley of Shawnee Heights was one of the greatest female middle-distance runners in Kansas history, earning an amazing 17 Class 5A state championships in cross country and track while never losing an individual race in state competition in either sport. Nickoley won four straight 5A state cross country titles from 2000-2003 and won titles in the 400, 800 and 1,600 meters four straight years at the state track and field meet in Wichita ('01-'04). She added a 17th state title in the 1,600-meter relay.
   43.  Catherine Fox of Bishop Miege won national titles in five individual events and several relays as a member of the Stanford University women's swim team in the 1990s. And she was an All-American in every single event in which she competed. That's seven All-America honors each season – 28 total in her four-year career as a Cardinal swimmer.
   44. When Alysun Deckert of Salina completed the distance sweep at the 1984 state track meet, she became the first female in Kansas history to win three state titles each in the 1,600, 3,200 and cross country. Her time of 4:58.0 in the 1,600 remained as the 5A girls meet record for 35 years before it was broken in 2018. Her time of 10:34.2 in the 3,200 is still the 5A record.
   45. Silver Lake softball has enjoyed amazing success under a variety of coaching combinations for the past 30 years. Thirteen state softball championships and four runner-up trophies later, Silver Lake ranks second behind Bishop Carroll's 14 state titles for the softball capital of Kansas.
   46. Gary Cornelson's coaching record at Liberal High School is legendary. Cornelsen's program produced 10 Class 5A girls' state team championships from 1994 to 2004, winning 10 out of 11 titles in that span.
   47. Brenda Holaday coached 19 seasons at Washburn Rural, recording a 351-93 record and leading the Junior Blues to three Class 6A state softball championships and 16 state tournament berths, with five second-place finishes and three third-place finishes. But Holaday's first experiences with the impact of Title IX came in the mid-1970s as a student-athlete at Jackson Heights High School when she played on a Class 1A team that won the Grand State Basketball Tournament.
   48. With all those reminders about alleged unbreakable records, there is a record that might prove untouchable - the record for most goals by a Kansas high school girls soccer player. The owner - Andover's Kortney (Clifton) Gross. The standard - 256 goals, set from 2005-2008.  Gross also has the mark for goals in a season with 80, set in 2008.
   49.  "Title IX affected sports so dramatically. But you can't have something that big that doesn't impact all areas within a school," said Martha Gabel, Fine Arts Coordinator of the Olathe Public School District and former president of the Kansas Music Educators Association. "I think the idea behind Title IX is opportunities. It impacted sports a lot. But in an even bigger way, it emphasized that all students need important, fulfilling activities that give them an outlet and a way to grow beyond what they might experience in a math classroom or something of that sort." Gabel has dedicated her 34-year career to ensuring that students have enriching experiences in the fine arts. After 19 years as an elementary music teacher, she has held administrative positions in the Olathe district and in state and national organizations that promote arts education.
   50. The Wood sisters from Ulysses became one of the great family dynasties in Kansas high school sports history. Lesha (7), Joy (7) and Jill (10) combined for 24 individual state titles in cross country and track & field from 1977 to 1986.  There were also four runner-up finishes to a sister - Joy, three times to Lesha, and Jill, one time to Joy.

   What a run it's been. Janell Smith and Marilynn Smith, among many others, would be proud.

   Happy Birthday Title IX!