Triton inducts fourth hall of fame class

Triton High School inducted their fourth annual Hall of Fame class over the weekend as several former athletes from Dodge Center, Claremont and West Concord were honored for their stellar careers. While they were honored at Friday night’s football game against Caledonia, the highlight of their weekend had to be the induction ceremony which took place at the High School’s auditorium Saturday night.
As each inductee delivered a speech, the memories of their glory days became clearer. There was the 1976-77 Dodge Center basketball team whom Dennis Midthun commented “looked more like a hockey team,” when their picture was featured on the way to the Mayo Civic Center for the section tournament.
The 1994 Triton Football team stood up on the stage as the only team in school history to complete a 14-0 season.
“I kind of grew up with that group,” head coach Don Henderson said of that team. “We tried some different things and the kids did the rest. Once you got the ball in their hands, it was magic.”
“We played in five homecoming games that year,” recalled Alex Bryngelson. “Everybody wanted a piece of us, but we just refused to lose.”
The night was not only about recognizing the success that these inductees had, it was laughing about the memories that were built along the way.
Travis Petersohn, who had a spectacular basketball career with the Dodge Center/Claremont team in the late 80s and early 90s, recalled a time when the team was promised a stop at McDonald’s after a game, but coach Gordy Zimmerman had a change of heart. 
After a mini-riot ensued, Zimmerman caved in and as a herd of teenagers rushed to the golden arches, Petersohn checked one of his teammates into a side mirror of a car and ripped it from the door – a crime he wouldn’t admit to until he was at the podium. 
Zimmerman, who also inducted Petersohn, grabbed the microphone and recalled that he walked into the McDonald’s with the mirror and asked who’s it was. When the owner replied, she wasn’t upset replying that her husband could fix anything.
There was also Philip Schuster, a three-sport athlete for Dodge Center in the late 50s, who wanted to keep his speech short, but his inductor and long-time friend Bill Ketchum let it be known what his feelings were when they first met.
“I was a defensive end,” Ketchum recalled. “I did not like halfbacks. Especially this halfback. He was just too darn good.”
The stories continued and at the end of the night, Henderson approached the podium and joked in true Paul Harvey fashion that if the audience wanted the rest of the story, they could go to the social afterward at the Dodge County Country Club.
It was a successful night for the hall of fame, but it’s also an event that they would like to see get bigger as the years go by.
“This time next year, I’d love to see this place full,” Henderson said referring to the auditorium. “There’s a lot of memories that are shared with something like this and it’s important to get the word out there and really make this a big deal.”