Byron’s Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2022 announced
Byron High School’s 14th annual Hall of Fame induction will take place on Saturday October 8. The 2022 inductees will be introduced at half time of the Byron vs Red Wing football game. This game will start at noon.
There will be a formal induction of the 2022 class in the high school commons in the evening. The social will begin at 6 p.m. followed by the induction ceremony at 6:30 p.m. The public is invited to attend the event at no charge.
The 2022 class includes three outstanding athletes, a successful coach, a former coach, teacher, and fan booster as well as a state qualifying cross country team.
Tom Felber was an art teacher, coach, and enthusiastic Byron booster for all 21 years he served Byron High School. He coached sub-varsity basketball and was an assistant track and field coach during his tenure with the Bears.
He used his own artistic talent as well as that of his students to spread “Bear Spirit” throughout the school and the community. When not actively involved in athletics he encouraged the fan base. He regularly chaperoned the fan bus so those playing away would have hometown support. His booming voice stood out among the crowd as he supported all of Byron’s athletic teams.
One of the Hall of Fame inductees was a three-sport athlete that graduated in 1979. Jade Milde excelled in cross country, basketball, and track and field. He was a three-year letter winner in both cross country and basketball and served as a captain for both sports. Basketball was Jade’s favorite sport, and he was twice voted the Bear Power Defensive Player of the Year. In the 57 games in which he played, he scored 899 points (before the 3-point shot) and had 547 rebounds. He was All-Conference for his three varsity years.
In 1979 Jade received the award as BHS Outstanding Senior Male Athlete. In track he competed in the long jump, ran the mile, and set a school record in the shot put. He also served as co-captain his senior year. Jade continued his basketball career when he played at Glendive Community College in Montana.
Greta Raaen was a 2001 graduate of Byron and competed in soccer and softball. She was on Byron’s first girls’ soccer team and would be a four-year starter. She set the first scoring record for Byron soccer with 64 points. She was the Team’s Offensive MVP twice, All Conference three Years, and All State both her junior and senior years.
In the spring Greta was a three-year starter as the catcher on the softball team. As a junior her .397 batting average helped her team win the HVL Title and the West Sub-Section Championship. She was also selected All Conference. She served as team captain as a senior. After high school she continued her athletic success by playing soccer and some softball at Lawrence College.
After teaching for seven years in South Dakota, Paul Fischenich and his wife Karla came to Byron and stayed for 33 years. During that time, he taught elementary physical education and coached a lot of different things in Byron. He was head wrestling coach for seven years and ended that phase of his coaching with a winning record and laid the foundation for successful coaches to follow.
His next big challenge was as the head coach of the first girls’ soccer team in Byron. The first couple of years were difficult but by the third year his team ended with a 14-2-3 record. The next year they went 16-3-3. He was selected as Section Coach of the Year in both 1998 and 2000. Paul’s longest tenure as head coach was that of Byron’s softball team from 1988 to 2003.
He holds the school record for most games coached, most wins, and most losses. In addition to his coaching success, Paul was also twice selected as Byron’s Teacher of the Year and also was named the Minnesota Elementary Physical Education Teacher of the Year.
This Byron athlete ran his way into the Hall of Fame. Jason Garvens was a five-time cross country letter winner. The 2006 graduate earned All-Conference honors four times and also made it to the state cross country meet four times in addition to earning All-State honors.
Besides running he was Academic All-State his junior and senior years. His abilities carried over into the track and field season where he was also a five-time letter winner and selected All-Conference three times.
Jason was selected as Byron’s Outstanding Senior Letter Winner for 2005-06. His running career continued at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville where he was three-time All-Conference as well as two-time All American. After a very successful college career he has run in nine marathons and was a finisher in the Wisconsin Ironman Triathlon.
Each year during the Hall of Fame ceremony, a past team is recognized for their outstanding achievements. For 2022 that team is the 2007 Byron Cross Country Team. This unique makeup of teammates had a magical season. Three seniors, Ali Khalili Thomas and Alex Thornton anchored a team made up of one junior, Aaron Nepstad, two freshmen, Eric Anderson and Kyle Johnson and a seventh grader, Henry Hartzler.
While coach Charro Coleman had individual state participants in the past, this was a real team effort. They won both the HVL Conference Championship and the Section Title and placed 13th at the State Cross Country Meet.