Posted: Aug 25, 2021
In Memoriam ...Paying respect to Cougar athletes that are no longer with us.
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Men's Basketball |
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Jerry Leonard |
June 23, 1938 - August 8, 2023 |
Jerry was born in Gering and a graduate of GHS and continued his basketball career at Scottsbluff Junior College in the late 1950s. |
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Doug Chappell |
June 23, 1935 - March 11, 2020 |
Doug played basketball at SJC in the 50s and was an assistant basketball coach. |
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Billy Stewart |
Marrch 11, 1944 -- August 19, 2013 |
Billy played for the Cougars from 1965-67 and is the fourth-leading scorer in school history |
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Fernando Bonfin-Wilson |
Aug. 9, 1983 - June 30, 2012 |
Played at WNCC from 2002-2005 |
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Curtis Cotton |
August 13, 1986 - May 7, 2010 |
Curtis Cotton played for WNCC in 2005-06 and was attending Community College of Denver at the time of his car accident that claimed his life. |
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Ricky Gandy |
June 7, 1978 -- Aug. 3, 2003 |
Ricky graduated from Hephzibah High in Georgia and played for the Cougars from 1996-98 before attending Western Carolina University. |
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Lamar Laroux |
April 9, 1974 -- March 15, 1997 |
Lamar played for WNCC from 1993-94 and was currently playing at East Texas Baptist at the time of his death. He was just 22. |
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Women's Basketball |
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Rylee (Hanks) Downs |
Sept. 5, 1994 -- Jan. 14, 2022 |
Rylee graduated from Crawford in 2013 and was a member of the women's basketball in the fall. She was a 3-sport athlete for the Rams. |
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Volleyball |
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Cassie (Vrooman) Keen |
April 19, 1988 - July 21, 2019 |
Played at WNCC in 2006 & 2007 |
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Andrea Null |
March 2, 1970 - October 3, 2016 |
Played at WNCC in 1988 |
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Men's Soccer |
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Women's Soccer |
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Brittany Scadlock |
March 21, 1995 - March 11, 2015 |
Played at WNCC in 2013 |
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Baseball |
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Greg Crowe |
September 29, 1987 - June 4, 2023 |
Greg played for the Cougars as a pitcher during the 2006-07, and 2007-08 seasons, helping WNCC to a Region IX title. Greg died in Florida from a motorcycle accident. |
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Cesar David Castro |
September 12, 1989 - March 22, 2015 |
Cesar played for the Cougars in 2010 and was taken from us from a motorcycle accident in Miami. |
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Giovanni Gonzalez |
October 21, 1985 - June 16, 2009 |
Played baseball here in 2004-05 |
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Softball |
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Track and Field |
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Cross Country |
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Football |
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Jerry Henderson |
October 22, 1929 - August 24, 2023 |
Jerry was born in Scottsbluff in 1929 and was a Scottsbluff graduate in 1948. He was an all-conference athlete at Scottsbluff JC and played football at Nebraska. | |
Tom Crokie |
-- December 9, 2021 |
Tom played football for Scottsbluff Junior College in the 1960s and would teach in Gering and owned TC's Mini Market and Car Wash. |
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Dick "Night Train" Lane |
April 16, 1927 - January 29, 2002 |
Played at SJC in 1947 |
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Golf |
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Tennis |
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Cheerleading/Dance Team |
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Nicole Ashleigh
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March 1, 1992 -- June 24, 2023 |
Nicole was the daughter of women's basketball coach Dave Harnish and was a member of one of the first Cougar dance groups in the early 2010s. |
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Athletic Staff |
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| Mary Wuerst Athletic Secretary |
June 20, 1944 - April 2, 2023 | Mary was the athletic secretary for the Cougars for over 20 years and was part of the athletic department in the 1990s. | |
Loretta Uhrich
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Born around 1946 - September 7, 2020 |
Loretta served many hats at WNCC from being a women's basketball assistant coach, helping man the basketball score table, and being a strong Cougar supporter during her 33 years at Western Nebraska Community College. |
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Pat Lee
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March 17, 1933 -- May 7, 2018 |
Pat Lee was not only a teacher and administrator at the college, but also served as a track coach and athletic director. |
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Larry Janecek
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June 7, 1948 -- March 21, 2017 |
Larry was like family to WNCC serving as a dorm parent to many and was also the father figure when he drove bus for the athletic teams. |
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Wayne Schumacher
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March 18, 1940 -- April 26, 2015 |
Wayne taught English at WNCC but was also the first women's basketball coach and was also an assistant men's basketball coach. |
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Ron Brillhart
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Sept. 30, 1936 - June 30, 2006 |
Coached WNCC from 1973-1983
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Gordon Harrach
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March 15, 1941 -- January 15, 2003 |
Gordon served as the tennis and golf coach for the college in the 1980s and 1990s. |
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Bill Braunbeck
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May 25, 1941 - August 14, 1998 |
Bill Braubeck was the basketball coach for the Cougars from 1970 through the 1973 for three seasons. |
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Margaret Fitzmorris
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Jan. 29, 1935 -- May 21, 1979 |
Margaret was the first Cougar volleyball coach in the 1970s and served as the college's PE instructor. |
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Shelby Edwards
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-- January 30 , 1975 |
Shelby Edwards was the men's basketball coach from 1959 through 1970 and then became the college's athletic director |
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