FAMED FOR THEIR GAME

Five enter the Dana Athletic Hall of Fame

Five former Vikings joined the Dana Athletic Hall of Fame during a special luncheon held on Oct. 2.

Honorees are nominated for their excellence in athletics while attending Dana.

Ron Beaman ’74

Coaching the Vikings one day was far from the mind of young Ron Beaman when he transferred to Dana College from Iowa Western College in 1971. He came to wrestle himself, learning from Coach Bob Simpson.

After two and a half seasons as a Viking wrestler, Beaman left Dana with a degree in physical education and recreation. He spent two years as the assistant manager of Alpha Fitness in Omaha before joining his family business. He was sales manager for the business for several years before he and his wife, Nancy, purchased the feed business in 1986, renaming it RB Distributing. That business structure gave him the freedom to say “yes” when Dana came calling with the offer of being the Viking wrestling coach in 1979, a job he had for 19 years.

His wrestlers earned a number of honors during his coaching years. Nineteen of his wrestlers placed in the national tournament; he also coached seven scholar athletes, another point of pride for Beaman.

His Viking teams earned wins in dual meets over some much larger schools, including NCAA Division I Valparaiso University and Chicago State University, NCAA Division II schools Central Missouri State University and Northeast Missouri State University (now Truman State University) and NAIA wrestling power Missouri Valley College. Two of his wrestlers, Bill Bussey and Trent Gutschenritter, are in the Dana Athletic Hall of Fame.

Since retiring as the Vikings’ coach, Beaman started a second business, Ron Beaman Massage Therapy and Personal Training, along with R.B. Distributing. He and his wife, Nancy (Harris ’74) have a daughter, Laura Beaman Pike.

Steve Cook ’70

When Steve Cook arrived on the Dana Hill in the fall of 1966, he was accepting the campus “sight unseen” at the recommendation of his high school history teacher, Grant Walls Sr., whose son, Grant Walls Jr., just happened to be the Viking football coach at the time. Cook’s first impression of the campus was of surprise, as the boy from the big city of Norwalk, Ohio, found an unpaved gravel road running through his new campus.

By the time Cook left the campus in 1970 with his bachelor’s degree in physical education, both he and Dana College had benefited and he became a “Viking forever.”

Cook was a four-year letterman for the Vikings. As a sophomore, he won first-team all-conference honors on defense. He repeated that honor in his junior season, also earning All-NAIA District II honors that year. In a memorable senior season, he again made the all-conference and All-NAIA District II first teams. He was the co-captain of his team, was first-team All-Lutheran College as a defensive tackle, was named to the Omaha World-Herald All-Nebraska College Team and received the Rufus Olson Memorial Award.

Today, Cook is the vice-president of Kelly Ryan Equipment and is the owner/manager of the Blair Marina. He and his wife, Kathleen Ann (Ryan ’70) are the parents of two sons, Steven and Scott and of a daughter, Stephanie Jean (Cook) Rasmussen. The couple lives in Blair.

Bryan Muschall ’90

The Vikings trailed by two points to Doane College in the fourth quarter and were deep in their own territory. It was Homecoming at Dana, 1988. The handoff went to Bryan Muschall. The All-American delivered with a 95-yard run from scrimmage for a touchdown and the Vikings went on to win, 31-26. That run, one of the highlights of Dana football all-time, is listed by Muschall as one of his favorite Dana memories.

Muschall ended his years at Dana as the school’s career rushing leader, gaining 3,471 from his running back position. He was all-conference each of his four years at Dana, 1986-89. He was named to the Omaha World-Herald’s All-State College Team from 1987-89, was the NAIA Division II leading rusher in 1987 and was named to the NAIA’s first team of All-Americans in 1987. The Nebraska Chapter of the National College Football Hall of Fame inducted him into their chapter in 2003.

During his banner season in 1987, he led the nation in rushing yards. That year, the Vikings ended the season with an 8-3 record. They made it to the national playoffs, losing a heartbreaker to second-ranked Baker University, 35-37. That year, the team finished 14th in the national rankings. Although injuries plagued Muschall his last two seasons at Dana, he still finished among the country’s Top 10 NAIA rushers in 1988, gaining 1,053 yards on 225 carries, an average of 4.7 yards each.

Muschall, a member of the Dana class of 1990, was a business major while at Dana. He currently lives in Council Bluffs with his family; he is self-employed. He and his wife, Susan, have a son, Dallas and a daughter, Riannon.

Scott Simms ’81

As a two-sport athlete at Dana College, Scott Simms was versatile and durable. He has many fond memories of outstanding team performances during his years as a Viking. He was honored with the 1981 Coach Olson Award. At Dana, he majored in business and economics.

He won three letters in basketball, playing off the bench as the "sixth man" his sophomore and junior years. He became a starter as a senior, scoring an average of 14 points per game. His top individual game came against Northwest Missouri State that year, when he scored 26 points. The squad during his junior year was one of the school’s best, finishing with an 18-10 record.

Simms’ time on the pitching mound for Dana was outstanding. In a single day he earned two pitching victories against conference-rival Nebraska Wesleyan University. The second game of the double-header was a no-hit shutout win. A single walk kept him from throwing a perfect game. In his final game in a Viking uniform, he threw 179 pitches in an 11-inning thriller over Wayne State in the district playoffs. It was a 5-4 win for the Vikings.

While he was on the Viking baseball squad he lettered four years. His career record was 25-15 with an ERA of 3.96 in 225 innings pitched. During his career, Dana won the Nebraska Iowa Athletic Conference three times and finished second during his sophomore year. He collected all-conference, all-area, NAIA all-district, all conference, all area and Academic All-American honors.

He is the manager of Kaiman’s Grocery in Glenwood, Iowa. His wife, Mary (Welp) Simms graduated from Dana in 1981 with a degree in elementary education. The couple has two children, Rob and Cory.

Connie (Kennedy ’82) Tracewell

Women’s basketball was still in its early stages at Dana College back in 1978 when Connie Kennedy arrived to play for the Vikings.

Her inside game was her strength. Although statistics from those early years of Viking Women Basketball are scarce, Kennedy remembers that as an individual, one of her best performances came in her freshman year. “I don’t remember how many points or rebounds I had,” she said, “but I remember that I played well.” Success in that particular game was important to Tracewell, because her Wahoo High School Coach had made the trip to Blair to see her play.

Her fondest basketball memory came when her team made it to the regional tournament during her junior year. Although the team was soundly defeated in the first round game, Tracewell remembers how proud she and her teammates were to represent the school at a game at that level.

Tracewell used her bachelor of science in biology degree in her career. She spent 10 years working in the animal health industry as part of a team of reserarches who developed a vaccine that helps prevent pneumonia in swine. Tracewell and her husband, Bill, live in Lincoln. They have a son, Mason, and a daughter, Hayley. She is currently spending her time raising her children. She credits the hard work, desire and practice she put into basketball at Dana as something she now carries over and uses daily in raising her family.