Four former Chadron State College student-athletes are set for induction into the CSC Athletics Hall of Fame, when the athletic department hosts its annual dinner and ceremony on April 24 in Chadron.

The ceremony, initially scheduled for last fall, was postponed amid Covid concerns, and will now take place in the CSC Student Center ballroom following the football scrimmage against Wayne State College. Last summer, the Hall of Fame committee identified 10 former Eagles for induction, however six will opt for a fall ceremony, later this year, on a date to be determined.

The four to be inducted later this month are Jordan Johnson, Aric Lopez, Melissa Burke, and Michael Wahlstrom.

Johnson was a three-time national qualifier with the CSC wrestling team, going to the NCAA meet in each season from 2001-02 through 2003-04. As a senior in 2004, the 165-pounder from Oakland, Nebraska claimed the NCAA Division II West Regional championship and went on to become an All-American by placing seventh at the national meet. He finished that season with a record of 37-13, tying him for third all-time at CSC for most single-season wins. Johnson was also named an Academic All-American following his junior season by the National Wrestling Coaches Association. His 91 career wins rank him 15th in program history.

From 2000 to 2002, Lopez, a Gillette, Wyoming native, played inside linebacker for the Eagles football team, starting for two Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference championship teams as a junior and senior. As a senior he earned All-America honorable mention from Don Hansen’s Football Gazette and claimed All-West Region honors from three different organizations. He was an All-RMAC First Team selection as well. Lopez was a junior on the 2001 squad which became one of only three undefeated teams in the 2001 NCAA Division II regular season. That fall he earned All-RMAC honorable mention and tied for second on the team with 70 tackles.

At the conclusion of her women’s basketball career at CSC, Burke ranked ninth in program history for career points, with 956 from 1997-2001. She helped the Eagles to three straight RMAC postseason berths, including two trips to the semifinals. As a sophomore, the Chadron native led the league in free throw percentage, netting 89.2 percent of her tries from the foul line. In her junior year, Burke finished seventh in the conference for blocked shots, rejecting more than one attempt per contest. She received All-RMAC honorable mention as a senior in 2001, and was named CSC’s prestigious Clyde Bond Memorial Award winner that year as well.

Wahlstrom, another Chadron product, was the top pass-catching target for the Eagles for two seasons. He earned first team all-conference in 2002, when he helped the Eagles claim back-to-back Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference championships with 801 receiving yards on 64 catches. The 6-3, 200-pound receiver was particularly known for his toughness, playing through a muscle tear as a sophomore, dealing with a sprained ankle as a junior, and missing his first — and only — game due to a pulled hamstring as a senior. Wahlstrom’s career figures still rank him among the top 10 all-time at CSC in every receiving category.

The others to be inducted at a later time are Elijah Collins, Rob Evans, Austin Forster, Marvin Jackson, Kelly Randle, and Alysia Wardyn Clark.

The CSC Athletics Hall of Fame Dinner and Induction Ceremony will begin at 6 p.m. on the 24th. Tickets are available from Sarah Dykes at 308-432-6255 or sdykes@csc.edu.

Former CSC Coach Dies In Ohio

Dr. Bill Taraschke of Norwalk, Ohio, who taught in the Chadron State College physical education department and was the Eagles’ head track and field coach and an assistant football coach for eight years beginning in 1975, died on Wednesday, April 7 in a Cleveland hospital following a number of health issues.

After leaving Chadron State in 1984, Taraschke returned to his native Ohio and spent the next 31 years coaching cross country and track and field at Baldwin Wallace University at Berea, Ohio. During that time he led the Yellow Jackets to 37 Ohio Conference championships, 25 in track and 12 in cross country. He received Conference Coach of the Year honors 35 times was a Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year 13 times and an NCAA Division III Coach of the Year twice.

At Chadron State, his athletes set 10 track and field records and he was the football team’s defensive coordinator for six years under Jerry Welch and Gary Richardson.

A native of Toledo, he graduated from Ohio University, where he started in the line for the football team two years and was twice the Mid-America Conference discus champion. He earned his master’s degree at Southern Illinois University and began his coaching career at Milan, Ohio, High School where he took over a winless football team that went 26-1 the next three years.

He earned his Ph.D. at the University of Toledo in 1984 after taking a one year leave of absence from his duties at Chadron State.

Taraschke is survived by his wife, Dennie, and four children, two of whom were born in Chadron. Mrs. Taraschke said the time the family spent in Chadron were outstanding. His funeral will be Tuesday, April 13 at the Edison Memorial Methodist Church in Milan, where the Taraschkes were married 54 years ago. One of his Baldwin Wallace track athletes is a minister and will conduct the services and another will provide the music. Taraschke’s assistant coaches will be the pallbearers. He is being buried in his track coaching suit.