Good News: 95 and 40

The 95

Recently Yvonne (Trapp) Dietterle informed us that her mother turned 95 years young.  What a fantastic and exciting life she has led and experienced!  It is amazing to think of all the history that she has lived through.  It is our hope that Mrs. Trapp has left those memories not only in her children's hearts, but also in some way so that others may want to cherish them, whether in a written or oral format.  Congratulations to Mrs. Trapp on her long and blessed life. 

The 40

About 20 years ago, a young man by the name of Marty Wennblom enrolled at SDSU.  He became a very good runner for the Jacks' cross-country and track and field teams.  He was also a student teacher for one of the history teachers at BHS.  That history teacher was also the head track and field coach for BHS. One of my extra-duty assignments was as an assistant coach in that sport, so I became acquainted with Marty.  He was quite well-known around town because of his involvement with the local running club, the Prairie Striders.  After graduation from SDSU, Marty made a career in the military, but he continued his running career wherever he was stationed.

A few years ago, SDSU built an indoor practice facility that contains a 300-meter track (most indoor tracks are 200 meters) and an 80 yard practice field.  Many large meets have been held there, including the Summit League championships (of which SDSU is a member) and the National NAIA meet last year.  They are again hosting the NAIA meet again in a few weeks.  At one of the big meets regularly scheduled in January, there is a 5K run for the public.  On this track, that means almost 17 laps have to be covered.  To relieve the congestion, there are two sections of the race:  one for those who are likely to run under 25 minutes, and the other for those slower than 25 minutes.  This year, at the age of 40, Marty Wennblom from Alabama ran the race and set a record (16:30) for his age-group, shattering the previous record by almost two minutes.  Unbeknownst to me, this was the fourth time he has won the race.  His previous wins were in 2015, 2016, and 2018. His 2018 win set a record time of 16:05.  The Brookings Register had a nice article on Marty's achievements.  It seemed like a proper gesture to email Marty's mother, who is one of our classmates, Pat (Robish) Wennblom.   Marty will be soon transferred to Rapid City, so he will be closer to Elk Point, SD, where his parents live.  Congratulations to Pat and her husband.  They are proud of the achievements of their children and grandchildren. The BHS class of 1969 shares in their happiness.