The Class of 2024 was inducted into the Boerne ISD Athletic Hall of Honor at a ceremony held last Friday at The Clubs of Cordillera Ranch.
This was the 15th class inducted into the BISD Hall of Honor that was started in 2010 as a way to recognize past athletic excellence in the district.
Dr. Ralph J. “Bud” Curtis received the Bill Canavan Memorial Benefactor Award for his contributions to the district.
Also inducted was Erik Halgunseth, Kristen Schramek Bates and the 2008 and 2009 Boerne Champion boys cross country teams.
The event was emceed by Boerne High graduate Tommy Mathews, who is also on the Hall of Honor selection committee.
Dr. Ralph J. “Bud” Curtis
The Bill Canavan Memorial Benefactor Award is given to those who are not necessarily graduates of BISD but have contributed to the district’s athletic program in some way.
Curtis had been the district’s team physician for the last 23 years and volunteers his time once a week examining and diagnosing injuries.
Dr. Curtis seemed humbled and was very succinct in his remarks.
“What an honor, it means a lot me” he said.
Curtis also thanked the Boerne community, especially the parents, and Boerne ISD AD Stan Leech and assistant AD Terry Gault for their longevity with the district.
Erik Halgunseth
Halgunseth was a 1995 Boerne High graduate and had quite a basketball carreer.
While with the Hounds, Halgunseth set several school records and had the most points in a season (1,046), most free throws in a season (241) and highest free-throw percentage (82 percent).
He was voted All-State and played in several All-Star games before being named honorable mention on the USA Today All-American team.
After high school, Halgunseth played collegiately at Texas Lutheran University and Concordia University before beginning a 12-year career in Mexico’s Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Professional league.
“I was very grateful and thankful to play professionally,” he said. “I want to thank my coaches, ex-teammates and my family and a big thanks to basketball. It allowed me to meet great people and I was able to travel around the world.”
Kristen Schramek Bates
Schramek Bates had a stellar volleyball career for the Greyhounds and was named 1st Team All-State and 1st Team Academic All-State before graduating from BHS in 2003.
She went on to play at Baylor University where she finished with 485 digs in one season, which is third on Baylor’s single-season record list.
Schramek Bates graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and later earned a Master of Science in Sports Management. She was a four-time All-Academic Big 12 member during her time at Baylor.
She is currently the Assistant Director of Athletic Advising at the University of Incarnate Word in San Antonio.
“I want to thank Stan Leech, Terry Gault, the educators at Boerne ISD, my husband and my children for this special moment,” Schramek Bates said.
2008, 2009 state cross country teams
Boerne Champion had just been open a few months in the fall of 2008 when the Charger boys cross country teams won the school’s first state championship.
All the runners came back for the 2009 season and they repeated as state champs and won the title by more than 140 points.
Once the ’09 UIL x-country season ended, the Chargers went on and qualified for the Nike National Championships in Oregon.
Once in Oregon, Champion claimed the Nike National title by beating a team from Spokane, Washington (195-201).
Retired coach Dave Fulkerson spoke at last week’s ceremony and mentioned that former Boerne ISD Superintendent John Kelly called the team “the best in all the land.”
Team members included Josh Hernandez, Colby McCune, Nathan Christianson, Ethan Doherty, Ryan Miller, Will Mack, Moses Luevano and Travis Barclay. Erin Bradley was the assistant to Fulkerson during that time.
Several of the athletes also won individual running state titles while at Champion in either cross country or track.
Christianson spoke for the team and said it was truly a team effort.
“We did our best for each other,” he said. “The only thing that could stop us was ourselves.”
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