Five Thunderbird-Greats Inducted into Athletic Hall of Fame

On Sunday afternoon, four former stand-out student-athletes and one former coach and athletic director were inducted into the Cloud County Community College Athletic Hall of Fame.  Prior to the ceremony, the five inductees and their families dined together in the T-Bird Café.  Following the meal, the group moved to Arley Bryant Gymnasium where the induction ceremony began at 1 p.m.  After the ceremony, the inductees had an opportunity to visit with those in attendance and all enjoyed punch and cookies. 

Inductee’s Bios:

Ted Schmitz

1977-1979

Athlete

1983-present

Soccer/Women’s Track & Field Coach

Concordia, KS

Ted has served as women’s track coach at Cloud County since 1983.  During that time his teams have ten times finished in the top ten in NJCAA National Championship competition and five times finished in the top five.  He has coached 140 NJCAA All Americans.  He has four times been named Region VI Track Coach of the Year and was selected as the 2003 NJCAA Indoor National Coach of the Year and 1999 NJCAA Outdoor National Coach of the Year.  In eight years as soccer coach his teams won 3 Region VI Championships and finished as Region VI Runners-up 4 times.  Ted coached 7 NJCAA All American soccer players and was three times named Region VI Soccer Coach of the Year.  In 1989 he was selected by the National Soccer Association of America as National Coach of the Year.

Shelly (Slavens) Henry

1988-1990

Volleyball/Softball

Topeka, KS

Shelly was one of the truly great two-sport athletes in Cloud County history.  She was a two-time NJCAA 1st team All American in softball, leading the Lady Thunderbirds to the 1989 Region VI Championship and a 3rd place finish in the NJCAA National Tournament.  Shelly was twice selected 1st team All Region VI in softball as a shortstop and also was named 1st team All Region VI in volleyball in 1989.  She currently ranks first in career kills and third in career points in Cloud volleyball history after leading the T-Birds to back-to-back 3rd place finishes in the Region VI tournament.  A graduate of Shawnee Heights HS, Shelly went on to compete in both sports at Emporia State University and currently resides with her husband and family in Topeka, KS.

Paul Jones

1978-1980      

Track & Field

Kansas City, KS

Paul, a native of Kansas City, KS and graduate of Wyandotte HS, was one of the greatest sprinters in Cloud County track history.  At the time of his graduation in 1980, he held six individual school records and was a member of seven school record relay teams.  Jones was a 1st team NJCAA All American in 1980, running a then school record 46.4 in the 400m, which qualified him for the US Olympic Trials.  He still holds Cloud records in the indoor 600 and the outdoor 4 X 400m relay.  Jones went on to run at the University of Arkansas where he was a six-time NCAA All American and he set the U of A school record with a 46.05 clocking in the 400m.  Paul lives with his wife in Kansas City, KS where he is a firefighter for the KCKFD.

Joe Goedert

1978-1980

Baseball

Concordia, KS 

Joe rewrote the baseball record books in his two-year career at Cloud County.  He was a two-time team captain and two-time team MVP of the Thunderbird baseball team while starting and playing in every game during his career.  Goedert batted a school record .510 in 1979 ranking him 3rd nationally in the NJCAA, while setting school records for hits and rbi’s.  He hit .476 in his sophomore season of 1980, ranking 6th nationally.  Goedert went on to play at Kansas State University where he earned honorable mention All Big 8 honors in 1981 and 1982, finishing his KSU career with a then school record .371 batting average.  A graduate of Hastings, NE St. Cecilia HS, Joe and his family currently reside in Concordia.

Burnell Ukens

1965-1995

Athletic Director/Coach

Concordia, KS

Burnell has been one of the great ambassadors of Cloud County Community College and its athletic programs since the founding of the school in 1965.  He served eight years as the school’s first athletic director.  Ukens also served as intramural director and was instrumental in the founding of CCCC’s first athletic booster organization.  He started the tennis program at Cloud in 1971 and coached the Thunderbirds to the Prairie Junior College Conference Championship in 1973.  Ukens served as statistician for the PJCC the entire time Cloud County was a member.  He also served one year as assistant track coach and from 1979-1983 was assistant baseball coach.  To this day, Burnell remains a loyal and true friend of Cloud County Community College and its athletics and activities.