Taking their place…. …on Wall of Honor

Hastings High School has plenty of wall space in and around the fieldhouse to celebrate Raider athletes. There is a section dedicated to state champions, Olympians and professional athletes. But what about the staff that help thousands of athletes succeed? There is a place in the fieldhouse for them as well, the Athletic Wall of Honor.

The Wall of Honor features teachers, coaches and support staff that, through the years, have worked with Raider student athletes on and off the court to help them be the best they can be. This year, Trent Hanson introduced not one, not two, but EIGHT of the most influential people from the last 60 years of Raider sports. Eight people that had a hand in the lives of thousands of Raider students over the past several decades. The influence of these eight people cannot truly be stated in a single story. Books could be written about each of them.

During the halftime of the Hastings Girls Basketball game, Athletic Director Trent Hanson issued the newly minted plaques to the eight honorees prior to bringing them to center court. At that time, Mr. Hanson read the below summarized biographies of each new inductee for the near capacity crowd at Hastings High School.

Dick Cragg

Richard Cragg is a 1961 graduate of the St. Thomas Military Academy. He earned a B.S. from the College of The Holy Cross and an M.A.T. from the University of St. Thomas. He is a US Navy Veteran, serving from 1965-1969, including a tour in Vietnam. Cragg was a teacher in St. Paul Public Schools from 19711998. He moved to Hastings in 1972 and quickly engaged with the local community. Spanning 50 years of service, Dick served as an official, coach, baseball traveling director, softball traveling director and HYAA board member. He was an active member of the Hastings Community Advisory Council and represented the ISD 200 school board on the Hastings Joint Powers Commission. He and his wife Trudy raised three children who were all engaged in athletics and activities.

Dick is an unparalleled contributor to Raiders high school sports in particular. For over 30 years starting in 1988, he has served as the HHS football statistician, conference football statistician, scoreboard and PA operator at McNamara Stadium/Todd Field for football and soccer and at HHS for boys’ and girls’ basketball. He also served as KDWA radio broadcaster for football, basketball, soccer, hockey and baseball for over 20 years and was the scoreboard and PA operator at Grossman Field for Raiders baseball.

Cragg was the Section 3AAA Girls Basketball Tournament director for 10 years and was awarded the Region 1AA Volunteer of the Year Award in 2014.

John Dewall

John Dewall is a 1975 graduate of Stillwater High School where he participated in soccer, Nordic Skiing and track and field. John earned his B.S. Degree at the University of Wisconsin, his M.A. in Education at the University of Minnesota and his advanced degree at St. Thomas. John’s career in Hastings began in 1980, where he was teaching agri-business and the coop work program, and he led the horticulture program at HHS since that time.

Dewall started coaching in 1980, pioneering the girls’ soccer program. In 1982, he started coaching Nordic Skiing and track. John then coached 25 years as Head Cross Country Coach, 40 years as Head Nordic Skiing Coach, and 37 years as an assistant coach in track; a total of over 100 seasons and 200 different Raiders athletic teams across multiple levels.

Dewall has coached dozens of conference, regional and section championship teams. He also coached two MSHSL Championship teams; boys Nordic Skiing in 1989 and Girls Nordic Skiing in 1991. John was privileged to have coached two Olympic athletes who represented the U.S. in Nordic Skiing: Dan Campbell and Lindsay Williams. John also coached Torry Kraftson, who was a three-time Nordic Skiing State Champion and a US National Champion.

John was recognized as Minnesota Nordic Ski Coach of the Year in 1990 and has been involved in the Minnesota State High School Coaches Association throughout his career. John has been proud to work as an educator and coach in the Hastings School District for the past 43 years. John retired as a coach in 2022.

Terry Hartmann

Terry Hartman is a 1962 graduate of St. Paul Park High School, 1996 graduate of St. John’s University, and a 1974 graduate of Winona State University. His informal, and most important, education was guided by those with whom he has had the pleasure of knowing throughout his life.

Hastings High School Principal Martin Hanson offered Terry his first teaching contract in 1966. Principal Rich Clymer offered him his final contract ending with the close of classes in 2000. For over 40 years, coaching filled many hours. Terry served as an athletics coach in a variety of roles and levels in six different sports: football, baseball, boys and girls hockey, Nordic ski, and track and field. In the early 1990s, A.D. Don Miller asked if Terry would assume the role of Athletics Equipment Manager. Terry said yes, and that role has continued for over 30 years.

Terry and his wife Renee raised four children. Ellen Rademacher is a Counselor at Hastings Middle School. John works for Aetna Allina Health Insurance. David is founder of Venn Education. Pat is a teacher and coach in St. Louis Park schools. They are most proud of their lives. Terry shares that through it all, Renee supported him, knowing when to encourage and when to challenge. She always did it with grace and understanding. Terry calls his a gifted life. His utmost appreciation goes out to all colleagues, students and parents who have been part of his time in Hastings.

Jackie Kranz

Jackie Kranz is a 1976 Graduate of Hastings High School. She participated on the first ever volleyball team in Hastings as a setter. Her 1974 volleyball team was in the inaugural league consisting of only three teams: Hastings, South St. Paul and Stillwater. In 1975, her Raiders team competed in their first full season of volleyball in an athletic conference.

Jackie joined Hastings Public Schools in 1995 as the Hastings High School Attendance Secretary. In 1997, she moved into the position of Athletic Secretary. She has served in that position since then, and for over 25 years has established herself as one of the longest tenured and most distinguished athletic secretaries in the MSHSL. She regularly contributes to conference and state leadership events for athletic office leadership. She has also served on the local event staff across multiple sport seasons, taking tickets, keeping official scorebooks, and running score clocks.

Jackie has guided Raider’s athletics during the school’s membership in three different conferences; the St. Paul Suburban Conference, Suburban East Conference, and Metro East Conference. She has partnered with three different athletic directors in Don Miller, Tom Johnson, and Trent Hanson -all of whom have been named either Region or State A.D. of the Year. During her tenure the Raiders have captured five team state championships, 17 individual state champions, and countless conference championships.

Jackie and her husband Pete are residents of Hastings and have three children, Becky, Jeff and Matt, who all graduated from HHS. She is also blessed by three grandchildren who all attend Hastings public schools, Blake, Trey and Ellie.

Bob Majeski

Bob Majeski is a 1973 graduate from Hastings High School. He attended Concordia College in Moorhead, MN, where he played football. Bob obtained an elementary teaching position in Hastings in 1978, then taught at Hastings Middle School and finished with a long tenure of teaching and administration at Hastings High School. He retired as an Assistant Principal in 2015. Bob calls himself grateful for so many opportunities to work with great staff and students that made 37 years in education fly by.

During his tenure as an educator in Hastings, Bob coached multiple sports for almost three decades including basketball, baseball, softball and football. In 22 years as Head Football Coach in particular, the Raiders had a record of 175-65. Those teams won nine conference championships, six section championships, twice were Class 5A runner-up and were the 2001 MSHSL Class 5A State Champions. In 2011 Bob was inducted into the Minnesota Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame. He shares this HHS Wall of Honor recognition with all the great athletes and coaches who were involved and contributed greatly. Special recognition goes to Terry Hartmann, Tom Dahlberg, Jake Moore and Marty Kranz, who Bob respects, admires and is proud to call friends.

Bob and his wife Cindy raised three sons who were all Raiders graduates: Jacob, John and Joseph. All are married and have blessed Bob and Cindy with eight beautiful grandkids.

Greg Sandkamp

Greg Sandkamp is a 1971 graduate of Hastings High School, where he participated in Wrestling, Track & Field, and Football. He earned his bachelor’s degree at the University of Wisconsin River Falls and his master’s degree at Winona State University.

Greg’s coaching career in Hastings began in 1982 as Head Track & Field coach at the high school. In 1986 he began teaching elementary physical education at Kennedy Elementary School. During his tenure as an educator, he taught at every school in the district, ending with the high school. Greg coached over 100 different seasons in six different sports, and at multiple levels and schools, including wrestling, football, soccer, volleyball, cross country, and Nordic skiing.

Throughout his 40 years of leadership, his Raiders teams had many competitive successes including multiple conference and section championships, many state entrants and place winners, all-conference and all-state athletes, and countless new school records. Along with that competitive success, and even more important, was the developing and living with healthy values and relationships.

Greg coached with kindness and respect to help our students and athletes develop moral courage and character, and that was the greatest of his coaching successes. Greg called himself blessed to work with the students, athletes, parents and employees of the Hastings school district. He retired from teaching in 2018 and coaching in 2022.

Al & Sandy Storlie

Al and Sandy Storlie are both graduates of Hastings High School; in 1977 and 1979 respectively. Al began working for the Hastings Fire Department in 1985, and Sandy for Independent School District 200 in 1990.

After starting a family, the importance of athletics became very obvious to the Storlies. Their two daughters, Lea and Leslee, became involved in community athletic activities from an early age. In support of their children, both Al and Sandy were very involved in volunteering for the Hastings Basketball Boosters. They held numerous positions including concessions coordinator and president of the association. They helped build the traveling basketball program to what it is today. Al also volunteered as a youth coach for softball and basketball, and Sandy volunteered for many years operating the concessions for basketball games.

Al is a member of the MSHL High School League and has been an official for the St. Paul Capital City Association for over twenty years. He can often be found officiating basketball games for all ages, including the high school level throughout the metro area. In addition, with his EMS background, Al has served as an athletic trainer for many community tournaments and high school athletic events. He also operates the scoreboard and official book for many of the boys and girls HHS basketball games -usually with one of his daughters.

Sandy has served over 25 years in admissions for many athletic events including volleyball, football, lacrosse, wrestling, track, gymnastics, swimming, and basketball. Both Al and Sandy have proudly supported the Hastings Athletic program through the growth of their two daughters and now have begun to enjoy supporting their two grandchildren coming up in the Hastings athletics programs as well.

These eight individuals have contributed so much to the high school programs and the students that have had their journey pass through the halls of Hastings High School. These brief glimpses are just that, glimpses of the amazing people they are and the countless students they have had impacts on, including this writer. Coach Hartman and Coach Majeski helped me grow as a young man, and without Dick Cragg, I would not be the announcer or the writer I am today. Dick’s expertise on the announcing side was huge for me starting out 11 years ago and his contributions to the sports stories here in the journal… Well, let’s just say, without the assistance of Dick Cragg the statistician, half of the sports stories would not be able to be written.

To the eight wonderful people now on the Athletic Wall of Honor at Hastings High School, the community thanks you for the decades of service to our kids.