The MMCRU High School Basketball Girls went back-to-back for the first time to State in 2022! What an exciting week this was for the MMCRU communities! Now this Sunday (March 13) we are turning our clocks ahead for Daylight Savings Time but lets turn our history clocks back 36 years to when the Marcus girls’ basketball team first went to State!
I went back to the 1986 Marcus News and found the following information on this “first time” event! Pictures are included but chances are they won’t find room for these. No matter what, the year 1986 has many memories for all who were involved!
Feb. 6 -the Lady Eagles are pictured. An article stated that a final score of 90 to 54 was in favor of Marcus over Sgt. Bluff. The Eagles top scorer was Cheryl Dreckman with 49 points. She shot a blistering 72%. Eagles record was 14-0.
Feb. 13-Akron-Westfield lost to Marcus 81-53. Cheryl Dreckman had 38 points. The victory left the Eagles with a conference record of 9-0 and an over-all record of 15-0. There was a picture of the five cheerleaders: Liz Pearson, Andrea Dorr, Rachel Wibe, Rachelle Carver, and Darcy Downs.
Feb. 27-The Lady Eagles had their 1st round Regional action against Hinton on Feb. 22. The Eagles won 86-54 for the 3rd time this season. Cheryl Dreckman put in her career high of an awesome 55 points. The Lady Eagles meet Sgt. Bluff on Feb. 25 in Sioux City at the North Gym. If victorious, they advance to the Regional finals on Friday or Saturday night, site and time to be determined. They will then play the winner of the West Sioux vs. West Lyon game.
Also in this paper, “Martin Honored at Banquet”. Jerry Martin, Marcus girls basketball coach, has been selected as one of the regional coaches of the year by his peers and the Iowa Athletic Coaches Association.
A banquet in his honor, along with the other coaches named will be held at the Memorial Union on the State University of Iowa campus on Sunday, April 6 at 1:00 p.m. Coach Martin has a total of 474 wins during his coaching career.
March 6-The Marcus Eagles girls basketball team has made it to State and their first game will be Tuesday, March 11 at 6:30 p.m. If they win that game they will play Thursday at 2:30 p.m. If they were to win that game, they’d play semi-finals Friday at 6:30 p.m. These games will be played at Veterans Memorial Auditorium at Des Moines.
There will be both a pep bus and an adult bus. The cost to ride the pep bus is $4.00 with a charge of $4.00 on bus fare. The adult’s tickets are $4.00 and the bus fare has not yet been set. The tickets go on sale Thursday morning at 8:00 a.m. at the high school.
March 6-On To State. “It’s final, official, and it’s great!” said Jerry Martin, coach of the Marcus girls basketball team. “It’s been a lot of work for each member of the team and to ask for still more when you know they are playing at their best is difficult, but the Eagles have risen to the occasion each time.”
Game time for next Tuesday against Denison is 6:30 p.m. at the Veterans Auditorium in Des Moines.
A combination of work, dedication, determination, teamwork and cooperation are the key ingredients to a good basketball team. If your team has the fortune to go to State competition, you multiply the above ingredients by 4, throw in a bucket of good luck, a couple of prayers, make the best attempt to get one of your favorite saints on your side and then play the game like there is not next Tuesday. These then are the working ingredients that make up the Marcus Lady Eagles Basketball team.
Coach Martin, after years of door knocking at the State level, finally made it through the hallowed halls to State basketball. He is happy but he is also humble. He has confidence but is also cautions. He has the capability and he has the proof. He has a bevy of winners….Congratulations to an outstanding Coach and a terrific basketball team.
Price per ticket is $4.00. The Marcus Athletic Boosters have chartered two buses to Des Moines for the Marcus-Denison basketball game to be played Tuesday, March 11 at 6:30 p.m.
The cost is $12.00 per person (this DOES NOT include ticket for game). The buses will leave from the Marcus High School parking lot at 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 11. The buses will return to Marcus at halftime of the game that follows the Marcus-Denison game. Reserve a seat on the bus and pay for your ticket by March 8 to one of the following people: Marcia Drefke, Bonnie Collins or Sharon Rupp. LET”S BACK OUR EAGLES AT THE STATE TOURNEY!!!
March 13-A picture is show as Coach Jerry Martin delivers an inspiring speech prior to departure for Des Moines where the Marcus girls will pit their speed and skill against Denison in the first game ever for the Lady Eagles at State competition.
Here in Marcus, this Tuesday afternoon, just prior to press time, it is quiet-very quiet. And with good reason. There ain’t nobody around! Were it possible, you could blast a volley of buck shot from a shotgun and narry hit a soul on Main Street!
The best wishes of the community are heading toward Des Moines at this moment in the wish that Coach Jerry Martin and his Lady Eagles bring home the State Tourney trophy. Again, congratulations and the best of luck.
March 20_A picture is shown of the Lady Eagles and coaches introduced for the first time ever in State Competition at Des Moines. Pictured area Coach Keith Benton, Rick Collins, Cheryl Dreckman, Amy Dettmann, Ann Knudson, Terri Franck, Sara Schwarz, Dayna Smith, and head coach, Jerry Martin.
Once at State, the Lady Eagles Extend Their Record. The Eagles battled the Denison Monarchs in the first round of tournament play at Des Moines on March 11. The final score was 77 to 75 with the Eagles on top.
The Eagles dominated the game led by Cheryl Dreckman with 55 points. Ann Knudson sank 12 points and Amy Dettmann had 10. The Eagles over-all shooting percentage was 54%.
Sara Schwarz led the guard court with 9 rebounds while Dayna Smith had 8 rebounds. Eagles hold their undefeated record of 23-0, while Denison bows out with a final record of 22-2.
Then-”Eagles Defeated in Second Round Tournament Action”. The Marcus Eagles faced a vary tough game against Fairfield Thursday, March 13, in the quarter finals.
Marcus stayed close to Fairfield throughout the first half with a 1st quarter score of 14-14. But by the half, Fairfield pulled ahead with a 7 point lead, 32-25. Even though the Eagles used everything in their ability to make a second half come-back, they failed. The final score was Marcus 64-Fairfield 73.
In front of an 8,511 audience, Marcus committed 27 turnovers, their highest of the year. The pressure applied by Fairfield lowered Marcus’ shooting percentage. The Eagles connected on 27 shots out of 56 which was a 48.2% from the field.
Cheryl Dreckman, once again, led the Eagles with 33 points. Amy Dettmann had 26 points while Ann Knudson had 5.
Rebounds were dominated by Sara Schwarz with 13, Dayna Smith had 6 and Terri Franck had 5. Dreckman also led the forward court in rebounds with 5. Dettmann and Knudson each pulled down 3 rebounds.
This ended the high school career for 8 seniors consisting of Cheryl Dreckman, Amy Dettmann, Ann Knudson, Terri Franck, Dayna Smith, Sara Schwarz, Missy Glackin, and Laurie Henke.
The Eagles had a very outstanding record which they should be very proud of as they end their winning season with a 23-1 record.
March 20_“Cheerleaders Say Thanks” We would like to thank everyone who made our trip to State come true. Thanks to Marcus Oil and Greg Taylor for letting us have a car wash and the people who brought their cars in to be washed. To the Marcus businesses for the donations for the delicious dinner at Christopher’s and help in paying for our motel rooms. To the Marcus Spirit Boosters for the corsages, also the profits of sales of the buttons to help pay expenses of the rooms. To Wurth Hardware for the Eagle necklaces. To K-Products and employees for the money and lovely corsages. To Mr. and Mrs. Andreasen for the hats. To Rosemary Wibe for chaperoning us in Des Moines. To Bea Carver and Betty Pearson for the towels with our names on them.
A Big Thanks to the fans who followed our girls and boys teams. It really means a lot having you there to cheer. If we have forgotten anyone, thanks a lot.
The 1985-1986 Basketball Cheerleaders: Darcy Downs, Rachel Wibe, Rochelle Carver, Andrea Dorr, Liz Pearson, and Nancy Kauffman.
March 20-To conclude this memory of going to State, the Farmers Cooperative Elevator in Marcus joined in honoring the Marcus Eagles for earning membership in the 1986 “Sweet Sixteen” Iowa High School Girls’ State Basketball Tournament field. A team plaque recognizing this achievement was presented to the team by Dean Drefke representing Farmers Cooperative Elevator in Marcus at the Marcus Community High School Gym at the “Welcome Home” celebration.
Presentation of team plaques by Iowa Cooperatives which handle LAND O LAKES brand products and services is part of the cooperative system’s total commitment to support Iowa girls high school athletics. For 27 years, these same cooperatives have joined together to sponsor, the statewide telecast of the Girls’ State Basketball Finals.
(It wasn’t just Cheryl Dreckman’s name in the write-ups as there were the other girls as well, but all these other scores would have taken up too much space. I was at the game where they lost and yes, it was a heart-breaker for them. However, they did the best they could against a team that was just a little bit better than they were. But, think of the memories these girls have of “finally making the trip to State!”