MSCTC champs find niches

By Tom Hintgen (Contact) | The Daily Journal

Published Monday, February 18, 2008

Ten years ago, when the 1998 MSCTC Spartan men’s basketball team coached by Dave Retzlaff won the national title and finished 29-0, the players knew that education would be the key to long-range success. That’s not to say that players didn’t rightfully bask in the glory that was theirs.

Some team members went on to play basketball at four-year colleges, including Jason Retzlaff who starred at NDSU and has succeeded his father as Spartan men’s coach. During the year 2000, reality set in. It was time to get jobs and get on with their lives.

All of them have done just that.

One of them, Staples native Chris Heier, was a freshman on the 1998 title team who later married Rothsay native Anita Follingstad, a member of the Spartan women’s basketball team coached by Ann Williams.

Today the Heiers live in Hawley with their two children, Tanner, 4, and Kinsey, 1-1/2. Chris is an IT analyst for Cargill in Fargo and Anita teaches math in Hawley. She’s also assistant basketball coach and head fastpitch softball coach.

Both Chris and Anita played basketball, following their Spartan days, at Mayville State College where they graduated in 2001.

Anita’s sister, Alayna, also played basketball for Williams and was a member of the 2001 Spartan women’s national championship team. She teaches kindergarten in Ada-Borup. The are among six children whose parents are Gene and Carol Follingstad of Rothsay.

A sister, Alisha, teaches middle school math and is head volleyball coach in Big Lake. Angela teaches PE/Health in Fergus Falls. Brother Arick is a substitute teacher in the Fergus Falls area and works at Flatin Insulation for his father. Brother Arlyn also works at Flatin Insulation.

Nate Grove, a member of the 1998 Spartan national title team and one of eight Grove siblings from Grey Eagle to participate in athletics at MSCTC, lives with his wife Amie in St. Joseph. He’s a regional sales and marketing manager for a Twin Cities-based health care company.

Brothers Bob and Jim Schlieman played at Lac Qui Parle Valley High School. Bob now works as a civil engineer and lives in Detroit Lakes. Jim lives near Fargo and is employed as a land surveyor.

Tommy Chatman, who came to the Spartans from Jordan near the Twin Cities, lives with his wife Christine in Brooklyn Park and is a busy farther of three. He is a basketball trainer and coach at 43 Hoops Basketball Academy in Hopkins.

Also in basketball as a career is Jonny Reese who is owner of Jonny’s Private Basketball Training. Chris Fernholz is an assistant men’s basketball coach at Rochester CTC and is a high school business teacher.

Matt Davis lives in Brooklyn Park and is a regional account manager for Comcast Cable. Andy Lerberg lives in Crystal and is service manager for Plymouth Plumbing Corp.

Andy Swedberg works at Swedberg Nursery in Battle Lake, Nick Retzlaff (Jason’s cousin) is a land developer in Minneapolis and C.J. Rutherford works for Strategic Company and lives in Brooklyn Park.

Assistant coach for the 1998 Spartans was Rick Odden. Student manager Joshua Noble now is a substitute teacher in Fergus Falls.

“Each of the 13 members of the 1998 national title team knew his role,” Dave Retzlaff said. “They were friends both on and off the court and played unselfishly — big reasons for our success 10 years ago.”