Tetons Defy Jock Image w Nation's Highest GPA
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Transcript of Tetons Defy Jock Image w Nation's Highest GPA
8/8/2019 Tetons Defy Jock Image w Nation's Highest GPA
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/tetons-defy-jock-image-w-nations-highest-gpa 1/2
A lumn i Cen t r a l
Teton alumni show fruits
of highest teamGPA
If athletic scholarships were stock investments,
putting money on any one of the mighty Wil-liston State Tetons of 1992-94 would have been
extremely smart, especially if the goal was to
make a positive difference in the world.
While male basketball players often have a
"dumb jock" reputation, this team turned those
expectations upside down, earning the very
highest GPA among 460 U.S. community col-
leges for two straight years, and they're stillmaking their mark today.
We interviewed "Fast Fred" Fridley, Dr. TracyHjelmstad, Dr. Brett Vibeto and Dave Leomabout those pivotal years that raised the bar of
excellence for future students at Williston State.
Leom, now a math teacher in Milaca, MN,was
recruited from Watford City High where, at 6'8",he was known as "Tree" and,along with Frid-
ley, helped Watford City win the state champi-onship his senior year.
Leom, who had a 3.94 GPA in high school,
heard embarrassing reports about some un-derachieving athletes
at Williston State,
he said, but formerrecruiter and WSC
Coach Terry Olson in-
sisted on a change.
N ow Director of theW SC Foundation, Ter-
ry explains: "W e were
looking for a better
caliber player, a better
caliber person and a
better caliber
student, and
Dave was allof that."
D a v e L e o m , M a t h T e a c h e r ,
M i l a c a , M N
" M y d a d w a s a p a r t sm a n a g e r a t a J o h n D e e r e
d e a l e r s h i p , " s a id L e o m ,
"H e d i d n ' t h a v e e n o u g h
m o n e y s a v e d t o s e n d u s t o
c o l l e g e , s o W i l li s to n S t a t e
s c h o l a r s h i p s h e l p e d a l o t . "
Y et Leomrecalls thatthe cost ofcollege was a
major hurdle." D a d didn't
have enough money
saved to send us tocollege, so Williston
State scholarshipshelped a lot."
Leom and team-
mate Sean
Stephens, now
a Ph. D. psy-chologist in hishome countryof Trinidad,
helped create
a new culture
at the basket-
ball player'sdorm, POPSHouse, now apri-vate residence at 603 E. 18th St E. in Williston.
Brett V i b e t o
"When I got there, there were loud parties latat night so you couldn't sleep or prepare for
classes," said Leom. But he wasn't about t
his academic record slip.
"Sean and I sat down
with the guys and said,
This shouldn't be go-ing on. I f you want to
party, do it elsewhere.'"
"W e had a mindsetand expectation,"
explained Dr. Tracy
Hjelmstad, now a podi-
atric surgeon at Trinity
Hospital in Minot. "Therecruiting message was
clear: We're
not just look-
ing for talent.
We're looking
f or mature,
good people,w ho work
hard both on
and of f thecourt,' and
that became
the standardat Williston."
: , s
D r . T r a c y H j e l m s t a d , P o d i a t r i c
Surgeon , Minot, N O
E i g h t g u y s r e c e i v e d
s t r a i g h t A s . " F r o m o u t s id e
l o o k i n g i n , y o u m a y t h i n k ,' W h a t a b u n c h o f n e r d s . '
B u t I t a k e p r id e in t h a t . W e
w o u l d b e a t te a m s w e h a d
n o b u s i n e s s p l a y in g , c o m e
h o m e , d o o u r h o m e w o r k ,
t h e n g o w a t c h a m o v i e . "
8/8/2019 Tetons Defy Jock Image w Nation's Highest GPA
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So much so that eight guys received straight As,earning the honor for highest GPA in the Na-
tional Junior College Athletic Association.
"From outside looking
in, you may think,
What a bunch of
nerds,'" said Hjelm-stad, fresh out of
an ankle ligamentsurgery. "But I take
pride in that. We'd
beat teams we had
no business playing,
come home, do our
homework, then go
watch a movie."D r . Bret t V ibe to , G e n e r a l
S u r g e o n , Will iston, N D
" O h ,w e h a d
o u rf u na t P O P S H o u s e . T h e
a l l - n i g h t v i d e o g a m e s ,
a n d f e e d i n g o u r h i g h -
c h o l e s t e r o l f is h w i t h h o t
d o g s . B u t t h e r e w a s a n
u n w r i t te n r u l e t h a t W i l-
l i s t o n S t a t e a t h l e t e s f i r s t
t a k e c a r e o f b u s i n e s s . "
" O h , we had
our fun at
POPS House,"
said Dr. BrettVibeto, now a
general sur-
geon at Mercy
Medical Center
inWilliston.
" B u t there was
an unwritten
rule that Wil-
liston State
athletes first
take care of
business."
Fridley, all-time
scoring leader at
WSC and now
a coach and
health teacher
at the Universi-
ty of Mary, said
that's a rule
he follows as
head coach of
the women's
basketball
team.
"I ask for equal ef fort on the floor and in the
classroom," said Fridley. "In six years I've had
seven Academic All-Americans and out of 19
sports at our school, our team has had the
highest academic rating for five years in a row."
The guys are thankful for the donors and
professors who helped ^ — ^
make those glory
years possible.
In turn, Fridley says,
he knows he and oth-
ers wil l return the
favor, keeping the
Teton tradition go-
i n g . "As they say, you
never forget where
you started. I know
the Teton alumni will
give back once we're
established."
F r e d Fridley, C o a c h a n d
T e a c h e r , U n i v e r s it y o f Mary,
B i smarck , I\ID
"M y strongest
memory,"
said Coach
Olson, "was
huddling
with the
guys, tears
in my eyes,
af ter losing
the regional
champion-ship of 1994,
and not being
able to finish
my speech,"
unusual even to this day, he said.
"It wasn't that we lost, but that I wanted one
more time to call them the champions that
they were."
( F o r more alumni stories and a full list of
where the champion Tetons are today, visit
www.wscfoundation.com.)
" W h a t o t h e r s in v e s t i n
y o u p a y s o f f t e n f o l d , e s -
p e c i a l l y a t a s m a l l c o l l e g e
l ik e W i ll is t o n S t a t e . Y o u r
m o n e y , a n d t h e o n e - o n -
o n e a t t e n t i o n o f p r o f e s -
s o r s , i s g o i n g t o a f f e c t
e v e r y o n e i n t h e s c h o o lc o m m u n i t y i n s o m e w a y . "
Aafedts perpetuate9 ' w n g t oWSC a tW e t e s
.
F a s t F r e d " F r i d le y