2015 Bobcat Hall of Fame members inducted

Coaches, teams, friends and family gathered last week to celebrate the accomplishments of sports and activities at Hot Springs County High School and witness the induction of the 2015 Hall of Fame.

Each sport, from football to volleyball, wrestling and cheerleading as well as the music department and speech and debate team gave a recap of their individual seasons before the Hall of Fame ceremony.

Allen Bucher

Inducted into the Hall of Fame for Male Athlete, was 1980 graduate Allen Bucher, a three-sport letterman for the Bobcats from 1977 to 1980.

In football, Bucher lettered three years, earning All Conference honors in 1980 while leading the Cats in both receptions and interceptions.

As a 105-pounder, Bucher lettered in wrestling in 1977 as a freshman on the varsity squad.

The sport where Bucher excelled, however, was swimming, earning three varsity letters in 1978-1980. He was an All-State honorable mention in one meter diving in 1978 and the 100-yard breast stroke in 1980.

In 1979 and 1980, he earned First Team All-State honors in one meter diving, and in 1980 earned the recognition for a second time as a member of the 400 meter relay team. Those two years he was also state diving champion.

Bucher went on to the University of Wyoming where he earned a degree in MIS/Computer Science, and later earned a Master's Degree in Engineering from the University of Colorado.

He is currently the Senior Executive and Co-owner of Advanced Solutions, Inc. in Littleton, Colo.

Mark Whitt

Special Contributor for the 2015 Hall of Fame is "Voice of the Bobcats", Mark Whitt.

A graduate of Hot Springs County High School, Whitt broadcast both football and basketball games from 1998 to 2012.

One of the highlights of his broadcasting career was calling two boys basketball and two football state championships.

He also served as the president of the Bobcat Booster Club from 1998 to 2005, raising funds for the sports programs and for equipment for the Bobcat athletes who could not afford the required equipment for their sport.

2004 Boys basketball team

Acknowledged as one of the greatest in Wyoming basketball history, the 2003-04 Bobcat basketball team was an obvious choice for induction into the Hall of Fame.

On their way to repeating as class 3A State Champions, 2004 team averaged 79.5 points per game, allowing just 45.4 points by their opponents, creating a whopping 34.1 point margin, recalled as the best in the state.

They headed to the state tournament with a 24-0 record.

Eight members of that team were also part of the previous year's championship team and six went on to be part of the 2005 team.

Noted for their fast paced passing attack, defensively, they regularly held opponents to zero points for entire quarters.

Several of the members went on to play on the college level.

Team members included James Van Heule, Logan Stevenson, Jake Schmidt, Brant Kummerfeld, AJ Grieve, Blaine Christensen, Nathan Miller, Kyle Lash, Matt Larson, Brian Fuchs, Gary Benefiel and Mat Cordingly.

The team was coach by Mike Ibach, assisted by Parke Price and Pete Hoffman.