Earl Brown '74 |
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Earl played football and track and field. Earl Brown is the most decorated athlete in Middletown track and field history with 7 District III and 7 state championships. He won the 100 and the 220 in 72-73-74 and was a member of the 880 relay team in 74. In football, his Blue Raiders won the C-A-C in 71-72-and-73 with a combined record of 30 wins, 2 losses, and 1 tie. He was given the title of Mr. PA Football in 1973. Earl rushed for 2697 yards, 4349 total yards and 48 touchdowns at Middletown. Former Offensive coordinator and later head coach Terry Eberly says, “He was a kid with fast feet and the smarts to follow his blockers”. Rival football player and track and field runner Jim Abraham of Lower Dauphin says, “You didn’t run against Earl Brown….you ran behind him.” |
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Tony Colston '64
Accepting in his memory:
Tony's cousins |
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Harvey Colston, class of '64, or Tony, as he was called, played football, basketball and track & field at Middletown. His senior year, Colston was the 1963 scoring leader in Pennsylvania with 166 points and also a member of the Big 33. He was 1st team all-state. He helped lead his Blue Raiders to an 8-1 record and a Capital Area Conference title. He rushed for almost 2900 yards. He earned 10 varsity letters at Middletown. The 63-64 basketball team went 18-6 and also took the Capital Area Conference title. Tony served his country as a Marine during the Vietnam war. He died tragically at age 24 from an auto accident. Former teammate Gary Hahn said quote: “He was the classiest person you met. He never acted like he was better than anyone else.” Fellow teammate Don Stago said, “He was the heart and soul of our team, very humble, a good guy to be around.” |
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Dave Grabuloff '93 |
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Dave Grabuloff is the all time leading scorer in Middletown basketball history, and the only one to hit the 2000 point mark. Dave led his Blue Raiders to the 1992 district 3 championship over Kennard Dale and runner up in '93. He went on to play at Florida State and then William and Mary averaging over 7 points a game. Former Middletown basketball coach Bob Heusser says quote: “When I think of Dave and his basketball career at Middletown, two things come to mind. 1) Dave could carry our team to a win by himself 2) Dave made everyone who played with him better players. I believe those two things are what stamp a player in any sport as great. Dave Grabuloff was a great player. It was an honor to have been his coach” |
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Ben Olsen '95
Photo courtesy of Washington Spirit |
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Ben played soccer and basketball at Middletown...but we know soccer was his sport. In 1993, he was the Parade Magazine National player of the year. At the University of Virginia, he tallied 34 goals and 41 assists. In ‘97, he was named Soccer America player of the year. He played 11 seasons with 29 goals professionally with D.C. United, leading them to a 1999 championship where he was the MVP. He has enjoyed stints with Nottingham Forrest, The U-S National Team, the U-S Olympic team, and played in the 2006 World Cup. He was head coach of D.C United from 2010-2020, accumulating 113 wins and Coach of the Year in 2014. Ben Olsen is now the President of Club Operations of the women’s pro soccer team the Washington Spirit. His travel team teammate, Geoff Honeysett, who played at James Madison, says, “His quickness and foot skills were at a professional level all his years, and he has an internal fire that just won’t go out. Every coach wished they had 10 Ben Olsen’s on their team.” His head coach at Middletown, Bob Stitt says, “He was a very skilled player and very smart tactically. He was a team player and he was the whole package.” |
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Missy Stewart '86 |
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Missy ran cross country and track and field. She was a 3-time state cross country champion, 1982 in AAA, 1983 and 84 in Double-A, however, her times were even better than those runners in the AAA finals those years. She also finished 5th in the 1985 state championships. Stewart also won district cross country championships in 1982 and '83. In track, she won the district and state championships in 1983 for the 1600 and 3200. One of her toughest competitors was Greencastle’s Tracy Bowers who finished behind Stewart in '83 and '84. Bowers said, “Missy had so much natural talent. In '84, she outleaned me at the finish line and I still have the picture. It was the hardest loss I had to accept. She was a great runner and she deserves this. I congratulate her.” |
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Dave Twardzik '68 |
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Dave Twardzik averaged 18 points a game during his senior season as a member of the 1968 state championship team. He was the first to score over 1000 points during his career at Middletown. He went on to play college ball at Old Dominion where he was a two time All American. He would play 4 seasons in the ABA with the Virginia Squires before the merge with the NBA when he joined the Portland Trailblazers. He would help the Blazers win the championship in 1977. He has been in the front office of several NBA teams and has done broadcasting for Portland and Old Dominion. More recently, he was a special assistant to the G-M for the San Antonio Spurs. Head coach Casper Voithofer says, “He’s a winner, he does everything that has to be done on the court, and he does it to near perfection.” Dave was unable to attend the Induction Ceremony due to a family commitment. |
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Paula Wilkins '90
Photo courtesy of University of Wisconsin |
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Paula is a 1990 grad who excelled in soccer at Middletown. There was no girls soccer at Middletown until 1989 so she played on the boys team her freshman and sophomore years and the girls team her junior and senior years. She also played basketball for the lady Raiders. She was a soccer defender at U-Mass, and captained her team to a 17-3-3 record. She was an assistant at Penn State for 7 seasons before becoming the women’s head soccer coach for 6 seasons where she was 119-19-11 and Big Ten League champion every year. Since 2007, she’s been the head coach at the University of Wisconsin with a 165-87-43 record and 8 NCAA Tournament appearances. In 2020, she became the winningest coach in the soccer program’s history. Patrick Farmer was the head coach at Penn State when Paula was his assistant. He says, “Paula was an excellent coach and tremendous positive influence and role model for the young women in the Penn State program immediately upon her arrival. She progressed to a stunning record as the Head Coach there and then at Wisconsin both in team success and developing national and world class student athletes. A truly iconic representative of central PA female athletes and coaches.” |
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Coach Ed Brunner
Accepting in his memory:
Ed's wife, Barb Brunner |
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Mr. Ed Brunner, may have graduated from Swatara High School, but he was 100% Middletown. Ed began as a teacher in Middletown in 1952. He was also the basketball coach and track and field coach. He became the principal in 1959 so his coaching days were over. He was a longtime college basketball and track and field referee, which included the Summer Olympics in 1984. He also served as the District 3 PIAA chairman. He was inducted into the Elizabethtown College Hall of Fame and the Capital Area Chapter of the PA Sports Hall of Fame. But aside from that, he impacted thousands of Middletown students with his motivation, his encouragement, his discipline, and his character. Longtime District 3 Committee member Wendell Hower, who’s now 90, says, “Ed was the type of guy that had many friends and very few enemies. He would help me find the needed direction and solutions. He was a good person and a good friend of mine.” |
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Coach Dennis Iezzi
Photo courtesy of Thaddeus Stevens College |
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Coach Dennis Iezzi has won more games than any Middletown football coach in its 100 year history. From 1982 to 1995, his record of 109 wins-52 losses-2 ties included 5 league titles and 2 District III championships in 1986 and 1988. There were no state football playoffs in 1986. However, his '88 team lost in the Eastern Finals. Since leaving Middletown, Iezzi has been an assistant coach at Kutztown University, Alvernia College, and he’s currently the head coach at Thaddeus Stevens College in Lancaster. Legendary Hershey football coach Gump May said, “Coaching against Dennis was family. The best fight I ever had was with my brother, 6 years older and a boxer in the Navy. We fought like crazy, but loved each other. Denny and I had the same relationship as rivals. I still have a Middletown football coffee mug on my desk. Congratulations and God Bless one heck of a football coach.” |
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Coach John Rowan |
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John Rowan is the winningest coach in Middletown sports history. He coached at Middletown for over 40 years. Thirty-three years of cross country coaching at both the junior high and senior high levels for both boys and girls and fielded the first girls' cross country team in the area in 1974. He coached for basketball at the 7th, 8th, and 9th grade levels for boys and girls for 40 years and also boys and girls track for 33 years at the high school level. He amassed a grand total of 1,156 career victories, 30 league championships, and coached many individual state champions, some of which are here tonight. Alumni President Earl Bright says: "Former students and athletes of Mr. Rowan remember him as an excellent teacher and coach that instilled pride, discipline, values, and a good work ethic.” Lt. Colonel Kevin McNamara class of '84 had Rowen from 7th grade thru 12th grade and said, “He was the most influential role model and coach a Blue Raider could have. Coach Rowan is the Vince Lombardi of Middletown Sports.” |