CROTHERSVILLE
Crothersville High School inducted two of their first five Hall of Fame members during Saturday night’s boys basketball game against Switzerland County.
Fran Schill and Carl Bowman were the first two inductees and were honored before the varsity tipoff.
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It’s very important to Crothersville athletic director Greg Kilgore to honor someone like Bowman, who has coached the girls cross country and boys track teams since 1979.
“I think it’s drastically important,” he said. “Especially in a small town, because Carl [Bowman] has done so much here for 40 years.”
He also coached the girls basketball team for a season in 1977-78.
Bowman and Schill had a lasting impact on Kilgore, who attended CHS.
“He was my eighth grade [basketball] coach,” Kilgore said. “Fran was the athletic director and the girls coach when I was in school, and you see the same people in a small school like this day in and day out.”
Schill was a multi-sport athlete at Crothersville from 1952-56, playing baseball and basketball while also running cross country and track.
He was the baseball coach from 1974-80 before taking over as the girls basketball coach from 1980-87. He served as the CHS athletic director from 1978-85.
In a town like Crothersville, it’s a big deal to pay respect to those that came before you says Kilgore.
“You grow up with them and see their kids and their grand kids grow up too,” Kilgore said. “You end up coaching some of their kids and grand kids.
“It’s just a respect thing to show those people what they mean to Crothersville.”
The other three members of the inaugural CHS Hall of Fame — Cheryl Nehrt, Carol Otte and Jerry Owens — will be inducted during this Friday’s home game against Hauser.
Nehrt was involved with volleyball, cheerleading and track during her athletic career at Crothersville and served as the athletic director from 2002-2016. She still coaches the girls track team.
Otte was the girls basketball coach for the 1970-71 season and volleyball coach for 15 years from 1970-85. She was also the girls track coach from 1970-2005.
Owwns was a three-sport athlete, participating in baseball, basketball and track from 1960-64. He was the baseball coach from 1972-74 and the athletic director from 1992-02. He served two stints as the boys basketball coach, first from 1978-85 and again from 1999-02.