BLANCHARDVILLE — Pecatonica High School is adding six former students to its athletic hall of fame. Angie Gruenenfelder, Joe Spellman, Tom Kammerude, Larry Larson, Ardell Lunda and Donald Disrud, all graduates of Hollandale, Blanchardville and the now-Pecatonica High School.

Donald Disrud, Hollandale Class of 1933

Disrud was born in 1915 and played basketball and baseball. After high school, Disrud attended Platteville College, where he played both baseball and basketball, eventually being named captain and all-conference his senior year. He was also class president his senior year of college.

After college, Disrud turned down a minor-league baseball offer to teach. He worked in Poynette for five years, coaching basketball and baseball, and spent 12 years at Elkhorn as assistant principal and basketball coach. His team won the Southern Wisconsin Conference title in 1945, and in 1955 he moved to Brookfield and taught math in the Elmbrook School District for 23 years.

Larry Larson, Blanchardville Class of 1955

Larson lettered in football, basketball, baseball, volleyball and track and field in high school. He was a 3-time letter-winner in football, playing quarterback. As a captain his senior year, Larson helped lead the Golden Eagles to an unbeaten 7-0 record to win the 8-Man State Line League championship. As a junior, Larson’s team won the 6-Man State Line League championship with an 8-0 record. The Golden Eagles finished second in the league his sophomore year and won the league in his freshman season in 1951.

Larson was a 4-year varsity player in basketball, winning MVP honors his junior and senior seasons. He was all-conference as a senior, scoring 340 points. He was a letter-winner and catcher in baseball, ran track for two years and played volleyball for three years.

Larson attended college at UW-Platteville where he was the quarterback of the football team. His roommate was Dr. Tom Davis of Ridgeway, who went on to coach at Boston College, Stanford and Iowa.

Larson played Home Talent Baseball for Blanchardville as a catcher, third baseman and manager. He was a league all-star in 1956, 1957 and 1958, and hit .415 in 1962. He spent 21 seasons with the Bullets.

Larson has been a long-time supporter of Pecatonica area athletics, a basketball referee, served on the Blanchardville Village Board and as Village Assessor, spent 18 years as a rural mail carrier and operated the Hitching Post Bar and Grill for 12 years.

Ardell Lunda, Hollandale Class of 1957

Lunda was a letter-winner as a receiver in football as a sophomore and junior and averaged over 20 points per game in basketball as a junior. He was selected by the Madison area rival coaches as a leading rebounder as a 5-11 center.

In baseball, he was the team ace his sophomore and junior seasons and was the ace of the Hollandale Home Talent team after his freshman and sophomore years.

Lunda’s athletic career was cut short after a tragic car accident May 12, 1956 in which he suffered two broken legs as a passenger. Two others in the accident lost their lives in the crash. Former coach Vernon Hanson once said, “Ardell was one of the best athletes I ever coached.”

Tom Kammerude, Blanchardville Class of 1967

A 3-sport athlete for the Golden Eagles, Kammerude played baseball, football and basketball. After high school, Kammerude joined the Navy, eventually competing in the Navy Fast Pitch Softball league and was a champion of the league in 1970 and 1971.

In 1973, Kammerude began officiating football, basketball and baseball. He officiated state championship football games in 2000 and 2006 in Division 2, as well as the 2014 All-Star Game. Since retiring the whistle, he’s joined the chain crew. Starting in 2008 he worked the chain crew for the WIAA state championship games, and since 2010 has been a Big Ten Chain Crew for home games of the Wisconsin Badgers.

Kammerude has umpired baseball at various levels, including high school, college and the minor leagues. In 45 years of umpiring, he’s spent time on the field at various regional and sectional games, as well as the 2011 and 2012 state championships, and the 2009, 2015 and 2018 All-Star games. In 2008 and 2009, he umpired at the NJCAA District Tournament Championships in Florida.

Home Talent League has long been one of Kammerude’s passions, serving as manager, umpire and umpire coordinator, beginning with the Blanchardville Bullets in 1967 and serving until 2017. The Bullets were Final Four teams under his watch in 1977, ’79, ’81, ’89 and ’90. He was named HTL Manager of the Year in ’77, ’79 and ’89. In 25 years of umpiring after managing, Kammerude highlighted his time with umpiring the league’s all-star game from 2007-2017.

He’s been awarded for his umpiring six times by various leagues and state commissions. 

Joe Spellman, Pecatonica Class of 1976

Spellman earned 14 varsity letters in high school, including four in baseball and four in track and field, where he excelled in the 100- and 200-yard dashes, as well as the low hurdles. In basketball, Spellman was a 2-year starter for the Vikings and was honorable mention all-conference and captain his senior year.

In football, Spellman was the defensive MVP his sophomore year, intercepting 14 passes on the season, including a state-record 7 against Argyle. The 14 INTs in one season is the second-most in Wisconsin prep history. As a junior Spellman set a State Line League record with 108 points scored in league play, and 118 overall. He was unanimously selected to both offensive and defensive all-conference teams, having rushed for 1,039 yards. His senior season, Spellman rushed for 1,624 yards and 21 TDs, again being a unanimous selection to the all-conference team and was honorable mention all-state.

His 24 career interceptions rank ninth in WFCA history, and he finished with 3,123 yards rushing and 46 TDs. Pecatonica ended Shullsburg’s 19-game win streak when he rushed for 416 yards and four TDs. The yardage mark is the 17th highest in state history for a single game. His team had a collective 25-2 record during his tenure, and in 1975 the Monroe Evening Times reported that “Spellman will undoubtedly be remembered as one of the best players in the long history of the State Line League.” Former football coach Jim Kinder said, “Joe’s one of those kids a coach might get once in a lifetime. He’s probably the best all-around athlete I’ll ever coach.”

Spellman played running back for UW-Platteville in college and was honorable mention all-conference his senior year with the Pioneers.

Angie Gruenenfelder, Pecatonica Class of 1988

A 3-sport athlete in high school, Gruenenfelder lettered in volleyball, basketball and softball for the Vikings. She was a captain and team MVP of the volleyball team in 1986 and ’87. She was named second-team all-conference in the State Line League in 1986 and was first-team all-conference and league MVP as a senior in 1987.

In basketball, Gruenenfelder was a captain in her junior and senior years, and team MVP three times. She was first-team all-conference her junior and senior seasons and made a number of all-area teams. She averaged 17.8 points and 9.6 rebounds per game her senior year, the same year the 3-point line was implemented.

Gruenenfelder earned four varsity letters in softball, helping the Vikings to conference championships her junior and senior seasons. Pecatonica was also regional champions in 1987. She was a first-team all-conference selection in her junior and senior years as an infielder with a collective batting average of .442.

After high school she attended MATC where she played basketball and softball and won three awards. She went on to play adult softball with the USSSA and played in multiple national tournaments in Las Vegas, Reno, Lancaster, Calif., and Fargo since 2003. She’s been named to the all-tournament team six times and was the tournament MVP three times, most recently in 2012.