Ankeny softball star Jenny Voss wanted to end her high school career with another state championship in the summer of 1996.
When she found out that legendary coach Dick Rasmussen was going to retire at the end of the season, her motivation to win soared even higher.
“After finding out he was retiring, all the things–big and small–just meant that much more, but the moments I appreciated most with him were after we would end our offensive half of the inning and he would walk from his third-base coaching box to retrieve the game ball, dust it off, and wait for me to get out to the mound to hand me the ball and give me some words of encouragement,” Voss recalled. “Mind you he had done this every season, but there was just an extra unspoken meaning to it when I would look him in the eye and say, ‘Thanks, coach.’
“And ultimately, that is what the moral of my Hawkette softball career comes down to. Thank you coach Ras for caring about us as athletes and individuals, facilitating a top-notch program, and providing a positive experience that was challenging and fun!” she added.
Rasmussen, who won a record 13 titles and took 27 teams to the state tournament, credited the success of the program to his players.
“You can talk about coaching all you want, but if you don’t have the athletes, it’s pretty tough to win,” he said. “And I always had the athletes, and they knew how to play the game.”
Earlier this week, Ankeny Fanatic announced the first two installments of its all-time Ankeny softball team. Now, it’s time to unveil the first team.
Voss is one of the members of this elite squad. Here, then, are the best 12 players ever produced by the city of Ankeny:
FIRST TEAM
Deb Schneider, P: A 1980 graduate of Ankeny High School, Schneider was a three-time all-state pick who played on several state championship teams, going undefeated in the state tournament (17-0) during her career. She finished with a record of 139-10, the most wins in Ankeny’s history. Her .933 winning percentage ranks among the best ever in the state. “I have many, many great memories, but when I look back we had a lot of talent across the teams but what made us successful was the great teamwork, dedication, heart and friendships we built along with coach Rasmussen’s leadership driving us to be leaders and winners on and off the field,” said Schneider, who compiled an ERA of 0.91 in her career. “One of my favorite memories was my senior year winning the 1980 summer state tournament. That was a great way to end our high school career!” Schneider was not an overpowering pitcher, but she knew how to get batters out, relying heavily on a changeup and her outstanding control. She was named to the all-tournament team after Ankeny defeated West Lyon, 4-2, to win its first state title in the 1977 fall campaign. She allowed just four hits in the entire 1978 state tournament, giving her a share of the 16-team tournament record for fewest hits allowed. She was also an all-tournament pick in the fall of 1978, when the Hawkettes completed a perfect 24-0 season. “She could put the ball on a dime and give you a nickel change,” Rasmussen said. “She used her changeup a lot in a very effective way. She knew how to throw it and where to throw it, and it seemed to bother the hitters. She was definitely a winner.” Schneider went on to play one season at the University of Iowa before finishing her career at Central College, where she was a three-time team MVP for the Dutch. She was inducted into the IGHSAU Softball Hall of Fame in 1997. “There are athletes that make positive things happen for their team. Deb was that athlete,” Rasmussen said at the time of her Hall of Fame induction. “She was the heart of her team. She spent hours in development toward maintaining her excellence.” In 2006, Schneider was ranked 40th on the list of Ankeny High School’s 50 greatest athletes by the Ankeny Register & Press Citizen.
Shayla Starkenburg, P: She was a two-time all-stater who compiled a 76-25 career record from 2009-12. As a freshman, she went 11-10 with a 1.03 ERA for Ankeny, which was ranked ninth at the end of the regular season before falling to eventual state champion Johnston, 2-1, in a regional semifinal. In 2010, she posted a 12-10 mark with a 1.68 ERA and tossed a pair of shutouts. As a junior, she was named to the all-tournament team after helping the Hawkettes to a runner-up finish in Class 4A. She tossed a two-hitter for her fifth shutout of the season in a 4-0 win over Burlington in the semifinals. She went 22-5 with a 1.60 ERA and 130 strikeouts. She was a second-team all-state pick. As a senior, Starkenburg made only one plate appearance to concentrate on her pitching, and she responded with one of the best seasons in school history–going a perfect 31-0 with a 0.58 ERA as Ankeny won the Class 5A title. “I was lucky enough to be there when Shayla had her incredible run,” said Bingham, who was the Hawkettes’ assistant coach under Amy Farmer at the time. “That was an amazing season.” She had 15 shutouts, including the last four games of her career, and threw a pair of no-hitters. The Hawkettes allowed no runs in the state tournament, setting a 5A record. Starkenburg set three records by allowing no runs while posting three shutouts and 21 scoreless innings, and she tied another mark by allowing just eight hits. In the championship game, she tossed a three-hitter as Ankeny posted a 2-0 victory over Des Moines East in a rematch of the previous year’s final. “I will never forget the feeling of winning state my senior year!” Starkenburg said. “The whole state tournament experience is by far my favorite memory of my high school career. There were so many memorable moments in just those few short days- Our team parents decorated the bus, made us goodie bags and waved us off. When we got to Fort Dodge we stayed in the Iowa Central dorms for the entirety of the tournament. We ate in the college cafeteria, we played games, hung out with other teams and just had so much fun! Ultimately, the best part was getting revenge and beating East to win the tournament! Then we ended the trip with a fun bus ride home and being welcomed back to town by all our family and friends to celebrate! I had played softball with most of these girls since I was 10 years old, so to end our high school careers together as state champs was extra special.” Starkenburg became the 13th pitcher to throw three consecutive shutouts in the tournament and was a repeat selection to the all-tournament team. She racked up 222 strikeouts and was named to the all-state first team. She was also the Class 5A pitcher of the year. She went on to play at Iowa, where she made 126 career appearances and threw 58 complete games while recording 409 career strikeouts. She ranks in the top 10 in school history in all three of those categories. She also threw a no-hitter against Southern Utah in 2015.
Jenny Voss, P: She was a five-year starter who led Ankeny to a pair of state titles. As a freshman in 1993, she set a school record with 19 strikeouts in a 7-0 win over Newton, breaking the mark that was set by her sister, Holly, a year earlier. “It was so special getting to play those first two summers with my sister,” Voss said. “Getting to play side-by-side with your best friend who has been the one you have looked up to from day one–the one who motivates, pushes, and challenges you to put in the work and be the best ‘you’–it was nothing short of amazing.” As a sophomore, she tossed three consecutive shutouts at the state tournament to tie the three-class record, allowing no runs in 26 innings. In the semifinals, she tossed a four-hitter to beat Des Moines Lincoln, 1-0, in 12 innings. She then threw a two-hitter in a 3-0 victory over Des Moines East in the final and was named the captain of the Class 3A all-tournament team. She was also selected to the all classes all-tournament team. In 1995, she threw a no-hitter in a consolation game against Cedar Rapids Jefferson, helping the Hawkettes to a sixth-place finish. She allowed just five earned runs as a senior, when she went 39-2 to break the school record for most wins in a season. She was again named to the all-tournament team after tossing a four-hitter to beat Urbandale, 3-0, in the championship game. “Jenny threw very hard,” Rasmussen said. “She had a good drop, a good change and a good riseball. I always said her catcher never had a ball get through her–and that’s because Jenny was always around the strike zone. She was a very effective pitcher.” Ankeny closed out the season with a 29-game winning streak after Rasmussen announced his retirement, allowing just 20 runs during that stretch, and finished with a 45-3 record–the most wins in school history. “Early on in the season coach Ras had me come sit by him on the bus ride home from an away game,” Voss said. “We were talking about the game as we often did and got into talking about the season. He told me this was going to be his last–that he was going out with us. I don’t think he had officially made this announcement yet. I told him my full intention was to end my high school career a state champion, and my teammates and I would do everything in our power to make his last year one of the best with one more state championship trophy to add to his legendary coaching career. He deserved to go out on top, and it was such an honor to play a small part in making that happen.” Voss had back-to-back no-hitters in the district tournament, then tossed a perfect game to beat Council Bluffs Lincoln, 1-0, in a regional semifinal. She compiled an ERA of 0.125 while also batting .288 with two home runs and 20 RBIs. She was a four-time all-state selection, including a three-time first-team pick. She tossed 71 shutouts, 14 no-hitters and four perfect games in her career, finishing with a mark of 121-22. She set school records for most strikeouts (40-foot distance) in a season (343 in 1996) and career (1,145). She went on to become a four-year starter at Nebraska, where she earned all-American honors in 1998 when she led the nation with 40 wins and set numerous school records. Those 40 wins are tied for 12th most in a season in NCAA history. She ended that season by hurling 101 consecutive scoreless innings over a stretch of 14 games. In 2001, she was inducted into the IGHSAU Softball Hall of Fame. Also a basketball and track standout in high school, she was ranked 12th on the list of Ankeny’s greatest athletes. “If you ask me, playing softball for the Hawkettes was the absolute best way to spend the summer!” Voss said. “I was thankful for the Ankeny softball experience while I was in it, but really gained a whole new appreciation and perspective on it once I was in college and learned that many athletes have negative experiences playing sports. Whether it be due to teammates, parents or coaches, their enjoyment of playing sports was altered at some point. I loved playing so much I don’t think I would have let anyone or anything get in the way of that, but I feel truly blessed to never have experienced this in my years playing softball, or any sport for that matter, at Ankeny.”
Kendyl Lindaman, C: She was a five-time all-state pick who held the career home run record at both Ankeny schools when she graduated from Centennial in 2016. As an eighth grader at Ankeny in 2012, she was named the captain of the all-tournament team after leading Ankeny to the first-ever Class 5A title. She became the 15th player in tournament history to homer twice in the same game in a 13-0 victory over Marshalltown in the quarterfinals. She then homered and drove in all four runs in a 4-0 win over Iowa City West in the semifinals, setting a 5A tournament record with her third home run. She also drove in nine runs in the tournament, setting another mark. She batted .423 with 12 home runs and 42 RBIs. In 2013, she batted .523 and tied the state’s single-season record with 24 home runs. She equaled the mark with a two-run homer during Ankeny’s 8-1 win over Cedar Rapids Prairie in the Class 5A quarterfinals. She was again named to the all-tournament team after helping the Hawkettes to a third-place finish in their final season as one varsity program. She had four multi-homer games and set the school record for career homers with 36 in just two seasons. She had 67 hits, 60 RBIs and a 1.211 slugging percentage–all of which set AHS single-season records. “There’s just not many like her,” said Bingham, who coached Lindaman that season. “She came into the program and helped us a lot (as an eighth grader). That freshman year when she chased the home run record, we didn’t talk about it much but that was pretty cool. Technically, she pretty much had a perfect swing for her and her ability, and she mastered it.” Lindaman then moved across town to Centennial for her final three seasons. As a junior, she broke the state’s all-time home run record when she hit her 55th career roundtripper during the Jaguars’ 9-0 victory in the second game of a doubleheader at Ankeny. After hitting 10 homers in both 2014 and 2015, she batted .546 with 15 homers and 38 RBIs as a senior. She was a three-time Class 5A player of the year and ended her career with 71 homers and 59 over a four-year span, which ranked fourth nationally at the time. “I would definitely say setting the all-time home run record and winning state were the highlights of my career,” Lindaman said. She went on to become an all-American at Minnesota, where she set numerous school records and was the two-time Big Ten Player of the Year before transferring to Florida, where she also earned all-American honors for the Gators. She is planning to pursue the next stage of her softball career, which could include an opportunity to play for the USA National team. “I know she’s going to play as long as she can, and I’m thankful for that,” Bingham said. Someday, Lindaman will be inducted into the IGHSAU Softball Hall of Fame. Let’s make her the co-captain of our all-time team.
Aly Cappaert, 1B: A lefthanded power-hitter, Cappaert relied on a sweet stroke to become a three-time all-stater at Ankeny. As a freshman in 2009, she batted .411 with 12 doubles and 22 RBIs as the Hawkettes posted a 25-14 record for the program’s best season since 2001. In 2010, she batted .543 with 34 RBIs and set a single-season school record with 21 doubles. She also tied the Ankeny mark for home runs with six, but she went on to smash that record the following year, when she batted .582 and blasted 13 homers. She set a school record with 51 RBIs as Ankeny went 35-8 and placed second in the Class 4A state tournament, despite having no seniors on the roster. She also set a school record with 70 walks, the second-most all time in Iowa. She had a home run in a 4-1 win over top-ranked Bettendorf in the quarterfinals, which handed the Bulldogs their first loss in 43 games, and was later named to the all-tournament team. Cappaert was selected the Class 4A co-player of the year. As a senior, Cappaert batted .544 with 12 homers, 18 doubles and 45 RBIs as the Hawkettes went 39-6 and claimed the Class 5A crown. She homered in a quarterfinal win over Marshalltown as Ankeny set a single-game Class 5A record with four roundtrippers. She was a repeat selection to the all-tournament team and was named the Class 5A player of the year. She set a single-season school record with 62 hits, and she finished her career with 31 homers and 65 doubles–both all-time bests at the time. “My favorite memory is the amount of fans that would show up night after night to cheer on our team. Ankeny fans are awesome!” said Cappaert. “It did not matter if it was a home game or an away game, we drew in some of the largest softball crowds I’ve ever seen. Specifically, our regional final games to go to state–the stands were full and we had fans 2-3 deep all the way around the outfield.” Cappaert said she will always remember the scorching conditions at the 2011-12 state tournaments as well. “The on-field temperatures were projected to be up over 110 degrees, so coach Farmer told us we had to be the most hydrated team at the tournament,” she said. “We played the Beanboozled Jelly Bean game on the bus and drank almost two cases of water on the ride to Fort Dodge each year. Some players from other teams and umpires had to get medical attention for dehydration/heat, but we did not!” Cappaert went on to become a standout at Iowa State, where she ranks third in Cyclone history with 38 home runs, fourth in batting average (.347) and sixth in hits (192). In 2014, she earned first-team all-Midwest Region honors, becoming the first Cyclone (along with teammate Brittany Gomez) to accomplish the feat this century. A year later, she was named to the all-Big 12 first team. She was the 2016 Big 12 Scholar Athlete of the Year, and she went on to become a volunteer assistant coach at Drake.
Sue Frederick, 2B: She was a two-time first-team all-state pick in 1984-85, helping Ankeny to a pair of fall championships and a 47-game winning streak during that stretch. As a sophomore in 1983, she placed second among the Hawkettes with 32 hits. She led her team with a .405 average and 34 hits as Ankeny won the 1983 fall title. In the summer of 1984, she batted .384 in helping the Hawkettes to a runner-up finish. She scored the winning run in the ninth inning on a single by Kim Kloppenburg to give Ankeny a 4-3 victory over defending champion Cedar Rapids Jefferson in the semifinals. The Hawkettes then dropped a 3-2 decision to Davenport West in eight innings in the final. Frederick batted .407 with 33 hits as Ankeny captured the 1984 fall crown. She was named to the all-tournament team. She scored a team-high 47 runs for the 1985 team that posted a 38-1 record. Frederick fondly remembers that final season. “We had great teammates and ‘Senior 7’ sweatshirts for our last season of summer softball,” she said. “We were so fortunate to have a great team of players and friends graduating together and playing in front of big crowds. It seemed like the stands were always overflowing with supportive fans. I’m forever blessed for my time as an Ankeny Hawkette.” She was a career .350 hitter who demonstrated a lot of patience at the plate, racking up 122 career walks that set a school record at the time. “Sue was a steady second baseman. She hardly ever let a ball get by her,” Rasmussen said. “She had good speed and quickness and a good, accurate arm. And she was also a good hitter. She would get a hit when we needed them. She was a complete player.” She graduated with honors from Creighton University, where she was a four-year standout and career .302 hitter and set school career records for hits (209) and stolen bases (47). As a sophomore, she set single-season school marks with 69 hits and 41 runs scored and then tied her hit record with 69 in her senior campaign. Over a three-year stretch, Frederick had 31 straight successful stolen base attempts, a feat which puts her 23rd on the all-time Division I list. She twice was named to the all-region first team. She went on to play for the Virginia Roadsters in the inaugural Women’s Professional Fastpitch season in the summer of 1997. In 2000, she was inducted into the IGHSAU Softball Hall of Fame. She is beginning her 32nd year on the softball coaching staff at Missouri State, where she serves as associate head coach. She has helped the Bears to six conference championships during her tenure as well as five NCAA Tournament appearances. She was ranked 48th on the list of Ankeny’s greatest athletes.
Connie Yori, SS: She was a four-time first-team all-state pick who won the Jack North Award in her senior year in 1982. She played on four championship teams and was an all-tournament selection on six different occasions. She batted .343 as a freshman, .408 as a sophomore and .452 as a junior. After batting .417 in the 1981 fall season, she batted .366 with four home runs and 17 RBIs in the summer of 1982 to help the Hawkettes to a third-place finish. She hit two homers in that tournament, tying the record for the 16-team tournament. In the final game of her illustrious high school career, she hit a walk-off blast in the 11th inning to beat Winfield-Mount Union, 2-1, in the third-place game. She was also a talented defensive player, relying on her athleticism and superior arm–she was a three-time state track champion in the softball throw–to wreak havoc on the left side of the infield. She was inducted into the IGHSAU Softball Hall of Fame in 1987. “Connie’s an all-timer,” Rasmussen said. “She could do everything. She had a great arm, and she had speed. And she was a very good hitter. She was tough, and she could make things happen all the time.” Yori could have played softball at the collegiate level, but she elected to focus on basketball and went on to become a star at Creighton, where she racked up 2,010 career points, had her No. 25 jersey retired by the school and was inducted into the Creighton Hall of Fame in 1992. She was also inducted into the IGHSAU Basketball Hall of Fame, and she was ranked No. 1 on the list of Ankeny’s greatest athletes. “She didn’t have any problem holding her own when she played pick-up games with the guys,” said Tony Rhoads, a 1981 AHS graduate. “What a truly superior softball and basketball player she was.” Yori, who went on to become a successful women’s basketball coach at Creighton and Nebraska and is now the program advisor for Creighton, was earlier named the captain of Ankeny Fanatic’s all-time Ankeny girls’ basketball team. Let’s make her the co-captain of our all-time softball team.
Jasmine Rumley, 3B: She was a three-time all-state pick for Ankeny who also excelled as an outfielder, but spent a large chunk of her five-year varsity career at the hot corner. As a freshman in 2017, she batted .435 with nine home runs and 37 RBIs, despite playing in just 25 games due to an injury. In 2018, she batted .468 with 10 homers, 53 RBIs and 24 steals while helping the Hawkettes to a 28-13 record. As a junior, she batted .493 with 10 homers, 36 RBIs and 39 steals. In her final season in 2020, she batted .422 with eight homers, 20 RBIs and 17 steals. She homered during a loss to Dowling Catholic to break Lindaman’s Ankeny school record for career home runs. One night later, she homered again during a win over Southeast Polk for her 38th career homer, which stands as the current record. “My favorite memory on the team isn’t one specific moment,” said Rumley, who is now a member of the Tennessee women’s swimming team. “It was my senior year after every home run I hit I would be rounding third to head to home and there would be (Madeleine) Murphy with the biggest smile on her face, standing there and waiting to give me the biggest hug. That is something that reminded me why I loved playing with those girls.” Rumley was a repeat selection to the all-state first team. She finished her career with 210 hits, which ranks third in school history. “The game came really easy to her,” Bingham said. “She could play softball anywhere tomorrow. She was just so dynamic and physically gifted. She could hit it as far as any kids we’ve ever had. And some of the defensive plays she made in the field–they just weren’t human. She could have played any position. What a talent!” Rumley also enjoyed some off-the-field antics with her teammates. “During my junior year, the whole team was in Fort Dodge for the tournament we always participated in,” she recalled. “We were staying in the Iowa Central dorms, and we thought it would be funny to take (assistant coach Sarah Saladino’s) fruit-flavored tootsie rolls and hide them, but the joke was really on us because once she saw they were missing the whole team had to run. While we were heading outside Anna (Voigt) and I turned around to go get them, then went running back outside to save the team and show Sal we in fact did not eat them.”
Karlin Hayes, OF: She was a four-time first-team all-state pick who started on five state championship teams during her career. When she graduated in 1981, she held eight school records at the time, including career marks for hits (286), triples (35) and runs scored (278). She also held single-season records for hits (60), triples (11), home runs (6), walks (24) and runs scored (63). “When I reflect back on my softball days the main thing that comes to mind is the sheer confidence it seemed like the whole team had whenever we stepped onto the field,” Hayes said. “We just knew we were going to win the game and in the few instances we didn’t, it was almost shocking. As life has gone on for me, I’ve noticed that this is my approach in almost everything I do. I will be forever grateful to our coaches and my teammates to help foster in me the confidence that comes from the expectation that I will be successful no matter what it is I’m facing or doing in life.” Hayes batted a career-high .440 for the 1978 fall championship team that went undefeated and was named the captain of the all-tournament team. She also excelled on defense, using her speed to run down fly balls in center field. “Karlin was fast and had a good arm,” Rasmussen said. “She just had a sense in the outfield, she knew where the ball was going to be hit and she would go get it. That ability to read the batter and know where the ball was going–she had it.” She earned all-tournament honors five other times, including the summer of 1980, when she helped the Hawkettes to a 4-2 victory in the title game over a Des Moines Lincoln team that was coached by her father, Larry. “Of course, I knew several of the girls on his team even better than most of our central Iowa rivals such as Urbandale and Norwalk. If memory serves me right, I believe I made a game-saving catch to end the game on a line drive ball hit to the center field gap by Brenda Ferrari, or Noopy as we all called her back then. The wins were so numerous that most of them kind of run together, but this mostly sticks out because Brenda has reminded me of it over the years. She has become a great comic and actor and famously played the part of the opposing catcher to Geena Davis in the movie A League of Their Own. She jokingly tells me that I ruined her life by catching that line drive, but I like to remind her that the lessons we learn from losing can be just as important as winning. And the fact that she got to pal around with Rosie O’Donnell and Madonna while making that movie!” Hayes was also a basketball star who went on to play both sports at Drake. She was inducted into the IGHSAU Softball Hall of Fame in 1986, and she was ranked fifth on the list of Ankeny’s greatest athletes. She was earlier named to Ankeny Fanatic’s all-time Ankeny girls’ basketball team.
Erica Junod, OF: As a freshman in 1996, she batted .283 with 20 RBIs while helping Ankeny to the state title in Rasmussen’s final season. She hit a three-run, inside-the-park homer to lead the Hawkettes past Dowling, 3-0, in the regional final. She scored a pair of runs in Ankeny’s 6-2 victory over Indianola in the Class 3A semifinals, then had two hits in the championship game against Urbandale and was named to the all-tournament team. She led the team with 28 stolen bases, which set a single-season school record. “When we started practice that season, I knew we had to have her in the lineup somewhere,” Rasmussen said. “And we had an opening in center field. She was another great athlete who just knew how to play.” Junod then switched to shortstop as a sophomore and led the Hawkettes to a 31-9 record in coach Gayln Johnson’s first season. She led the team in several offensive categories, batting .370 with 27 steals and 32 runs scored. In 1998, she batted .341 with 11 doubles, 19 RBIs and 22 steals for a team that finished with a 28-14 mark. As a senior, Junod batted .402 with a home run, six triples and five doubles while helping Ankeny to a 33-14 record and a sixth-place finish in Class 3A. She had two hits in a 6-3 victory over No. 3 Burlington in a consolation game. She stole 26 bases and ended her career with 103, the most in school history at the time. She was a four-time all-state selection, landing a spot on the first team as a senior. Junod was also a basketball star who went on to play that sport at Iowa State, where she was a three-year starter for the Cyclones. She was No. 10 on the list of Ankeny’s greatest athletes, and she was later inducted into the IGHSAU Basketball Hall of Fame. Junod, who is now a doctor specializing in foot and ankle surgery, was earlier named to Ankeny Fanatic’s all-time Ankeny girls’ basketball team.
Wendy Turner, OF: She was the leading hitter on multiple state championship teams and a talented pitcher as well. As a freshman in 1978, she batted .463 to lead the Hawkettes. In the fall of 1978, she batted .473 as Ankeny went a perfect 24-0 and captured another title. In the summer of 1979, she batted .437 and was named to the all-tournament team after the Hawkettes won their record fourth consecutive crown. In the fall of 1979, she posted a 7-2 record and helped Ankeny to a third-place finish. She was an all-tournament pick. She batted .345 and went 12-1 in the pitching circle to help the Hawkettes to another title in the 1980 summer season. She was again named to the all-tournament team. In the fall of 1980, Turner went 19-1 and was the winning pitcher in the state title game. She was an all-tournament pick for the fourth time in her career after Ankeny defeated Norwalk, 1-0, in eight innings in the final. “One favorite memory of mine was the time we were supposed to take a nap while we were at the state tournament during the day, and several of us snuck out and went to the dorm next to us where the Urbandale girls were and we were talking to our friends,” Turner said. “We would have gotten in really bad trouble because (coach Rasmussen) was very competitive with (Urbandale coach) Gary Page.” She batted .357 in her final summer season and finished with a career record of 64-10. She earned all-state honors for the third time, landing a spot on the third team. “Turner was a good pitcher, and on top of that she played right field, which is not always easy to do,” Rasmussen said. “And she batted lefthanded. With her speed, she’d get the ball on the ground and was able to beat the throw to first.” She went on to play for Nebraska, where she was a four-year starter in left field and played in three national tournaments, helping the Cornhuskers to place fifth, third and second. She batted .622 one year and was named to the all-tournament team.
Mary Yori, U: She was Ankeny’s first three-time all-stater under Rasmussen. She batted .380 with five home runs and eight triples as a sophomore in 1976, helping the Hawkettes to a 37-3 record and a fifth-place finish at the state tournament. She was named to the all-state third team. As a junior, she batted .409 with four homers and six doubles as Ankeny posted a 25-8 mark. She batted .446 with two homers, three triples and four doubles to lead the Hawkettes to their first state title in the 1977 fall season. She had a grand slam and a triple in a 10-0 win over Ottumwa in the semifinals and was later named captain of the all-tournament team. She closed out her career by winning another crown in the summer of 1978, batting .435 as Ankeny posted a 36-3 record. She was selected to the all-tournament team. Yori was a repeat pick to the all-state first team and was also the recipient of the Jack North Award. She set school records with 18 career home runs and 162 RBIs at the time, as well as the single-season record with 36 RBIs. “Mary changed our whole program around,” Rasmussen said. “We were kind of struggling to get things going, but then she came along and then we really took off. I had her and (her sister) Connie at shortstop for seven or eight years. Wow, did they make us good!” She went on to become a two-time all-American at Creighton, where she led the Bluejays to the College World Series three straight years in 1980-82. She set a pair of single-season school records with 13 triples in 1980 and 50 runs scored in 1981. She was a .325 career hitter who struck out only 27 times in 594 career plate appearances. She was inducted into the IGHSAU Softball Hall of Fame in 1983, and is also a member of the IGHSAU Basketball Hall of Fame. She was inducted into the Creighton Hall of Fame in 1992. She became the head coach at Nebraska-Omaha, guiding the program to 10 consecutive NCAA regional tournament appearances and was later inducted into the UNO Hall of Fame. She then coached for 10 years at Colorado State, where she amassed a record of 276-242 and became the program’s all-time winningest coach. Since 2015, she has been the head coach at Nebraska Wesleyan University. She was ranked sixth on the list of Ankeny’s greatest athletes, and she was earlier named to the Ankeny Fanatic all-time Ankeny girls’ basketball team.
HONORABLE MENTION
There were a lot of players who just missed making one of the all-time teams. They at least deserve to be mentioned–because these girls are still among the top 50 players in Ankeny’s history.
P: Haley Gatica, Kelsey Nurnberg, Missy Voigt
C: Ella Schulz
1B: Hilary Fort
2B: Lauren Birt
SS: Franie Burnett, Marina Carter, Shelly Fowler
3B: Brea VanDePol
OF: Serena Moss, Shelly Pickard, Marcie Smith
U: Tara Buzzell
(EDITOR’S NOTE: The Ankeny Fanatic teams were selected by publisher Dan Holm, who consulted with former and current coaches before making his picks.)
