8/8/2019 Tetons Defy Jock Image w Nation's Highest GPA

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A lumn i Cen t r a l

Teton alumni show fruits

of highest teamGPA

If athletic scholarships were stock investments,

putting money on any one of the mighty Wil-liston State Tetons of 1992-94 would have been

extremely smart, especially if the goal was to

make a positive difference in the world.

While male basketball players often have a

"dumb jock" reputation, this team turned those

expectations upside down, earning the very

highest GPA among 460 U.S. community col-

leges for two straight years, and they're stillmaking their mark today.

We interviewed "Fast Fred" Fridley, Dr. TracyHjelmstad, Dr. Brett Vibeto and Dave Leomabout those pivotal years that raised the bar of

excellence for future students at Williston State.

Leom, now a math teacher in Milaca, MN,was

recruited from Watford City High where, at 6'8",he was known as "Tree" and,along with Frid-

ley, helped Watford City win the state champi-onship his senior year.

Leom, who had a 3.94 GPA in high school,

heard embarrassing reports about some un-derachieving athletes

at Williston State,

he said, but formerrecruiter and WSC

Coach Terry Olson in-

sisted on a change.

N ow Director of theW SC Foundation, Ter-

ry explains: "W e were

looking for a better

caliber player, a better

caliber person and a

better caliber

student, and

Dave was allof that."

D a v e L e o m , M a t h T e a c h e r ,

M i l a c a , M N

" M y d a d w a s a p a r t sm a n a g e r a t a J o h n D e e r e

d e a l e r s h i p , " s a id L e o m ,

"H e d i d n ' t h a v e e n o u g h

m o n e y s a v e d t o s e n d u s t o

c o l l e g e , s o W i l li s to n S t a t e

s c h o l a r s h i p s h e l p e d a l o t . "

Y et Leomrecalls thatthe cost ofcollege was a

major hurdle." D a d didn't

have enough money

saved to send us tocollege, so Williston

State scholarshipshelped a lot."

Leom and team-

mate Sean

Stephens, now

a Ph. D. psy-chologist in hishome countryof Trinidad,

helped create

a new culture

at the basket-

ball player'sdorm, POPSHouse, now apri-vate residence at 603 E. 18th St E. in Williston.

Brett V i b e t o

"When I got there, there were loud parties latat night so you couldn't sleep or prepare for

classes," said Leom. But he wasn't about t

his academic record slip.

"Sean and I sat down

with the guys and said,

This shouldn't be go-ing on. I f you want to

party, do it elsewhere.'"

"W e had a mindsetand expectation,"

explained Dr. Tracy

Hjelmstad, now a podi-

atric surgeon at Trinity

Hospital in Minot. "Therecruiting message was

clear: We're

not just look-

ing for talent.

We're looking

f or mature,

good people,w ho work

hard both on

and of f thecourt,' and

that became

the standardat Williston."

: , s

D r . T r a c y H j e l m s t a d , P o d i a t r i c

Surgeon , Minot, N O

E i g h t g u y s r e c e i v e d

s t r a i g h t A s . " F r o m o u t s id e

l o o k i n g i n , y o u m a y t h i n k ,' W h a t a b u n c h o f n e r d s . '

B u t I t a k e p r id e in t h a t . W e

w o u l d b e a t te a m s w e h a d

n o b u s i n e s s p l a y in g , c o m e

h o m e , d o o u r h o m e w o r k ,

t h e n g o w a t c h a m o v i e . "

8/8/2019 Tetons Defy Jock Image w Nation's Highest GPA

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So much so that eight guys received straight As,earning the honor for highest GPA in the Na-

tional Junior College Athletic Association.

"From outside looking

in, you may think,

What a bunch of

nerds,'" said Hjelm-stad, fresh out of

an ankle ligamentsurgery. "But I take

pride in that. We'd

beat teams we had

no business playing,

come home, do our

homework, then go

watch a movie."D r . Bret t V ibe to , G e n e r a l

S u r g e o n , Will iston, N D

" O h ,w e h a d

o u rf u na t P O P S H o u s e . T h e

a l l - n i g h t v i d e o g a m e s ,

a n d f e e d i n g o u r h i g h -

c h o l e s t e r o l f is h w i t h h o t

d o g s . B u t t h e r e w a s a n

u n w r i t te n r u l e t h a t W i l-

l i s t o n S t a t e a t h l e t e s f i r s t

t a k e c a r e o f b u s i n e s s . "

" O h , we had

our fun at

POPS House,"

said Dr. BrettVibeto, now a

general sur-

geon at Mercy

Medical Center

inWilliston.

" B u t there was

an unwritten

rule that Wil-

liston State

athletes first

take care of

business."

Fridley, all-time

scoring leader at

WSC and now

a coach and

health teacher

at the Universi-

ty of Mary, said

that's a rule

he follows as

head coach of

the women's

basketball

team.

"I ask for equal ef fort on the floor and in the

classroom," said Fridley. "In six years I've had

seven Academic All-Americans and out of 19

sports at our school, our team has had the

highest academic rating for five years in a row."

The guys are thankful for the donors and

professors who helped ^ — ^

make those glory

years possible.

In turn, Fridley says,

he knows he and oth-

ers wil l return the

favor, keeping the

Teton tradition go-

i n g . "As they say, you

never forget where

you started. I know

the Teton alumni will

give back once we're

established."

F r e d Fridley, C o a c h a n d

T e a c h e r , U n i v e r s it y o f Mary,

B i smarck , I\ID

"M y strongest

memory,"

said Coach

Olson, "was

huddling

with the

guys, tears

in my eyes,

af ter losing

the regional

champion-ship of 1994,

and not being

able to finish

my speech,"

unusual even to this day, he said.

"It wasn't that we lost, but that I wanted one

more time to call them the champions that

they were."

( F o r more alumni stories and a full list of

where the champion Tetons are today, visit

www.wscfoundation.com.)

" W h a t o t h e r s in v e s t i n

y o u p a y s o f f t e n f o l d , e s -

p e c i a l l y a t a s m a l l c o l l e g e

l ik e W i ll is t o n S t a t e . Y o u r

m o n e y , a n d t h e o n e - o n -

o n e a t t e n t i o n o f p r o f e s -

s o r s , i s g o i n g t o a f f e c t

e v e r y o n e i n t h e s c h o o lc o m m u n i t y i n s o m e w a y . "

Aafedts perpetuate9 ' w n g t oWSC a tW e t e s

.

F a s t F r e d " F r i d le y