Frederick, Wiseman and Combs inducted into CCHS Hall of Fame

Brandon Miniard, Sports Writer, [email protected]

Prior to Corydon Central hosting Jasper in hoops action Saturday evening, Dec. 18, the Corydon Central athletic department honored a trio of newcomers into its hall of fame.

Mick Frederick, Jake Wiseman and Quentin Combs became the fifth group of Panthers alumni to be inducted into the hall of fame. While not its largest class, the trio has a vast number of individual and team accolades between them.

Leading the inductees was Frederick, a 1961 Cory-

don Central graduate who was a four-sport athlete, competing in basketball, baseball, cross-country and track and field. His greatest accomplishments came on the hardwood, as he helped lead the Panthers to sectional championships in 1960 and 1961, the latter culminating in the school’s first-ever regional title. He was both team MVP and a Mid-Southern Conference All-Conference selection in ’60 and ’61, and his 808 points were a school record at the time. He still currently holds the school’s single-game record with 18 assists.

During his induction speech, Frederick compared his Panthers’ success with that of recent championship squads, such as the boys’ and girls’ basketball teams in the early to mid 2000s, along with the Panthers’ football team of 2011 and softball team of 2018, both of which advanced to semi-state. He mentioned most of his teammates during the ’60 and ’61 seasons, led by his class, which he referred to as “the gang of seven,” for the number of sports they competed in together.

One of the tales Frederick told was of what happened after winning the Salem sectional in 1961. The Panthers defeated Pekin and the host Lions to hoist the title then were trapped in Salem after the roads shut down due to snow.

“As we started for Salem that morning, it began to snow. By the time the final game ended, all the roads out of Salem were closed,” Frederick recalled. “So everybody had to stay in the gym and sleep on the bleachers, or, if they knew somebody in Salem, they could go stay with them.”

Wiseman, a 2000 CCHS graduate, was a multi-time All-MSC selection across three sports, earning the honor in tennis in 1998, in track and field in 1999 and 2000 and in basketball in 2000. On the hardwood, his 65.6 shooting percentage during the 1999-00 season is the second highest in program history among qualifiers.

He’s also seen his fair share of post-season glory, starting when the Panthers’ tennis team won back-to-back sectional championships in 1997 and 1998. His greatest accomplishments came during track and field season as he helped the Panthers win both MSC and sectional gold twice. Individually, he was crowned sectional champion in the 110-meter hurdles in consecutive years in 1999 and 2000. The latter year also saw him win the regional title and advance to the state finals in the event.

Wiseman’s prowess on the track only improved when he began college at Indiana University. During his time with the Hoosiers, Wiseman finished top three in both the Big Ten and NCAA qualifiers in decathlon in 2004 and 2005. He is currently second in IU history with a 7,365 score in the decathlon, as well as third with a 63.89-meter distance in javelin throwing. After his time as a college athlete came to an end, Wiseman transitioned to the Hoosiers’ coaching staff under Ron Helmer. Since joining the coaching staff in 2005, Wiseman has coached 17 All-Americans and 13 Big Ten champions to date.

During his speech, Wiseman made reference to when he and fellow inductee Combs competed in the Jeffersonville Invitational, an event that, according to Wiseman, was nearly always won by the host Red Devils as evidenced by a large plaque visible to those who walk into the football stadium. The Panthers looked to change that despite fielding only seven athletes. It came down to one event, with the Panthers and Red Devils neck-and-neck for the top of the standings. Whichever team won the event would come down to the 4×400-meter relay.

“If we win the 4×4, we win the meet, and all I can think of is ‘when everyone gets off that bus, they’re gonna see our names up there. We gotta win this 4×4 tonight’,” Wiseman recalled. “It was Dave Wiley, Jeff Adams, me and Quentin, the anchor. I’m thinking, ‘I gotta get Quentin as much lead as I can.’ Quentin then comes up to me and says, ‘Hey, man, just give me a three-meter lead’.”

After saying that, Wiseman slowly turned to Combs before uttering, “I’m sorry, Quentin,” causing the audience to erupt in laughter.

“I think he got the baton at the same time as Jeff,” Wiseman said. “I think if you go to (Jeffersonville) today, it doesn’t say Cory-

don Central High School on there.”

Rounding out the inductees was Combs, a 2003 CCHS grad who was an All-MSC selection all four years of his high school career in track and field. Alongside helping the Panthers win four consecutive MSC titles and two sectional crowns, Combs achieved individual sectional titles in 12 events spanning his high school career. Those include three championships in 300-meter hurdles, two titles apiece in 200-meter dash, 110-meter hurdles and long jump and one title each in 400-meter dash, high jump and 4×400-meter relay.

Combs’ postseason accolades also included consecutive regional championships in the long jump in 2001 and 2002. During his career, he was also a state finalist in a number of events, starting with competing in the 400-meter dash in 2000, followed by going to state for long jump in three consecutive years from 2001 to 2003. He also competed in the state finals in 300-meter hurdles in 2002 and 4×400 meter relay in 2003.

On the hardwood, Combs had a solid career, finishing with 697 career points and 117 steals. Alongside being an All-MSC selection in 2003, he also helped the Panthers win three sectional titles as well as two regional crowns in 2001 and 2003.

While Combs lacked stories to share unlike the two inductees before him, he compensated for that with the emotion he showed during his speech, resulting in a few instances of pausing to compose himself. Much of his speech was dedicated to thanking those who helped him to where he is today.

“My two biggest supporters, my mother and grandmother, who aren’t here with us now, they definitely made sure I got everywhere I needed to be and had everything I needed to get all those numbers and have the great athletic career that I had,” Combs said while fighting back tears. “There were numerous teammates as well, obviously Jake being one of them. I had some individual awards, but without any of them, I don’t get any of (the awards) that I got in my career.”

The three were also recognized later that evening, between the junior varsity and varsity boys’ basketball contests.