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Anderson to be honored on Saturday
April 20, 2011
By Ariy-El Boynton, Madison Daily Leader Sports Editor
Even though Josh Anderson earned 10 varsity letters and recognition for his high school playing days, he never thought that the Madison High School Athlete Hall of Fame would be giving him a call. This weekend, he will be inducted as part of the Class of 2011.
"I'm incredibly honored that I was even considered, and very humbled that I was selected to be inducted," he said. "I've seen the list of athletes and coaches that are already in the Hall of Fame, and they are some of the greatest in the state of South Dakota, not just Madison. It really is a huge honor for me and my family.
Anderson will be enshrined alongside coaches Linda Collignon and Joyce Farrell and the 1995 gymnastics team at Nicky's on Saturday, starting with social hour at 6 p.m. The meal and program will start at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 and must be purchased at MHS prior to the banquet.
Anderson, class of 1994, is proud that he was a three-sport player and lettered every year that he was in Madison.
"My greatest accomplishment at MHS was being a three-time, three-sport letter winner, hands down," he said. "We have such great teams, and I was very lucky to be around a lot of great athletes."
Anderson joined an already talented track and field team, and his basketball team was able to make it to the state tournament, but Anderson wanted Madison to be a football powerhouse.
"Most times when wearing my jacket outside of Lake County, most people thought it was a Milbank Bulldog jacket," said Anderson. "Milbank was very good for most years in football, and we shared the same mascot and school colors."
"Because of the tough conference Madison was in for many years, the ESD, we were more known for being a track and a band school," he said. "Although I enjoyed being in track and band during my middle school years, I was not at all pleased about the common mistake of identity, I wanted Madison to be known for football and basketball, but football more than anything else."
Anderson's sophomore year is when the Bulldogs won their first playoff football game. His junior year, the Dogs won another playoff game and went undefeated in the regular season. Anderson's senior year, he and his teammates got a chance to take on the Milbank Bulldogs in the first round of the state playoffs. Playing in Milbank, Madison dominated Milbank 30-6.
Madison lost to West Central in the semifinals, but Anderson remembers his high school career with a lot of joy.
On the football field, he was named All-Conference twice, All-State once and was on the Argus Leader's Elite 45 squad in his senior year.
"I had great pride in being a Madison Bulldog and always will," Anderson said. "The lifelong friends that I've made and keep in touch with to this day...all the athletic events we participated in, all the bus trips, the summer jobs, making our own way through the fun and crazy times of high school were such a ride. We had so many talented students and athletes in all sports in our class, but we may have also been one of the most annoying as a whole group."
"I hate to admit that most teachers and coaches might have loved us, but were also not sad at all to watch us graduate and leave," Anderson said.
"But, those are part of the memories that we made together that I would never change."
Anderson came to Madison from Lead in the summer before his ninth-grade year. He was on an undefeated freshman football team and struggled with his changing body on the basketball court. He knew he could make an impact on the track and field team and lettered four times in the sport. He was a part of two state championship track and field squads. In pole vault, Anderson won three region titles. He placed second and sixth in the state track meets.
"Track was always very important in Madison, and I really liked that our track was at the same place as our football field. In Lead, the track was around the practice fields," Anderson said. "I know it's a little thing, but just made the sport seem more important to me. I recall checking out the pole vaulting record at the time I started high school, and the record had stood at 12'6" for a very long time. I was already jumping 10' as a freshman and knew someday I was going to own that record," said Anderson.
His senior year, he jumped 13'6", which was the highest in school history, but Tanner Schuurmans recorded a height of 14'3". Anderson height is the second best in Bulldog history.
During his high school career, Anderson wasn't worried about his individual numbers.
"Being able to help my teams be competitive in all three sports, that mean the most to me now,' he said.
