Cumberland has had many outstanding coaches during its long history as a school district. For every Head Coach such as Elmer Beran, Roger Wistrcill, and Joe Hegenbarth, all honored by the school in either the Athletic Hall of Fame or the Graduate of Distinction categories, there have been excellent assistants like Bob Davis,  Bob Wurm, John Peterson, Barry Zappa or Joe Waite.  This is only mentioning a few of the many men and women who have held these important positions in our athletic programs. Another such individual is the 2020 Athletic Hall of Fame Inductee, Nancy Scharhag.

As the WIAA implemented a series of women's sports programs during the ’70s and ’80s, Cumberland issued the need for coaches. During this time, Scharhag answered this call for 28 years in multiple positions.

“I remember when Mr. DiSalvo hired me for the physical education position, he asked me if I’d be interested in doing some coaching. He mentioned the assistant positions for girls basketball, volleyball, and track. I said yes to each one. I believe if he would’ve asked me to help in the lunchroom, I would have said yes to that too,” Scharhag said. “After a couple of years, I left the basketball program and became the Head Coach in Volleyball and Track,” she added.  

As the years went on, she would help where ever needed. She would spend eight years as Head Volleyball Coach and 18 years as the Head Girl’s Track Coach. She would also serve as an assistant in both sports for a number of years, including 15 years in the Middle School Volleyball position. Add in her time in basketball and you can start to understand her commitment to the development of women’s athletic program growth.

“I was able to coach so many talented athletes and have so many memories. Whether it was seeing a seventh-grader make her first serve over the net, seeing someone break a school record or set a personal best, or making it to the State Track Meet, I fondly look back at my time in coaching. Of course, there were frustrating times and quiet bus rides home, but my greatest bus rides home was after winning the Conference Title in Volleyball. I was soaked from being led into the locker room shower, but I didn’t mind a bit,” Scharhag said.

Scharhag would be at the helm of Cumberland’s only two HON Volleyball Titles and would be part of the school's first State Track Meet participant. She would play an intregal part in women’s growth in WIAA sponsored programs. For this, we say thank you and welcome into the Cumberland Athletic Hall of Fame.

Cumberland High School has had numerous successful three-sport athletes through the years. Driven by a sense of competition, they move from one season to the next seeking excellence. One of those athletes was John Peterson, from the Class of 2000.

His talents would lead him to eight high school letters and First Team HON All-Conference recognition in each of football, wrestling, and baseball. 

Best known for his accomplishments in wrestling, Peterson was the first freshman to go to State in Cumberland’s prestigious program. He would head to Madison each of his four years, where he would finish third three different times and sixth the other. The two-time team captain would leave the program with the best winning percentage in school history.

His talents in the sport were recognized early on. “Johnny’s nickname was “ Grade School” because he looked like a grade-schooler especially during his freshman and-sophomore years, while he was tearing up upperclassmen on the mat. He was a true “competitor” on the mat, ball field, football field. Johnny became a mentor for many kids and a positive role model for our youth,” said Chad Olson.

In the offseason, Peterson also had success in other forms of wrestling, winning State Tournaments in both the freestyle and Greco forms of the sport. He would go on to represent the United States in an international tour of Europe prior to his graduation. 

In the spring, he was a talented baseball player, who played on two Conference Championship teams and the 1998 State runner-up. He was also a member of the American Legion Team, who finished third at the 1999 State Tournament.

He had an outstanding senior season on the 20 and 3 Beavers, hitting .405 and scoring a School record 42 runs as the team’s leadoff hitter. Equally impressive on the mound, Peterson would go 4 and 0 with an ERA of 1.53. He was again a team Captain and his leadership played an integral role in the Beaver's accomplishments.

He would go on to play in the State’s All-Star Classic for the top graduating 72 seniors and was named to the Cumberland Baseball Hall of Fame in 2009.

Peterson would go out for football his senior year after maturing physically. He would make a significant impact on an 8 and 3 team that would make it to the second round of the WIAA Playoffs. His contributions as a defensive back and wide receiver gained him First Team honors on the HON All-Conference Team. 

Peterson would go on to become a two-sport athlete at Augsburg College, where he would gain letter winner status in both wrestling and baseball. He would continue playing amateur baseball after graduating for both the Cumberland Islanders and the St.Croix River Bandits.

In the past fifteen years, Peterson has also spent time giving back to the athletes of Cumberland, where he has coached youth wrestling for over 10 years, while serving as the Head Baseball Coach for three years, taking the Beavers back to the State Tournament for only the fifth time.

Currently working at Wisconsin Structural Steel, Peterson enjoys time with his sons Max and Matthew.

Small schools admire multiple sport athletes. It is how their athletic programs exist as numbers play an important part in their success. Jeb Burke, from the Class of 1991, certainly falls into that multiple sports role.

In the fall, he could be found on the football field, where he was a starting running back and outside linebacker. On offense, his quickness and pass-catching ability made him a dual-threat as a runner and pass receiver. He would twice be named as a First Team All-Conference linebacker, as a solid tackler and tough pass defender as well as First Team All-Conference punter. He was named team MVP as a senior.

Winter sent him to the basketball court, where he would also gain First Team All-Conference status and team MVP honors. His Coach, Bert Skinner, would say about Jeb, “He had a dynamic personality and great athletic ability.  On many occasions, he would outrebound much taller opponents with his outstanding vertical jump. He had a contagious laugh and was a joy to coach.”

His versatility on the court was evident in the 1990-1991 HON final statistics, which found Burke 5th in Conference scoring, 4th in rebounding, and 7th in assists. Playing at 5’!! to 6’0 tall, his tremendous leaping ability made him a threat inside and out as well as one of the league's best defenders.

In the spring, Burke was a four-year letter winner in track and would go on to set the School Record in the 400-meter run with a time of 51.7. Still standing today, he would be a Conference Champion and team MVP in a third high school sport.

During the summer, Burke would join the baseball team and play some Legion baseball, where his speed was also very present. He was talented enough in the sport to participate in a Minnesota Twins tryout at the Metrodome and be asked to come back for a second day to participate in a game in front of scouts.

Five of his summers also involved working for the City’s Summer Recreation program, where he helped pass on his abilities and love of sport to the participating youth. 

Burke said, “I really enjoyed my involvement in the program and having the opportunity to positively impact kids. It guided me into working with kids ever since.  Last year the parents presented me with a “Best T-ball Coach Plaque” which I still cherish today.

Of his time in Cumberland, Burke said, “The community involvement always left me feeling very supported in sports and school.  I’m very proud of calling Cumberland my home and telling people about it.” He added, “I appreciated my teammates and coaches and maintain many of those friendships to this day.”

Today, Burke lives in Edina, Minnesota with his wife Laura and three children, where he has worked for TCF Bank the past twenty-five years. He adds, “I enjoy participating in my kids' various sport activities and coaching any chance I get.” They certainly have a good teacher.

Although diminutive in size, Rochelle Rydberg Olson left a strong impression on those who watched her become a   strong presence in Cumberland athletics during her time in high school. “Although I never coached Rochelle, I remember her as being a leader on the court, a natural athlete, and a strong competitor,” said long-time Cumberland teacher and coach Nancy Scharhag.

Graduating in 1994, she would earn 10-letters in high school, gaining All-Conference recognition in volleyball, basketball, and softball. She was a Team Captain and MVP in each of the three sports as well as the school's “Top Senior Female Athlete” as a senior. She was also recognized as a WIAA Scholar-Athlete the spring of 1994.

In volleyball, she was an all-around talent and would lead the team in kills, assists and serving her senior year. “I still play and coach the sport  and it was always fun to play. I regret not continuing to play in college,” she said.

Winters found her on the basketball court. “My earliest memory of basketball is going to the Steve Wilhelm basketball camps in Amery every summer and making it to the Knights of Columbus free-throw state contest in fifth grade.

She would go on to become a key member of the team as a three-year starter. As a senior, she would average 11 points a game as the Beavers would finish 17 and 7 overall and win the Regional Championship, qualifying for the Sectional Tournament. “Winning that Regional game against St. Croix Falls is a memory I will never forget.” 

In the spring, she would become part of the first Cumberland Softball team when the sport was added to school offerings in 1991. “Our first uniforms consisted of red Cumberland Beaver sweatpants, white t-shirts, and really large baseball hats,” she said. 

“Our motto was “Takin' Care of Business,” which we must have done because we got real uniforms my sophomore year,” she added. Besides becoming a team MVP and First Team All-Conference performer, she would receive the Beavers “Best Defensive and Offensive Player Awards” before graduation.

During the summer, she would pass her love of sports to the kids in the Summer Recreation program, where she worked for four summers. “I worked with Jeb Burke and I enjoyed my time with the city’s youth,” she added.

After graduating from UW-La Crosse, she joined husband Jamie Olson at Boyceville, where she has coached and taught for the past 20-years. She has coached multiple sports during that time and is currently an assistant volleyball assistant. They have three daughters, three daughters, Ava 17, Harper 16, and Laney 13.

“I loved growing up and playing sports in a small town and made memories I’ll never forget. The bond I made with my teammates and the kids I coached still remains today. l am fortunate to live in a similar-sized city and school district today where I've had the opportunity to coach my three daughters throughout the years,” she added. 

The final 2020 School District honoree into the Cumberland Athletic Hall of Fame is Don Clark, who will be inducted in the Contributor Category. He joins Coach Nancy Scharhag and athletes John Peterson, Jeb Burke, and Rochelle Rydberg Olson as this year's five awardees.

“Unfortunately, their Induction Banquet will have to wait until next fall,” said Principal and Committee Member Ritchie Narges. “We want to do things right, from our Hall of Fame Float in the Rutabaga Parade to the Banquet itself. There are just too many uncertainties this fall to allow us to do that, so we’ll wait to honor these five individuals along with the Class of 2021,” he said. In conclusion, Narges said that they would receive their Plaques, however, at a Football or Basketball Game later this school year.

Unfortunately, Clark passed away in 1999 after spending over thirty years in the city following his arrival in 1961 with his wife Harriet and sons Mark, Tom, and John. During this time, Clark would spend 19 years as the head of the Stella Cheese lab before retirement and was an active member in Kiwanis, where he served 18 years as the Secretary. 

His passion lay in youth sports and while here, he was a major contributor to the Island City youth. He brought this passion from Minnesota, where he has been honored numerous times as well as Nationally by Amateur Hockey and the NHL.

He was part of a group that founded the Minnesota Amateur Hockey Association, a group he served as an officer from 1947 to 1988. While there, he organized the Nations first youth Bantam level Tournament and his work in Minnesota led him to become involved with the Amateur Hockey Association of the United States. He would go on to become a member of the U.S. Olympic Hockey Committee for many years and for his work would become enshrined in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame. He was also be honored by the NHL with the prestigious Lester Patrick Award, which recognizes a recipient's contribution to ice hockey in the United States.

His love and development of hockey continued in Cumberland following his arrival here. In 1962, he was honored for his work by the City Council, as he founded the St. Croix Valley Youth Hockey League-leading to competition within Wisconsin and Minnesota, Clark would coach and manage both the Peewee and Bantam teams and find ways to uniform both squads. In 1963, under his chairmanship, the city celebrated Cumberland Youth Hockey Week as nearly 70 boys were playing the sport in the “Island City.” 

Clark would create coaching and referee clinics for the area and was a spokesperson that helped lead to indoor Hockey Rinks in Rice Lake and Hayward. Clark was Inducted into the Wisconsin Hockey Hall of Fame in 1978.

Before his death, he donated $10,000. into a fund to be eventually used towards building the Cumberland Indoor facility. Clark also provided funds to youth baseball to help enrich their opportunities in the sport. For all these contributions,  the Hall of Fame Committee is pleased to recognize Mr. Clark and his family for their role in providing opportunities to Cumberland Athletes.