BISMARCK, ND. (NDAPSSA) – A common bond exists between the five individuals who are this year’s recipients of the Special Achievement Award presented annually by North Dakota Associated Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association.
The common bond: Longevity and a strong commitment to their respective sports.
Dave Tews, Shon Horgan, Mark Frost, Ralph Manley and Kent Van Ells are this year’s recipients of the award.
Those who received the award needed at least 75 percent approval of NDAPSSA members.
Dave Tews, Jamestown gymnastics
Tews retired after this past season. He had coached the Jamestown High School gymnastics program for 43 years, and was the national coach of the year finalist during the 2020-21 season.
He had numerous honors throughout his career. He was the Eastern Dakota Conference coach of the year seven times and the Western Dakota Association coach of the year three times.
His teams and individuals also performed at a high level.
Tews’ athletes won five individual state titles. He coached 42 all-state athletes and 62 all-conference performers.
His career gymnastics record was 367-157.
Tews also coached diving at Jamestown High School. His divers won two state titles, were runners-up three times and won six conference championships.
Shon Horgan, Pembina County North wrestling
Pembina County wrestling has been a state power with Horgan leading the way.
Horgan is retiring this year after holding the head wrestling coaching position since 1998, first at Walhalla, then under the current Pembina County North co-op.
He is part of three generations of state champions.
His father, Danny, won a state championship in 1973. Shon was a state champion in 1990 and Shon’s son, Bradyn, was a two-time state champion in 2014 and 2016.
Horgan was a seven-time Region 2 coach of the year and in 2012 was named the state Class B coach of the year.
Horgan’s teams won 275 dual wins and produced six state champions.
Mark Frost, Hope athletics
If it has to do with athletics in Hope, there is a good chance Mark Frost has been involved.
Frost retired from a teaching and coaching position after 40 years at Hope.
He coached two state championship American Legion baseball teams (2003, 2004).
Frost coached at all high school levels, mainly as an assistant in boys basketball. He was the head coach in 2010.
He has coached basketball, baseball, and track and field.
Frost was elected to the Mayville State University Hall of Fame in 2019 and the North Dakota American Legion Hall of Fame in 2020.
The baseball field in Hope was named for him in 2003.
Ralph Manley, Mandan swimming and diving
For 34 years, Manley was the swimming and diving coach at Mandan High School. He retired from coaching in 2020.
Manley coached the Braves’ boys team since 1986 and the girls since 1993, winning seven state championships during that time.
Manley and his father, Thomas, are members of the National High School Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame, the Fargo South High School Hall of Fame plus the NDHSCA Hall of Fame. They are the only father/son duo to earn election into all three halls of fame.
In all, he spent 42 years in coaching.
Kent Van Ells, Dickinson gymnastics
Van Ells also retired in 2020 after building a powerful Dickinson High School gymnastics program.
He led the program for 37 years.
The South Dakota State graduate led Dickinson to eight state titles and seven runner-up finishes.
In all, Dickinson had 1,349 team victories and 66 dual and triangular wins.
The three-time NDHSCA coach of the year also led Dickinson to four-straight state titles, joining Fargo South (1977-83) and Minot (1991-94, 2009-12) as the only programs to accomplish that feat.
In 2003, he was named the National Federation Gymnastics Coach of the Year.