Story - The Meade County Messenger


Vol. 115, No. 4	January 23, 2008

Three inducted into Athletic Hall of Fame

Photo by Bill Rosacker
Mark McMahan, Roger Cross and John DeVries were inducted into the Meade County High School Athletic Hall of Fame Jan. 18.

By Bill Rosacker
Messenger Staff

On Jan. 18, three Meade County High School alumni were inducted into the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame between the girls’ and boys’ double header basketball games against Cloverport. In a brief ceremony, Roger Cross, Class of 1970, Mark McMahan, Class of 1981, and John DeVries, Class of 1985, received their induction awards from principal Bill Adams on the basketball court in front of fans, the girls’ and boys’ basketball teams, friends and family.

Preceding the ceremony, a reception was held in the foyer adjacent to the newly renovated main entrance, just in front of the new auditorium. Refreshments were served, and the inductees were able to visit with family and friends who attended to support these fine gentlemen, who had contributed so much to Meade County High School athletics.

Mark McMahan was an unusual inductee. While Roger Cross and John Devries have been described as “MCHS Renaissance Men” due to their multiple sports achievements, McMahan was inducted based solely on his ability to run. When he graduated, his four-year career in cross country and track had resulted in three individual state championships and eight regional championships. He currently resides in Flaherty with his wife and family. “This is a great honor, and I’m really proud to have been a part of Meade County,” he said after the ceremony. When asked if he still ran, he chuckled and said, “seldom, mostly with my kids.”

John DeVries returned to Meade County after dental school and has a local practice in the county. An all-around athlete, he starred in basketball, football and tennis while at MCHS, but said he doesn’t have the time to devote to sports like he would like. “Just with my kids,” he explained. He was named all-state in both basketball and football, and won regional championships in tennis. DeVries lives with his wife and four children in Brandenburg.

Roger Cross also starred in football, basketball and tennis. He was a charter member of the first ever MCHS football team and played under Jim DeVries (John’s father) on the football team and garnered many honors and awards throughout his high school career, to include all state honorable mention in football, named all district and all regional in football and basketball and won regional tennis championships. After college, he returned to Meade County and taught at MCHS from 1974 through 1982. Of the three inductees, he is the only one still active in sports. From 1984 to the present, he has refereed high school and college basketball, both women’s and men’s in Division I, II, and III as well as NAIA. He currently resides in Elizabethtown and is a State Farm Insurance agent when not on the basketball trail.

All three inductees expressed how special it was to receive this honor. During the ceremony, each in his own special way expressed their gratitude to the committee for selecting them. While each had his story to tell and memories to share (Roger Cross remembering little “Johnny” DeVries running around as a “tot”) they all had two things in common: (1) each was humbled and acknowledged that they would not have received this honor had they not had help from many people (some of whom they openly acknowledged) and (2) their love for Meade County athletics.

Correction
The football player identified as John DeVries in last week’s story on the induction was actually Roger Cross. The Messenger regrets the error.

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