Killdeer’s Jeske to be inducted in NDHSCA Hall of Fame

• Jim Jeske

Jim Jeske

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The North Dakota High School Coaches Association’s Executive Committed announced four inductees to the 2013 NDHSCA Hall of Fame on Tuesday and one longtime local coach is on the list.

Former Killdeer High School coach Jim Jeske is one of the men who will be honored during the Hall of Fame awards will be presented during the 2013 NDHSCA Coaches Convention on July 25, 2013, at Mandan’s Seven Season Best Western Conference Center.

“The greatest thing about it is the people that have already been inducted and just to be part of that group is the biggest honor of them all,” Jeske said. “To me it’s a high standard. I looked up to the people they inducted and to be part of that was a kind of an ultimate goal.”

Other inductees include Jim Haussler, a longtime athletic director and administrator at Bismarck High and former coach at New England High School, longtime Linton High School head football and wrestling coach Dan Imdieke and Bismarck High wrestling co-head coach Scott Knowlen.

Jeske, a graduate from Valley City High School and Valley City State University, recently retired after 32 years of teaching science and coaching several sports, primarily track and field and cross country, at Killdeer.

“The greatest thing that I got out of coaching all those years was the memories,” Jeske said. “I have tremendous memories. One of the first things I thought about was the people I shared the memories with. I had the greatest coaching staff through the years and along with that were great athletes to work with.”

Jeske was Killdeer’s head track and field coach for 25 years and head cross country coach for 13 years. He coached boys and girls in both sports. He also was an assistant football coach, junior high football coach and junior high basketball coach.

As head track and field coach, Jeske led his teams to Class B state championships in 1985 and 1998. Both of those seasons, he was the NDHSCA Class B Coach of the Year.

Throughout the years, the Cowboys won 166 multi-team invitational meet championships, 10 regional titles, had 11 region runner-up finishes and placed in the top five at the state track and field meet 14 times, including a pair of runner-up finishes.

As a cross country coach, Jeske’s teams finished in the top five at the Class B state meet five times, including a pair of runner-up finishes.

He is a seven-time West Region Coach of the Year winner and was named NDHSCA state girls cross country Coach of the Year in 2008.

He was inducted into the North Dakota Track and Field Hall of Fame in 2009.

In addition to his involvement in Killdeer sports, Jeske was also active as the Killdeer Lettermen’s Club Advisor for eight years and was involved in several other extra-curricular activities at the school.

Jeske and his wife, Chris, have three children, Jimmy, Tara and Lindsey. He was nominated for the NDHSCA Hall of Fame by Bob Wheeling.

Tags: high school sports, jim jeske, sports