Champion for all seasons

Kalab Evans led District 8 in rushing this season.

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Two-time state wrestling champion, four times placing third or higher. Twice an all-state football player, once as an 8-man defensive back, then as a senior running back in the Class 3A 11-man game. All-state in baseball since he was a freshman, serving an important role as a catcher and on-field leader for two different teams in the state tournament. Even a state meet participant in his only year of track, missing the finals in the 100 meters by .32 of a second, with a season-best time of 11.78. From a team perspective, Kalab Evans has been in state championship contests in three different sports — Creston/O-M’s dual wrestling champs of 2007 and runner-up in 2008, Lenox’s 8-man state runner-up football team of 2005, and the Lenox state championship baseball team of 2006. “He’s as athletic as any kid we’ve ever had here,” declared Dick Bergstrom, 30-year football coach in Creston. Evans, a 5-foot-8, 170-pound athlete with a rare combination of speed and strength, spent only two years at Creston High School. Yet, his impact on Panther athletics was so strong that head coaches declared him Outstanding Male Athlete in Thursday’s awards program. “It feels pretty good,” said Evans, who used to joke with future wrestling teammate Quin Leith as a youngster about transferring, finally acting on the idea as a junior. “With all these guys, there’s a good group of seniors with a lot of guys going on to college to compete. They took me in and allowed me to play at my full potential. I don’t regret anything.” The youngest son of Nick and Laurie Evans, who moved to Creston from their farm southwest of Lenox, comes from a family of athletes. Nick wrestled in the state tournament for Lenox, losing on referee’s overtime decision to the eventual state champion. Their oldest child, Shantelle (Rice) was a standout softball and volleyball player at Lenox. Sons Zeb, 28, and Seth, 26, were college baseball players, speedy football running backs, and both wrestled in the state finals, including a state championship by Seth. “In my first picture when I was born I had a baseball in my hand,” Kalab said. “It definitely paid off having big brothers who knew what they were doing.” Playing for state finalist coaches Steve Westphal in baseball and Allen Dukes in football at Lenox, as well as 25-year wrestling coach Erin Maguire, paved the way for Evans’ success at Creston. “He has a terrific compact swing, the prototype that we try to teach,” Creston baseball coach Bill Krejci said. “He had that when he got here. He was coached a long time ago. I had a finished product. He likes to help our younger kids in practice, and do more than his share working on the field. He’s not just a great athlete, he’s a good person.” Creston transfer Fulfilling a curiosity of meeting challenges at the 3A level, Evans intended to stick to just wrestling and baseball as a Panther. But soon after arriving, he watched Creston/O-M play the season-opener at Dallas Center-Grimes, and felt the urge to get back on the football field. Starting with an idle conversation with a Panther assistant coach in a convenience store on the way home, Evans ended up meeting with Bergstrom that weekend. “I got a call on Sunday from him,” Bergstrom related. “He realized he missed it more than he thought he would. He asked if it was too late. We took it to the team, and they were in favor of it. But typically we have two weeks of preseason before suiting up for a game, so he starting playing the fourth game against Harlan.” It didn’t take long to make an impression. In a see-saw 24-17 loss to the Cyclones, Evans rushed 15 times for 184 yards. He raced 80 yards down the sideline for a touchdown. “Any time you’re at a small school, you have doubters at bigger schools if you could do the same type of things,” Creston/O-M wrestling coach Darrell Frain said. “Definitely, he proved those things wrong in his first football game. That set the tone for his whole career here.” Evans would go on to rush for 546 yards and five touchdowns in six games, averaging 7.7 yards per carry. Creston/O-M was 5-4 in football the past two years, falling short of the playoffs. But it wasn’t for lack of production from Evans, who started taking direct snaps as a running quarterback, with 3-of-4 passing for 31 yards and the winning touchdown run in an overtime win over Atlantic. He led District 8 in rushing with 1,095 yards, and also ended up being the district’s third-best punter with a 36.7 average after trying it in practice when starting punter Kevin Irr was injured. 3,000-yard rusher In less than four full seasons, Evans totaled 53 touchdowns and 3,462 yards. “In four of our five victories last season, we scored in the last three or four minutes and he was the difference-maker,” Bergstrom said. Having placed second in the state at 145 pounds as a freshman, and losing in the semifinals at 152 as a sophomore to North Linn’s Tyler Burkle — a national champion for Coe College this year — there wasn’t much concern that Evans would compete at a high level for Creston/O-M’s wrestling team. It didn’t hurt the Panthers’ quest for state team title, either, which was fulfilled Evans’ junior year, and then replaced in both the traditional tournament and state dual meet last season by Ballard of Huxley. Evans was the 2A state champ at 160 pounds both years. “We looked at him as a pretty unbelievable athlete when he was over at Lenox,” Frain said. “When we found out he was coming to Creston, we were definitely excited. His quickness and explosion, you can’t coach those things. He worked his tail off and got better.” Relying on an undertook to a high-crotch takedown for most of his career, and disdaining riding to release opponents and shoot another takedown, Evans became a more complete wrestler. “He got better with the sweeps and snaps,” Frain said, “and he got better on top.” Evans was surrounded by talent in the Panther wrestling room, serving as a workout partner with state placewinners both years — Caleb Brus and Jesse Harris. Career mat leader While three-time state champ Andrew Long has the most victories in a Creston/O-M uniform with a career 180-13 record, Evans inched ahead by one in overall career wins at Lenox and Creston with a record of 181-7. Those two and Leith all surpassed previous leaders Boone Hayes and Brus, who were tied at 156 victories. (Leith was 175-19). Evans’ only loss his final two years was to a wrestler from Blue Springs, Mo., in a 3-2 match at the multi-state tournament in Kansas City that Creston/O-M travels to just prior to the Christmas break. Last season he and Long went 8-0 at the Midwest Classic at the KCI Expo. Evans did all that despite no offseason wrestling. “As soon as the season is over, I start hitting, and I don’t want any distractions (from baseball),” Evans said. “I just try to make up for it by going extra hard when wrestling practice starts each season. You try to hit your peak at the right time.” “That just shows what a great athlete he is,” Frain said. “When we started getting ready to go to Kansas City last season, everything picked up. He wanted to prove he was as good as anybody in the country.” Evans received Division I wrestling offers from Nebraska and Iowa State, as well as recruitment from Northern Iowa for both wrestling and baseball. “It’s pretty hard to say no to Cael Sanderson, but I knew what I wanted to do,” said Evans, who signed to play baseball at juco Division II power Iowa Central. The Tritons have been in the Junior College World Series eight times since 1996, taking second place three times. His brother Seth played a year there before playing third base for Northwest Missouri State. Nebraska offered a chance to be a two-sport athlete for wrestling and baseball, but under terms of a wrestling scholarship. Evans felt he’d be getting too late of a start each year in his favorite sport, baseball. He listened to recruiting pitches from universities such as Mississippi and Tennessee after helping an Iowa 11th-grade team go 3-2 at a Midwest Classic event in Chicago last summer. There, he batted .462 and excelled defensively. Juco route But, he decided he’d be better off playing a year or two at Iowa Central, than sitting around waiting for a chance at a large university. “The universities like transfers in baseball, because they come in ready to go,” Evans said. “Iowa Central had six of their pitchers sign with Division I schools before their season started. If baseball works out, I’ll change my major to business and keep playing at a four-year school. If it doesn’t, I’ll go to Palmer Chiropractic School in Davenport. That’s the plan, anyway.” Evans gives credit to both Westphal and Krejci for helping him excel in high school, including a .485 average with nine homers as a junior for Creston’s state tournament team last year. He may play some shortstop this year to add versatility to his game and help future catchers develop in the Panther program. A fan of Tigers catcher Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez because of his defensive and offense prowess, Evans also gives credit for his hard-hitting swing to Ralph Bufano, a former New York Yankees hitting coach based in Florida. Bufano helped Seth early in his college career and Kalab would get in some work, too, while visiting his brother. “He helped me understand that rhythm is definitely the key to hitting,” Evans said. “One day I was at his place and he called Derek Jeter and told him what he needed to do to fix his swing. He knows what he’s doing.” Now, Evans hopes to conclude his prep career with another strong baseball campaign, hopefully culminating with another state tournament. He said last year’s 18-0 loss to Cedar Rapids Xavier, when teammate Bret Kautz suffered a broken leg, left a bad taste for the Panthers. And plenty of incentive for redemption. “We have a lot of guys who work hard,” Evans said. “We think we can do it, and you have to think it before you can achieve it.” Ever since his eighth-grade summer as a starting catcher for Lenox’s substate team, Evans has been an achiever. Swatting a line drive base hit from the batter’s box at Principal Park would be a fitting way to wrap up a stellar career. Capsules of Kalab Evans’ high school sports career: FOOTBALL Sr. — Leading rusher in Class 3A District 8 with 1,095 yards and 10 touchdowns. Seven catches for 90 yards. Third in district punting with 36.7 average. Helped spur four wins on the final possession with consistent rushing gains. Named Iowa Newspaper Association third-team all-state as a running back. Jr. — Starting in the fourth game of the season at Harlan, with 184 yards and an 80-yard TD romp in that game, totaled 546 yards for a 7.7 average per carry, and five touchdowns. So. — First-team all-state defensive back in 8-Man football for state runner-up Lenox Tigers. Rushed for 1,101 yards and 24 touchdowns. Fr. — Rushed for 720 yards and 14 touchdowns for Lenox. WRESTLING Sr. — Capped 52-0 campaign with 11-5 victory over Ballard’s Jared Ramsey in the 160-pound state finals in Class 2A. Allowed two takedowns all season, both at the state tournament. Went 8-0 for a 160-pound title in the Midwest Classic at KCI Expo, drawing 24 teams from nine states. Finished with Creston all-time high 181 career victories (one more than three-time champ Andrew Long). Offered wrestling scholarships from Nebraska and Iowa State. Jr. — Won 160-pound title in Class 2A with final record of 51-1, losing only at the Kansas City tournament to an All-American prep wrestler from Blue Springs, Mo., 3-2. So. — Placed third at 152 pounds in Class 1A for Lenox with a 45-3 record. Defeated in semifinals by Tyler Burkle of North Linn, an NCAA Division III national champ this year for Coe College. Fr. — Reached the 145-pound state finals, where he was defeated 9-4 to No. 1 ranked Mitch Norton of Nashua-Plainfield. Finished with 33-3 record in varsity debut. TRACK Fr. — In only season competing in track, qualified for the Class 1A state meet for Lenox in the 100-meter dash with a season-best time of 11.78. Placed 21st in 11.85. BASEBALL Sr. — Season starts Monday against Corning. Signed to play baseball at Iowa Central Community College in Fort Dodge, where his brother Seth played six years ago. Coach Rick Pederson, who was named 2003 NJCAA II National Coach of the Year after one of his three Juco World Series appearances, intends for Evans to be a catcher and DH for the Tritons. Jr. — First-team all-state catcher in Class 3A for Creston’s 19-14 state tournament team. Batted .485 with a 28-game hitting streak, nine home runs, 43 RBIs and 16 doubles in 33 games. Scored 39 runs and struck out only nine times in 107 at-bats. Also had 12 fielding assists. Batted .462 in five games for the Iowa team in a junior all-star tournament in Chicago. Stole four bases and had two fielding assists. So. — Named second-team all-state for Lenox’s 28-5 Class 1A state championship team. Batted .451 with 31 RBIs, 49 runs scored and 24 stolen bases. Fr. — First-team all-state catcher for Lenox’s 26-3 team that lost in the substate finals to North Mahaska, 3-0. Stole 37 bases, just seven shy of Lenox record of 44 by older brother, Seth. 8th — Starting catcher for Lenox’s substate team that lost in the finals to Walnut, 2-0, and pitcher Tyler Blum, now a 6-6, 285-pound offensive lineman at the University of Iowa. —————— Larry Peterson can be reached at 782-2141, ext. 232 or lpeterson@crestonnews.com