(KMAland) -- Today’s KMA Sports Hall of Fame announcement goes back to the turn of the century and to Lenox, where Seth Evans put together an impressive multi-sport career with the Tigers.
Evans earned multiple All-State honors in football and baseball and claimed a state wrestling championship during his time as a KMAland prep athlete.
“My older brother Zeb set the pace,” Evans told KMA Sports. “He was into (sports) pretty big, and following him through made it quite a bit easier for me. He just showed me the way, I guess.”
During his youth, Evans says much of his athletic focus was on growing as a wrestler.
“Wrestling was kind of our big deal,” he said. “My dad coached the Lenox little kids, and we had a real good group of kids our age. We went through all the AAU stuff, and I always remember the districts at Harlan and state at Cedar Rapids. That was always a fun time.”
The fun lasted into his high school career, as he finished as a three-time state placewinner, a two-time state finalist and won the 152-pound state championship in 2000. After losing in the state quarterfinals and finishing fourth as a sophomore, Evans lost just one time in his final two years of high school – in the state championship as a junior.
“That’s one I’d like to forget,” Evans said. “I was actually ahead late in the match, but I got a penalty. I was on the bottom side and got called for a penalty for bending his leg wrong. That sent it into overtime and ended up losing in double overtime on that one. That definitely stays in your mind clear to the following year.”
Fortunately for Evans, he had one more shot at that state championship in his senior year and cruised through the 1A bracket before winning a 5-4 decision in the final. He was one of three KMAland 152-pounders to win a state championship that year, joining KMA Sports Hall of Famer Tyler McGinnis (Shenandoah) and Blake Anderson (Lewis Central).
“It was one of those moments you’ll never forget,” Evans said. “You never had a weekend off that year. It was kind of nice to see all three of us win state and not have to be in the same class.”
In football, Evans grabbed All-State honors at running back in both 1998 and 1999. The Tigers advanced to the Dome and the Class A state semifinals in 1998 before falling one win shy of that spot the following year.
“Playing in the Dome was a great memory,” Evans said. “We beat Treynor in the rain that year to advance, and that was a real fun game. The following year, the Treynor game wasn’t so fun. I pulled my hamstring in the first quarter of that game, and that ended my night.”
Evans still holds records at the school for most points scored in a game, most points scored in a season, most points scored in a career, rushing yards in a season, rushing yards in a career and longest kick return.
Evans exploits didn’t stop there. He was also a standout in baseball with two first team All-State honors in his junior and senior years and holds records for the most strikeouts in a career, most hits in a career, most home runs in a career and most RBI in a career. He also played in the state baseball tournament in 1998 and 1999.
“Lenox was really lucky to have (KMA Sports Hall of Fame Coach Steve Westphal),” Evans said of his baseball memories. “To have a guy that stayed so many years that was that caliber of coach. When we get together, guys our age talk about our old coaches a lot. We were fortunate enough to have a lot of coaches in that era that were in it for the long haul. They had as much passion as we did to win. It was really easy to get up and go to practice every day.”
Evans joins Brenda (Matheny) Thatcher and Coach Westphal as individual members of the KMA Sports Hall of Fame. Two Tigers teams – the 1997-98 girls basketball state qualifier and the 2008 football state champion – have also been previously inducted.
Evans and the rest of the 2022 KMA Sports Hall of Fame class will officially be inducted in Shenandoah at the Gladys Wirsig-Jones Auditorium on Saturday, October 22nd. Listen to the full interview with Evans below.
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