2019 Comet Hall of Fame inductees thank community that helped them succeed

By Kelly Terpstra, kterpstra@charlescitypress.com

Greg Brunner is a familiar face to University of Iowa and Charles City High School basketball fans.

The former All-Big Ten player’s ties to Charles City remain strong, and he thanked his hometown on Saturday after being recognized as a new member of the Comet Hall of Fame.

“From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank each and every one of you because you’ve been impactful in my life in some small way,” said Brunner.

He was one of five inductees to the Comet Hall of Fame on Saturday morning at a ceremony held at Trinity United Methodist Church. The brunch recognized pivotal contributors and inspirational members of the community who have had a lasting impact on Charles City. The awards banquet culminates homecoming week at Charles City High School.

This year’s 2019 Hall of Fame inductees, along with Brunner, were Ralph Smith, Austin Downey, Gary Schwartzhoff and the late Mike Duroe.

Brunner, who graduated in 2002 from Charles City High School, went on to achieve success at Iowa as an all-conference and Academic All-American basketball player. Brunner graduated from Iowa with an MBA in 2019.

He would go on to play basketball professionally for eight years after his senior season at Iowa in 2006. It was that start to his pro career in Belgium when Brunner felt alone and wondered what the future had in store for him.

“I remember going to Europe and being over in Belgium and crying myself to sleep because I was out of my bubble,” said Brunner. “It was two weeks of just a really tough time for me.

“I thought back to going to my roots and it was you people that helped drive and build those foundations and find those pieces,” he said. “I was able to build that and kind of establish how I wanted to frame the rest of my life.”

Brunner is now a senior data engineer with Des Moines’ Principal Financial Group and will complete a master’s degree in business analytics in 2020.

He is married to his wife, Carin. They live in Norwalk and have three children named Greyer, Remey and Ridley.

Mike Duroe, who graduated from Charles City High School in 1973, was an accomplished wrestler who would go on to compete at Drake University. He would later became a world-renowned coach who would take his talents to Cornell College, where he wound up the most successful wrestling coach in that program’s history.

Later he would coach USA Wrestling for 23 years, serving as an associate coach on six consecutive Olympic teams.

Duroe died as a result of brain cancer in July 2018, and his younger brother, Scott, accepted Mike’s induction into the Comet Hall of Fame.

“Two doctors, a lawyer, and a financial analyst that doubles as a pretty darn good power forward – Mike would have been humbled to be included in this group,” said Scott Duroe.

Mike Duroe was inducted into three wrestling halls of fame at the national and collegiate level. Scott talked about his brother’s never-give-up spirit – a defining characteristic Mike used to better the lives of everyone he encountered.

“So today we’re not going to just review Mike’s accomplishments or talk about the wins or the titles or the champions he coached. I want to focus on the single message that Mike instilled in every person he touched – ‘you just don’t quit,’” said Scott.

“On behalf of Mike’s family, … we’d like to thank you for this honor today, but more importantly, thank you for the chance to be a special person. Charles City gives all of us that chance. Take advantage of it and be proud to call yourself a Comet,” said Scott.

Gary Schwartzhoff was the choral music teacher at Charles City High School from 1977 until 1985. Schwartzhoff, who holds a doctoral degree, would go on to become director of choral activities at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, a position he held for 25 years, ending in 2016.

The longtime music teacher remembers a few months ago when Charles City Comet Excellence in Education Foundation President Sara Stewart called him to let him know he had been selected into the Comet Hall of Fame.

“I was so taken by the phone call, first of all, because of the award itself. And secondly after 35 years that somebody would remember me,” Schwartzhoff said, smiling.

Ralph Smith, who graduated from Charles City High School in 1969, went on to receive his law degree from the University of Iowa College of Law in 1976 and practiced law in Charles City from 1976 to 2018. He served as the city attorney in Charles City for 20 years.

“This is particularly fun for me because I think I know just about everybody in this room,” Smith said Saturday morning. “In fact, if I was given the opportunity to talk about the people I admire, I could give a speech about almost everybody sitting in front of me this morning and the wonderful experiences that I’ve had.”

Austin Downey is currently an assistant professor in mechanical engineering with a joint appointment in civil engineering at the University of South Carolina. Downey, who holds a doctoral degree, is a 2006 CCHS grad.

“Austin is a great example of a Charles City alumnus who has found his passion during his K-12 education and has used that passion to field his career in life,” said Roxanne Carey, who introduced Downey and was reading a quote from one of Downey’s past teachers at CCHS.

The Comet Hall of Fame was created to recognize and honor distinguished alumni or contributors who have brought honor to the Charles City Community School District through their achievements in academics, activities, athletics and performing arts. The awards have been presented since 2012 by the Charles City Community Excellence in Education Foundation.

The 2019 Master of Performing Arts Award was given to Charles City High School students Stephen Bachman, Anastasia Baldus, Isaak Jensen, Carter Johanningmeier, Michael Peterson and Olivia Wolfe.

The performing arts award is given to graduates who earned six or more letters in two or more performing arts groups during high school.

The 2019 Master of Sports Award went to Samantha Heyer, Jensen, Johanningmeier, Dylan Koresh, Nick Litterer, Whitney Martin, Mariah McKenzie, Cole Reams, Jodie Sindlinger, Colton Sindlinger, Wolfe and Ryan Zuspan.

The sports award is given to graduates who earned five or more letters in three or more sports during high school.