The NFHS Officials Association 2022-23 Iowa Sport Award Winners have been announced and Curt Strouth of Sheldon has been named the Iowa boys basketball official of the year.
Strouth has been selected to officiate numerous Iowa Boys and Girls State Basketball Tournaments at Wells Fargo arena and is a familiar face on basketball courts throughout northwest Iowa and beyond during the basketball season. Curt is also a key part of our KIWA Orab basketball broadcast team with his unique perspective on the game. It also affords him the opportunity to follow both a daughter and son on the Sheldon High School basketball teams.
This years honorees include:
Baseball: Joe Nelson, Clarion
Basketball, Boys: Curt Strouth, Sheldon
Basketball, Girls: Ben Applegate, Earlham
Cross Country, Boys: Tom Hartigan, Treynor
Cross Country, Girls: Dell Wagner, Muscatine
Football: Myron Linn, Pella
Soccer, Boys: Aaron Valley, Altoona
Soccer, Girls: Rich Hudnut, Van Meter
Softball: Randy Morris, Waverly
Swimming, Boys: Andrea Kelley, Cedar Rapids
Swimming, Girls: Mike Hale, Council Bluffs
Track & Field, Boys: Jim Nichols, Storm Lake
Track & Field, Girls: Kevin Long, LaPorte City
Volleyball: Shawn Petersen, Atlantic
Wrestling: Travis Pike, Mason City
The Iowa High School Athletic Association is honored to announce Mike Stanley of Harlan as the NFHS Officials Association’s selection for National Active Official of the Year in 2022-23.
Among the annual sport honors from the NFHS Officials Association are national and sectional picks for officials and contributors to officiating. Stanley becomes the fifth Iowan to win the national active award, following fellow IHSAA Officials Hall of Fame selections Gary Christiansen, Craig Snider, Gary Paulsen, and Kurt Walderbach.
Stanley has been registered as an IHSAA official since 1970, plus two years of umpiring during his college days. The 2022-23 athletic year marks 44 years for him as a registered official for boys’ and girls’ track and field, plus 42 in boys’ and girls’ basketball, football, and volleyball. Track and field registration includes cross country in Iowa, and Stanley has been as decorated and respected as any official across both events.
