LHS Hall of Fame coordinator Jim Woods (left) stands with the newest inductees Mark Bucking ham (middle) and Greg Kahmann. (Photo by Andy Brown)
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Newest LHS Hall of Fame members look back
By Andy Brown, andybrown@miconews.com
It has been a while since Greg Kahmann and Mark Buckingham visited their home town of Louisburg. In fact, for Kahmann, it had been almost 21 years.
But on Saturday, both had very good reasons to return. Kahmann and Buckingham were inducted into the Louisburg High School Athletic Hall of Fame and joined 12 athletes, two football teams and two coaches previously inducted into the hall.
The two athletes were honored during the USD 416 Endowment Association ceremony at Louisburg Middle School. Jim Woods, hall of fame coordinator, gave presentations on each athlete and their importance in Wildcat athletic history.
Greg Kahmann
Kahmann, who graduated in the class of 1987, played football, basketball and baseball in high school before getting a baseball scholarship to Louisiana Tech University. In high school, he was the only Louisburg athlete to be named honorable mention all-state in three sports.
Kahmann played first base at Tech and led the American South conference in home runs his junior and senior seasons. Subsequently, he was named all-conference both years.
“It is obviously an honor to be included in this elite group,” Kahmann said. “I am going to treasure this for a long time and being back here brings back a lot of good memories, a lot of good times. I had a lot great teammates during my time here.”
In high school, Kahmann was an All-Frontier League defensive back and wide receiver in football and led the league with eight interceptions, including two in his most memorable game on the football field.
“I guess in each sport, I probably have a different memory, but my favorite was probably beating Paola in our homecoming game my senior year,” Kahmann said. “I caught a touchdown pass that game, and I had a couple interceptions, but it was a great win for us. In basketball, the whole season was great. I probably didn’t score as many points as Mark (Buckingham) did.”
In basketball, he was the Frontier League MVP his junior and senior seasons and was nominated to the 1987 McDonald’s All-American team.
The baseball program started at Louisburg during Kahmann’s junior season, and he was named an all-league player in his final two years. But he garnered college’s attention during summer ball.
After graduation, he signed with Allen County Community College, and during his stint in Iola, had to have shoulder surgery after an injury.
But, when the Louisiana Tech opportunity came up, he didn’t wait long to take advantage.
“Down there, you start practice Jan. 2, but the weather is always great down there,” Kahmann said. “We played against a lot of good players and good competition. There was a lot of exposure. When I had shoulder surgery in college, I knew I had to go somewhere it is warm. There was some good years there.”
Currently, Kahmann lives in West Monroe, La., with his wife, Katie, and their two children. Katie, who was an All-American volleyball player at Louisiana Tech, was just elected to the Tech Hall of Fame and is one of just three players to have a banner honoring her in the basketball gymnasium. The other two are NBA great Karl Malone and former NFL quarterback Terry Bradshaw.
“She is the athlete in the family,” Kahmann said. “She played volleyball all four years there and holds most of the records, so she is having a little fun with all this.”
Mark Buckingham
All it took was one sport for Buckingham to be recognized among Louisburg’s elite.
Buckingham, who was in the class of 1994, was the star guard on the Wildcat basketball team that he helped lead to the state tournament during the 1993-94 season. During his senior year, he averaged 24 points, nine rebounds and six assists per game, which is the best combination in school history.
“This is just very humbling, and it is a very big honor,” Buckingham said. “Plus, the people we are joining in the hall of fame accomplished so many great things, it is just very humbling to be honored with them.”
Buckingham holds the school’s single-game scoring record of 43 points, and in one game against Wellsville, he hit seven 3-pointers. He was also one free throw shy of the Kansas High School record, sinking 45 shots from the charity stripe.
He was also selected to play in the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association All-Star game and the MOKAN Classic All-Star game during his senior year.
But Buckingham’s favorite memory in high school was one with a little less notoriety.
“My favorite was when we beat Paola in substate my senior year to go to state,” Buckingham said. “They were a tough team that year, and went on to win state the next year. We really played well as a team that year.”
After high school, Buckingham accepted a Division I basketball scholarship to Western Illinois University and certainly made an impact at the school. He was a three-year starter for the Bulldogs and became the school’s all-time 3-point scoring leader.
During that three-year span, Western Illinois faced Valparaiso in the conference tournament finals for the right to go to the NCAA Tournament. Each time, Buckingham and Western Illinois left empty-handed.
“(Valparaiso) had a guy by the name of Bryce Drew, who was the 14th pick in the NBA draft, and they had a tough team. But thanks for throwing salt in the wound there,” Buckingham joked.
“Western Illinois was a great experience for me, especially going from a small town to a big university like that,” he added. “It was a big change. But I got to travel all over the country and play in some big tournaments and play against future pros.”
Currently, Buckingham lives in Overland Park with his wife, Bronwyn. He runs his own physical therapy clinic near the intersection of 135th Street and Quivira Road.
Before the ceremony, both the Kahmanns and the Buckinghams received tours of Louisburg High School from activities Director Dave Tappan, and both were in awe with what they saw.
“I am just very impressed how in 21 years since I have left, how far the school and the community have advanced,” Kahmann said.
“I am impressed coming back here to see how much has changed,” Buckingham added. “I am pleased with where the town and the school is going, and everyone is on the right path. It has actually been awhile since I have been back, but it has been good since I actually have some time to look around and see all the changes.”
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But on Saturday, both had very good reasons to return. Kahmann and Buckingham were inducted into the Louisburg High School Athletic Hall of Fame and joined 12 athletes, two football teams and two coaches previously inducted into the hall.
The two athletes were honored during the USD 416 Endowment Association ceremony at Louisburg Middle School. Jim Woods, hall of fame coordinator, gave presentations on each athlete and their importance in Wildcat athletic history.
Greg Kahmann
Kahmann, who graduated in the class of 1987, played football, basketball and baseball in high school before getting a baseball scholarship to Louisiana Tech University. In high school, he was the only Louisburg athlete to be named honorable mention all-state in three sports.
Kahmann played first base at Tech and led the American South conference in home runs his junior and senior seasons. Subsequently, he was named all-conference both years.
“It is obviously an honor to be included in this elite group,” Kahmann said. “I am going to treasure this for a long time and being back here brings back a lot of good memories, a lot of good times. I had a lot great teammates during my time here.”
In high school, Kahmann was an All-Frontier League defensive back and wide receiver in football and led the league with eight interceptions, including two in his most memorable game on the football field.
“I guess in each sport, I probably have a different memory, but my favorite was probably beating Paola in our homecoming game my senior year,” Kahmann said. “I caught a touchdown pass that game, and I had a couple interceptions, but it was a great win for us. In basketball, the whole season was great. I probably didn’t score as many points as Mark (Buckingham) did.”
In basketball, he was the Frontier League MVP his junior and senior seasons and was nominated to the 1987 McDonald’s All-American team.
The baseball program started at Louisburg during Kahmann’s junior season, and he was named an all-league player in his final two years. But he garnered college’s attention during summer ball.
After graduation, he signed with Allen County Community College, and during his stint in Iola, had to have shoulder surgery after an injury.
But, when the Louisiana Tech opportunity came up, he didn’t wait long to take advantage.
“Down there, you start practice Jan. 2, but the weather is always great down there,” Kahmann said. “We played against a lot of good players and good competition. There was a lot of exposure. When I had shoulder surgery in college, I knew I had to go somewhere it is warm. There was some good years there.”
Currently, Kahmann lives in West Monroe, La., with his wife, Katie, and their two children. Katie, who was an All-American volleyball player at Louisiana Tech, was just elected to the Tech Hall of Fame and is one of just three players to have a banner honoring her in the basketball gymnasium. The other two are NBA great Karl Malone and former NFL quarterback Terry Bradshaw.
“She is the athlete in the family,” Kahmann said. “She played volleyball all four years there and holds most of the records, so she is having a little fun with all this.”
Mark Buckingham
All it took was one sport for Buckingham to be recognized among Louisburg’s elite.
Buckingham, who was in the class of 1994, was the star guard on the Wildcat basketball team that he helped lead to the state tournament during the 1993-94 season. During his senior year, he averaged 24 points, nine rebounds and six assists per game, which is the best combination in school history.
“This is just very humbling, and it is a very big honor,” Buckingham said. “Plus, the people we are joining in the hall of fame accomplished so many great things, it is just very humbling to be honored with them.”
Buckingham holds the school’s single-game scoring record of 43 points, and in one game against Wellsville, he hit seven 3-pointers. He was also one free throw shy of the Kansas High School record, sinking 45 shots from the charity stripe.
He was also selected to play in the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association All-Star game and the MOKAN Classic All-Star game during his senior year.
But Buckingham’s favorite memory in high school was one with a little less notoriety.
“My favorite was when we beat Paola in substate my senior year to go to state,” Buckingham said. “They were a tough team that year, and went on to win state the next year. We really played well as a team that year.”
After high school, Buckingham accepted a Division I basketball scholarship to Western Illinois University and certainly made an impact at the school. He was a three-year starter for the Bulldogs and became the school’s all-time 3-point scoring leader.
During that three-year span, Western Illinois faced Valparaiso in the conference tournament finals for the right to go to the NCAA Tournament. Each time, Buckingham and Western Illinois left empty-handed.
“(Valparaiso) had a guy by the name of Bryce Drew, who was the 14th pick in the NBA draft, and they had a tough team. But thanks for throwing salt in the wound there,” Buckingham joked.
“Western Illinois was a great experience for me, especially going from a small town to a big university like that,” he added. “It was a big change. But I got to travel all over the country and play in some big tournaments and play against future pros.”
Currently, Buckingham lives in Overland Park with his wife, Bronwyn. He runs his own physical therapy clinic near the intersection of 135th Street and Quivira Road.
Before the ceremony, both the Kahmanns and the Buckinghams received tours of Louisburg High School from activities Director Dave Tappan, and both were in awe with what they saw.
“I am just very impressed how in 21 years since I have left, how far the school and the community have advanced,” Kahmann said.
“I am impressed coming back here to see how much has changed,” Buckingham added. “I am pleased with where the town and the school is going, and everyone is on the right path. It has actually been awhile since I have been back, but it has been good since I actually have some time to look around and see all the changes.”