1989 championship team honored in Gentry

Submitted/BRENTLY WADE Leslee Holt Beeler (10), Keeley Rife Buckley (22), Bobbi Ward Sligar (24), Wendy Dillahunty Jackson (21), Carrie Nolan Clauson (15), Jennifer Webster Ellis-Lundholm (40), Dr. Cheryl Hull (30) were honored at the Feb. 5 home game of the Gentry Lady Pioneers. The 1989 basketball team won the state championship. Absent on Feb. 5 were Coach Scottie Nolan and players April Hall, Missy Boroughs, Tracy Smith Kincy, Dr. Lori Frye Nolan, Jodye Saunders Pool and Allyson Twiggs Dyer.
Submitted/BRENTLY WADE Leslee Holt Beeler (10), Keeley Rife Buckley (22), Bobbi Ward Sligar (24), Wendy Dillahunty Jackson (21), Carrie Nolan Clauson (15), Jennifer Webster Ellis-Lundholm (40), Dr. Cheryl Hull (30) were honored at the Feb. 5 home game of the Gentry Lady Pioneers. The 1989 basketball team won the state championship. Absent on Feb. 5 were Coach Scottie Nolan and players April Hall, Missy Boroughs, Tracy Smith Kincy, Dr. Lori Frye Nolan, Jodye Saunders Pool and Allyson Twiggs Dyer.

GENTRY -- The coach and players of the 1989 Gentry Lady Pioneer basketball team were recognized on Feb. 5 during home games and senior night.

Thirty years ago, the Gentry Lady Pioneers were the 1989 AA State Champions. This team was led by Coach Scottie Nolan and had a 34-1 record. The Lady Pioneers were known around the state for their quickness and their ability to "run and gun."

High hopes had been set for the Lady Pioneers at the start of the season since they placed third the year before at state and returned four starters. Strong friendships were formed on the team, and, as the season grew long, the Lady Pioneers were still united as one.

Recognized were:

Coach Scottie Nolan

Scottie Nolan coached the Lady Pioneers for nine years. During that time, his overall record was 232-44. He was voted "Coach of the Year" eight times and went to the state playoffs seven of the nine years. In 2009, he was inducted into the Arkansas Coaching Hall of Fame.

He says that these girls were very special to him. Some of these girls were involved in an 87-game consecutive conference winning streak. These girls placed a high value on practice and worked extremely hard with a purpose in mind. That season, they only lost one game to Bryant, which was ranked seventh nationally.

He wants to thank each of them and their supportive parents for raising such outstanding student-athletes. It was the ride of his life to be their coach, and he says he would do it all over again.

Coach Nolan was not able to make it to the Tuesday-night games because of a surgery.

Guard, Number 10

Leslee Holt Beeler

Leslee currently lives in Gentry and teaches first grade at the primary school. She is married to Roy and has one daughter, Jacelyn, and two stepsons, Hudson and Crafton. She remembers that winning the state championship game was the goal from day one. After winning the big game, they were instant celebrities; they got rings, were a part of a parade and had a day dedicated to them. It was a memory of a lifetime.

Forward, Number 15, Carrie Nolan Clauson

Carrie currently lives in Mulberry with her husband and three kids. She is a medical technologist for Mercy Hospital. Her favorite memory of winning was helping some of the boys' team crawl through the locker room windows to watch the game because the college at which they were playing wouldn't allow any more fans in because they exceeded the limit.

Center, Number 21, Wendy Dillahunty Jackson

Wendy currently lives in Gentry with her three children, Ashley, Hannah and Garrison. She is an agriculture teacher and FFA advisor at Gentry High School. Her favorite memory of the championship games was the energy and noise during the entire game.

Guard, Number 22, Keeley Rife Buckley

Keeley has been married to her husband Mike for 24 years. They have a 22-year-old daughter, Lydia. Keeley is a registered nurse at Mercy Pediatrics in Bentonville. She started playing basketball in seventh grade, which was also Coach Nolan's first year at Gentry. She was one of the three seniors to play in the championship game. The high school record from her sophomore year to her senior year was 90-7, a pretty impressive record.

Point Guard and Forward, Number 24, Bobbi Ward Sligar

Bobbi is married to Ron Sligar and has one son, one bonus daughter and three grandsons. She is a nine-year thyroid cancer survivor. She still lives on the same road where she grew up, and she stays busy with her son's swimming, gardening and raising several types of animals. She says that winning the championship game was a magical experience, and she made so many great memories and learned a lot of lessons while playing basketball.

Center, Number 30, Dr. Cheryl Hull

Cheryl currently lives in Rogers and is a dermatologist, researcher, adjunct professor at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and mother to four children. One of her favorite memories of the championship team was the practices. The drills that Coach Nolan had them do, the line drills, the scrimmages and the pep talks Coach Nolan would give. She also cherishes the memories of the team, like holding hands in a huddle in the locker room before the game, reciting the Lord's Prayer and the chosen Bible verse, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

Point Guard, Number 40, Jennifer Webster Ellis-Lundholm

Jennifer currently lives in Gentry and teaches at Gentry Primary School. Her favorite memory of the championship game was when the team arrived to the championship game and the whole town of Gentry was there. There were several people standing outside because they weren't permitted into the gym because of the fire code. She remembers several of the high school students crawling through the window in the locker room so they could get into the game. No one sat for the entire game ... not players, coaches or fans.

Players not in attendance on Feb. 5 were:

Post and Center, Number 4, April Hall, who currently lives in Oklahoma.

Guard, Number 12, Missy Boroughs

Missy is married and owns three businesses. She says that a fond memory of playing basketball is how the whole team would spend so much time at the gym and they were all so close. The seniors on the team had told Coach Nolan when they were in seventh grade that they would win state, and they were right.

Guard, Number 13, Tracy Smith Kincy

Tracy is married to Jason Kincy and they have two daughters, Jenna and Claire. She has worked for Bentonville Schools for 19 years -- first as a seventh grade English teacher and now as the district literacy specialist for grades 5-8. Her favorite memories include the celebration and excitement from the whole town after winning the state championship and a special "play" that she and Jennifer did during warmups before every game.

Point Guard, Number 14, Dr. Lori Frye Nolan

Lori lives and works in Frankfort, Ky. She just graduated from the University of Kentucky with a doctorate in nursing practice and is currently a nurse practitioner. She has four kids, ages 15 to 22.

Guard, Number 20, Jodye Saunders Pool is the science facilitator at Rogers New Technology High School.

Post, Number 23, Allyson Twiggs Dyer went on to play for the University of Arkansas Lady Razorbacks. She currently runs The Twiggs Group.

Sports on 02/13/2019