By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
The Barton Community College Athletic Department Hall of Fame grew by
three members this past weekend. Contributor David Foss, athlete Christi (Ensz)
Rife and athlete/coach Jeff Beaman were all inducted into the hall of fame
Saturday at Great Bend’s campus.
Rife was a two-sport athlete at Barton in the 1980s and eventually went on to
the University of Texas – Arlington to concentrate on basketball. Playing both
basketball and volleyball at Barton, Rife was coached by two Cougar legends in
Jerry McCarty and Ray Bechard.
"It was a great time," said Rife. "We excelled in both sports in my two years. We knew we were special based on what our coaches brought to Barton. We did really good under them."
Beaman came to Barton in 1994 and was coached by Randy Moyers on the tennis
team and eventually came back to coach the Cougars in 2000. The Canada native
is entering his 7th season as the head tennis coach at the
University of West Alabama.
"Watching Moyer's work ethic and being part of a winning program really set the tone," said Beaman. "I never thought I'd be a college coach. I cancelled going to grad school and thought it would be one to two years. 23 years later, I'm just now going to grad school."
Foss has been part of Barton athletics since the 1970s and was named the
Booster of the Year in 1992.