Winona Area Public Schools
A record-setting gymnast. The first athlete — male or female — to earn 12 varsity letters. A state champion swimmer. A three-sport star in both high school and college. An all-star football player who later served a captain in the Los Angeles Fire Department.
These are the Winona Senior High School Hall of Fame inductees in the Class of 2023.
Amy Duran (Class of 1983), Katie Crouse (Class of 2003), Mark Peters (1983), Greg Scarborough (1974) and Abbey Staats (Class of 2009) will be inducted in a ceremony held at 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 7 in the WSHS Learning Commons. Staats was technically inducted in 2022 but could not attend the ceremony, so she is being included this year.
The Hall of Fame inductees will also be honored during the homecoming parade, which is set for 5:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 6. They will also be announced at the football game at 7 p.m. that night at Paul Giel Field.
Katie Crouse (2003)
It didn’t take Katie Crouse too long to set her first school record. She wasn’t even a high school student yet. As an eighth-grader, Crouse set a school record on the bars as well as a school and Big 9 Conference record in the vault — the first of many she would go on to set during a decorated career.
She was an all-state selection on the beam and was named to the all-state select team in the vault, bars, floor and all-around. From there, she continued to set Big 9 and school records in multiple events, and received all-conference and all-state honors in the vault, bars, beam, floor and all-around. As a junior, she led the team to its first state meet appearance and scored a MSHSL All-Time Top Ten score on the floor.
She was also a standout on the track and field team, qualifying for the state meet in the 300 hurdles.
Crouse graduated from Winona State and has a Master’s in Sports Management. She is currently enrolled in the MItchell Hamline School of Law and is a proud mother of her daugher, Kierey.
Kristin Crouse, Katie’s sister, was inducted into the WSHS Hall of Fame in 2019.
Amy Duran (1983)
Before Amy Duran, nobody had earned 12 varsity letters. However, when she showed what she could do against competition her age at the Winona YMCA and the junior high, it was apparent that she had the stuff to be on varsity.
As a member of the swimming, gymnastics and track & field teams, Duran was the first Winona High athlete — male or female — to earn 12 varsity letters. In swimming, she set school records in the 50- and 100-yard breaststroke. She was all-conference, qualified for the state meet and helped her team win the REgion 1A Team Championship. On the track, she was a member of the two-time state champion 800-yard relay, and she was a three-time state finalist with the 1,600 relay team.
After graduating from UW-Eau Claire, Duran moved to the state of Washington where she worked in sales and business development. She is currently the Vice President of Business Development & Marketing for the Center for Educational Effectiveness, an educational consulting firm. She and her husband Rob Moore have three grandchildren, with a fourth on the way in November.
Mark Peters (1983)
The first exposure to sports for Mark Peters came through Winona Park and Recreation activities like flag football and baseball. He was hooked, and he never settled on just one sport, even through college.
Peters was a two-year starter and an all-conference selection at safety on Bob Urness’ football teams, and he received honorable mention honors in basketball under Bruce Reeck. In track and field, he was a big jumper for coach Jim Flim. The triple jump was his best event, as he earned all-conference and all-state honors. He still holds the school record in the triple jump of 44 feet, 3 inches.
Peters went on to attend Macalester College where he remained active in all three sports. He was a three-time all-conference selection in football under coach Tom Hosier, who played Peters at tight end. Peters received All-American honors as a senior, catching 53 passes for 851 yards and six touchdowns. He was also a two-year starter in basketball and continued to jump for the track & field team.
Peters worked in finance and retired at the age of 53. He now spends as much time as possible skiing and fly fishing in Montana.
Abbey Staats (2009)
It didn’t take long for Abbey Staats to start making a name for herself on the Winona High swimming team.
She wasn’t even in high school yet.
As an eighth-grader, Staats joined the varsity team and excelled, joining the Minute Man Club and earning all-conference honors. As a freshman, she won the Big 9 and section titles in the 50 freestyle — a sign of things to come over the next three years.
Staats swept the 50 and 100 freestyle titles at every conference and section meet as a sophomore, junior and senior. She set 10 records, was named Section 1AA swimmer of the year and earned All-America honors as a junior and senior.
Toward the end of her junior season, Staats was caught off guard when coach Steve Burt told her: “I honestly believe you have a chance to be a state champion.” That ignited a spark inside of her, and she made it happen, winning the 50 freestyle at the state meet in 23.54 seconds.
As a senior, Staats placed second at state in the 50 and 100 freestyle. She received a full-ride scholarship to the University of Minnesota.
Abbey now lives in Windsor, Colorado.
Greg Scarborough (1974)
Greg Scarborough was a three-year starter on the football team, playing fullback on offense and defensive end/linebacker on defense. He was a two-time all-conference selection, team MVP and was named to the Shriners All-Star Football game as a senior.
Football wasn’t his only sport. Scarborough also excelled in baseball, and he played on a Jerry Raddatz-coached team that finished runner-up at the state tournament.
Scarborough wanted to walk on at Minnesota or Nebraska, but assistant coach Dan Green persuaded him to accept a full-ride scholarship to North Dakota State. It was one of the best decisions he made in his life. Scarborough and his NDSU teammates won three North Central Conference Championships, and he led the team in tackles for loss as a senior.
After graduating from NDSU, Scarborough moved to California and joined the Los Angeles Fire Department. In 1993, he was promoted to captain.
He and his wife, Leslie, have two children. They have since moved back to Winona after retiring from the fire department in 2012.