Grove Schools to honor former students, coaches in Hall of Fame ceremony

GROVE, Okla. – Grove Schools will honor nine former Ridgerunner athletic standouts tonight with their induction into the Ridgerunner Athletic Hall of Fame.

The ceremony will be held during halftime of tonight’s contest.

The Class of 2024 includes:

Sam Pittman, Grove Class of 1980

Pittman is entering his fifth year as Arkansas’s Razorbacks Head Football Coach. He has led the Hogs to consecutive winning seasons and back-to-back bowl victories.

Widely known as one of the best offensive line coaches in the country, Pittman has coached 34 players selected in the National Football League draft.

As a senior, Pittman was the Class 3A Shot Put State Champion. After graduating from Grove, he was a four-year football letterman at Pitt State from 1980 to 1983 and was named All-Conference twice and First-Team NAIA All-American.

Pittman’s coaching career includes assistant coach stops at the University of Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas, North Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Georgia before becoming the head coach of the Razorbacks in 2020.

Pittman was inducted into the Pitt State Athletics Hall Of Fame in 1998.

Charlie Cooper, Grove Class of 1960

Cooper graduated from Grove High School in 1960 and returned in 1976 as the head football coach of the Ridgerunners. He was all-conference in football and basketball and a 1958 State Runner-Up Football Team member. After graduating from Grove, he was an All-Conference defensive end at Northern Oklahoma College before transferring to Northeastern State University, where he was a member of the 1963 team that posted an undefeated season and All-Sports Bowl Championship.

Cooper began his coaching career in 1964 in Jay and led the Bulldogs to three state playoff appearances. During his tenure as Grove’s Head Football Coach, the Ridgerunners made the state playoffs twice and advanced to the state semi-final round in 1979, where he coached the team’s leading rusher, Sam Pittman. He also served as Grove’s athletic director and assistant principal.

Cooper moved to Tahlequah, where he built the Tigers into a 4A football powerhouse. At Tahlequah, he won six district championships, averaged 10 wins a season for five consecutive years, and led the 1989 Tigers to a 4A State Runner-Up.

Other coaching stops in his 35 years included Joplin Memorial High School and Coffeyville Junior College. He finished his coaching career in Rogers, Arkansas, before retiring in 2002.

Cooper was inducted into the Oklahoma Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1993, the NSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 1996, and the Tahlequah Tigers Athletic Hall of Fame in 2015.

Dennis Millican, Grove Head Football Coach: 2005-2013

Millican compiled a 57-44 record during his nine seasons with the Ridgerunners and led the Ridgerunners to a 10-4 record and a state runner-up finish in 2006. Grove made the playoffs in five of the nine seasons under his tenure, including another semi-final appearance in 2008 after leading the Ridgerunners to a 12-1 record. He earned numerous Coach of the Year honors, including District 4A-3 honors in 2008 and 2006 Joplin Globe and Tulsa Clinic of Champions.

Dusty Gehrke, Grove Class of 2009

Gehrke earned state honors in football, wrestling, and track. In track and field, he was a four-time state champion in pole vault and garnered All-State Track honors. In wrestling, he was a state medalist and a member of the state championship wrestling team in 2008. He was a member of the state runner-up football team in 2006, and held the state record for interceptions in a year.  He earned All-State, MVP District 4A-3  and Oklahoma Athlete of the Year in 2008-2009.

He had a career-best of 17 feet, 11 inches as a pole vaulter at Oral Roberts University and competed in the Heptathlon, where he placed in the Top 4 during his collegiate career.

Abby Robertson Sumter, Grove Class of 1998

Sumter excelled in cross-country, with two top 10 finishes that earned her All-State Honors. She was also among Oklahoma’s most decorated high school track athletes. She was a 10-time state champion and four-time All-Stater in track that helped lead the Lady Ridgerunners to three consecutive 3A state championships from 1995-1997. She was a four-time state champion in the 300-meter hurdles and holds the state record.  She was a two-time state champion in the 100-meter hurdles.  She received All-American honors in the 1600-meter relay at the NAIA Indoor National Championships.

Carly McCulley Littlefield, Grove Class of 1998

Littlefield dominated cross-country and track in Oklahoma during high school, winning six  All-State honors—three in cross-country and three in track. Her efforts helped lead the Lady Ridgerunners to three consecutive state track championships from 1995 to 1997.

Currently, she is the Head Girls’ Cross-Country and Track Coach at Lovejoy High School in Lucas, Texas. She has won three consecutive 5A State Championships in cross-country and three consecutive Texas State Coach of the Year honors.

Sherry McCulley, Grove Head Girls Track and Cross-Country/Teacher 1989-1998

McCulley is one of the most decorated cross-country and track coaches in Oklahoma history, winning three consecutive 3A state championships in track from 1995- 1997 and a state runner-up finish in 1998. She also led the Lady Ridgerunners to a state runner-up finish in 1998 in cross-country.

After leaving Grove, she continued her coaching success by winning three state championships in track at Coalgate from 2004-2006 and a cross-country state championship at Hennessey. She retired with a total of six track state championships and four state-runner-up finishes and one state cross-country championship with five state-runner-up finishes. McCulley had 25 All-State athletes, including six two-sport All-Staters.

Tim Webster, Grove Class of 1967

Webster was All-Conference as a kicker and linebacker. After graduation, he played football at the University of Arkansas as a kicker and punter and was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in 1971.

He was the first Ridgerunner to play in the National Football League.

Webster died on June 30, 2021.

John Elmo Butler, Grove Class of 1961

Butler won conference honors in football, basketball, and baseball and was honorable mention all-state in football and baseball. He attended Northern Oklahoma College after Grove, where he was all-conference in both baseball and football. He continued his collegiate career in both sports at Northeastern State University, where he was a member of the 1963 undefeated football team and an all-conference catcher in 1964.

In 1965, Butler enlisted in the United States Army, proudly serving for three years.

He was elected to the Northern Oklahoma College Hall of Fame in 2013 and the NSU Hall of Fame in 2017.

Elmo was a lifelong cattle rancher and served as Delaware County Commissioner for four years.  He retired as a supervisor from the Oklahoma State Parks Department.

Butler died on April 2, 2024.

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