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Edina Athletic Booster Club

Hall of Fame Class of 2023

Tom Carroll, 1979 – Tom played hockey, baseball and soccer, helping the Edina Senior Babe Ruth baseball team win the State Championship; Edina East soccer team win the State Champion Runner-Up trophy in 1977; Edina East hockey team win back-to-back Championships in 1978 & 1979


Tom played hockey for the University of Wisconsin-Madison and helped the Badgers advance to the NCAA “Frozen Four” three consecutive years, winning the National Championship title in 1981 and 1983 and finishing in 2nd place in 1982.

After graduating, Tom began a hockey coaching career that includes 14 years as an Assistant at The University of Notre Dame; the General Manager and Head Coach of the Des Moines Buccaneers; and Head Coach of the New England College Pilgrims where he continues coaching today.


Tom currently lives in New Hampshire with his wife Cindy Tansek-Carroll and their grown daughter, Jess.


Adam Goldberg, 1998 – Adam was the starting center for the Hornet basketball team and starting lineman for the football team. His senior year, Adam was the Basketball team’s Captain, the leading scorer, team MVP and named to the All-Conference team. In football, he played both offensive and defensive line all three years, and as a Senior he recorded 95 tackles, 19 solo and 76 assists. Adam was All-Conference, All-Metro and All-State.


Adam continued playing football for the University of Wyoming where he was voted team Captain both Junior and Senior years, was named to the Mountain West All-Conference team three consecutive years and was a National Strength and Conditioning Association (NCSA) Strength and Conditioning All American.


After graduating in 2003, Adam was signed by the Minnesota Vikings where he played for two seasons. He was traded to the St. Louis Rams where he played another six seasons. With the Rams, he was elected team Captain, and for five consecutive years was the Rams’ representative to the player’s union (NFLPA).


Adam retired from football in 2012 and in 2016 he started his own company, Gold Block Ventures, a Real Estate Investment firm based in Denver.

Adam and his wife Angi live in the Denver area where Adam helps coach his four sons and also enjoys hiking and biking the nearby mountains, traveling and cooking.


Anna Heikenen Johnson, 2002 – Anna was a Varsity basketball starter all 3 years at Edina and helped lead the team to three consecutive Section 6 Championships and State Tournament appearances. Over her basketball career at Edina, Anna amassed 953 total points, 540 rebounds with 229 in a single season (10th all time). As a team Captain her Senior year, Anna was All-Conference, All-State, Academic All-State, Senior All-Star and team MVP.


Anna continued playing basketball at College of St. Benedict helping the team to an overall 80-19 record, three MIAC Championships and a Division III NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 finish in 2005. Over her four years at St. Ben’s, Anna scored 1518 points (5th all time), had a scoring average of 15.6 points per game (3rd all time), She was All-MIAC and team MVP three consecutive years. Her Senior year, Anna set all-time single season records for total points scored with 514, attempted free throws of 196, and most points in a single game of 35. Additionally, Anna was the MIAC Player of the Year, named an All-American and the College of St. Benedict Athlete of the Year.


Anna, her husband Kyle Johnson, and their girls live in Raleigh, North Carolina where Anna has recently returned to teaching elementary school.


Bill Hibbs, 1956 –As a fullback and defensive end in football, Bill played both ways and for the majority of games his senior year played every down. That year, Edina Morningside finished the season with a perfect record of 7-0, were Lake Conference Champions and ended the year as the 2nd ranked team in the state (there were no football playoffs at that time.) Bill only played basketball one year but was a powerful center that shut down opposing shooters. As the catcher on the Varsity baseball and Legion teams, Bill was widely considered the best catcher in the state and helped the 1955 Legion win the State Championship. Overall, Bill earned five varsity letters while also participating in E-Club, Hi-Y, the annual fall play, and Junior Red Cross.


Bill went on to Dartmouth College where he joined Beta Theta Pi fraternity and continued playing football for four more years. In 1958, Bill was ranked #1 in the Ivy League for receiving touchdowns and helped Dartmouth’s football team win their first outright Ivy League Conference Championship.


Following college, Bill returned to the Twin Cities and took a management training position with 3M. After several years and several transfers, Bill returned to the Midwest and settled into a career with Valspar in the Quad Cities on the Iowa/Illinois border. Bill passed away in May 1998 at age 60 and is represented by his brother, Ray.


Larry Johnson, Coach – Larry was a 3-sport athlete at Kiester High School, lettering in football, basketball and track. After graduating as Valedictorian of the class of 1963, Larry pursued a Mathematics degree at Mankato State College and also ran Cross Country and Track and played Basketball.


In 1967, Larry accepted a Mathematics teaching position at Edina High School. From 1968-1985, Larry coached Southview Middle School and 10th grade track and was Assistant Varsity Track Coach. In 1985, Larry took over as the Head Coach for the Boys Track & Field which he held until he retired in 1992. Larry’s coaching contributed to the Edina State Championship track teams in 1969, 1970 and 1974. In 2018, the 3200-meter race in the Edina Invitational Track meet was named after Larry, and in 2023 his grandson, Owen from Lakeville South High School, participated in that race and won.


Larry also spent 12 years as an Assistant Varsity Football Coach and coached 9th grade basketball for six years. In 1982 Larry added Head Coach of the Cross Country team to his duties and was selected Section 6AA Coach of the Year in 1985, 1987 & 1988. From 1982-1992, Edina Cross Country teams had three top-10 finishes in the State Tournament. Over his 25 years of coaching, Larry shared his passion, infectious smile and skill for bringing out the best in over 1000 student athletes on more than 53 teams.


Larry retired from coaching in 1992 and in 2001, after 34 years at Edina High School, he retired from teaching. Larry passed away in 2017 and is represented today by his wife Judy.


Sara Sampsell-Jones, 1993As an 8th grader, Sara joined the Swim and Dive team, earning her first of 11 Varsity letters. In 10th grade, she switched to Cross-Country team, earned a place on the All-Conference team each of the next three years, placed 10th in the State Meet as a Sophomore, and was voted Team Captain as a Senior. Sara was a 3-year starter for the Basketball team, was All-Conference all three years and her Senior year was team Captain, All-State and Academic All-State. Sara earned three more Varsity letters in Track and Field, was All-Conference three times, and as a Senior she was Team Captain, Section Champion in the 1600 Meter race and finished 2nd place in the State Meet for the 4x800 meter relay.


Sara graduated in 1993 as an Edina Scholar and Edina Scholar Athlete and she was selected as the 1993 Edina Athena Award recipient.


Sara attended Dartmouth College, where she made the Varsity basketball as a freshman and helped the 1993-94 team win the Ivy League Championship. She was awarded Rev. D.J. Edson Scholarship for excellence in religious studies and graduated Cum Laude in 1997. Sara continued her studies, graduating Magna Cum Laude from the University of Minnesota Law School in 2008.


Over the next 20 years Sara continued running, completing 3 half-ironman distance triathlons, countless Olympic and sprint distance triathlons, and dozens of road and trail races.

 

Sara owns her own law practice, Sampsell-Jones Law Office, LLC, specializing in Estate Planning and Administration. Sara and her husband Ted Jones (EHS Class of ’93) live in Minneapolis with their two teenaged children.


Carla Steffen, Coach – Carla has been involved with Synchronized Swimming for over 40 years, In 1981, Carla was the first seventh grader to participate on the Edina High School Synchronized Swim team. As a 6-year member of the team, she earned multiple Varsity letters, helped the team to four consecutive top five finishes in the State Tournament, made the All-Conference and All-State teams and was a Captain her Senior year. Following graduation in 1986, Carla pursued a degree in Interior Design at North Dakota State University, graduating in 1991.


Carla accepted a co-Coaching position with her old team in 2001 and a year later took the helm beginning a 20-year run as the Edina Synchronized Swimming Head Coach. Carla coached the team to the Section Championship in 2021 and 2022. In 2023, the team won the Lake Conference Championship and reached the State Tournament for the 23rd consecutive year. In those years, Edina has had seven first place routine finishes, and over 100 routines placing in the top seven. Carla was named Synchronized Swimming Head Coach of the year in 2016 and 2022 and was inducted into the High School Synchro Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2023.


In 2023, Carla retired from coaching, but remains active with the Sychro community, as the Club Administrator for the Minnesota Synchronettes; as a Local/Regional/Zone judge for USA Artistic Swimming (the sport’s governing body) and with Minnesota Masters Synchronized Swimming.

Carla lives in Edina with her husband, James and their two daughters, Izzy and Zofi who have each qualified for the State Tournament as members of the Edina Synchronized Swim team.


Otto Voettiner, 1986 – Otto started competitive swimming at age 4 and in 10th grade, Otto’s family moved to Edina where he joined the Edina Swim and Dive team. Otto earned All-Conference and All-State placement all three years and the All-American team his Junior and Senior years. At one point Otto held six consecutive Edina High School records. He helped Edina win the Boys Swim & Dive Section 6 Championship each year, the State Championship title in 1984 and 1986 and a 3rd place finish in 1985. At the State Meet, Otto won a medal in each event he entered for 3 consecutive years. Otto was a five-time State Champion (200 Freestyle, 100 Butterfly, 200 Medley Relay and twice in the 400 Freestyle Relay) with four more 2nd and 3rd place medals.


Otto continued swimming for the University of Hawaii, qualifying for the NCAA tournament in each of his four years. Following college, Otto joined the FBI. He was a special agent for many years, worked on a Mexican and Colombian Drug Squad and in Domestic Terrorism. He was selected to join the FBI’s elite Hostage Rescue Team, was promoted to Supervisor, and oversaw the FBI’s SWAT teams nationally. After 22 years, he retired from the FBI and joined Emergency Response Function 13 (ERF-13), a contracted branch of FEMA that handles national disasters like hurricanes, floods, tornados and wildfires.


Otto’s travel schedule can be demanding so when he’s not on site managing a crisis, he likes to spend time relaxing with his wife, Amy, near their home in Virginia or spending time golfing or skiing with their two grown children.

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