Hall of Fame coach resigns
By Andrew Ferrell
Come November, a new girls' basketball coach will be court side at Columbia City High School. Hall of Fame coach Wayne Kreiger has resigned as Columbia City Lady Eagles head coach to take on an assistant head coaching position at Fort Wayne Canterbury, where his son is the current head coach.
During his 33-year reign as head coach at Columbia City, Kreiger donned a 520-222 record, a .701 winning percentage. He gathered 16 sectional titles, 8 regional titles, 1 semi-state championship, and a State finals runner-up in 2000.
Kreiger was inducted into the Indiana Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006, where he was the third most winningest coach in Indiana's women's high school basketball; Kreiger is currently the fifth most winningest coach.
Kreiger also added assistant coach for the Indiana All-Star Team and coach for the Jr. All Star Team to his list of accomplishments, as well as the Claude Wolf Coach of the Year Award in 2005 from Manchester College.
Prior to taking over the girls' coaching job in 1977, Kreiger was also the Columbia City boys' head coach for two years. News of Kreiger's resignation came as a surprise to many Whitley County sports fans.