2026 Crusader Wall of Fame recipients. Josh Gooch, Eric Wiedower, and Carter Green.

By Tracy McCue, Sumner Newscow — Three recipients have been named to the Crusader Wall of Recognition for 2026. They are:

•Josh Gooch, Class of 1992.

•Carter Green, Class of 1993.

•Eric Wiedower, Class of 2001.

The three will be recognized tonight at Wellington High School Class Night, which starts at 6 p.m. The following is a biography of each recipient.

Josh Gooch, Class of 1992

Josh Gooch

Gooch was born and raised in Wellington by his mother, Harriet, and father, Jerry, graduating in 1992. He participated in football, wrestling, baseball, and tennis, earning multiple all-league and all-state honors. In 1996, he earned his bachelor’s in communications, and in 1999, he earned his master’s in Sports Administration from Fort Hays State University.

Gooch played four years of collegiate football: two years for the Coffeyville Red Ravens and two years for the Fort Hays State Tigers. He also competed in wrestling while at FHSU, finishing seventh and third in the NCAA Division 2 Championships and becoming a two-time All-American.

He would spend 16 years coaching college football with stops at Ellsworth Community College, Coffeyville CC, Fort Hays State, University of Wyoming, and Hutchinson CC.

In July 2015, Gooch was named the fifth Director of Athletics at Hutchinson CC. During his tenure, the Blue Dragons have won six NJCAA National Championships, including Men’s Basketball in 2017, Men’s Golf in 2021 and 2022, Football in 2020 and 2024, and Women’s Basketball in 2024.

In 2024, Gooch was recognized by Ingram’s Business Magazine as one of 50 Kansans you should know. During his tenure as Athletic Director for Hutchinson CC, he has managed Kansas State High School State Championships in volleyball, football, and basketball. Hutchinson has also hosted multiple NJCAA National Championships.

During his free time, he enjoys spending time with his family, traveling to sporting events, and golfing. The game of golf has taken him to Pebble Beach and the Old Course at St. Andrews, where he caddied at the 2018 Senior Open.

He and his wife, Kandy, have two children: Aubrey and Avery.

Carter Green – Class of 1993

Carter Green graduated as Valedictorian of the WHS class of 1993.

Carter Green has won two Emmys for musical scores in film documentaries.

He received a Merit Scholarship to the University of Chicago, where he graduated with a B.A. in Music with Honors in 1997.

Green returned to his hometown of Wellington, where he started Greenjeans Studios in 2000, and has since received a Grammy nomination, won two Emmys for his film scoring, and produced music for artists nationally and internationally, as well as music for many shows on network television.

He won “Best Composer Heartland Emmy” for ‘More Like Jackie,’ a documentary about the destruction of the bronze statue of famed baseball player and civil rights pioneer Jackie Robinson. He was also part of the team that won the Edward R Murrow award for the Marion Record raid documentary.

Green won his original Emmy for the 2021 Documentary “Once was Lost: The 70-year search for Father Kapaun,” for penning the musical score about recovering the remains of the Korean War Chaplain and Pilsen native Father Emil Kapaun.

He founded the group The Mudbugs Cajun and Zydeco Band, which toured extensively throughout the U.S. and received millions of views across social media and music streaming platforms.

He plans to continue his work at his recording studio in Wellington while serving in various charitable roles to help Kansans in need.

Eric Wiedower, D.O. – Class of 2001

Eric Wiedower

Wiedower graduated from Wellington High School in 2001. During high school, he played football and was a member of the 2000 state runner-up team, earning All-State honors and being selected to play in the 2001 Kansas Shrine Bowl. He was also a member of the 2001 state runner-up 4×100 relay team in track.

After graduation, he attended the University of Kansas, graduating in 2006 with a BA in Human Biology. He attended medical school at the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences, graduating in 2010. Dr. Wiedower completed his residency at the University of Kansas – Wichita in 2013, where he served as Chief Resident. After residency, he completed his hematology/oncology fellowship at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center/West Cancer Center (UTHSC) in Memphis in 2016, where he also served as Chief Fellow.

He joined the West Cancer Center and Research Institute in 2016, practicing at their Southaven, Miss., location as a medical oncologist and hematologist. The West Cancer Center and Research Institute is home to 100 oncology specialists and governed by a physician partnership where he joined as 1 of 19 partners in February 2021. He is board-certified in medical oncology and hematology and has 10 publications in 6 different medical journals.

Dr. Wiedower has received numerous awards during his medical training and practice. During residency, he received the W.C. Goodpasture M.D. Resident Performance Award. While in his oncology fellowship, he received the Abstract Achievement Award from the American Society of Hematology on two occasions and was one of 10 fellows selected to present at the Mayo Clinic Reviews in 2015.

Wiedower wins Marion Dugdale Award in 2020.

He was awarded the Marion Dugdale M.D. Outstanding Faculty Award for exceptional leadership to the UTHSC fellows in hematology and oncology 2019-2020. He has been a Castle Connolly Top Doctor since 2024, awarded to the top 7% of U.S. physicians.

Eric is the proud husband of Christen Wiedower and the proud father of Harrison Wiedower.