The RoundHouse | 2/27/2019 10:12:00 AM

Tonya (Lane) Kramer – women's basketball (1987-91)
 
Tonya (Lane) Kramer did it all, as many athletes at small high schools do, during her time at Jefferson County North High School. She played volleyball and basketball. She ran the 800-meter dash and 1,600-meter relay. In the summer, she played softball.
 
"You can develop so many different skills by playing different sports and staying competitive," she said. "I believe in having a sport that might be your favorite, that you want to concentrate on more than others. My daughters and my son, we concentrate on basketball the most. But my daughters and my son play all the sports."
 
Kramer's enthusiasm for sports did not diminish.
 
Those days at the school in Winchester started Kramer on her way to Wichita State and then back to northeast Kansas to teach, train and coach. She has taught physical education, health and weight training for 27 years, 15 at Jefferson North. This school year, she added head boys basketball coach to her duties that also include assistant middle school volleyball coach and PowerClub weightlifting.
 
"I just love sports – all sports," she said. "That's the passion I have for sports, and even the fitness and weight-training. I love teaching all the different sports to my high school students. And I love teaching weight-lifting and fitness to my high school students to develop life-long skills."
 
Kramer, a 5-foot-8 guard, played at Wichita State under coaches Karen Harden and Linda Hargrove and scored 1,069 points to rank No. 19 on the career scoring list. In 1991, she earned a spot on the Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete team.
 
She averaged 10.7 points and 4.6 rebounds for her career, including highs of 13.3 points and 6.1 rebounds as a sophomore. In 1988-89, Kramer made 18 of 42 three-pointers (42.9 percent), then the high mark.
 
"Great coaches, loved my coaches," she said. "I loved playing against KU and K-State, the in-state rivals. There were a lot of great traveling experiences that I wouldn't have been able to do if I didn't play there."
 
Status update - Kramer is remaking Jefferson County North basketball after taking over for Jim Brickell, who coached the Chargers for 31 years.
 
"Tough guy to follow," Kramer said. "He had a lot of success here."
 
Kramer, who worked as girls assistant coach at JCN and coached all three of her daughters, said she long wanted to coach boys. 
 
"I look at it like I'm coaching the sport I love and I'm knowledgeable about," she said. "I couldn't ask for a better group of guys – hard-working. They want to learn about the game."
 
Kramer said she coaches like a college coach, a product of watching her daughters play college basketball for years. The Chargers played faster on offense, often running four or five players on the perimeter, and more man-to-man defense. They ended their first season under Kramer with a 6-14 record.
 
"The transition to the new offense and the new defense and the new style, it took some time," she said. "I like the up-tempo, push the ball. When I present it, I like to present it like the college-level."
 
Family – husband, Daryl; daughters, Jordan (24), Jacee (22), Jenna (20); son, James (16)
 
Days and nights at the gym – All three of the Kramer daughters played or play college basketball.

Jordan played one season at Washburn before finishing her career at Benedictine College. Jacee played at Emporia State and is a graduate assistant strength and conditioning coach at Southwestern College. Jenna is a junior at Ottawa University.
  
"As their high school coach, I was very involved, vocal, come home and talk about the game good and bad," she said. "In college, I sit in the stands and I'm a parent. I gave them advice when they wanted it. But, I felt like I did my job and got them to the next level. I let their college coaches do their work."

James is a sophomore at Jefferson County North and competes in football, basketball and track.
 
Get in shape – Fitting for fitness fan, Kramer regards Wichita State strength and conditioning coach Kerry Rosenboom as an important influence. She remembers hot days running the stairs at Cessna Stadium with an appreciation.
 
"I remember going to workouts and enjoying them" she said. "The progress and mental toughness that comes from the weight room is unbelievable."
 
Still moving – Kramer's hobby is not much different from her work. She is training, with Jacee, for a CrossFit competition in April and competes in obstacle courses such as Rugged Maniac and Warrior Dash.
 
"The Rugged Maniac is a 5-kilometer with 26 obstacles," she said. "I compete with myself every day in the weight room. At least six days a week, I'm in the weight room and running and lifting."

Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.