Name – Debbie (Luke) Greuel
UW-Stout graduation year – 1980
Major – Home Economics in Business (Interior Decorating)
Sport Played – Swimming
Years Played –1976-77; 1977-78; 1979-80
Hometown (High School) – Minnetonka, Minn. (Hopkins Lindbergh)
Currently Reside – Little Chute, Wis.
Why did you chose UW-Stout and to compete for the Blue Devil swimming and diving team?
I chose UW-Stout because I wanted a degree in design. The Interior Decorating concentration under the Home Economics in Business degree seemed to suit my interests. Fortunately, swimming was a program at Stout. I felt I still had more to experience and accomplish from swimming. The WIAC was five years young when I joined the UW-Stout women's swim team. I was not sure what collegiate athletics would entail.
Debbie Luke Greuel won the 1977 WIAC 100 butterfly
Who are the most influential people in your athletic career?
Let me start with some background. My father, Elmer Luke, had the greatest influence on my swimming. He swam at Hibbing High School, Gustavus Adolphus College and went on to be a multiple hall of fame swimming coach in Minnesota. He coached for nearly 50 years. He was more than a swimming coach; he was a life coach. I was fortunate to call him "Dad" rather than "Coach." My success at swimming is attributable to him and all he taught me. He believed in the immense power of our brains. That we could do that which we could imagine. I learned from him to envision what I wanted, make a plan, set goals, and execute the plan. I learned to think positively and dream of success.
How did you get started with swimming?
I started competitive swimming at the age of eight in the local AAU program. This kept me busy summers and winters until in the ninth grade I joined the first girl's swim team at Lindbergh High School in Hopkins, Minnesota. Girls swimming as a high school sport was just beginning but we were more than ready. I was very aware that I was involved in the beginning of girl's athletics becoming what it should have already been. Equal in all ways with the boy's athletic programs.
What differences did you find between your high school career and your career at Stout?
As a freshman at Stout I found myself on a small team of women with a broad spectrum of swimming experiences. An All American from the previous season, a group of us with high school experience and some who were new to the sport. We all wanted our team to be successful. Rita (McKinley) Slinden was our coach. We were so fortunate to have Rita. She was instrumental with the beginning and promotion of women's athletics. She was a terrific mentor and guide to us. It was a fun group of women all wanting to put UW-Stout swimming on the map!
Competitive opportunities for girls and women athletes were just getting rolling as you were competing in high school and in college. Looking back, how do you see that part in your career?
As women's athletics were new, there were times it frustrated me to encounter those who were surprised at our success, were surprised we swam the same or similar workouts as the men's team. Their surprise or skepticism was motivation for me.
The truth is more was expected of the women. Wisconsin women's (swimming) season was in the fall. We started when we arrived in August and finished with the Wisconsin conference championship meet in November. The women's national season was November through mid-March. (Same as men's) So after peaking in November, we who qualified to compete at the national championships would need to begin again and go four more months. This was SO exciting my freshman year but became a huge obstacle in the years ahead. A flaw in the system that was remedied years later.
Front: Kaye Chatfield, Nancy Mueller, Julie (Hass) Hensley
Back: Joanne Anderson, Charlotte Fritsche, Debbie (Luke) Greuel
What are some of your athletic highlights and memories?
My freshman year swimming was fun, exciting, and successful. I was in great condition, laser focused in where I was going and what I hoped to accomplish. I achieved All-American recognition in two events (Butterfly, Backstroke).
We were all happy to return my sophomore year. We had a terrific fall season. After a wildly successful conference meet we would need to do the four long months until national competition all over again. I was not able to capture the enthusiasm of that first year again. Looking back, perhaps I had just reached the end of the run for me. I had been competing for 12 years, working out 9 of 12 months each year. I had college class demands. I just could not keep the focus. Our trip to nationals was fun but not competitively satisfying.
I did not swim my junior year, then came back to the team my senior year. I returned because I missed my best friend, Julie (Hass) Hensley. She was a big part of the success of the team. Julie was always positive and cheery. She embraced team spirit with all her heart. I am sure every member of the team remembers her fondly. It was interesting for me to participate that final year with the only goal being to enjoy this final lap. I am still friends with Julie. We speak often although we have not seen each other since the Hall of Fame induction (1993). Her friendship has always been a treasure of mine.
You asked why this period was so successful for Stout women's swimming. Success is never one moment or person. We had the right coach, a great group of women who came together, each taking their personal goals and bringing them together for the team. We were not there for scholarships, we had the desire to build a team in which we found pride, joy, and companionship.
What were your greatest lesson from your swimming career?
There are so many... I learned this. There is a place, a depth in us all that when we can access it we can accomplish great things. Each day I went to swim practice was as important as the last and the next. I worked out with a fierce focus. I find I look within myself for that strength of focus often. I have achieved wonderful things in my life. Those I treasure most are not tied to my careers. They are within my family and friends.
Jeff and Debbie Greuel
Give us a brief synopsis of your life since graduating from UW-Stout?
Post-graduation I worked 10 years in retail management then chose my children as my focus. Once our children were in school I began substitute teaching. I found teaching to perhaps be my calling. Mentoring children in my career and volunteering has been rewarding. I taught here in Little Chute for 21 years. It was a perfect fit for me. My UW-Stout education made me "smarter than a 5th grader." I am retired now and enjoy being Grandma to my batch of boys – soon to be five boys.
My most valued take away from Stout is my husband, Jeff Greuel '81, MS'98. He is a Tech. Ed. teacher at Little Chute High School. We have two children. Dan is an architect living with his family in the Twin Cities. Bonnie was a 4K teacher, now a full-time mom living here in the Fox Cities.
