‘End of an era’: Longtime fixtures Andy Scott, Ronda Peterson retiring from Dragons athletic training room
MSUM athletic trainer Keith Wiedrich set follow his co-workers and retire next summer. They have combined for more than 90 years of experience.
By Eric Peterson, The Forum
MOORHEAD — Longtime Minnesota State Moorhead head athletic trainer Andy Scott said earlier this school year a student told Scott she had an iconic look, from her spiky hair, quarter-zip pullover and shorts. During the winter, a vest would often be added to the ensemble.
There’s also Scott’s trademark “Woohoo!” scream at the start of Dragons women’s basketball games.
“I have had students tell me before, it’s kind of iconic,” Scott said. “I don’t really think of it that way. It is fun and people remember it.”
Scott is part of an iconic trio MSUM athletic trainers who have been a team for decades. Scott, 55, is set to retire from the school’s training room July 8 after 29 years. Assistant trainer Ronda Peterson, 55, officially left her post in MSUM’s training room the day before the Fourth of July after 25 years at the school.
“We’re cleaning out our desks and it’s looking a little bare in our office,” Peterson said. “It’s going to look a little different. We’ve been here so long.”
Keith Wiedrich — who has been an athletic trainer at MSUM — since 1994 is going to retire after the 2024-2025 school year. The three have combined for more than 90 years of athletic training experience with nearly 90 of those years at MSUM.
“We were more like family,” said Wiedrich, who is 59 years old. “The three of us fit together very well.”
Scott is retiring from MSUM and athletic training, while Peterson is leaving the training room and is set to be an assistant professor in the university’s Master of Science in Athletic Training program starting in the 2024-2025 school year.
“It’s the end of an era,” said MSUM athletic director Chad Markuson. “It’s very uncommon to keep a group together that long.”