Alumni News & Notes

Mid-Prairie graduate, Tom Butters ‘19, finished an unforgettable football season with the Wartburg Knights. In the fall 2022 season, Butters earned the recognition of First Team All-Conference for the American Rivers Conference. He played tight end for the Knights and helped them to advance to the NCAA Division III Semifinals, the farthest Wartburg football has ever advanced in program history. The Knights had an undefeated season until their semifinal game versus Mt. Union, where they fell in a close game of 34-31. This ended their spectacular season with a 13-1 record.

During his 2022 season, Butters had 34 receptions for 423 receiving yards and 5 touchdowns. The Wartburg offensive line collectively averaged over 215 rushing yards per game during the season with 38 rushing touchdowns. As a senior, Butters certainly worked hard to earn these accomplishments, and head coach Chris Winters agrees. Coach Winters was quoted as naming Butters “instrumental” in Wartburg’s offensive success throughout the season.

While at Mid-Prairie, Butters was highly involved in multiple sports. He participated in football, basketball and track. While playing football for Mid-Prairie, he was a two-year starter at defensive back, wide receiver and punter. By the end of his MP football career, he had 63 tackles and 18 receptions for 456 yards and 5 touchdowns. He averaged 37.1 yards per punt. According to head coach Pete Cavanagh, “Tom has a natural, raw talent. I am so proud that he stuck with football through college, and I’m sure it helped him focus through school. His accomplishments at Wartburg are a direct result of his resilience and work ethic.” Although football was a highlight for Butters, he also earned recognition at Mid-Prairie in basketball and track. Through his basketball career, he earned All-Conference recognition his senior year, as well as All-Substate. He ran track for two years at Mid-Prairie. His senior season, he helped MP qualify for the Drake Relays.

True success and achievement takes hard work and dedication. Butters’ story is a great example of setting goals and reaching them.

yet and accomplishing all of this at the age of 64!