Klinge earns Wootten lifetime award

Waukon girls' basketball coach Gene Klinge has been selected as the 2011 Morgan Wootten Award for Lifetime Achievement in Coaching High School Basketball.Klinge is the all-time wins leader among girls' coaches in Iowa, with a 49-year record of 968-225. His career began in 1962, and for the next 41 years he coached at West Central, where he won 817 games before leaving for Waukon in 2003.In his first year at Waukon, he led the team to a 28-0 record and the Class 3A state championship.Jersey City (N.J.) St. Anthony's coach Bob Hurley was the boys' winner.The Morgan Wootten Award winners were selected by a nationally based committee comprised of Hall of Famers, national high school media members, tournament directors and others that have significantly impacted the game. The awards will be presented by Morgan Wootten at the 2011 McDonald's All-American Game events in March in Chicago.