PHOENIX — Finally, Phoenix High School is ready to induct their newest class into the Hall of Famers.
After nearly a decade of waiting, 17 individuals and three teams will be inducted into the Phoenix Athletics Hall of Fame during a ceremony Saturday night, the first in-person ceremony since 2014.
The ceremony begins at 6:00 p.m. at the Phoenix High School Commons.
“We’re really looking forward to it,” said Phoenix Sports Director Dave Ehrhardt. “For a number of reasons we weren’t able to hold an induction ceremony, so it’s fun to continue this tradition – and a lot of effort went into it back in 2011 and 2014 when this first started.”
The following will be inducted: Bruce Timmerman (Cross Country Coach), Brent Watts (Football/Basketball/Baseball), Jordan Lewis (Baseball), Jack James (Football/Baseball), Denna Haverkost (Volleyball/Basketball/Track and Field), Mike Miles (Football/ Baseball), Tom Murphy (Basketball/Volleyball Coach), Martyn Mayfield (Soccer), Mike Mondale (Soccer), Othar Richey (Soccer/Basketball/Track and Field), Kimberly Parducci (Basketball/Softball/Volleyball/Soccer), David Westfall (Soccer ), Tiffany Ross (softball/volleyball/basketball), Kerry Paxson (football/basketball/track), Leon Small (football/track), Gerald Sloper (football/basketball) and Elliott Jantzer (cross-country/track).
The 17 recruits span five different decades from the 1960s through the 2000s.
The three teams inducted into the Hall of Fame are Phoenix’s 1979 state championship soccer team and the 1980 and 1981 state championship wrestling teams.
Phoenix will also induct Katheryn and Bert Stancliffe, both lifelong supporters of Phoenix athletics, for meritorious service. Katheryn Stancliffe was a teacher for 39 years and the first female mayor of Phoenix, while Bert Stancliffe managed the Phoenix Cemetery and served on the Phoenix City Council for 40 years.
“It’s a larger group with three teams,” Ehrhardt said, “so if you look back at the history of Phoenix and Talent Athletics, there are some really incredible athletes. It’s probably a little more than what we’ll be doing in two years’ time as we begin a two-year rotation, but to have 17 individuals and three teams is very special.”
Ehrhardt said they will continue to add multiple teams each year as the schools work their way through their title-winning teams.
He also said that starting this year, Phoenix will hold biennial inductions into the Athletics Hall of Fame.
“I’ve been auditioned (as AD) for six years, so I’ve met some of them, but not all,” Ehrhardt said. “Some of these people are from the ’60s or ’70s, so they’ve been retired or haven’t been here for a while. But it was fun flipping through yearbooks and looking at biographies to get to know them. We very much look forward to meeting them in person, celebrating them and their achievements and continuing to expand our Hall of Fame.”
Banquet tickets are available at getmeregistered.com/PHSHallOfFame
Reach reporter Danny Penza at 541-776-4469 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @penzatopaper.
Phoenix’s Elliott Jantzer wins the 4A 1.500 class at Eugene on Saturday. -Jamie Lush
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