Click here or more information on attending or contributing as a sponsor to the fourth annual "A Knight to Remember"

May 12, 2009

WVC will add to Athletic Hall of Fame honor roll on June 6, 2009

Wenatchee Valley College athletics will be featured in the fourteenth-annual WVC Knights Golf Classic on Friday, June 5, and the fourth-annual A Knight to Remember hall-of-fame celebration on June 5 and 6, 2009.

 Registration and a putting tournament begins June 5 at 11:30 a.m. with a shotgun start for golf at 1:30 p.m. at the Highlander Golf Club in East Wenatchee.

 On Saturday, the college's two all-time basketball scorers plus two coaches are among those who will be honored with membership in the WVC Hall of Fame. The festivities will be held in Van Tassell Center on the Wenatchee campus beginning with a social hour at 5:30 p.m. and dinner at 6:30 p.m. Induction ceremonies will follow.

 Jill Greenfield and Byron Williams combined for more than 2,000 points during their two seasons with the Knights. Greenfield starred for the women's championship teams in 1978 and 1979, and Williams for the men's championship team in 1980.

 Coach Tom Parry led Knights' football for seven seasons, in two stints. Frank Cumbo coached two teams, tennis and skiing, to championships in the 1950s. Both are retired. Parry lives in Yakima, and Cumbo in Wenatchee.

 Others to be honored at the event are:

• The 1954 tennis team, which played many four-year schools to set the stage for their state junior college championship. Team members included Vern Ball, Roger Barnhart, Gary Clifford, Jerry Chapton and George Stillman.
• The 1957 skiing team of Oddvar Ronnestad, Knut-Einar Istad, Torstein Gjestrud, Doug Nicholson, Ken Paton, Bud Hatley and Cal Vaughn.
• Long-time Knights booster Jeff Mertes, instrumental in starting the school's athletic booster club.

Tickets for A Knight to Remember are $35, with proceeds benefiting WVC athletics. For reservations, contact the WVC Athletic Department at 509.682-6886. Seating is limited. For information about the golf classic, contact Bob Rust, WVC athletic director, at 509.682.6886.

 Hall of Fame notes:

• Greenfield played for two of Coach Jim Sollars' championship teams (1978 and 1979). She averaged 17.2 points per game, hitting double figures in 52 of 55 games. She was an all-tournament team selection and MVP in 1979. She starred at Hanford High School and still lives in Richland.
• Williams averaged 21.2 points in two seasons with Coach Bill Pandiani, capped by the 1980 championship. He missed double figures only once in 56 games, was team MVP in 1978 and all-tournament and MVP in 1980. Between his two seasons at WVC, Williams went to the University of Nebraska. He is a pastor in Oakland, Calif., and is a columnist for the Bay Area News Group.
• Parry coached the Knight football team to titles his first two years (1956 and 1957) and had a 6-0-2 season in 1962. After his WVC days, Parry had a long and successful tenure at Central Washington University in Ellensburg. He is retired and living in Yakima.
• Special recognition will be given to the late Mike Dempsey, a WVC graduate and long-time booster. He also served on the Hall of Fame selection committee. Dempsey, a sportscaster at KPQ Radio for many years, died in 2008.

“A KNIGHT TO REMEMBER III”
A Spectacular Event

Wenatchee Valley College hosted the Hall of Fame banquet for 2008 entitled “A Knight to Remember III” on Saturday, June 7.   The night began with a social gathering where former athletes, family and friends came together and revisited memories of their time at Wenatchee Valley College.  Following the social, guests were treated to a dinner as well as an introduction to the awards and the upcoming 2008 inductees in the Wenatchee Valley College Hall of Fame.

The Athletic MVP Awards for 2008 began with Rosa Vargas of Women’s Soccer followed by two time MVP recipient Wilbur Velasco of Men’s Soccer.  Next, recipients of the volleyball MVP were Courtney Sawyer and Jessie Carlson.  Lauren Daling was introduced as the Women’s Basketball MVP, while Tyler Blakney was the recipient of the Men’s Basketball MVP.  Ranzy York of Fastpitch and Curran Redal of Baseball were also this year’s recipients of the 2008 Athletic MVP.

Following the MVP’s came the Academic Scholarship Award presented by Apple Valley Honda.  These athletes were awarded $1,000 towards their schooling based upon their own academic achievements.  This year’s recipients were Katrina Plucker of Fastpitch and Trevor Brink of Men’s Basketball.

The induction ceremonies began with the Community Support Award with Sandy Cooprider introducing Howard Mann and Bob and Paul Scea.  Each of these men provided a tremendous amount of support towards Wenatchee Valley College Athletics.  Next came the athlete inductions.  First was Talbot George in Football, second was Tony Bertuca in Football, Basketball, and Track and finally Karen Beller in Softball.  Following the athletes came the coaches.  Bill Penhallegon in Football, Bill Pandiani in Men’s Basketball and Jim Sollars in Women’s Basketball.  In the Team induction, the 1978 Women’s Basketball team was selected along with the 1980 Men’s Basketball team.

The ceremony ended as it began, with many fond memories of Wenatchee Valley College as well as a final social to again catch up with old friends, coaches, and view the many newspaper articles of those being inducted into the Wenatchee Valley College Hall of Fame.  It was truly “A Knight to Remember”.