Page 12 - Mid Valley Times 2-6-20 E-edition

HALL OF FAME Continued from page A1
Hightower, Gene Green, a member of Sanger High’s first hall of fame class, No- el Hildebrand, Jim Flem- ing, Ron Olson, and the oth- ers who contributed to the championship that set the standard that still exists today for Apache football.
The team was led by Clare Slaughter, who later went on to Fresno City Col- lege. Coach Slaughter be- came a member of Sanger High’s first hall of fame class, as did his assistant coaches from that year, Dean Nicholson and Lou Papac.
Scott Jett
Scott Jett was the fast- est swimming sprinter in SHS history, according to Coach Dave Hasegawa. He was a four-time Valley Champion in the 50-yard and 100-yard freestyle in 1990 and 1991.
Jett also provided that speed during water polo games. He attended Au- burn University on schol- arship and earned All- American honors. Jett missed qualifying for the 1996 U.S. Olympic team by just .018 seconds in the 50-yard freestyle.
Mark Wallin
Mark Wallin, the oldest of the three Wallin brother in the Hall of Fame was perhaps the best water polo player in school his- tory. After setting all of the scoring records at Sanger High, he became an All-American at Stanford University. Mark was the first building block in the Sanger High water polo re- birth that continues in both boys and girls programs to- day.
Tony Herron
The second family trio is completed by Tony Her- ron, the son of one hall of fame member and the fa- ther of another. Tony was a three-sport star. He played strong safety on the 1976 Valley Championship foot- ball team. His name is still found in the school’s bas- ketball records for single season and career scoring and rebounding that result- ed in his later induction to the Sanger High Basket- ball hall of fame. In base- ball his fastball led him to Fresno State where again he was later inducted into the Fresno State Baseball hall of fame.
Staci Mosher
Staci Mosher played varsity volleyball for three years, varsity basketball for two years, and varsi- ty softball for four years. She was a team captain in all three sports, and was voted to All League teams in all three sports, in addi- tion to being named Sanger High co-Female Athlete of the Year in 1986. She later attended COS in Visalia where she starred on a state championship softball team. She has continued to contribute as Head Softball Coach at West Hills College for over 20 seasons.
Jaime Garza
Jaime Garza becomes the first wrestler to be inducted into the Sanger hall of fame. He was a two time Valley Champion at 103 and 112 pounds in successive seasons and a second place winner at the California State Champi- onships at 112 pounds, the first Sanger wrestler to attain such levels. Coach Dale Phillips says that Jaime “was an outstanding
wrestler of the time.” He later wrestled in college at national powerhouse Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. Diana Macias Copeland
The “first female super- star” of track coach Dave Dodson’s 50-year career was Diana Macias Cope- land. Along with playing volleyball and basketball all four years, she was Sanger’s premier track ath- lete of that time.
She still holds the school record in the 200-meter dash and won four individ- ual West Yosemite League championship titles her senior year, setting league records in all four events. She was named Sanger High Female Athlete of the Year in 1977 and went on to successfully compete at Fresno City College.
Pat Henry
Pat Henry will be in- ducted with this class as a community contributor. Sanger High athletics has a long history of community help, beginning with the construction of the Sanger football stadium in 1954/55 by the Sanger Lions Club and many local farmers who dug the area out and built the berm seating we still use today.
But for sheer breadth of work and benefit to multi- ple programs, Henry’s “Get on Track and Light It Up” project of 1991/1992 stands alone. Over that year the first Sanger High all weath- er track, reconfigured to 400 meters, the Dayton Field berm seating, and all of the lights at Tom Flores Stadium, the Varsity soft- ball diamond, the Dodson Field track area, and Day- ton Field were installed.
Jack Tiftick
Jack Tiftick coached
28 years of aquatics and water polo during his long teaching career at Sanger High. His teams won con- secutive league champi- onships in aquatics from 1958 through 1968, includ- ing Section championships in 1958, 1964, and 1966, an unprecedented 11 -year record of success that has never been duplicated in any other sport at any time at Sanger High. His teams also dominated league wa- ter polo, winning section championships in 1966 and 1967.
Del Beshore
Del Beshore rejuve- nated the boys’ basketball program beginning in 1985. He coached for 12 years, winning 154 games.
His 1987 team was the first to advance to a Val- ley Championship game, where they lost to eventual state champion Bakersfield Foothill 64-58. The 1988 team was the last Sanger team to win a championship when they captured the NYL National division title. Beshore went on to coach at Fresno Pacific University.
His coaching “tree” includes present Sanger High Coach Al Alvara- do, along with other area coaches and athletic ad- ministrators at Roosevelt, Bullard, and Clovis North high schools. This is Coach Beshore’s fourth hall of fame induction, follow- ing his own high school in Pennsylvania, California University of Pennsylva- nia, and the Sanger High basketball hall of fame.
The 2020 banquet will take place Saturday, May 2. For more information on the Hall or to donate, call the Depot Museum at (559) 875-4720.
Jon Earnest / Mid Valley Times
Joel De La Hoya, right, brother of former champion boxer Oscar De La Hoya and a manager with Golden Boy Promotions, lis- tened as Evan Sanchez spoke during a news conference at the Corral Cafe in Parlier on Jan. 22.
SANCHEZ Continued from page A1
Trained by his father, Omar San- chez, Evan began boxing at age 8 and eventually traveled to Mexico for fights. His knockout of a sparring partner Joel De La Hoya had come to scout caught the manager's eye, and after another impressive KO (in just 20 seconds) during an "audition' bout, the wheels were in motion for a profes- sional contract with Golden Boy.
"The thing is, he wants it," De La Hoya said of Sanchez. "He's been do- ing this since he was 8. He knows what it takes. A lot of amateur experience, international experience. He knows it's not going to be easy.
"It's not a sprint, it's a marathon. It's going to be a road ahead of us. We may hit a little bump here and there, but that's what it takes. Depending on how bad he wants it, that's how far he's going to get."
Sanchez — a tall welterweight at just above 6 feet — is relishing his new contract and opportunity at new heights in boxing.
"I want to take one step at a time. I don't want to rush if I'm not ready. But I'm ready to work for it," he said.
His first pro bout can be seen on the streaming service DAZN, which specializes in televising boxing, MMA and other fight disciplines.
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