2014 Mesa Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees

Image of Katie Abbott Gardner

Katie Abbott Gardner

Badminton

Westwood
2004
Katie Abbott Gardner

Katie Abbott earned her varsity letter all 4 years at Westwood. Katie and her doubles partner, Jackie Gonzalez, won the Arizona State Champions Doubles tournament their senior year. Together with her partner, Katie won the Dobson Invitational and the North Canyon Invitational. Katie was named twice the East Valley Tribune Badminton First Team. In addition to badminton, Katie was an accomplished basketball player. She received her 3-year Varsity letter, Gatorade MVP, Gatorade Will To Win Athlete, and All Region Defensive Team honors while serving as the team captain. Katie was a scholar athlete earning the Piper Jaffry Student Athlete of the Year and the Wendy’s High School Heisman Bronze Medal, all while serving as the Student Body President. Katie is giving back to high school sports as an assistant coach at Westwood and the head coach at Combs High School. [More...]

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Coach Steve Crook

Volleyball Coach

Westwood
1991-2009
Coach Steve Crook

Steve has been coaching volleyball in Arizona since 1978. He led Tucson’s Catalina HS to the final four as a student teacher. He coached 6 NJCAA All-Americans at Central Arizona College while finishing 4 times as ACCAC Runners-up. He was named 1989 ACCAC Coach of the Year. Coaching at Westwood High School saw his greatest success. His teams had 431 wins, won the 1994 State Championship, 2-times Runner-up, 4-times final four, and he helped 60 athletes earn college volleyball scholarships. He was named Coach of the Year 4 times, and a finalist for National Coach of the Year. Coach Crook founded Club Red Juniors Volleyball and coached/directed the club for 18-years. The club helped land over 100 girls scholarships to major D-1 schools. Crook was named Arizona Region Club Director of the Year and honored by USA Volleyball for Meritorious Service. Recently he coached the 13-and-under girls East Valley Juniors Volleyball Club to a National Runner-Up Finish. He recruited 20 male athletes to compete in the inaugural season of the Benedictine University Men’s Volleyball. He continues to serve as the Junior Tournament Coordinator for the Arizona Region of USA Volleyball and received the Arizona Region Salute Award for lifetime achievement. [More...]

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Chelsea Goodman

Volleyball

Mountain View
2004
Chelsea Goodman

Chelsea Goodman graduated as the #41 Volleyball recruit in the nation. She trained with the U.S. Youth National Team while earning 3-time Region Player of the Year and 3-time First-Team All-State honors. Chelsea was the 2004 Arizona State Female Athlete of the Year and the 2004 MVT Female Athlete of the Year. She played at BYU, receiving 2-time All-American honors. Chelsea’s career at BYU included 57-career double-doubles in kills and digs setting a Mountain West Conference record, Senior Female BYU Athlete of the Year, 3-time Academic All-Region which culminated with a NCAA D-1 Female Athlete of the Year nomination. She played professionally in Puerto Rico. [More...]

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Jeri Cameron Vanyek

Gymnastics

Westwood
1979
Jeri Cameron Vanyek

Jeri Cameron competed on the national gymnastics Elite level during her high school years, winning the AAU All-Around Junior Olympic Champions and the Aloha GymFest Invitational All-Around. She competed for ASU under the coaching of John Spini. She earned First Place All-Around at the All-American All Collegiate Classic (1980), WCAA All-Around, won all 4 events, and NCAA All-American in 1981. She was a member of the All-American Gymnastics Team in All-Around, Vault, Bars, and Floor. She was 1982 Most Valuable Gymnast for ASU, Competed for USA in the 1982 World Games Romania. In 1983, Jeri became the NCAA National Champion on the uneven bars, 2nd place all-around, and 4th place in vault, floor, and beam. She received 1983 NCAA All-American honors for floor, vault, bars, and beam. Jeri is the winner of the 1983 Broderick Award, given to outstanding collegiate women athlete from ten different sports. She was the 1983 Senior Athlete of the year for all sports. She is the first female gymnast inducted into the ASU Athletic Hall of Fame. [More...]

1994 Red Mountain High School Wrestling Team

Red Mountain 1994 WrestlingAthletes: Bart Powell-State place 3rd, Mike Gutknecht-State Runner Up, Mike Myers-State Place 5th, Clint Seibel-State Runner Up, Ryan Andrews-State Place 3rd, Bruce Walag-State Champion, Jason Tice-State Champion, Royce Johnson-State Runner Up, Blake Longacre-State Runner Up, Mike Coutu-State Qualifier, Kelvin Aponte-State Qualifier, Jay Bracamonte-State Qualifier, Chance Lipsky-Two Time State Champion, All-American, Kris Bailey. Assistant Coach: Lee Peebles Head Coach: Nick Karanitnos- Coach of the year-1994, Arizona High School Coaches Hall of Fame-Inductee 2008.

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Jonathan Baker

Golf

Mountain View
1984
Jonathan Baker

Jon Baker twice won the high school Arizona State Champion title. In his early career he earned Future Masters Champion, Overall Junior Amateur Winner of the Andy Bean World Pro Jr, and was Voted Outstanding Junior in the country by Golf Magazine 5 years in a row. Jon is a 4-time HS Divisional Champion, was voted Outstanding Athlete and Golfer of the Year by Phoenix Gazette, won the Basha’s Southwest Arizona Open Professional and Amateur divisions, Phoenix Thunderbird Champion, North South Jr. Champion, Donald Ross Junior Champion, PING Junior Champion, Karsten Junior Invitational Champion and the Tournament of Champions. He attended BYU where he placed 3rd in the USA Japan Intercollegiate Division, was a Western Amateur Sweet 16 finalist, and Utah Amateur medalist. Professionally, Jon played on the PGA Hogan Tour, California Golden State Tour, Arizona Desert Tour, and Canadian Tour. [More...]

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Lee Cummard

Basketball

Mesa High
2004
Lee Cummard

Lee Cummard was named the 2004 Arizona Player of the Year, McDonald’s All-America nominee, named 2004 Region Player of the Year, and Gatorade player of the year. He led Mesa High to the 5A State championship, averaging 20.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists. He shot 56-percent from the floor and made 41-percent of his 3-point attempts. A multiple D-1 recruit, Lee continued his career at BYU receiving 3-time All Mountain West Conference Player, MWC team honors, Co-Player of the Year, Associated Press All-American honorable mention, All-District honors from the NABC and USBWA, named to 4th-team All-American by FOXsports.com, and led his team in earning recognition in the top-25 rankings while becoming the first MWC team to achieve three-peat MMWC Championships. He concluded his college career ranked in the top-10 in eight MWC statistical categories and 10 BYU statistical categories. Lee went on to play with the Utah Flash and the Sacramento Kings summer league. He played with the Fos Ouest Provence Basket in France and Kyoto Hannaryz in Japan. He currently plays for Okapi Aalstar in Belgium. [More...]

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Julia Leddy

Volleyball

Mountain View
1999
Julia Leddy

Julia Leddy, a 2-year Varsity Letter winner in volleyball, was named 1st-Team All-Region, Arizona Republic High School Athlete of the Week, Team MVP, Tournament of Champions All-Tournament Selection, and All-Region honorable mention. She holds the school record for single-season kills, blocks, and hitting percentages. Julia continued her career at ASU and was seventh in the PAC-10 with a .328 hitting percentage as a sophomore. She was team captain, First-Team PAC-10 All- Academic, named All-Tournament at Phoenix Airport Hilton/Sun Devil Challenge, Tournament MVP at the Red Raider Classic and the UNLV/Hard Rock Thanksgiving Classic, All-Tournament Team at the Carolina Classic, PAC-10 Honorable Mention, and Second-Team Verizon Academic All-District. She held the ASU single-season hitting percentage record at .367, and ASU career leader with a .342 mark. She recorded double-digits in kills in 14 of ASU’s 26 matches and as 32 in her career. [More...]

1994 Westwood High School Volleyball- State Champions

Athletes: Laurel Matheny, Tara Brinkerhoff, Jenny Hallett, Jill Montague, Shauna Farnworth, Sandy martin, Tina Cluff, Stephanie, Martin, Shauna Wampler, Sandra Molina, Cari Brinkerhoff, Tracey Kelley

1994 Westwood High School Boys Cross Country- State Champions

 

“This is our finest championship” – Coach Kyle Sawyer

Bottom Row: Shawn Miles (22nd), John Alldredge (28th), Jacob Williams, PJ

Bartley, Rob Bodine (19th), Brandon Vela (6th), Allen Kenney.  Second Row:

Coach Kyle Sawyer, TJ Gonzales (12th), Josh Abercrombie, Rob McCleod, Scott Spencer, Gabe Scabby (9th).  Top Row: Adam Herron, Randall Bailey,

John Auch, Wayne Lewis, Matt Kegan, John Harris (13th), Scott Adams, George Canez.

This team won by 24 points, beating Deer Valley 56 – 80.

This is the teams 2nd consecutive State title, fourth in the last five years.

Westwood Cross Country earned a trophy seven years in a row: 3 Runners- up and 4 State Championships (88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94)

1994 Mountain View High School Girls Track- State Champion

Coach: Mary Morris

Athletes: Stacey Smith, Robyn Coons, Kristen Haymore, Ali Wood, Monique Hyatt, Jackie Cartwright, Lashunda Tipppet, Amy Allen, Emily Cardon, Linnea Thomas, Beth Higgenbotham, Kristi Mechelke, Summer Decker, Holly Smith The girls won with a total of 88 points.   In 1994, the girls set new 5A state meet records by scoring 88 points and having a victory margin of 34 points.

First place finishers were:  Stacy Smith--High Jump, 5'10", Long Jump, 17'4 1/2", Triple Jump, 38'8"

Robyn Coons--Shot Put, 40'3 1/2"

Second place finishers were:  Emily Cardon--400m, 60.40 400 Relay, 48.81

Third place finishers were:  Lashunda Tippet--200m, 26.07

Ali Wood--300 Hurdles, 45.86

Robyn Coons--Discus, 117'11"

1600 Relay, 4:04.15

Image of Bruce Cooper

Bruce Cooper

Sports Media

Westwood
1977
Bruce Cooper

Bruce Cooper is a graduate of Mesa's Westwood High School. Cooper was a 2-sport athlete at Westwood playing both football and basketball. Cooper's biggest impact regarding high school athletics came years after graduation. Cooper has worked covering high school athletics for over 25 years as a member of the media with KPNX-TV and AZcentral sports. 

Through his passion and effort he has helped raise attention and bring exposure to Arizona's high school athletic programs. Cooper is a staple of the highly acclaimed, award winning "Friday Night Fever" high school football show. It gives him great pride and joy to hear Arizona being mentioned in the same sentence as California and Texas when it comes to top high school producing talent in the west. [More...]

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Jackie Gonzalez

Badminton

Westwood
2004
Jackie Gonzalez

Jackie Gonzalez is the 2004 Arizona State 5A Badminton Doubles champion, with partner Katie Abbott. Jackie played 3 years at Westwood earning Scholar Athlete honors each year. She was twice the East Valley Region Champion in singles and doubles, 2-time Badminton All-Star First Team, Dobson Invitational Doubles Champion, and earned 2004 State Runner-up Singles. Jackie continued her athletics with basketball earning the Gatorade Will to Win Athlete and East Valley All-Region Girls Basketball All-Defensive Team honors. [More...]

Image of Dahlia A. Lockhart

Dahlia A. Lockhart

High Jump

Mesa High
1987
Dahlia A. Lockhart

Dahlia Lockhart is a decorated champion in High Jump. She won numerous invitational meets including Glendale Invitational (5’6”), Chandler Rotary Club (5’6”), Dobson High School Mustang classic (5’8”), Great Southwest Track and Field Classic (5’8”), and a two-time Central Division Champion. In 1987, Dahlia was named McDonalds Outstanding Student/Athlete. That same year, Dahlia became the State High Jump Champion with a record jump of 5’10”. Dahlia was a 4-year Varsity letter winner, USA Track & Field Jr. Outdoor Champion, TAC High Jump Champion, and named in Who’s Who Among American High School Students. Dahlia continued her career at U. of Arizona. She was named 1988 Women’s All-Time All-Pac 10 Athletes (5’8 ¾”), Ranked 51st in the United States (5’11 ¼”), 1989 ranked 7th All-Time All-Pac 10 (6’0”), PAC 10 Championship Runner-Up (5’8 ¾”) and was the 1989 NCAA Champion (6’0”). [More...]

1994 Mountain View Boy's Track- State Champions

Mountain View Boys TrackCoaches: Robbie Robinson, Mary Morris, Kayle Haws, Mike Jackson, Joe Sullivan and Joe Felix

Athletes: Adair, Sam, Edwards, Jayson, Kerby, Ben Adams, Chris Eib, Mark Knapp, Todd Agren, Carl Ellingson, Spenser Lowe, Josh Aguirre, Mike  Engstrom, Jake McKinnon, Ryan Anderson, Derek Evans, Ryan Miller, Gary Anderson, Jason Fillmore, Benjamin Moore, Hunter Anderson, Scott  Fischer, Matthew Nelson, Craig Banfield, Kenyan Flake, Nate Nelson, Wayne Bartlett, David Foerstner, Erik Nikolaus, Nathan Baxter, Nathan Foerstner, Garrit Nusser, Kevin Bethancourt, Michael Foster, Jamison Olson, Jeremy Biesen, Wes Fuller, Bradley Osborn, Richard Billingsley, Jason Gardner, Andre Palmer, Derek Brienholt, Shane Gerard, Cory Parker, Doug Brook, Elliot  Giannotti, Joe Parker, Doug Brotemarkle, Brian Gilbert, Joel Parrish, John Burke, Darian Hackett, Allan Pearce, Rustin Bunett, Travis   Hamilton, Todd Pearce, Colton Cardon, Patrick  Hanna, Christopher Phelps, Blair Carpenter, Aaron  Hansen, Brandon Phelps, Dason Cason, Dalton Hansen, Pete Prince, Jason Christensen, Eddie  Harker, David Porter, Scott Coates, Chris Harris, Brent Reedy, Kam Connolly, Adam Haws, Jeremy Riggs, Don Conover, Mark Jackson, Blaine Righetti, Dan Coons, Chad Jacobs, Scott Rockwood, Karl Crandell, JeremyJensen, Dave Rowley, Branda Croff, Brinton Johnson, Levar  Sanders, Nate Dykes, Ben Jones, Rustin Schneck, Scott Dykes, Zach  Jung, Michael Schultz, Jeremy Shill, Ben Showalter, Kurt Shults, Larry Shults, Roger Skiba, Brian Smith, Andre Smith, Brent Smith, Chris St. Clair, Daman Steadman, Ted Strickland, Rick Swapp, Tyler Sait, Steven Tatum, Johnny Thomas, Randy Thompson, AaronThursten, ChadVansteenkiste, Mike Vermilya, TonWester, Mark Wheeler, Worth Winstead, Mark Wods, Matt Wright, Ken Wudel, David Wyler, Ryan