RENTON, WA (Monday, April 5, 2010) –The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association is proud to announce the 2010 Hall of Fame class that will be inducted on Wednesday, May 12, 2010, at the Spirit of Washington Events Center in Renton, Washington.

This year’s class includes a former professional tennis player and Davis Cup Captain, a pioneer in girls volleyball, a cross country program that has won 15 state championships and a coach who has been a part of 20 state championships.

For more information on the 2010 WIAA Hall of Fame inductees and for tickets to the luncheon, contact Andy Barnes, WIAA Assistant Executive Director, at (425) 282-5237 or abarnes@wiaa.com.  To view the full-length biographies of this year’s inductees, please visit www.wiaa.com.

2010 WIAA Hall of Fame Inductees

Athletes
Tom Gorman
Jeanne Eggart Helfer
Rick Noji
Joe Steele

Fine Arts
Brian Steves

Team/Program
Mead Boys Cross Country

Coaches
Frank Ahern
Virginia Greenlee
Irv Leifer
Jerry Penney

Officials
Ken Jones

Contributors
Don Davison
Bob Regan

Tom Gorman
Athlete
Seattle Prep, 1964

Tom Gorman was one of the best high school tennis players in Washington state.  He won the WIAA State Tennis Championship three years in a row.  Tom played collegiately at Seattle University and went on to have a very successful professional career.  He was a member of the successful 1972 United States Davis Cup team and coached the Davis Cup team to victories in 1990 and 1992.

Jeanne Eggart Helfer
Athlete
Walla Walla, 1977

Jeanne Eggart Helfer was a four-sport participant at Walla Walla High School.  She participated in basketball, tennis, track and field and volleyball.  Jeanne was WIAA State Track and Field Champion in the javelin.  She led her teams to three trips to the WIAA State Basketball Championships and set multiple state basketball tournament records.  Jeanne continued her athletic exploits in basketball and track and field at Washington State University.  While there, she set multiple records; some of which still stand today.

Rick Noji
Athlete
Franklin, 1985

Rick Noji was one of the best high school track and field athletes in the state of Washington.  Rick won WIAA State Track and Field Championships in the high jump, long jump and the 200-meter race.  In 1984, Rick set the all-time state high jump record (7’4”) at the Metro League Championships.  His record still stands today.  After high school, Rick competed for the University of Washington Track and Field team and was a six-time All-American.  Rick competed internationally in three World Championships and U.S. Olympic Trials.

Joe Steele
Athlete
Bishop Blanchet, 1976

Joe Steele was one of the best running backs in Washington state football history.  Joe helped his 1974 team win the WIAA 3A State Football Championship.  He was a durable athlete who could run the ball over 25 times a game and never get injured.  Joe ran for 3,814 yards and 44 touchdowns while at Blanchet.  He went on to play football at the University of Washington and helped the team win the 1978 Rose Bowl.

Brian Steves
Fine Arts

Brian Steves has been a music educator in the Mukilteo School District for 21 years.  He began his career teaching band and choir at Olympic View Junior High and, in 1993, was the inaugural band teacher at Kamiak High School.  During his tenure as the band instructor, musical groups under his direction won numerous awards for jazz, marching band and concert band.  The 200-member Kamiak High School Band has represented the Mukilteo community around the world, including: presidential inaugural parade in Washington, D.C., St. Patrick’s Day parade in Dublin, Ireland and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City.  Brian currently serves as the Director of Orchestras at Kamiak High School.

Mead Boys Cross Country
Team/Program

The Mead High School Boys Cross Country program has been one of the most successful programs over the past 20 years.  From 1976 through 2008, the school won 15 WIAA State Cross Country Championships and finished second seven times.  The program’s first WIAA State Cross Country Championship came in 1976, and from 1988-2006, they won the WIAA State Cross Country Championship nine consecutive years.  The program has had 10 individuals win the WIAA State Cross Country Championship 11 times.

Frank Ahern
Coach

Frank Ahern’s coaching career spans seven decades.  He was a part of more than 20 WIAA State Championships in basketball, cross country and track and field.  Frank coached at several different schools in the Seattle area, including Mercer Junior High, O’Dea, Seattle Prep and Garfield.  He coached many athletes, including Terry Metcalf, Jawann Oldham, Joyce Walker and Lamar Hurd.

Virginia Greenlee
Coach

Virginia Greenlee was instrumental in the beginning stages of volleyball in Washington state.  She hosted the first state invitational tournament in 1973 at Renton High School.  Virginia also hosted the first four official WIAA State Volleyball Championships.  She coached volleyball for six years at Renton High School.  Her teams won three league titles and one WIAA State Volleyball Championship.

Irv Leifer
Coach

Irv Leifer was the head basketball coach at Renton High School for 30 years (1947-1977).  During that time, he amassed a career record of 481-302, including four WIAA State Basketball Championships.  He was the first man to coach four WIAA State Basketball Championship teams (1953, 1960, 1966 and 1967).  In addition to his WIAA State Basketball Championship titles, his teams won 12 league championships and three district titles.  Irv was honored as the 3A coach of the year by the Washington Interscholastic Basketball Coaches Association in 1977, his final year of coaching.

Jerry Penney
Coach

Jerry Penney has been the boys and girls gymnastics coach at Sammamish High School for over 30 years.  During his time as coach, he has been the high school coach of the year three times and the high school regional coach of the year once.  Jerry has been the floor manager at the WIAA State Gymnastics Championships for the past 16 years.  Jerry was a gymnast at Washington State University.  The gymnastics move, “Penney German,” was named after him.

Ken Jones
Official

Ken Jones has been a working official in the state of Washington for over 37 years.  He has worked every level of both boys and girls basketball.  Ken has officiated in at least eight WIAA State Basketball Championships, including three championship games.  Ken served as the Executive Secretary for the Western Washington Basketball Officials Association for 21 years and also as the Washington Officials Association (WOA) Executive Board President for 12 years.  Ken has been a part of the development of the WOA constitution, was involved in the separation of the WOA and WIAA and has served on the Agreement Review Committee numerous times.

Don Davison
Contributor

Don Davison covered high school sports in Washington for over 40 years as a writer for the Tacoma News Tribune (TNT).  During his time covering high school sports, he developed a weekly statewide football and basketball standings service that developed into a WIAA nightly report of schedules, scores and standings.  After retiring from the TNT, Don has served as the WIAA’s volunteer historian.  He actively researched the history of all of the sports that the WIAA oversees, many of which date back more than 50 years.

Bob Regan
Contributor

Bob Regan has been announcing at the WIAA Boys and Girls State Swimming and Diving Championships since 1947.  He has also served as the Meet Manager at the State Swimming and Diving Championships since 1977.  Bob’s leadership in the swimming and diving community led to the development of the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way.

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