25 to be inducted into Monroe hall of fame

12/22/2009

MONROE - The Monroe High School Athletic Hall of Fame will grow by 25 people next month.

The 11-member selection committee recently announced the newest inductees into the hall of fame that began last year when 24 individuals, six teams, and three coaches were enrolled.

This year's class consists of five coaches and 20 athletes.

Dave Bork, co-chairman of the hall of fame committee, said 125 nominations were submitted to the committee for consideration. The final selection was made by the committee.

Mr. Bork, a former track and field coach who was inducted into last year's inaugural class, said reaching a consensus on the inductees wasn't an easy task.

"All of the nominees were very worthy of induction. We have another 50 people who could have gone into the hall of fame," he said.

Making up the second induction class into the hall of fame are:

•Lawrence Alto (deceased) was a tennis coach for more than 30 years. His teams won or tied eight league titles, eight regional tournaments, and finished second in the state championship in 1963. He began as assistant coach in 1940 and took over head coaching duties in 1955. He retired in 1972.

•Vic Braden won consecutive state singles championships in tennis in 1945, 1946, and 1947, achieving a 68-3 record over the span. As a student at Kalamazoo College, he was the Mid-American Conference singles champion.

Mr. Braden turned professional immediately after graduating college during a time when there were only a few professional tournaments. He was head pro at the Toledo Tennis Club and coached tennis and basketball at the University of Toledo from 1952 to 1955.

A licensed psychologist, he left Toledo in 1955 to teach at the UCLA Psychology Clinic School and later co-founded tennis and ski colleges and an athletic research center. He has authored many books on the sport and has been a television tennis commentator.

•Garion Campbell (deceased) won the state track and field championship in the 120-yard high hurdle and 200-yard low hurdle in 1944. He was the most valuable player on the football team in his senior year.

Mr. Campbell set records in the 100 yard dash and long jump while attending Eastern Michigan University, where he joined the school's Athletic Hall of Fame in 1982.

•Lawrence Cooley (deceased) is considered one of the high school's outstanding football players. He went on to play at the University of Nebraska, where he was an assistant coach.

•Shane Foland was the Class A state champion in the 130 pound weight division in 1991 and held a 128-7-3 record from 1987 to 1991.

•Ben Hellenberg (deceased) was the school's first athletic director and coached gymnastics, baseball, and basketball. He was instrumental in organizing the Border cities league. His gymnastic teams won five consecutive state titles.

•Hazen Herkimer (deceased) ran track and field from 1921 to 1924. He was the state champion in shot put and discus in 1924. He also was an offensive lineman on the football team in 1921 to 1923.

•Alvin Jagutis excelled at basketball, football, and tennis. He was twice named most valuable player of the basketball team was named all-conference three times. He scored 40 points in an overtime loss in the district finals in 1967 to set a school record.

•Jovan Johnson played football from 1993 to 1997. He was the team's most valuable player in 1997 when he rushed for more than 100 yards in six games, scored 13 touchdowns, and recovered four fumbles.

•Leroy Johnson was a state wrestling champion, achieving a 121-22 record from 1995 to 1998. He also was an all-league football lineman.

•John Lunsford (deceased) was a member of the high school swim team from 1966 to 1967. He set records for the butterfly at Monroe, Allen Park, and Wyandotte high schools. He was named to the first team All-American and made the all-state squad in the butterfly in 1967.

Mr. Lunsford went on to a successful high school coaching career at St. John's Jesuit High School, Notre Dame Academy, and St. Ursula. He died in 2002.

•Perry Mason (deceased) captured school records in track and field at MHS from 1933 to 1937. He set back-to back state records in the 200-yard low hurdles in 1936 and 1937, and helped the team to state championships in both years.

Also a standout football player, Mr. Mason went on to a career in professional boxing, winning 50 fights.

•ohn Musulin was named to the all-state swim team in 1964, when he achieved the third fastest time in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 53.66 seconds and earned All-American high school honors.

Mr. Musulin, who carried the nick name "Muz," earned varsity letters in swimming at Michigan State University. He is currently the pool director at Saginaw Country Club.

•Forrest Naveaux (deceased) was the state pole vault champion in 1940, 1941, and 1942, when he set a state record of 12 feet, 7 1/2 inches, a mark that held up for 15 years.

•Larry Page (deceased) was a track and field and cross country standout. He won consecutive state titles in the 440-yard dash in 1961 and 1962. He went on to compete in track at Flint Junior College, winning the National Junior College Half Mile Championship in the record setting time of 1:52.7.

•Dean Pinchoff won the state singles tennis title in 1953 and continued playing the sport at Kalamazoo College.

•Kris Rossi was a standout girl's softball player from 1982 to 1985. Her 44-8-1 record as a pitcher included six no-hitters, 216 strikeouts, and 10 shutouts. She continued playing softball at Bowling Green State University, helping her team win the Mid-American Conference championship as junior.

•Fred Schatte (deceased) was the state champion in the 100-yard dash and 220-yard dash in 1930 and was member of the 88-yard realy team that set a state record.

•Ashley Schatzle was the first basketball player to score over 1,000 points. During her career from 2001 to 2004, she was the team's most valuable player in all three years. She also was a standout volleyball player.

•Alex Steve achieved a 66 percent winning record as varsity swim coach from 1952 to 1981. He teams won the Border City League title nine times.

•Harold Stein, (deceased) a member of the track and field team from 1931 to 1934, earned the state title in the pole vault three times.

•Fielden Tambling (deceased) coached tennis from 1929 to 1953, winning state championships in 1934, 1935, 1939, and 1947.

•Richard Walters (deceased) was a track coach for 30 years, winning four state championships, 13 regional titles, and 17 league championships. He also was a cross county and swim coach for 23 years.

•Kim Wohlgamuth, who was a member of the girl's softball team from 1983 to 1985, holds the highest season batting average of .559 and the highest career average of .432.

•Tom Yinger (deceased) was the state high hurdles and low hurdles champion in 1951.

The inductees will be honored at half time during the boy's basketball game at Monroe High School.

Each of the new members of the hall of fame will be honored with a plague that describes their accomplishments for display at the high school Commons Area.