The 2018 class of the Peninsula Athletic Hall of Fame class was announced last week and I am officially getting old. Two of the honorees — Sacred Heart Prep’s Caroline “KK” Clark and Woodside’s Julian Edelman — I covered during my 16 years at the Daily Journal and a third, Jeremy Lin, was a big deal at Palo Alto long before he made headlines in the NBA.
Then there are a pair of coaches whom I’ve had the pleasure covering — College of San Mateo football coach Larry Owens and Bill Shine, Menlo School’s boys’ and girls’ tennis coaches.
Most everyone familiar with Edelman’s story — led the Wildcats to the 2004 Central Coast Section title, starred for year at College of San Mateo and transferring to Kent State, after which he drafted by the New England Patriots and has gone on to win a pair of Super Bowls. He would be playing in another in two weeks if he didn’t blow out his knee in preseason and miss the entire year.
Clark was a water polo standout for the Gators, winning four straight CCS title from 2008 to 2011. She became a three-time All American at UCLA and in 2016, won a gold medal with the U.S. Olympic team, of which she has been a member since 2013.
Lin led Palo Alto to the 2006 state title and played four years at Harvard. He signed as a free agent with the Golden State Warriors in 2010 before going on to blow up with the New York Knicks, spawning the “Linsanity” movement. He has gone on to a solid professional career in the best league in the world.
Owens recently stepped down as CSM’s football coach after leading the Bulldogs to their second ever appearance in the state championship game. During his time at CSM, he won 100 games. Owens had several other coaching stops during his career — from Sequoia High School to the World Football League — but has become synonymous with the school. As CSM athletes are wont to say: “Once a Bulldog, always a Bulldog.”
Plain and simple, Shine turned the Menlo tennis program into a CCS, Northern California, state and national juggernaut. In more than two decades with the school, he has helped guide the Knights to a record of 988-147, along with dozens of league, section and regional championships.
The other 208 inductees are: Isaac Carson (Jefferson, track and field), Jack Daniels (Sequoia, Olympic runner), Julie Middleton (San Mateo, track and basketball) and Archie Williams (College of San Mateo, Olympic track).
For more information about the Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame, go to mccvb.com and click on the “Sports Hall of Fame” button at the top of the page.
***
There are a couple of interesting tidbits from this week’s schedule of high school events.
Recommended for you
If you’re a wrestling fan, you need to get to the South Bay’s Gilroy High School for the annual MidCals wrestling tournament hosted by the Mustangs.
The MidCals are one of the big measuring sticks of the Central Coast Section wrestling season. There may be no bigger in-season tournament than the MidCals, with only the section and state tournaments carrying more weight. The Gilroy wrestling teams is one of the best programs in not only CCS but the entire state, so it’s no surprise the Mustangs host one of the most prestigious tournaments in Northern California.
The tournament always features the top talent in CCS and also the state. Preliminary matches for the double-elimination tournament begin Friday and wrap up Saturday in an all-day wrestling extravaganza.
Then there is the Notre Dame-Belmont girls’ basketball team, which will wrap up a three-game run through the West Bay Athletic League Foothill Division gauntlet. After dropping a tough 52-43 decision to Menlo School Friday, the Tigers kick off this week’s slate of games Tuesday against Eastside College Prep and end the week with Pinewood Thursday — both on the road.
ECP and Pinewood are a combined 29-5 on the season and last year and are two of the best teams in Northern California. Both qualified for the CCS Open Division last season, with Pinewood falling to Mitty in the championship game and losing in the second round of the state Open Division bracket. ECP lost both its games in the double-elimination CCS Open Division, but went on to win the Division V Nor Cal and state championships.
***
Longtime Menlo Atherton girls’ basketball coaching icon Pam Wimberly will be honored during halftime of Feb. 2 Carlmont-M-A boys’ basketball game. The court in Ayers Gym will be christened Wimberly Court.
The decision to honor Wimberly was approved by the Sequoia Union High School District, but the school waited until this year to have the actual ceremony.
In 41 years of coaching, from 1968 to 12012, Wimberly won 663 games — third-best in state history. She also won four Central Coast Section, including three in a row in 1991, 1992 and 1993. She also served as the school’s athletic director for 24 years.
The end of Wimberly’s coaching career did not go smoothly, as she didn’t exactly step down willingly. But any hard feeling apparently thawed pretty quickly. Wimberly has continued as a physical education teacher and is now the department chair. She was inducted into the Menlo-Atherton Athletic Hall of Fame in 2016.
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO
personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who
make comments. Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language. Don't threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated. Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything. Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Anyone violating these rules will be issued a
warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be
revoked.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.