Siuslaw HOF welcomes 3 athletes, 6 teams


Three individuals and six state championship teams will be honored at the Siuslaw High School Hall of Fame induction ceremony Friday, Aug. 7, at the Florence Events Center.

The dinner-induction gets underway at 5:30 p.m.

"We are just trying to get the names out so they will all show," HOF spokesman Chris Johnson said. "It will be a good time."

The 10th class will include football player Robert Dimick (Class of 1975), golfer Jesse Schutte (2006) and basketball player Ben Voogd (2005).

Dimick was a (Portland) Oregonian first-team all-state running back in 1974, the year the Vikings went 10-2 and finished second in state. He also was a two-year starter at point guard on the basketball team and at second base on the baseball team.

By Don Hunt
When the 2020 Siuslaw Sports Hall of Fame class was announced, no one would argue that the 2006 Vikings football team was the best in school history.
Led by an ironclad defense that yielded just 5.9 points per game while holding 10 of its 13 opponents to one touchdown or less, Siuslaw roared to a 13-0 record — the first unbeaten season in Vikings’ history.
Siuslaw wasn’t challenged until its final game, a heart-stopping 21-14 overtime win over previously unbeaten and No. 1-ranked Sisters at Eugene’s Autzen Stadium.
The defense was fueled by all-state linebacker David Mesa, all-state defensive back Jordan Rainwater, all-state safety Drew Rainwater and two-way all-state tackle Luke Sims.
The offense played a huge role, too. The Rainwater cousins formed the best receiving duo in the state as they hauled in passes from steady sophomore quarterback Jake Mitchell. Mesa and Kody Thrall formed a dynamic 1-2 punch at running back. And physical tight end Max Perry teamed with interior linemen Sims, Cameron Thrall and Ben Daniels to anchor a rock-solid offensive front.

Schutte won individual state golf titles in 2004, 2005 and 2006.

Voogd is the school's all-time leading scorer with 1,853 points.

Schutte and Voogd were elected to the hall of fame last year, but requested their inductions be delayed due to scheduling conflicts.

Teams to be inducted include girls cross country (2004, 2005, 2006), boys cross country (2004), football (2006) and golf (2005).

"We are going with an early announce this year since Jesse and Ben deferred a year," Johnson said, "and since we are team heavy we wanted the team members to have as much time as possible to make arrangements to make the trip."

The hall of fame induction will be followed the next evening by the Siuslaw Athletic Booster Club's annual auction-dinner, also at the FEC.

NOTES

With six additions this year, 22 of Siuslaw's state championship teams will be in the school's Hall of Fame. ... Still to be considered are 2011 and 2012 boys cross country, 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2015 girls cross country, 2013 boys track and field and 1995 speech team ... "How many Oregon public schools of our size can boast 30 state championship teams?" Johnson asked. ...

2020 teams to be inducted
Girls cross country
2004 — Leah Twombly, Kaylee Gruber, Jennifer Hague, Sierra Lee, Mercedes Smith, Gretchen Dunning, Jennifer Young
2005 — Jennifer Hague, Leah Twombly, Kaylee Gruber, Sierra Lee, Mercedes Smith, Gretchen Dunning, Rachel Salsbery
2006 — Kaylee Gruber, Sierra Lee, Jennifer Hague, Leah Twombly, Samantha Pummer, Mercedes Smith, Clarita Twombly
Boys cross country
2004 — Adam Pino, Kyle Kotaich, Connor Vaccaro, Adam Kotaich, Jack Lindsey, Torey Wenham, Brian Stevens
Boys golf
2005 — Jesse Schutte (individual medalist), Torey Wenham, Aaron Van De Hay, Mike Bartlett, J. Garcia/H. Chiang
Football
2006 — Coach Tim Dodson and team.