APTOS, Calif. (April 2, 2022) – After a two year delay due to Covid, the Aptos High Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2020 finally gets celebrated. Highlighting the Class are Marissa Ferrante, who earned an unprecedented 15 varsity letters in four years, Kevin Eichhorn, a two-time SCCAL MVP and two-time 1st-team All-State baseball player, Cris Warmerdam, one of the finest two-way basketball players of all-time, and Jen Bryan, the winningest volleyball coach in school history.
Former SCCAL Commissioner Pat Lovell will be honored posthumously for his 29 years of service to SC County athletics. These five, and six others, will be honored during the special ceremonies and awards banquet Saturday April 30 at the Seascape Golf Club.
Marissa Ferrante (Class of 2010) starred in four sports, cross-country, water-polo, track and field, and swimming. She earned 15 varsity letters, and captured 15 individual league titles and 8 SCCAL team championships. In addition, besides earning multiple All-CCS and All-NorCal honors in multiple sports, she was also the 2010 SC Sentinel Female Athlete-of-the-Year. Matriculating to Stanford, Marissa was the 2012 Collegiate National Triathlon champion and represented the USA at the World Championships in New Zealand.
Kevin Eichhorn (Class of 2008) was a four-time 1st-team All-SCCAL baseball player, a two-time SCCAL MVP, a two-time 1st-team All-State selection, and the 2008 SC Sentinel Male Athlete-of-the-Year. His name is all over the AHS record book in both pitching and hitting, and he led the Mariners to two SCCAL team titles. Passing-up several full-ride offers, Kevin was drafted in the 3rd round by the Arizona Diamondbacks, and he pitched seven years in the minors before a shoulder injury derailed his career.
Cris Warmerdam (Class of 1988) was a two-way for
ce on some of the greatest basketball teams in Aptos High and Santa Cruz County history. He is also one of the most intimidating players to ever step onto a basketball court. Cris put up numbers that still stand more than 30 years after he graduated. He is the Mariners’ all-time leader in rebounds and blocked shots, and his 13 blocked shots in a single game is a record that may never be broken. A three-year starter who earned All-SCCAL, All-CCS, and All-NorCal honors, Cris was a key player on the 1986 SCCAL, CCS, and Nor-Cal Championship team.
Jen Bryan won six SCCAL Championships in eight years. No other AHS volleyball coach has won more than two championships. Her teams qualified for the CCS Playoffs every year, reaching the CCS Semi-Finals five times. Jen is the winningest volleyball coach in AHS history, compiling a 207-70 record. The next closest has 90 wins. She also owns the third highest winning percentage of all-time at 75%. Over 15 of her players went on to play in college, including Oregon State, the University of Minnesota, New York University, the University of Portland, and more.
Pat Lovell needs little introduction. He is an icon in the sports world of Santa Cruz County, easily owning one of the most recognizable names in county sports history. An All-Conference football player at Cal Poly, and an Olympic wrestler, Pat was the Commissioner of the SCCAL for 29 years, and the importance and impact of Pat’s leadership as the SCCAL Commissioner cannot be overstated. He grew the SCCAL from a tiny regional league into a CCS powerhouse. He pushed for the expansion of women’s sports. He mentored hundreds of local coaches and Athletic Directors, and he modeled professionalism, selflessness, and respect at all times.
The Hall of Fame event begins with Social Hour at 4 p.m., with dinner and the program to begin at 5 p.m.
The new marquee at the entrance to Aptos High School may be hard to miss but how it came to be is not so obvious. The Aptos Sports Foundation says the nearly $100,000 project for the state-of-the-art digital signage is a blueprint for many future improvement projects at Aptos public schools without spending one cent of district member tax money.
The idea for a marquee at the corner of Freedom Boulevard and Mariner Way has been years in the making, but once pencil was put to paper, dedicated community members made it a reality in one year.
One of the major challenges with the project had always been access to power at the site, or lack thereof. Aptos Sports Foundation board member, John Marinovich spearheaded the project and worked closely with the Pajaro Valley Unified School District Maintenance, Operations and Facilities Department, a structural engineer and eventually with the Division of State Architects to get the plans approved.
Marinovich also donated more than 100 hours of his time and expertise on the project. To complete the project and address the need for electricity to run the marquee, Bailey Construction donated services and equipment for the trench run to connect to the power supply at Freedom Field. [That multi-purpose field, another Aptos Sports Foundation project, was completed in 2016].
The video board will feature content posted by school site staff including information about upcoming sports, performing arts, activities, and college and career readiness events. In the future there will be opportunities for students interested in graphic design, photography, and video production to create content.
According to Aptos High Associated Student Body President, Senior Logan Chamberlain, “this project is an all-inclusive addition to our school that highlights the best and most amazing parts of Aptos High including academics, activities, athletics, and the arts.”
The marquee can also be used for emergency announcements or crisis information.
Aptos Sports Foundation President, Paul Bailey, believes the unique private/public partnership forged by the Foundation and the PVUSD is the reason the marquee project was successful. “This is a unique relationship in the state of California based on integrity and historical success,” said Bailey.
PVUSD did not have the money to spend on the sign or installation, but with its cooperation and ultimate approval along the way, ASF was able to do the marquee design, engineering, state approval, and installation all fully funded with community donations.
Principal Peggy Pughe says the sign will allow the school to publicize a variety of events to a wider audience, “Aptos High School is the heart of the Aptos community. We want to welcome our community to attend our events and now, with this amazing gift from the Aptos Sports Foundation, our Mariner athletes and performers look forward to increased participation at all of our public events. As you drive on to campus, you now know you are entering a school that supports its students and that is supported by our community.”
The Aptos Sports Foundation is working toward the development of an Endowment Fund that as a community asset, will fund athletic programs in the Aptos community, making them competitive with the best private school programs in Northern California. The Foundation goal is to raise five million dollars within 10 years to fund the Endowment.
APTOS, CALIF. (APRIL 14, 2016) – Two world-renowned athletes in surfing and skiing, along with the greatest golfer and most-decorated track and field athlete in Aptos High history headline the list of 2016 inductees into the Aptos High Sports Hall of Fame, with the 11th annual awards dinner to be held April 30 at Seascape Golf Club.
Tyler Fox (Class of 2000), one of the leading big-wave professional surfers in the world, and Cody Townsend (Class of 2001), one of the most influential and recognizable big-mountain skiers in the world; will be joined by Eddie Olson (Class of 2005), the only Mariner golfer to win the State High School Championship; and Stephanie LeFever (Class of 2007), who won 11 league titles and still holds nine school records in track and field.
They will be among eight athletes being honored, along with legendary tennis coach Bob Wallace and the championship 1980 Mariner baseball team.
Dinner tickets are $50 each and may be reserved through Aptos High Athletic Director Mark Dorfman, at 688-6565, ext. 483 and mark_dorfman@pvusd.net
Fox, who paced the Mariners to third place in the California State High School Surfing Championships in 2000, competed on the world surfing tour before turning to the big waves. He has continued to surf the world’s iconic big-wave spots, finished fourth at the past two Mavericks and twice has been nominated for the Billabong XXL Award. Fox is CEO of Santa Cruz Waves and serves as Ambassador for the Save The Waves Coalition.
Townsend, an all-county quarterback for the Mariners, has starred in more than 20 big-mountain skiing films, earning numerous industry awards. While in high school, Townsend was a nationally ranked junior skier and won a Junior Olympic title. He has gone on to win numerous big-mountain skiing competitions around the world. He joins his father, longtime Aptos coach Jamie Townsend, in the Hall of Fame.
Olson played four years of varsity golf at Aptos, winning two league titles and a qualifying for the section tournament all four years. As a junior in 2004, Olson captured the individual title in both the Northern California Championship and California State CIF Championship – clinching the state title with a hole-in-one on the 16th hole. One of the top-ranked junior players in the country, Olson went on to compete at UNLV and in the summer of 2007 made it to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Amateur.
LeFever competed in 12 different events during four years of competition in track and field, and also was a started on the volleyball team that went unbeaten in the SCCAL her junior and senior seasons. LeFever earned eight medals at the CCS Championships in her career and qualified for the State Meet all four years. She went on to compete in the heptathlon at UC San Diego, where she became an all-American and set school records in the heptathlon and long jump, qualifying for the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials in the long jump.
The Aptos High Sports Hall of Fame honor roll for 2016 also includes:
Kiersten Sambrailo (Class of 2007), who was a four-year varsity starter in basketball and three-year varsity starter in volleyball. A two-time league MVP in volleyball, Sambrailo earned a full-ride scholarship to play volleyball at Oregon State, where she was a three-time Pac 10 All-Academic Team winner.
Cristin Murphy (Class of 2003), who was a four-year varsity starter in soccer, three-time all-league (first team) and SCCAL Forward of the Year as a senior. Murphy went on to play two years at Cabrillo College, leading the Seahawks to a conference title, and then played two seasons at San Jose State, becoming an all-Western Athletic Conference selection.
Scott Ramsey (Class of 1980), who goes into the HOF “twice” this year – on his own, and as part of the 1980 baseball team. Twice named to both all-league and all-county teams for football (quarterback) and baseball (pitcher), Ramsey went on to pitch at San Francisco State University.
Tim Pedemonte (Class of 1980), who is considered one of the all-time best football players in Aptos history. He was an all-league and all-county selection on both offense and defense, and in in 1979 earned honors as SCCAL Defensive Player of the Year. Pedemonte went on to play defensive end at Humboldt State University.
Bob Wallace (1985-1998), developed a good boys tennis program in to a powerhouse, winning five league team titles and dozens of league singles and doubles champions. He was the winningest boys tennis coach in school history (until his successor and former Mariner star Mike Shiro surpassed him).
1980 Baseball Team, which was the first to qualify for the CCS playoffs, going 19-8 under the direction of coach Paul Barrington. The key seniors were catcher Ernie Cooper, the all-league and all-county MVP, pitchers Scott Ramsey and Kevin Daily, and powerful hitter Phil Ingram.
