Tickets are on sale for the 2024 White River Athletic Hall of Fame induction ceremony, a special night that will highlight three former Hornet athletes and a longtime coach.
The April 20 festivities begin with a 6 p.m. reception in the school commons before moving to an unveiling of the newest plaques on the “Wall of Honor” in the gymnasium. The formal part of the ceremony gets under way at 7 p.m. in the White River High theater.
The cost to attend is $10 and tickets can be purchased at www.whiteriverathletichof.com. Tickets also will be sold at the door the night of the event.
This year’s Hall of Fame inductees are:
• Ralph Bowman, class of 1960: more than six decades removed from his Hornet days, the football standout remains in the school’s Top 10 for both rushing yards in a career and tackles in a single season. After leaving the Buckley campus he took his considerable talents to the University of Puget Sound where he collected all-conference honors on both offense and defense, earned the program’s Most Inspirational Award and was a 1963 NAIA All-American guard.
• Doug Funk, coach: he guided the fortunes of the Hornet football program from 1957 to 1984. Along the way he posted 124 victories as head coach and guided the team to league championships in 1959 and 1976. This marks his second HOF induction: in 2005 he was welcomed into the Pierce County Sports Hall of Fame.
• Renae (Ross) Landrum, class of 1996: the basketball star topped the prestigious 1,000 point mark during her time in a Hornet uniform. For her hoop exploits she was named the 1996 Class 2A state Player of the Year, was included on the all-state team and set four WIAA records during state tournaments. Following her Hornet days, she earned all-conference collegiate honors in both basketball and volleyball.
• Andrew Mills, class of 1993: he was named to the all-state team following his senior season, in recognition of 21.5 points per game, 7.8 assists, 5.5 rebounds and 4.5 steals. He was the Pierce County League’s Most Valuable Player that year, was named to the Tacoma News Tribune’s all-area team and was honored by both the Army and Navy as a Scholar Athlete of the Year.
OTHERS IN THE WR HALL OF FAME
The Hall of Fame Class of 2024 joins the following:
• Inaugural Class of 2020: John Garnero, Helen (Mills) Horton, John Hyppa, Andy Maris and the state champion 1973 boys’ basketball team.
• Class of 2021: Cindy (Browning) Meyer, Joe Kolisch and the state champion 1995 wrestling team.
• Class of 2022: Trena Page and Thron Riggs.
• Class of 2023: Ben Addink, Marcus Dickson, Bob McKean and Paul Strand.
