PORT ANGELES — Peninsula College inducted five new members into the Pirate Athletics Hall of Fame over the weekend at the Peninsula Golf Club clubhouse.
The newest addition to the Hall of Fame are the 2010 Peninsula College men’s soccer team, Howard “Scooter” Chapman, Jim Clem, the late Jim Lunt and Rosemary Gala Moorhead.
The evening featured stories from the inductees, awarding of plaques and a union of athletes, coaches and supporters from Peninsula College’s early days as well as its modern history with the NWAC champion Pirate soccer team.
Chapman, of KONP Radio, shared stories from when he first began reporting on Peninsula sports in 1962 to the modern times.
Moorhead spoke of the early days of women’s basketball and other pre-intercollegiate women’s sports at Peninsula
Jeff Lunt shared stories about his father Jim, who passed away in 2014 after a long and influential career at Peninsula College.
Paul Reed, Dan Estes and Les Hall represented Clem, the former Pirates baseball and basketball standout who was coaching the Bellingham Bells in Canada Saturday.
The 2010 soccer team was well-represented in its reunion, despite the absence of head coach Andrew Chapman, who suffered a recent injury and was unable to attend.
Coaches Kanyon Anderson and Tim Tucker, along with player Yan Gioseffi, entertained the crowd with stories from their championship season.
“It was such a great night,” said Rick Ross, Associate Dean for Athletics and Student Life.
“The Hall of Fame Committee has so many choices out there, and this wave of inductees that were selected truly played a special role in our history.
“It was so great to hear their stories and to learn more about how far we’ve come in Pirate Athletics.”
The five new inductees join the 1970 Pirate men’s basketball team, the late Art Feiro, the late Dr. Wally Sigmar, Kathy Murphy-Carey and Jerry Allen in the Pirate Hall of Fame, which was launched in 2014.
The next induction ceremony will be in 2018.
Golf tournament
The team of Ken Chase, Mike Harrington, Andy Cordero and Joe Luce teamed up for a 19-under-par 53 to win the annual Pirate Golf Tournament on Saturday at The Cedars of Dungeness Golf Course.
The tournament, one of two signature fund raising events for Peninsula College athletic scholarships, drew 32 teams and more than 125 players.
The four-person scramble event raised more than $10,000, according to tournament director and Peninsula men’s basketball coach Mitch Freeman.
“The 2016 Pirate Golf Tournament was the most successful in our history,” Ross said.
“We’ve had fundraising golf tournaments almost every year since we re-started athletics here in 1997, and this one was drew the largest field and raised the most money.
“Mitch Freeman, Tim Tucker and the Pirate Golf Tournament Committee did a tremendous job, and 7 Cedars Casino and the Cedars of Dungeness Golf Course, along with the many tournament sponsors, raised a lot of money for athletic scholarships.”
Second place went to C.J. Freeman, Bryan Tupper, Drew Smith and Jake Wheeler, also with a 53.
The field of golfers enjoyed sunny skies and a variety of special events that were part of the 18-hole round.
Those events included the No. 3 tee box where players could kick a soccer ball and then tee off from wherever that ball wound up. On the No. 10 tee box, players could attempt free throws for an opportunity to advance to the junior tees.
“These events allowed us to involve our student-athletes, and that not only made the event more fun, but it helped the golfers relate to where their entry fees were going,” Ross said.
“The fact that we can offer the maximum allowed scholarship dollars puts our coaches in an advantage over other programs in the Northwest Athletic Conference.”
Peninsula College has two sports, soccer and basketball. The men’s and women’s teams representing those sports won four conference championships this year and brought home three top-three trophies, including an NWAC championship in men’s soccer.
The field was also full of Peninsula College alumni.
“It was so great to see all of the Pirate alumni in attendance,” Ross said. “Their continued support for our program is such a big reason for our success.”