SEQUIM HALL OF FAME: Inaugural class including Rantz, Dryke and 2011 softball champs gets its due Sept. 14

SEQUIM — Some of Sequim’s most iconic sports figures, including a pair of Olympic Games gold-medal winners, will get the spotlight later this summer as part of the first class of the newly created Sequim Hall of Fame.

Nine individuals and one team, the 2011 Sequim Wolves fastpitch squad, will be inducted, and a 10th individual, the late Bill Ward, will be recognized at a ceremony set for Sept. 14 at The Cedars at Dungeness golf course.

The inaugural class includes Matt Dryke (class of 1977), a gold medalist in skeet shooting at the 1984 Olympic Games; Cliff Echternkamp (class of 1963, basketball, baseball and football standout); Summer Jackson (class of 2005), state 3A swimmer of the year who holds numerous school records; coach/athletic director Rick Kaps; his son Ryan Kaps (class of 1989), all-state basketball star; Chuck Lehman (class of 1953), a three-sport prep star who also was key to starting Sequim Little League; Bruce Randall (class of 1950), a three-sport start in football, basketball and baseball; Joe Rantz, a gold medalist in men’s crew at the 1936 Olympic Games; Erica Wheeler (class of 1985), a track and field standout junior national record holder in the javelin; and, the 2011 fastpitch softball team that went 28-0 on its way to winning the class 2A state championship.

The Hall of Fame committee also will recognize Ward, a Sequim High class of 1948 graduate who went on to play professional football.

Sequim’s first Hall of Fame event will kick off with a social hour and silent auction at 4 p.m., followed by dinner at 5:30 p.m., a program honoring the inductees at 6 p.m. and capped by a live auction, all at the Cedars’ golf course at 1965 Woodcock Road.

Funds raised will support Sequim High School sports, band and cheerleader programs.

Honorees each will receive a plaque detailing the honor, and their names will be listed on a large plaque to be placed at the Sequim High gymnasium.

The committee to form a Hall of Fame grew out of a meeting between committee members Derrin Doty, Kevin Kennedy and Ron Sather after meeting with Bruce Skinner, who chairs the Port Angeles Hall of Fame. (Port Angeles’ Hall of Fame formed in 2017 and inducted its first class in April 2018.)

The 19-member board that serves Sequim’s Hall of Fame, a nonprofit organization, includes chairman Doty and co-chairs Kennedy and Sather, secretary Tammy Gitchel-Wooldridge, treasurer Karin Williams Cummins, and board members Tom Agostine, J.D. Angiuli, Chris Banchero, Dave Blake, Don Daniels, Brandon Funston, Art Green, Troy Herridge, Larry Hill, Candy Kardonsky-Burkhardt, Shawn Langston, Tom Lowe, Lori Taylor and Mark Textor.

For more information on the event, call Kennedy (253-254-2662), Doty (360-981-0057) or Sather (360-477-0768), email SequimAthleticHOF@gmail.com or write to: PO Box 730 Sequim, WA 98382.

Dryke eventually took over from his father running the range, where he gave private lessons.

He met his wife Yvonne, a pistol shooter from Peru, in 1995 while training shooters aboard. They married in 2002 and have a daughter, Ellen.

Joe Rantz

One of the more unlikely Pacific Northwest sports icons on a team of unlikely sports heroes, Rantz has been embraced by numerous Sequim groups — though he didn’t technically graduate from Sequim High School.

Rantz was part of the eight-man crew to win the gold medal at the 1936 Olympic Games, often referred to as “Hitler’s Olympics.”

Left by his family to fend for himself in the heart of the hard-scrabble Great Depression years in Sequim at age 15, Rantz managed to survive thanks to a hard work ethic and generosity of numerous Sequim families before moving to Seattle to live with his brother.

Spotted in a high school gymnasium by Al Ulbrickson, head coach of the University of Washington’s vaunted crew program, Rantz was encouraged to try out for crew and rowing in the University of Washington senior varsity eights, which won U.S. national Intercollegiate Rowing Association titles in 1936 and 1937 as well as the victorious sophomore eight of 1935 and freshman eight of 1934.

Following the Olympic Games victory, Rantz married his his Sequim High School sweetheart, Joyce Simdars. He went on to earn a chemical engineering degree and worked for Boeing.

Rantz died of congestive heart failure in Redmond at age 93.

His story was the central figure of Daniel James Brown’s bestseller “The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics” that later became a major motion pictured directed by George Clooney.

Rick Kaps

Presiding over an era of Sequim High boys basketball, Rick Kaps coached the Wolves’ uber-successful hardcourt squad from 1976-1989.

Four of his teams made it to the state tournament, with three earning back-to-back-to-back district titles (1986-89).

The apex was the 1987-88 season, when Sequim — led by his son Ryan — finished second in the state despite not having a starter taller than 6-3, falling only to Rainier Beach. The team finished 25-1 overall, and Kaps was awarded the Washington state basketball Coach of the Year.

A standout himself in his prep days, helping Chehalis to a Class A title in 1960,

When Kaps died of cancer at age 55 in February 1998, more than 1,000 people attended his services. The gymnasium on the SHS campus now bears his name.

Ryan Kaps

Rarely, if ever, the tallest player on the court at 6-1, Ryan Kaps was simply proficient from day one. He racked up league MVPs his freshman, junior and senior seasons and was named co-MVP of the state tournament (and earned an all-state honor) in 1987-88 — the third of his four all-state selections.

He was named the Naismith Award Winner as Washington State Player of the Year as a senior in 1988-89.

Kaps compiled numerous school and regional records; his 1,961 points remains an SHS record and second in the West Sound to Chimacum’s Steven Gray.

He also holds the school mark for points scored in the postseason (362) and held the program mark for assists (since broken) with 381.

Kaps went on to play basketball at the University of Washington and at Weber State University.

Cliff Echternkamp

A three-sport star (basketball, baseball, football), Cliff Echternkamp — a class of 1964 Sequim High grad — stood out particularly on the hardwood, earning two first team all-Olympic League A team honors (1963, 1964), averaging 16.3 points per game as a junior and a league-best 23 points per contest in 1964. He was a strong rebounder and defensive player, and helped the Wolves to the 1963 state tournament.

On the baseball diamond, Echternkamp was a three-year letterman and took part in three no-hitters in 1963 (a solo effort against Port Townsend, and two combined non-hitters with Bill Hahn, against Chimacum and Port Angeles). He also batted .480 at the plate in the 1963 and 1964 seasons.

Playing just one year for SHS’s football team, Echternkamp was picked for the all-Olympic League’s first team as an offensive end. He was a key part of Sequim’s football squad’s Homecoming win over North Mason that broke a 23-game losing streak — a game that also happened to SHS’s first game against the Bulldogs. The Sequim High Class of 1963 graduate picked off a pass in the fourth quarter to set up a score in a 33-7 rout.

A lifelong Sequim resident, Echternkamp dominated in the community’s Indistrict League (basketball) for 15 years, excelled at the fastpitch Industrial League for a decade. He also won several local tennis tournaments and bowled competitively for more than 10 years.

A concrete contractor in the area, he went on to work as maintenance supervisor for Clallam County Parks and Recreation for 27 years until he retired.

Chuck Lehman

In his youth, Chuck Lehman excelled in baseball, basketball and football. He graduated from Sequim High School in 1953 and attended Washington State to play football, but his career was short lived due to a serious knee injury while playing his freshman year and returned home to join the family business.

And as an adult, he refereed SHS basketball games for 15 years. He was instrumental in establishing Little League football and Babe Ruth baseball programs, often serving as a coach. He was also a constant advocate and driving force for youth sports in Sequim.

In 1976-77, he and Jerry Anguli spearheaded the effort that raised money to fund all Sequim schools sports and extracurricular activities which would have been cut that year due to levy failures.

In 1958, he married Shirley Govan, from another Sequim pioneer family, and in 1960 they purchased adjoining buildings and opened Lehman’s Thriftway, which became Lehman’s Mark and Pac, then Lehman’s Grocery.

For four decades, he was an active member of the community, serving on the board of the Shoreline Management Act and as a volunteer with the Sequim fire department for 25 years. He also volunteered at the Sequim Food Bank and served as its board president for several terms.

Lehman died in June 2014, at the age of 80 at his home in Sequim.

Bruce Randall

A Sequim High 1950 graduate, Bruce Randall excelled at three sports (football, basketball and baseball) before reaching new heights in college after a stint with the Armed Forces.

As an SHS senior in 1949-1950, Randall was designated team captain of the varsity football, basketball and baseball squads, and was voted to the boys basketball Class B All-State tournament team.

A U.S. Navy veteran serving from 1950-54, Randall earned three letters in those sports at Western Washington College of Education (soon to become Western Washington University). He was a three-time All-Evergreen Conference choice as outfielder in baseball, once as a defensive back in football and honorable mention choice as guard in basketball.

Randall was named WWU Athlete of the Year in 1955 and 1957 — the first two-time selection and only until 1990 — and was named to the WWU Hall of Fame in 1976.

After earning a bachelor’s degree in education from Western in 1957, coached and taught at Sequim, Ferndale and Sehome (Bellingham) high schools; he coached the Ferndale High football team to a 9-1 record in 1963. He went on to earn a master’s degree from WWU in 1968.

He was also was a player/coach for the Bellingham Bells semi-pro baseball team in the 1960s.

Randall died at age 84 in November 2016 in Mesa, Arizona.

Summer Jackson

A Class of 2005 Sequim High graduate, Summer Jackson was already an accomplished swimmer by her senior year — and then turned things up a notch.

Jackson earned a pair of All-America honors in the fall of 2004 with her class 3A state meet victories in the 50-yard freestyle and 100 butterfly, earning the state 3A Swimmer of the Year honor and helping the Wolves earn their top team finish (sixth) in program history.

A 50-meter breaststroke junior national champion in 2003, Jackson swam at the University of Arkansas and worked on post-doctorate studies at the University of Arkansas’ Terrorism Research Center.

She’s now an associate professor and Faculty Athletic Representative at Cal State-East Bay’s Department of Criminal Justice in Hayward, California.

A competitive swimmer by age 4, she competed at the national ranks with Olympic medalists.

In high school, Jackson was great from day one, earning the rare Ironman Award — earning state meet-qualifying swims in two different events in her first four meets of the season, in all four of her high school seasons. As a sophomore, she took first in the 100 breaststroke and second in the 50 free, and as a junior, Jackson scored a pair of second-place finishes in the 50 free and 100 fly.

In all, she won three individual state titles and 10 medals (top-eight) at state meets.

By the time she finished her prep career, Jackson held seven of the program’s eight individual swim records (50 free, 100 free, 200 free, 500 free, 100 fly, 100 breaststroke, 200 individual

• Matt Dryke: Born Aug. 21, 1958 in Port Angeles, Matt Dryke won Olympic gold in skeet shooting at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, California, with a record 198 points.

He was also a two-time world champion in skeet shooting (1983 and 1986), and a nine-time U.S. Champion.

Dryke was a three-time Olympic Games competitor (1984, 1988, 1992) and would have been a four-time Olympian after qualifying for the 1980 Games but did not compete with the U.S. team’s boycott.

He spent his early years on a 40-acre piece of property where his family raised hunting dogs and would eventually become his training facility for skeet, Sunnydell Shooting Grounds. Chuck, his father, turned the land into a training facility for his son.

Dryke joined the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit at age 18 from and shot with the unit from 1978-87.

At the Pan American Games, Dryke won gold medals in 1983 and 1987 and a silver medal in 1979. He was gold medalist at the Championships of the Americas in 1981 and 1985. medley) and as a member of two of the school’s three best relays (200 medley, 400 free).

Erica Wheeler

Erica Wheeler, a 1985 Sequim graduate, had a long career at the national and international level as one of the nation’s top javelin throwers, competing from 1985-2004. Her throw of 189 feet, 7 inches held the all-time national high school record for decades.

The 1985 USA Junior Champion and the 1990 Olympic Festival Champion, Wheeler competed at Stanford University after her high school days and vied for top honors at the 1996 Olympic Games, 1997 World Championships and 2003 Pan American Games.

She was U.S. Champion in 2003, and runner-up in 1997 and 2001, and placed third at nationals in 1993, 1995 and 2002. Her all-time best wound up 62.76 meters (about 206 feet).

Wheeler later worked as an assistant coach at the The Ohio State University and at Cal State-Chico, coaching the throwers, and as a throws coach for the U.S. Paralympic team.

2011 softball squad

Unbeaten and unmatched for a full season, the 2011 Sequim High School fastpitch softball team won the class 2A state title for the first team championship in school history.

While the 28-0 record indicates the Wolves ran roughshod over opponents, that was only true until they reached the state tourney, where they won three games by a total of four runs — including a 2-1 classic over Ellensburg in the title game.

Oddly enough, the team featured just three seniors: two-time Olympic League MVP Lea Hopson, Cindy Miller and Madison Zbaraschuk. But the lineup had star power throughout, including a host of all-league talent in Hannah Grubb, Bailey Rhodefer, Alexas Besand, Columbia Haupt and Zbaraschuk’s younger sister, Rylleigh.

On the mound, the Wolves featured a dominant duo of Demiree Briones, who wound up 22-0 on the season, and Makayla Bentz, then a freshman who would wind up a league MVP three seasons later.

In the regular season, Sequim was simply unstoppable, racking up 17 consecutive games of 10 runs or more — including a 29-1 win over Port Townsend) — before eking out a 7-6 win over Port Angeles in extra innings and a 9-6 win vs. Kingston in the final regular game.

After topping White River 9-4 and Franklin Pierce 9-0 at subdistricts, the Wolves found another gear at the West Central District tourney, blasting Kingston 10-0 in the quarterfinals, rival Port Angeles 15-4 in the semis and White River 12-0 in the district title game.

Sequim opened the state tourney with a wild, 12-10 win over Lynden; the Wolves held a 10-3 lead before the Lions roared back to tie it before SHS tacked on two runs in the sixth. The Wolves then blasted six home runs to rip Othello 14-7 in the quarterfinals on a rainy opening day. On day two, the Wolves edged nemesis Anacortes 8-7 in the semifinals, beating one of the two teams that defeated them at the state tourney two seasons prior.

Against Ellensburg, the Wolves scored first, going ahead 1-0 in the second inning. Briones got on base after she was hit by a pitch and went to second when the next batter was walked. A pinch runner came in for Briones and came home on a Haupt double. Ellensburg tied it 1-1 on a solo home run in the fourth inning. The Wolves went ahead for good with a run in the fifth. Grubb got on with a perfect bunt for a single and then came home on Rylleigh Zbaraschuk’s second double of the game.

The standout season also marked an oddity in the coaching ranks: SHS coach Joel Lewis (affectionately known as “Mama Jo”) held the reigns for that single season, choosing to step aside the following season. Assistant Mike McFarlen took over, leading Sequim to five consecutive state tourney appearances immediately in the wake of that championship team.

Bill Ward

A 1939 Sequim High graduate, Bill Ward was the first Sequim player to play professional football.

At 6 feet tall and 230 pounds, Ward would be considered a significantly under-sized offensive guard but wound up shining in his prep days as well as in college at both Washington State University (1941-42) and the University of Washington (1943) before graduating to military service and then the NFL.

Ward played for pro football teams in Washington D.C. (1946-47) and Detroit (1947-49), starting 23 of 24 games in the final two seasons with Detroit’s Lions. He totaled five fumble recoveries and returned one kick.

Born Feb. 19, 1921 in Sequim, Ward taught traffic safety classes for several years at Bellingham High School and died at age 71 in 1992 in Bellingham.