Fox High School welcomed 12 new inductees into its Sports Hall of Fame last month. That was the first time in 15 years anyone had received the honor.
The inductees included 11 individuals and one team. The inductees were Ashley Hamby, 2003 softball and basketball player; Dee Dee Bryant, 2002 track and field athlete; Ron Clark, 2003 football player; Dave Holder, 1978 baseball player; Jake Manning, 2001 baseball player; Randy Oliver, 1967 baseball, football, basketball and track athlete; Rick Hodge, 1975 baseball player; the late Cathy Salsman, 1978 volleyball, cheerleader, track and band member; and Ray Adams, former baseball, football, basketball and softball coach. Members of the 2003-2004 state champion pom team was inducted, as were 1978 graduate Scott Neibert and Frank Valleroy, both who were honored because of their work with youth organizations that helped prepare Fox High athletes for competition.
“I think this is an extraordinary group,” said Jim Chellew, a member of the Hall of Fame selection committee and Board of Education vice president. “Any time you are celebrating excellence it is good.”
The honorees were recognized at an April 30 ceremony and dinner. About 150 people attended.
Hall of Fame members can be inducted in one of six categories – state champions, professional athletes, NCAA Division I athletes, distinguished student and adult athletes, exemplary coaching or lifetime meritorious service.
The lifetime meritorious service category, which was added this year, honors those who have volunteered time and effort over an extended time to support excellence in Fox High School athletic programs, according to the ceremony’s program.
Chellew, along with fellow selection committee members Ron Clark, Ted Wright, Carole Yount, Marc McEneny and Superintendent Paul Fregeau, chose the latest inductees.
■ Hamby was an all-state softball selection in 2002, a four-time all-conference selection in softball and a three-time all-conference selection in basketball. She went on to play NCAA Division I softball at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale from 2004-2007 and played professional softball from 2007-2010.
■ Bryant was four-time state medalist in the pole vault, taking fifth in the Class 4A state final in 1999 and third in 2000, 2001 and 2002. She went on to compete at Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., earning all-Big East Conference honors in 2004 and 2005.
■ Clark, the son of selection committee member Ron Clark, was an offensive lineman for the Fox High football team, playing three years on the varsity level. He went on to play two years at Missouri State University in Springfield and one year at Truman State University in Kirksville.
■ Holder played on Fox High’s 1978 baseball team that finished second in state, and after joining the University of Missouri-Columbia baseball team as a walk-on in 1980, he was a baseball letterman in 1983.
■ Manning played for the Fox High baseball team for four years before earning a full scholarship to play baseball at Mineral Area College in Park Hills. He then played at Southwest Missouri State, now Missouri State, before spending one season with the River City Rascals, an independent baseball team in O’Fallon.
■ Oliver was a member of Fox High’s first baseball team in 1966, as well as the school’s only undefeated football team, also in 1966. He went on to pitch at U.S. Military Academy West Point.
■ Hodge was a member of Fox High’s 1973 and 1975 state champion baseball teams and the 1974 team that finished second at state. He played at Central Missouri State University, now University of Central Missouri, in Warrensburg, and he was an assistant coach at Jefferson College from 1998-2005 and at Seckman High School form 2006-2012.
■ Salsman, who died Feb. 25, did not play softball at Fox High because there was no team at the time. However, she went on to play at St. Louis University and was the starting catcher from 1978-1980.
■ Adams compiled a 143-36 record in seven seasons as the head softball coach at Fox High, guiding the team to a second-place finish in the state championship in 1992 and third-place finishes in 1991 and 1996. He also coached the freshmen baseball team for 20 years, freshmen football team for 15 years and freshmen basketball team for eight years.
■ Neibert was recognized for his volunteer work with the Jefferson County Youth Association for 26 years. He retired as the JCYA’s coaching director in December 2016 and the organization’s football field was named after him in August 2017.
■ Valleroy was recognized for his more than 44 years of coaching youth wrestling. He continues to guide young wrestlers with the Fox Wrestling Club, for which he started coaching in 1990.
■ The state champion pom team was made up of Katie Heilmann, Shauna Weigel, Brandi McGuire, Katie Burnett, Shannon Meyer, Sarah Busch, Sabrina Cowan, Tracy Friend, Susan Handrahan, Brooke Hoepfner, Rachel LaFata, Samantha Schmidt, Shannon Ward, Alyssa Dunnegan, Lindsey Graham, Mallory Pickles, Caitlin Bauer, Kelly Fox and Laura Handrahan. The squad’s director was Heather Gruenewald, and Kathy Gruenwald was the assistant director.
The Sports Hall of Fame was established in 2005, when the first class of inductees was announced. Classes were then inducted in 2006 and 2007, Chellew said.
“The first three years we were catching up on about 60 years of school history,” said Chellew, “Then most of the people who needed to be in were identified at that time. There was a gap because you want to have a class, enough people to induct to make it work. You want to have enough people there to make it a formidable event.”
The Fox C-6 School District was formed in 1948, Fox High School opened in 1955, and the high school’s first senior class graduated in 1959.
“We have talked about doing this on a five-year rotation,” Chellew said. “We will probably look at doing another one sooner than later. As we went through this class, we saw there were some folks who still needed to be inducted. We are at 74 years of school history.”