Tickets available for Hall of Fame
Courtesy of Christopher Cross Madera Tribune sports editor Tyler A. Takeda, a vice president with the Madera F.A.N., gives 2018 Hall of Fame inductee Valeria Martinez her tickets to the induction dinner, that will be held Nov. 17. Tickets are still available.
The Madera Foundation of High School Athletic Needs (F.A.N.) is in preparations for the upcoming Madera Athletic Hall of Fame Induction dinner to be held in November.
The F.A.N. will holds its induction ceremony Nov. 17 at the Peters Brother’s Nursery Banquet Hall. Tickets are $50. For information or to purchase tickets, contact Bill Dawson at 479-1649 or Tyler Takeda at 217-0311 or tylert@maderatribune.net.
Leading the seventh class are wrestler Sammy King, three-sport athlete Mark Gustin, gymnast Heidi Seibert and softball player Nicole Guerra (Zenger). Also included is Madera South’s second inductee, volleyball player Valeria Martinez.
Joining the individuals will be the 1969 Valley Championship Madera Coyote wrestling team. Leading the team are Valley Champions Laddie King (133 pounds), Larry Tribble (175 pounds), Tim Del Toro (191 pounds) and Don Watson (heavyweight), along with Pete King (95), a valley champion in 1970 and 1971 at two different weight classes; William Bloodworth (103); Ruben Marquez (112), who was a runner-up at Valleys in 1969; Henry Fleming (119), third in the valleys; Robert Arballo (127), second in the valley; Ed McIntyre (138), second in the valley; Charlie Freeman (145), who won a Valley Championship in 1970; Dan DaSilva (154), who won a Valley Championship in 1970; and Huston King (165), third in the valley.
“If there was a state championship, we would have won that, too,” Laddie King said.
Laddie’s older brother Sammie just missed out on the championship, graduating two years earlier. Sammy won a Valley Championship in 1967 at 112 pounds.
In addition to the individuals, Dan Ascanio will enter the Hall of Fame as a coach. He coached the Madera Coyote baseball to the 1996 Valley Championship. That team was inducted in 2012 and Ascanio will get his own induction ceremony. He also played in a Valley Championship game as a player for the Coyotes.
Horner & Sons Well Drilling will be inducted into the Madera Athletic Hall of Fame as a contributor. Owner Rick Horner will be honored for his contributions to the Madera F.A.N. and what he has done for Madera sports, in general.
Individual honorees
• Sammy King — wrestling, graduated 1967. Won a Valley Championship in 1967 after finishing second in the Valley Championships in 1966 and 1965 He wen 62-2 in his junior and senior years and finished with a 91-11 career record. He is part of a King legacy that has produced five Valley Champions and numerous second and third place finishes between five brothers and two coaches.
• Nicole Guerra (Zenger) — softball, graduated 1994. Has a career record as a pitcher for Madera High at 75-27. She is the younger sister of Mitzi Berkinshaw (Zenger), a 2009 inductee, who set numerous pitching records Guerra surpassed. She still has school records, some of which will never be approached, for most no-hitters in a career (12), lowest ERA in a season (0.22), lowest ERA in a career (0.56), most wins in a career (75), most strikeouts in a career (511), innings pitched in a season (226.3) and most innings pitched in a career (647.0).
• Mark Gustin — basketball, graduated 1980. Averaged a double-double (points and rebounds) in his senior season at Madera and led the North Yosemite League in rebounds. He was an All-Leaguer in water polo, basketball and boys volleyball. He also helped the Fresno State Bulldogs win the National Invitational Tournament in 1982.
• Heidi Seibert — gymnastics, graduated 1992. Long-time gymnastics coach Tammi Britton named her as the best gymnast in her coaching career. She won the league championship as an individual all four years in gymnastics and led her team to a Valley Championship. She also was a member of a national championship cheerleading team.
• Valeria Martinez — volleyball, graduated 2011. She started every game in four years at Madera South. She was a North Yosemite Most Valuable Player while leading the Stallions to four straight league championships and led the Stallions to the Div. III Valley Championship in 2010, the first non-cross country championship for the school.
