PORT ANGELES — Eleven more legendary coaches and athletes from Port Angeles lore have been selected to the third class of the Roughriders Hall of Fame.
The inductees were announced last week. They will be inducted at a dinner to be held in April 2020.
The third class won’t be quite as big as the first and second years, but there is still a lot of catching up to do as this year’s class will make 43 individuals in the quickly growing hall.
“It seems like we’re either finding more athletes or we’re finding more information on athletes we had known about,” said Bruce Skinner, who heads the Hall of Fame selection committee.
Skinner said a good example of new information coming out about past Roughriders is Cheri Simkins, who was part of Port Angeles High School’s legendary badminton teams from the 1960s. That part was already known about her.
“We knew she played badminton,” Skinner said. However, by digging deeper into her exploits, the committee discovered that Simkins had a varied and extensive athletic career well after high school, including an amazing 13 world championship titles in women’s Ironman.
Skinner said two teams are being picked later to join the 11 individuals in the 2020 class, who will be formally inducted at a fundraising dinner at the Vern Burton Center in April 2020.
Three of the inductees are coaches, including someone who is still coaching at Port Angeles High School — softball coach Randy Steinman.
Also being inducted are longtime track and field coach Bob Sheedy, who retired in 2018 and Curt Bagby, who coached football and the girls’ basketball team for 19 years.
The 2020 inductees include:
• Curt Bagby, football and basketball, 1974-92. Bagby coached the girls’ basketball team to a second-place state finish in 1986, the program’s highest finish ever. He won 224 girls’ basketball games and 93 football games as a head coach. His 317 combined wins in two sports is by far the most by any Port Angeles High School coach. His girls basketball teams had a winning percentage of .730.
• Austin Fahrenholtz, diving, 2012. Fahrenholtz was a two-time high school state diving champion, setting the state 2A scoring record that he still holds. He finished as the runner-up in his sophomore season. He won the Theodore Roosevelt award as a top scholar-athlete during his senior year and he dove at University of Colorado-Mesa.
• Sam Hurworth, football, 1957. He led the state in scoring in 1956 season as a fullback, and was a captain for the West Team in the high school All-State game. One of three Roughriders to start at the University of Washington, he was a starting fullback for the Huskies in his sophomore season before suffering an ankle injury. He also played guard and linebacker on defense for UW and participated in the 1960 and 1961 Rose Bowls.
Matt Lane, baseball, 2003. Lane hit .702 during his senior year at Port Angeles and also hit the reportedly longest home run in school history (450 feet). He still holds the hits record and is co-holder of the Riders home run mark for a season. He was all-state in high school and the Narrows League MVP during his senior year, and was All Narrows for all four years of his high school career. He went on to be the starting catcher at the University of Washington for three seasons, catching for Tim Lincecum and earned Pac-10 player of the week honors. He was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 11th round.
Sonny Luke, football, 1960. Luke has already been inducted into the Roughriders hall as part of a team. He was second-team all-state and leading rusher for arguably the best high school football team in Port Angeles history. He scored 18 touchdowns and 12 extra points for the highest scoring team in the state. Luke was named prep star of the week four times by the Seattle P-I and was also an outstanding defensive back. He was a Junior College All-American at Grays Harbor Community College and from there went on to play at Oregon Tech. He played semi-professional for the Tacoma Titans, who were part of an NFL developmental league and were affiliated with the Los Angeles Rams.
Jenny Nixon, swimming, 1989. Nixon was a member of the state championship Port Angeles 400 freestyle relay team, and is the only Riders athlete to participate on four undefeated regular-season teams. She went on to captain the University of Washington swim team, where she was named the UW Tyee athlete of the year for all sports.
Bob Peterson, football, 1963. A three-sport athlete, Peterson played on the Olympic League Champion Roughrider football team that finished 7-1-1 in 1962. An all-league and all-state selection, he was named to the Big 33 High School All-American Team. He was recruited by John Ralston to Stanford and he played freshman football for Bill Walsh and on varsity teams. After graduation, he completed U.S. Air Force pilot training. During his career, he flew reconnaissance, air mobility, and Special Airlift Mission aircraft transporting the Vice President, Secretary of State and other dignitaries worldwide. He served at the White House for four years as the Air Force Aide to President Jimmy Carter. He retired as a Colonel after 21 years of service.
Janessa Roening, Softball, 2002. The Most Valuable Player in the Olympic League, Roening went on to play at Lower Columbia Community College, where she was the Northwest Athletic Conference player of the year. She later played at the University of Missouri, where she earned All Big 12 honors. She is one of only two Port Angeles graduates to be named All League in a Power 5 Conference. She and her husband currently own a cross-fit gym in Wilsonville, Ore.
Bob Sheedy, track and cross country. Sheedy was the head cross country coach for both boys and girls for 21 years. He coached the boys to a 120-19 record, winning the league championship 12 times and district three times. He coached the girls to an 87-26 mark, and won the league championship 18 times. At one point the girls went 15 years without a home loss. Sheedy coached eight state track and field champions, and also coached football, swimming, basketball and soccer. As a Masters track and field competitor, he won four national championships in the pentathlon. He has also won world seniors games and world championship in the decathlon.
Cheri Simkins, Badminton, Triathlete, 1962. Simkins won Port Angeles’ first national badminton titles playing doubles with Tina Barinaga, a 2018 Port Angeles Hall of Fame inductee, and mixed doubles with Dean Carrell. She graduated as a valedictorian. Earning three degrees in college, she had a successful teaching career and later worked in the high technology field, where she became involved in marathons and triathlons. She went on to run 26 Ironman races, earning 18 wins and 13 world championships titles, making her one of the most decorated masters triathletes in the sport. It also earned her a spot on the Wheaties Energy Crunch cereal box and a spot in the USA Triathlon Hall of Fame.
Randy Steinman, 1983. A pitcher, third baseman and shortstop, Steinman was All-State at Port Angeles as a pitcher (He had an 11-0 record in his senior season). He was a member of the 1982 Aggies first state championship team and tournament MVP. After high school, he played for Southwestern Community College in Chula Vista, Calif. During college he played on an all-prospect team for the Houston Astros. After college he coached the Roughriders boys baseball team for 10 years, compiling a 150-79 record, leading them to a fourth-place AAA State finish in 1997, still the baseball team’s highest finish. Steinman coached Roughrider hall of famer Jeff Ridgway, Port Angeles’ only Major Leaguer, during that time. He coached two different girls Babe Ruth teams to the World Series in North Carolina and Florida. He is currently coach of the Port Angeles girls’ softball team, where he has compiled a 141-35 record with five league titles, three district crowns and two academic state championships. He led the Riders to 50 straight league wins and to a second-place AA State finish in 2017 — the softball team’s highest finish ever.
