CHSAA inducts its 25th class into Hall of Fame on Wednesday
For the past 25 years, the Colorado High School Activities Association has honored the state’s top contributors to high school activities. Tonight, the Association inducts ten more representatives of the countless individuals who have helped shape the growth of the organization.
The CHSAA Hall of Fame is a great source of pride for the Association because it recognizes the people who make up high school activities.
Within the CHSAA Hall of Fame there is representation from small schools and large, from the Western Slope, Southern Colorado, Eastern Plains and the Front Range. Although most members are retired, several continue to serve the students with a youthful enthusiasm.
The inductees tonight join with 156 other members representing many years of outstanding leadership, high moral character, outstanding citizenship and the ideals embodied by the CHSAA.
Nominations are accepted in the following categories: Participant, Coach/Sponsor, Administrator, Official, Team and Contributor. Induction ceremonies are held each January.
Nominations are due on August 15 for induction consideration by the committee in September.
Class of 2013 inductees
Evergreen Volleyball
(1979 State Champions)
Hall of Fame Team Inductee
There are legends and there are legendary teams. It becomes really special when the legends are a part of the legendary teams.
For Evergreen High School, the initial step toward legendary status came when a legend took over the program. Lo Hunter, a member of the CHSAA Hall of Fame (1996) and the National High School Hall of Fame (2000), took over the program.
The 1976 team won the first of the school’s eight state championships, but it was the 1979 team cemented the foundation for legacy to come.
Resplendent with players like Tanya Haave (CHSAA Hall of Fame 1993, NHSHoF 2001), Lorie Culp and Liz Edy, the team boasted now fewer than six players that went on to play Division I volleyball.
The third team to be recognized by the CHSAA Hall of Fame, the 1979 Evergreen High School team is recognized as THE team in the string of 8 state titles out of 10 from 1976 to 1986 by athletes who were members of those teams.
Coached by Hunter and led by Haave, Edy and Culp, the Cougars were a part of a string of 182 consecutive wins from 1978-1986.
The members of the team remember Hunter as a tough task master, but fair, citing her work in creating opportunities for young women in the early days of girls’ athletics.
Haave remembers the team as being talented, close and focused on what they wanted to accomplish, she also noted that they practiced morning and afternoon, practicing more than any boys’ team.
Edy and Culp noted that playing for Hunter was a true exercise in patience and humility. They said that the players had to trust her, but the coach made them better women.
At the time it was hard, but she loved each player to the core. She spent her own money on uniforms. Her heart and soul was all in the end product.
Edy said the team wanted to win it for Evergreen and for the team.
It was always about the team, never about the stats, Culp noted.
Gary Ambrosier
(Grand Junction Schools)
Hall of Fame Inductee
Gary Ambrosier retired as the Music Coordinator for Mesa County Valley District 51 schools eight years ago and is busier today than he ever was in his position for the school district. Much of that activity is serving as the chairman of the CHSAA’s Music Adjudication Association.
A 1968 CSU graduate in music education, Ambrosier started his teaching career at the Bayfield High School before moving to Rudyard, MI, where he was band director for eight years. While in Michigan, Ambrosier earned his master’s degree in music education.
Returning to Colorado, he was band director at Glenwood Springs High School (1976-79) and band director at Central High School in Grand Junction (1979-94) when he was named assistant principal for Grand Mesa Middle School for two years before taking over as music coordinator for the district.
Ambrosier has a love of swimming and has coached the sport and taught water safety throughout his career. He also coached baseball and basketball in his career.
It is Ambrosier’s music expertise that has him on center stage here tonight. Ambrosier is one of the architects of the CHSAA Music Adjudication process where large group and solo and ensemble contestants are measured in an educationally objective manner, rather than a traditional subjective format.
The key to the adjudication process is proper judges’ education and a strong measuring tool. The CHSAA Music Advisory Committee, with major input from Ambrosier, developed a rating form that focuses on a numeric measurement, rather than a subjective one.
Ambrosier has been responsible for developing the educational process for the adjudicators and helps in assigning the adjudicators to the CHSAA large group festivals.
He was recently awarded the 2012-2013 NFHS Outstanding Educator Award.
Tonya Beaber Hanks
(Deer Trail High School)
Hall of Fame Inductee
One of Colorado’s top small school athletes, Tonya Beaber’s prep career included participation in volleyball, basketball, track, spirit and student council.
She was her class valedictorian, was a member of the National Honor Society and won numerous academic awards during high school. Tonya guided her volleyball and basketball teams to state titles in 1986, the first ever at Deer Trail High School.
During her four year career, though, Deer Trail was a regular visitor to the state playoffs.
A four-year letter winner in all three sports, Beaber was the 1988 Steinmark Award runner-up, made the All-State teams three times in volleyball and basketball and was a place winner in track in long jump, triple, jump, shot and discus.
When she graduated from DTHS, she held school basketball records for career points (1,619), points in a season (423), points in a game (34), career steals (234), points per game (17.8), career field goal percentage (46.9%), career free throw percentage (70.5%) and career assists (365).
Her CHSAA ranks upon graduation included the following career marks: seventh in scoring, eighth in field goals made, fourth in free throws made, third in free throw attempts and sixth in field goal attempts. She also ranked third in total points at the state tournament (210). Her college team was 49-7.
The Colorado native went on to play at Western Nebraska and graduated from Northern Colorado. She earned All-region honors playing at WN and was second nationally in free throw percentage. She went on to coach high school volleyball and softball.
The Colorado State Board of Education recognized her in 1988 for her perfect attendance through 13 years of schooling. She is currently an assistant basketball coach at Strasburg and has coached at Elbert. Well, she did take a half day to go meet with the Board and get her recognition.
Jerome Biffle
(Denver East High School)
Hall of Fame Inductee
Jerome Biffle was one of the nation’s top student-athletes, playing football and running track for Denver East High School.
A three-time all-state track star, and winner of the 100- and 220-yards sprints each year and the high jump and long jump, Biffle went on to win a Gold Medal at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics in the long jump with a leap of 24-10.03.
He also participated in football for Angels. As a halfback in the vaunted “single wing” offense under the guidance of legendary coach Adolph “Pat” Panek (CHSAA HoF 1991/NFHS HoF 1996), he helped East to an undefeated 1945 season in city play.
Biffle was the first black athlete at the University of Denver, enrolling after a four-year stint in the US Army.
Biffle captured first place finishes at theKansas, Drake, and West Coast Relays, which were known as the “big three” of college track events during that period, as well as winning the NCAA long jump title. In that same year, Biffle was named Track and Field News top collegiate track star.
Biffle earned a teaching certificate and a master’s degree in guidance and counseling. He started out at Cole Elementary School before getting a job at his alma matter, East, just as it was beginning the desegregation process and looking for black teachers and counselors.
He went on to become a golf coach at East and was a school counselor there from 1962-1992. He also was an assistant track coach at EHS.
Biffle, along with Jesse Owens, was inducted into the Drake Relays Hall of Fame in 1959. Biffle passed away in 2002.
For the thousands and thousands of students he counseled at East High School between 1962 and 1992, Biffle will be remembered for his caring and guidance.
For sports fans, he will be remembered as Colorado’s gold medal winning long jumper.
Pauline Carochi
(Canon City High School)
Hall of Fame Inductee
Pauline Carochi was nominated by the Colorado Speech “Community,” not just the CHSAA Speech Committee. That’s the respect she holds within the activities.
She has been at Canon City High School for 37 years. During that time, she was the school’s speech coach (37 yrs.), Student Council Sponsor (22) and Newspaper sponsor (30).
Thirteen of her students have won state championships, including two that won national championships, and hundreds more have qualified to the state meet.
Carochi was a member of the CHSAA Speech Committee for more than 12 years and chaired the state speech tournament five times. She has been recognized many times in speech for her work, including being inducted into the National Forensics League Hall of Fame (2010) and receiving the Sharon Wilch Lifetime Achievement Award. Including the previous two awards, Carochi has been honored 10 additional times for her speech work.
Her life’s work has been wrapped up in students, and speech. She has chaired the CHSAA speech tournament five times, chaired the committee that rewrote the CHSAA Speech Handbook in 2000 and still continues to serve on that committee.
Carochi started providing and teaching judges training in 1980 and continues to do so today. She, in turn, has served as a tournament official for the State Speech Tournament every year since 1980.
She has also served a role with the National Forensics League (the REAL NFL) as a national tournament official since 1985, chairing Debate since 1997 for the national group.
Carochi has been published numerous times in speech and debate publications.
The versatile teacher also sponsored student council at the school from 1990-2012 and was the schools newspaper advisor from 1997-2006 during which time the publication won numerous awards.
Manuel Gonzales
(Granada High School)
Hall of Fame Inductee
Claire Bee once said “Good coaching may be defined as the development of character, personality and habits of players, plus the teaching of fundamentals and team play.”
For Manuel Gonzales and the hundreds of athletes he has coached at Granada High School that may be the essence of what has done day in and day out for the past 40-plus years.
Gonzales has coached three sports – football for 40 years, basketball for 39 and baseball for 25 – and is still on the sidelines today. His teams have won three football titles (1979, 1988, 2006), two basketball titles (1989, 1991) and three baseball crowns (1991, 1995, 2009).
The Arkansas Valley native and a graduate of Granada High School, Gonzales said it was his dream to return to his alma mater to teach and coach.
Gonzales has been named Coach of the Year numerous times in each sport and has had his teams finish as runners up in the state championships several times.
He was a driving force behind the addition of the 1A baseball classification in 2007, citing increased popularity of the sport and the number of 1A sized schools playing the sport.
He notes that receiving a college degree is what he considers his greatest accomplishment because it allowed him to become a teacher and coach. Graduation and continuing education are goals he continues to teach while coaching his athletes. He also coached two sons and a daughter who attended GHS.
Gonzales has retired from teaching but remains passionate about coaching. And 40 years later, he says he can’t pick a favorite sport. He loves them all.
Gonzales was inducted in to the Colorado High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame (2002) and the National High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame (2006). He was recognized by the Colorado Dugout Club in 2009 for his contributions to high school baseball.
Sam Pagano
(Fairview High School)
Hall of Fame Inductee
Sam Pagano is an iconic figure in Colorado football annals. He coached at both the high school and the professional levels during his career.
He was football coach at Fairview for 25 years, from 1969-1994 where his teams went 164-58-4 and won state titles in 1978, 1979, 1987.
He was Colorado’s Coach of the Year in 1978 and 1979. In 1978, Pagano won the Colorado High School Coaches Association’s Ed Lesar Award as the Outstanding Teacher/Coach in the state.
Pagano headed the Colorado High School Coaches Association from 1974-75 and served as the head coach of the Colorado All-State Game. He was inducted into the Pueblo Sports Hall of Fame in 1978. He was a National Coach of the Year nominee in 1990.
Pagano ran the Mile High Football Clinic, a camp he started in 1975 until 2012. The clinicians for that camp included such football luminaries as Vinnie Testaverde and Peyton Manning.
The Mile High Football Camp served over a thousand young football players and helped establish Colorado as a football hotbed. College coaches from across the country would serve as clinicians and guest coaches.
Following his high school coaching career, Pagano took on the challenge of coaching football in Europe at the professional level.
During his career, he has also coached professional football in Europe. He coached teams in Bergamo, Italy; Berlin, Germany; and, Paris, France. He was an assistant coach for the UFL team in Taiwan.
His Bergamo Lions (Italy) won the 2002 Euro Bowl Champions after winning the Italian title at 16-0. His 1992 Bergamo team was runners-up in the Euro Bowl, finishing at 14-1.
His son, Chuck, is head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, while another son, John, is the San Diego Chargers defensive coordinator.
Robert Plank
(Sterling)
Hall of Fame Inductee
One of the top officials in the state of Colorado, Bob Plank officiated 32 years in football and basketball. He was a teacher, coach and administrator at Fleming and Sterling high schools for 33 years as his “real” job, but was also one of the state’s finest officials after school.
Plank earned numerous awards as a basketball official, including the inaugural Al Schalge Award for professionalism and service to the sport. Plus, he called a number of championship games.
While refereeing basketball, Plank served in many capacities for the officials’ association, including as President of IAABO Board #4 in 1973. He was also a member of the Board #4 Executive Committee.
He served as a rules clinician for countless conferences and was an important mentor for literally hundreds of younger officials.
In football, he was a noted on-field official who called many playoff and state championship games.
He was an Executive Committee member for the Colorado Football Officials Association for 10 years and served as a rules clinician for many clinics. Again, like basketball, he was active with numerous CFOA clinics.
In support of his avocation – officiating – he regularly wrote articles on rules, rule changes and sportsmanship and took those topics on local radio.
One of the unique opportunities that come for officials is the ability to referee games in multiple classifications. Plank noted that many “special” games he called, including the first girls’ basketball championship game and the 1976 title game between Manual and Cherry Creek in 1976.
Plank was an instructor of officiating and rules for Northeastern Junior College, Western State and Adams State colleges.
He is a member of the IAABO Board #4 Honorary for Officials and a member of the Colorado High School Football Officials Association Hall of Fame.
Mike Provenzano
(Palmer High School)
(Cheyenne Mtn. High School)
Hall of Fame Inductee
Colorado ice hockey can thank Colorado Springs Coaching legends Gib Funk (CHSAA HOF 1991) and Garry Berry for inspiring Mike Provenzano to become a teacher and coach.
Provenzano cites both his former coaches for planting the seed that would grow into the state’s moist successful ice hockey coach.
Provenzano noted that majoring in science and physical education was a natural lead in to teaching and coaching. Funk was Provenzano’s high school coach, while Berry gave Provenzano his first teaching and coaching job upon graduation from Colorado State in 1967. The coach added a master’s degree in 1985 from Colorado College.
His teams won three state championships at Palmer High (1992, 1993, 1998) during a 30-year reign as hockey coach. Then, his teams won another in 2004 when he coached Cheyenne Mountain High to the championship. He spent nine years with the Indians’ program.
“Coach Pro’s” Palmer teams made 18 consecutive state ice hockey Final Four appearances and were second three times. At CMHS, his teams played in the state tourney nine times.
Provenzano’s teams compiled a 267-159-9 mark at Palmer and 127-41-6 at Cheyenne Mountain for an overall prep coaching record of 394-200-15.
Twenty of the last 21 years as coach, Provenzano’s teams were in the CHSAA Frozen Four. Provenzano was named the Colorado Coach of the Year six times, including 1984, 1987, 1992, 1998, 2004 and 2009.
In addition to his high school coaching, Provenzano was active in non-school ice hockey programs, coaching the Pike Peak Miners (Midget AAA) team from 1994-97 and 2000-02. Those teams won the 1995 and 1996 Colorado Amateur Hockey Titles and his teams made appearances in the USA Hockey National Championships three times.
He was the first president of the Colorado Ice Hockey Coaches Association.
Mark Randall
(Cherry Creek High School)
Hall of Fame Inductee
It’s hard to say that Mark Randall’s selection to the CHSAA Hall of Fame was based solely on his basketball ability. Nor, was it based solely on his work with Kroenke Sports in the community. Frankly, it was based on the character, integrity and person that Randall is and demonstrates each day.
Randall is no stranger to followers of Colorado basketball. He was a McDonald’s and Parade All-American (1986) and went on to star at the University of Kansas where his team won a NCAA title (1990).
Randall led his 1986 Cherry Creek team to the state championship game before losing to George Washington. Both teams were unbeaten coming into the game and the Patriots top the Bruins by one point in that title game.
His CHSAA Hall of Fame letters of recommendation came from Irv Brown (CHSAA HOF 2005), Roy Williams (KU, UNC), Bill Self (KU) and Larry Brown (NBA, KU).
Randall cites his father and early coaches for giving him the foundation in basketball and life. They taught him the fundamentals and basics of the game. He played for many great coaches, including Larry Brown.
He says that his college coaches helped shape who he is, but credits North Carolina’s Roy Williams with teaching him “the game, components of the team and individuals” and taught him how to be a man.
He played on the US National Team (1990) that won the FIBA Championships that year.
A first round pick of the Chicago Bulls, he played for the Pistons, Timberwolves and Nuggets, as well.
Randall is currently the Nuggets Community Ambassador and is active among Colorado’s youth basketball community.
In his role as Nuggets Community Ambassador, Randall speaks to over 30,000 students a year about the importance of education, making good choices, and respecting peers, teachers and parents.
