41 Selected for Induction into Portland Interscholastic League Hall of Fame, Oct. 15, 2023
View PDF version of 2023 Inductee News Release
PORTLAND—The athletic achievements of 41 alumni of the Portland Interscholastic League (PIL) will be acknowledged Sunday, Oct. 15 at a Hall of Fame Induction Banquet. It will be held at the Double Tree by Hilton, Lloyd District, 1000 NE Multnomah Street.
The Inductees include 40 living and one deceased spanning eight decades from 1939 to 2012. This will be the 33rd induction ceremony in the 123-year history of the PIL.
Thirty men and 11 women are in the Induction Class. All are alumni from nine present Portland Public Schools—Benson, Cleveland, Franklin, Grant, Jefferson, Lincoln, Madison (now McDaniel), Roosevelt, and Wilson (now Wells)--and three schools no longer open, Adams, Jackson, and Marshall.
Only one of the 39 athletes earned a maximum 12 letters, Hannah Oken-Berg Smith ’05 of Lincoln with four letters each in Cross Country, Basketball, and Track & Field. She was a PIL All-Star in leading Lincoln to two city titles as a Junior and Senior.
Among male athletes, Ron Johnson ’60, Franklin, earned 11 letters, four in wrestling, three in football, and two each in baseball and track and field. Two women earned 11 letters each, Janelle (Miller) Highburger ’85, Madison, four in volleyball and softball, three in basketball; and Nike (Love) Greene ’92, Roosevelt, four in basketball and track & field, three in volleyball.
Popular Portland Softball star Beryl “Hap” Piper of the Erv Lind Florists will be inducted as a coach for 34 years of service at Franklin. She launched teams in basketball, volleyball and softball at Franklin from 1960 until retirement in 1994. An All-American, she helped Erv Lind win the 1964 World Series with an RBI single for the final run of that Series.
Ace pitcher Stuart Fewel, Wilson ‘09, is believed to be the first third generation from his family in the HOF. His grandfather Gerald Exley, Sr. was inducted as a Washington High Coach in 1987 and father “Jerry” Exley, Jr., Grant ‘52, was inducted in 2005 for his all-star play in football and basketball.
Boxing will be singled out for the first time in PIL HOF history. Brothers John and Tom Sullivan will be inducted for their amateur boxing exploits while attending Marshall High School. John, a 1974 graduate, won the 1972 and 1973 National Junior Olympics and the 1974 National Golden Gloves. Tom, a 1976 graduate, won the National AAU welterweight as a 14-year-old and the AAU Light Middleweight as a 15-year-old. Both turned professional in 1976, John winning 13 major titles in six years and Tom winning 8 of 9 bouts fought.
Five men reached professional athletic ranks, three in minor league baseball and two played professional basketball internationally. The baseball professionals were Mark Burke, Jr. ’93 (Atlanta Braves, org.) and Chuck Clifford ’39 (Chicago Cub and LA Angels, orgs.) both from Jefferson, and Mike Holm ’80 from Wilson (Baltimore Orioles).
Phil Hopson ’79, Jefferson played in Australia and Argentina. Chris Stephens ’02, Madison, played in Chile and Argentina from 2006-08.
The induction ceremony will bring the PIL Hall of Fame membership to 1,097, over half still living.
Following are the Inductees by school, class year, present hometown, sports and letters won, PIL and State honors. A posting of the new members will be completed by the end of the month in the PIL Cyber Museum at pilhoffame.org.
Sports key: Bb-Baseball; Bxb-Basketball; Cc-Cross Country; Ch-Cheer; Fb-Football; Gf-Golf; Gym- Gymnastics; Sb-Softball; Soc-Soccer; Sw-Swimming; T&F-Track &Field; Vb-Volleyball; Wr-Wrestling;
ADAMS—Brian Pienovi, ’74, Portland. Bxb1; Bb4 All-PIL.
BENSON—Matt Asay, ’88, Clackamas. Fb3 All PIL, Shrine All-Star, 2nd All-State; Bxb3; Bb3 2nd All-PIL.
Jason Franklin, ’95, Portland. Bxb3 2x All PIL, 2x All-State, 2x All-Tournament, Street Smith and Nike All American, PIL Player of the Year, Benson Athlete of the Year.
Paul L. Green, Jr. ‘88, Irving, TX. Cc1, Bxb1, T&F3 PIL Champ in 110m and 300m Hurdles, 2nd State in 300m Hurdles. All-time Benson 4x400 Relay team.
Dominica R. McCord, ’91, Portland. Bxb3 2x All PIL, 2nd Team All-Tournament, State Metro All-Star.
Taryn Tarver-Bishop, ’93, Simi Valley, CA. T&F2 PIL Champ 100m, LJ, 200m, 4x100 Relay; State Champ 100m, 2nd 200m.
CLEVELAND—Taylor Avritt, ’07, Portland. Fb2 All-PIL, T&F2
Don Nelson, Coach, Portland. Boys baseball & soccer, girls soccer; 39-year career.
Terrence Smyth, ’82, Sun City West, AZ. Cc3, Wr4 2x PIL Champ, team MVP, Gf2.
FRANKLIN—Owin Hays, ’90, Oregon City. FB4 All-PIL, Def. Player of the Year; T&F3.
Ron Johnson, ’60, Portland. Fb3, Wr4 2x PIL Champ. 2x State Champ. T&F2, Bb2.
Amy Papasadero, ’98, Happy Valley, OR, Sb4 3x All-PIL, 2x 2nd team All-State, Team and PIL Player of the Year.
Beryl “Hap” Piper, Coach, Portland. Girls Basketball, Volleyball, and Softball 1960-94; All-
American, on World Series Champ. Team.
GRANT—John R. Bakkensen, ’61, Portland. T&F3 2x PIL Discus Champ, State Discus Champ.
Terry Brown, ’60, Redmond, WA. Fb3 Shrine All-Star starter. Wr4 PIL Champ.T&F2
John Percich, ’69, North Plains. Fb3 2x All-PIL, Shrine All-Star, defensive MVP. Bb3 2nd All-PIL. Bob Weaver, ’61, Milwaukie. Fb3 All-PIL. Wr3, 3rd All-State
JACKSON—Susan (Weitzel) Davis, ’78, Vancouver, WA. Gym4 Vault Champ, T&F1, Sb1, Cheer1.
JEFFERSON--Brandon Brooks, ’00, Alhambra, CA. Fb1; Bxb4 2x All-PIL, All-State, All- Tourney, PIL and OSAA Player of the Year, Gatorade POY; 2x USA Today All-American HM.
Mark Burke, Jr., ’93, Cheshire, CT. Fb1 State-Metro All-Star; Soc2 All-PIL; Bxb2; Bb3 2xAll-PIL, All-State; OSAA US Bank Scholar Athlete of the Year; MAC Scholar Athlete.
*Chuck Clifford, ’39. Soc2 2x All-PIL; Bb4 2xAll-PIL.
Ed Graves, ’54, Beaverton. Fb3 All-PIL; Bxb3; T&F3 PIL HJ, LJ and 440-Relay Champ. Top Senior Athlete.
Phil Hopson, ’79, Phoenix, AZ. Bxb2 All-PIL, 2nd All-State and All-Tourney; MVP of State- Metro All-Star game; Top Senior athlete
LINCOLN—Avery Sills Emeruwa, ’09, Bellingham, WA. Gf4, 4x PIL Champ. 2x State Champ.
JT Flowers, ’12, Portland. Bxb4 2x 2nd All-PIL and 2x All-PIL, All-State. 2nd All-Tournament. Rhodes Scholar.
Tiarra J. Pittman, ’10, Portland. T&F4 State 4x100 Relay champ; 300m PIL & State Champ. 16x State qualifier and medalist, 6x school record holder, MVP, OSAA Academic All-State; 4x Team Captain.
Hannah Oken-Berg Smith, ’05, Seattle. Cc4 Most Inspirational; Bxb4 2x 2nd All-PIL, 2x All- PIL and 2x All-State. T&F4. Sportswoman of the Year.
MADISON—Janelle (Miller) Highburger, ’85, Veneta, OR. Vb4 3x All-PIL, All-State; Bxb3 2x All-PIL; Sb4 4x All-PIL, All-State.
Mike Keller, ’75, Newberg. Fb1, Bxb1, Bb3 All-PIL
Chris Stephens, 02, Eugene. Bxb3 2x All-PIL, All-State. OR-WA All-Star. T&F PIL HJ Champ.
Jerry Yung, ’74, Vancouver, WA. Fb2; Bb2 All-PIL, 2nd All-State; State-Metro All-Star.
MARSHALL—Sullivan, John ’74, Portland. Cc4; T&F4. 2x Winner of National Junior Olympic Boxing Champ. National Golden Gloves Champ. ’74.
Sullivan, Tom ’76, Portland. Fb2. National AAU Welterweight winner ’72; AAU Light Middleweight winner ’73. National Golden Gloves winner ‘75
ROOSEVELT—Nike (Love) Greene, ’92, Portland. Vb3; Bxb4 2nd All-PIL, All-PIL. T&F4
Harvey Hewett, Jr., ’67, Vancouver, WA. Fb2 team MVP; Bxb1; Bb2. Best All-Around Athlete. Eugene Toman, ’97, Scappoose. Fb3 2nd All-PIL, All-PIL, Shrine All-Star; T&F4.
Bill Turner, 52, Hillsboro. Fb3 All-PIL, All-State, Shrine All-Star. T&F2
WILSON—Stuart Fewel, ’09, Portland. Bxb1. Bb2 2x All-PIL, 2xAll-State, 2x Pitcher of the Year; team MVP; OSAA All-State Game MVP.
Ann Habernigg, 79, LaQuinta, CA. Cc1; Sw3 3x State Champ in 200 Ind. Med; State Champ in 100 Breast Stroke; State Champ of 500 freestyle; On 200 medley relay and 400 freestyle relay Champ teams. Soc3 Team MVP
Mike Holm, ’80, Portland. Fb2 All-PIL and All-Metro. Bb3 All-PIL and All-Metro.
Tom McKillop, ’84, Portland. Cc4 PIL Ind. Champ. As Junior; 2nd as Senior. Team MVP. Team champs all 4 years. T&F4 3x 3000m Champ. 2x1500m Champ. 3x Team Champs.
Bob Woodle 503-680-3737 PIL Hall of Fame
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