Recognizing past achievements

The Hall of Fame is finally happening.

Since the school’s inception in 1916, the Lahontan Valley has witnessed many state and regional championships made possible by the thousands of standout student-athletes, coaches and contributors. But something was missing to recognize the individuals and teams who made an invaluable impact with the Greenwave.

For the first time in school history, the Greenwave Hall of Fame has announced the induction of 35 members to the inaugural class on Oct. 7 at Churchill County High School. Ranging from involvement with high school rodeo on a local and national scale to coaches and players who would later produce collegiate and professional careers, the Greenwave Hall of Fame is now a reality.

Read below about the 35 individuals and teams who will headline the first class this fall.

Gene Akins, athlete: Akins lettered in all four seasons on the football team and picked up two letters in basketball and one in track. He was a two-time all-state football selection and recorded two punts over 60 yards in the 1946 season.

Lem Allen, athlete: Allen was Fallon’s first state championship quarterback as the leatherhead guided the team to the title in 1923. He was also an all-state selection in 1924 for the state champion basketball and football teams. Allen picked up three letters each in the two sports and later played football at Nevada.

Leonard Allen, athlete: Allen was a captain and all-state selection on the 1944 state championship football team as he lettered in his junior and senior seasons.

Ed Arciniega, coach/contributor: Under Señor, Fallon won state titles in both baseball and basketball in 1957 and was the state runner-up in football. Arciniega became the athletics director from 1958-1978 when Fallon won 14 state championships and was the Nevada Athletic Director of the Year in 1979.

Jim Bailey, athlete: Bailey was a three-sport star in football, basketball and track from 1921-1925. He didn’t have to go far for college and was one of the best football players in Wolf Pack history. Bailey, who was named to Nevada’s Team of the Century, earned 12 varsity letters in football, basketball and track at Nevada.

Phillip Bailey, athlete: Bailey earned nine letters in three sports, including football, basketball and baseball, during the 1950s. Bailey was on the 1957 state championship teams in basketball and baseball. Bailey played football at the University of Utah for one season before transferring to play two seasons of baseball at Nevada. Bailey played seven seasons in semi-pro baseball.

Jack Beach, athlete: Beach earned all-league and all-state accolades during his senior season as quarterback of the 1967 football team. He helped the Greenwave to the zone and state basketball championship in 1966 and was selected for all-league and all-state honors as a basketball guard in 1968. Beach was named to the all-league and all-state teams as a catcher in 1968, a year after Fallon won the state baseball title.

Randy Beeghly, athlete: Beeghly was a three-sport star in the mid-1970s when he led the Greenwave to a state football championship in his senior season. Beeghly, who was a three-time letter-winner on the football team, was the MVP of the golf team during his four-year career. He also starred in basketball where he lettered twice.

Wendy Beeghly, athlete: Beeghly earned 12 varsity letters from 1983-1987 in four different sports, including tennis (one), golf (three), basketball (four) and softball (four). She helped Fallon win its first-ever state title in softball before playing for the University of New Mexico.

Amilio Bell, athlete: An all-state quarterback in 1942, Bell helped Fallon win a state title in 1944 and was recognized to the all-state team a year later. Bell was a three-year letter-winner in football and once in track.

Harvey Dahl, athlete: Dahl was one of the state’s top lineman in his senior year in 1998 and followed with a state wrestling title in the winter as Fallon finished second in the Super State tournament. Dahl starred all four years for Nevada’s football team before being signed by the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent. Dahl played for the 49ers, Falcons and Rams during his nine-year NFL career.

Elmo Dericco, coach: After graduating from Pershing County and playing for Nevada’s basketball team under Jake Lawlor, Dericco came to Fallon in the 1950s to teach and coach. He was the head or assistant coach for the football, basketball and baseball teams as Fallon won back-to-back baseball state titles from 1957-1958 and a basketball state title in 1957.

Ollie Ellison, athlete: Ellison was on the All-Nevada football team in 1922 and 1923 and helped Fallon win a state title in 1924. Ellison was an all-state honorable mention for the 1924 basketball team. He transferred from Carson for his sophomore year and tallied three varsity letters in football and basketball and two in track.

Ron Engel, coach: Engel coached the 1958 baseball team to a state championship and served multiple seasons under the guidance of Elmo Dericco in his coaching career. The 1958 team featured fellow Hall of Famer Frank Guisti Jr. as Fallon won the school’s second state championship and notched several marque wins, including against Reno.

Wes Goodner, coach: After becoming an All-American football player at Nevada, Gooden moved to Fallon to coach the Greenwave from 1942-1951, which included a two-year break to serve during World War II. Goodner’s 1943 football team won the state championship.

Frank Guisti Jr., athlete: Guisti earned 10 letters in three sports for the Greenwave and was one of the best scorers in the country in 1957. Guisti, who ranked 44th with 130 points in seven games, played baseball and basketball, helping Fallon to state titles. Guisti received a scholarship to play football at Oregon.

Albert “Cye” Hicks, athlete: Hicks was a three-team all-state tackle in football from 1941-1943. He was also a rodeo champion for several years before becoming the Fallon Tribal chairman for 13 years and one of the founding members of the Fallon and Pyramid Lake All-Indian Rodeo.

Jennifer Hucke, athlete: Hucke was a four-year letter-winner for the volleyball team and powered the Greenwave to back-to-back state titles in 1999 and 2000. She was a first-team all-state player in her final two seasons and the Gatorade Player of the Year in 2000. Hucke won two national championships with Stanford during her freshman and senior seasons.

Sheree Ford Jensen, athlete: Jensen was the state track champion in the 50- and 440-meter runs and the Outstanding Girls’ Track athlete in the 100 and 880 during Fallon’s state championship seasons in 1974 and 1975. She was also the Girls Athletic Association president and played for the volleyball team.

Wint King, coach: King coached Fallon’s basketball team to an 85-17 record, two state champions in 1966 and 1971, and four regional titles in his 12 years. King also coached the baseball team to a state title before becoming the basketball coach at Reno. He was also the recipient of the 1971 NIAA’s basketball Sportsmen (Sportsmanship) of the Year.

Anthony Klenakis Sr., coach: Klenakis led Fallon on the gridiron from 1966-1979, amassing a 77-49-7 (.602) record and three AA state championships from 1976-1978. The Greenwave won 20-straight games from 1975-1977 and 23-straight conference games from 1975-1978. He was the Northern Nevada and State AA Coach of the Year during the Triple Crown run.

Richard Allen Lee, contributor: Lee was the national director for the National High School Rodeo Association. During his time, Lee received the Kenny Investor Award in 1994, which is the highest award in the National High School Rodeo, and he was voted “Man of the Year” in 1994. Lee, who cosponsored the Silver State International Rodeo in 1985, served 32 years as a board member, including 22 as the national director.

Ron Lee, athlete: Lee was a three-sport athlete who excelled specifically in basketball and track. The 1961 graduate was undefeated in the 880-meter and one-mile runs from his sophomore season on as he set three state meet records. Lee also competed in football.

Rachel Sorensen Lewis, athlete: Lewis was an all-state basketball player and track star during her four years with the Greenwave and she also lettered twice in volleyball. Lewis holds the school records in the long, triple and high jumps. She won the state titles in the long and triple jumps during her final season and also medaled in the 100- and 300-meter hurdles, 4x400 relay and 400 at state in her career.

Dave Lumos, athlete: Lumos was a four-year letterman in baseball and played one season in basketball — the 1957 state championship team. Lumos was on Fallon’s first-ever baseball state title team in 1957 and played baseball and basketball at Coalinga, a junior college in California, and at Nevada. Lumos also coached Fallon to a state baseball title.

Josh Mauga, athlete: As a senior, Mauga was named the 2004 High Desert League Defensive Player of the Year and was an all-league running back during his last two seasons. Mauga also won the heavyweight state title in wrestling and followed with a state title and school record in the discus.

Doug Maupin, athlete: Maupin excelled in football, basketball and baseball for the Greenwave where he was a team captain and star offensive and defensive player on the football squad. He was also a captain on the basketball and baseball teams, and an all-state pitcher and hitter.

John William Nunn, athlete: Nunn lettered in baseball (four season), basketball (three) and football (two). Nunn was a first-team all-conference quarterback in 1963 when Fallon won the state title after going 7-2. He led the baseball team in hitting in his senior year with a .455 average and was third in the conference. Nunn is the associate athletics director/CFO at Nevada.

Ellen Townsend, athlete: Townsend was the state field champion and record holder in the softball throw and held state records in the shot put and discus in 1975. Townsend was on the 1975 AA girls golf champion team and later named Athlete of the Decade in 1981. Townsend was also the salutatorian of the 1975 class and competed on the basketball and volleyball teams.

Jodi Dolan Tucker, athlete: Tucker was a first-team, all-conference player from 1991-1994 in softball, including being named to the all-state team in 1991, 1993 and 1994. The record-setting pitcher threw eight shutouts and two no-hitters during her senior year before continuing her career at Ohio State and then in the Women’s Professional Fastpitch League.

Noble Waite, coach: After a hall of fame career at Nevada, Waite coached multiple-sport state titles at Fallon in the 1920s. Waite’s football team won the school’s first-ever state championship in 1923, and he also guided both the boys’ and girls’ basketball programs to state titles.

Aarik Wilson, athlete: Wilson was a two-time state champ in the triple jump and holds the state record. He also won the long jump state title and holds the school record in the long and triple. Wilson was named the Co-Player of the Year in basketball but he thrived on the runway as he became a 10-time All-American jumper at Indiana. Wilson won the U.S. Trials in 2008 and competed in the Beijing Olympics.

Val York, athlete: One of the most complete athletes in Greenwave history, York stood out in football, basketball and baseball. He helped Fallon win state titles in baseball and basketball before traveling to Reno to compete for the Wolf Pack. He lettered four times in basketball and three in baseball at Nevada.

1921-1923 girls basketball, team: The first girls state championship team prior to the sanctioning of girls sports, Fallon won three state championships under coach Noble Waite (1921) and Helen Fuss (1922-1923). Fuss was an all-state player on the 1921 team along with Flossie Travis, May Mills and Elizabeth Groth. Davis, Mills and Travis were all-state selections on the 1922 and 1923 teams and Stephney Davies was named from the 1923 team.

1976 football, team: The only undefeated football team in the modern era, the 1976 football team began its Triple Crown run with a 9-0 record that saw Fallon defeat Boulder City, 34-14, for the state crown. Under Coach of the Year Tony Klenakis Sr., Fallon outscored its opponents 304-108 and featured several standouts, including Back of the Year and quarterback Randy Beeghly, Lineman of the Year center Jeff Goings, and first-team all-state selections guard Kirk Aguilar, kicker Kevin Baldwin, defensive end Gerald Allen, defensive tackle Dave Davis, linebacker Brett Sorensen and defensive back Rob Whitney.