WIAA Hall inductees relive prep glory days

RENTON — Doug Porter took a walk down memory lane recently when he spoke with his students at a Lakeside School assembly about his induction into the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association Hall of Fame.

He got to recount some of his glory days as a multisport standout at Lakeside before graduating in 1980, and the successes that followed at Occidental College, where he became an eight-time track and field All-American.

"All those wonderful memories came rushing forward again," Porter said Wednesday during the induction ceremonies at the Spirit of Washington Event Center. "I felt young again."

That feeling didn't last long. A student approached him after the assembly and asked, "Mr. Porter, was there indoor plumbing when you were at Lakeside High School?"

"At that moment, I felt old again," Porter told the audience of more than 250, drawing laughs.

Porter was one of four athletes in the 2011 Hall of Fame class, joining Ron Cox (Coulee City, class of 1973), Drew Miller (Lakes, 1996) and Otto Olson (Everett, 1996).

Cox became the career basketball scoring leader at Eastern Washington University before playing in the NBA. Miller was a star quarterback who played at Brigham Young University and Montana, becoming a two-time All-American. He played briefly in the Canadian Football League and Arena Football League. Olson was a three-time state wrestling champ and a three-time All-American at Michigan.

Four longtime coaches were inducted — Gene Smith, Dave Johnson, Kim Cox and Denny Humphrey — along with volleyball official Virginia Hays and contributor Howard "Scooter" Chapman.

Several of the men honored are well acquainted. Humphrey, best known for a successful 22-year basketball career at Cheney, also coached track and recalled a meet where Smith, the Reardan coach, was a starter. Smith, who coached 15 years of track and field along with 24 years of football and basketball at Reardan, had called him to explain he couldn't find his starter pistol and could Humphrey bring one?

Humphrey couldn't find his, either, and when he got to meet there was Smith at the starting line using a .22-caliber rifle for the starts.

That was one of several light moments during Wednesday's ceremony. Johnson, who led Ephrata to 28 state appearances in baseball, was especially comical and had nearly two dozen of his former players in the audience. His biggest laugh came when he said he hadn't known the WIAA even had a Hall of Fame, adding, "I thought all they did was limit us on how many games we can play."

Kim Cox built DeSales into a baseball powerhouse and finished his career with 16 state titles. Plus, his teams won four state football championships.

Hays is one of the state's best volleyball officials and credited Title IX for the advancements in the sport.

Chapman has been involved with athletics at Port Angeles High for more than six decades and started his radio career in 1950 as a student at Roosevelt.

Sandy Ringer: 206-718-1512 or sringer@seattletimes.com