LGHS Athletic Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

The Los Gatos Athletic Association in conjunction with Los Gatos High School announces the 2020 inductees to the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will take place on April 25, 2020 at La Rinconada Country Club. Information about the event can be found at the LGAA website – thelgaa.org

Dick Raphael, class of 1947 – Four sport athlete who excelled in football, basketball, track and baseball. Played on 5 Varsity championship teams, 2 in football where he was named team MVP and was all SCVAL his senior season, 2 in basketball where he was 1stteam all SCVAL as a senior and one in Track, where he finished 2ndin the SCVAL in the hop, step and jump. Dick was also a pitcher and middle infielder on the baseball team.

Ted Abe, class of 1955 – Ted excelled in five sports and earned 14 block letters. He was an outstanding football and baseball player, wrestler and track star, who was also student body vice president. He was awarded the Panighetti Trophy as the outstanding senior athlete in the class of 1955. He was the captain of his football team his junior year and won the Hedricks Cup as team MVP in football his senior season. On the track is where he really excelled setting a new SCVAL record with a broad jump of 21’8”, finished 1stat the SCVAL Finals in the 75-yard dash while scoring 15 points for the team at the league finals. He advanced to the North Coast Section II meet where he finished 2ndin the 75 and 5thin the broad jump to advance to the North Coast State meet where he finished 4thin the broad jump.

Steve Smith, class of 1971 – Football and Wrestling. Steve was an all-league selection as a defensive lineman in football. After 4 years playing college football (2 at West Valley College and 2 at St. Mary’s College), he went on to a tryout with the Denver Broncos of the NFL. Smith’s senior year he was undefeated as a heavyweight wrestler until his second match at the NorCal Finals where he lost an overtime referee’s decision to be eliminated in the single-elimination tournament finishing the season 19-1 with 10 pins.

Dave Niemiec, class of 1980 – Football and Baseball. Dave was named 1stteam all league in football on both sides of the line. He was 1stTeam All WVAL running back and 1stteam All WVAL linebacker. He won the Streepy Trophy as the football team MVP his senior year and was also named the Most Inspirational Player. In baseball, he was an outstanding pitcher and hitter and was twice named the MVP of the Wildcat baseball team. He earned 1stteam All WVAL his senior season.

Bill Stengele, class of 1993 – Football, Wrestling and Track. Bill was a three-year Varsity starter in football where he was named 2ndteam all league center his junior year and 1stteam all league and 1stteam all Santa Clara County center his senior year. He also was named the outstanding linebacker in the De Anza Athletic League after his senior season. Bill wrestled his first three years at LGHS finishing 3rdin league as a sophomore and 2ndin league his junior season. His senior year he concentrated on throwing events in Track and Filed, where he placed in the Top 8 at junior Nationals. He earned an athletic scholarship to University of Washington as a thrower.

Allison White Payne, class of 1995 – Volleyball. Alli was a three-year Varsity starter, earning All League selections all three seasons. Her junior and senior years she was also an all CCS selection. As a junior, she was part of the Wildcats State Championship team and her senior season she led her team to the NorCal Finals. Her senior year she led the team in kills, digs and had 120 blocks while being named the team MVP. Alli went on to a four-year volleyball career at University of Oregon where she started all four seasons being named Freshman of the Year, earning All Pac 10 honors her junior and senior years as well as being named team captain and MVP her senior year.

Amy Salfen Edson, class of 1999 – Soccer. Amy was first-team All De Anza Athletic League all four years of high school. She was named to the 1stteam All CCS team as a freshman when she was also named CCS Freshman of the Year. She was selected League MVP her senior year and was an all CCS selection 3 of her 4 years of varsity soccer. Her teams made the CCS playoffs all four years and won a CCS championship her freshman season. Amy earned an athletic scholarship to play soccer at Cal Berkeley.

Alex Rollin, class of 2003 – Football and Baseball. In football, Alex was the starting quarterback his senior season. He led his team to an undefeated season and a CCS Championship. He passed for 1,728 yards and threw 18 touchdowns to only two interceptions. He earned first team all-league honors. Alex’s 73.5% pass completion ranks third best in California high school history. During his four years at Los Gatos High, he never played in a losing football game. In baseball, Alex played all four years at the varsity level. As a junior, he had a .339 batting average and hit four home runs. On the mound, he was 9-3 and threw 11 complete games. He was voted team MVP, was first team all-league, and 2nd team all-CCS. His senior year, he had a .439 batting average, hit 6 home runs and had 33 RBI along with a 12-3 record on the mound. He was first team all-league, 2nd team all-CCS, and received Cal-Hi All-State honors. Alex received a baseball scholarship to the University of California at Berkeley.

Caroline Stege, class of 2005 – Tennis, Field Hockey and Track. Caroline ran the 10thfastest 400 in school history. She was on the CCS Championship 4x400 relay in 2002 with the 4th fastest 4x400 in LG history. She ran on 3 League Championship 4x400 relay teams in 2002, 2003, and 2004 and those 3 teams all qualified for the State Track meet. Her 4x400 relay was 12th in State in 2004.

She was on a League Championship team in 2002, 2003, 2004.

Kyle Blair, class of 2007 – Baseball and Water Polo. Kyle was arguably the most impactful baseball player in school history. He was also a very accomplished All League water polo player. As a baseball player, however, he was as dominant as Los Gatos High School has ever seen. Kyle played on 3 SCVAL championship teams. His junior year he was 13-1 as a pitcher, striking out 144 batters in 89.2 innings, giving up just 2 earned runs with an unheard-of ERA of 0.16 and led his team to a CCS championship, the first in school history. He also batted .360 with 4 homers and 26 RBI. He nearly matched his pitching numbers his senior year with an ERA of 0.31 and 147 strikeouts. He was twice named the League MVP, was a 3-time All CCS player including being named CCS Player of the Year in 2007 and was named the San Jose Mercury News Athlete of the Year for all sports for the school year 2006-07.

For more information about the inductees and information about tickets, please see the school’s website: (You may have to copy and paste the link)

https://losgatosathletics.com/lghs-athletic-hall-of-fame-inductees/