One of the world’s pioneer skateboarders, an All-American volleyball player and one of Aptos High’s most successful player-coaches headline the list of honorees for the Aptos High Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2017.
Judi Oyama, Tracy Mitchell and Mike Schiro will join six others on April 29 at the Seascape Golf Club for the Hall of Fame special ceremonies and awards banquet. The event begins at 4 p.m. with a social hour. The dinner and ceremony begin at 5 p.m.
Tickets are $60 each. To purchase tickets contact Aptos Athletic Director Mark Dorfman at 728-7832, ext. 5201 and [email protected].
Simply called “The Legend,” Oyama, a 1977 graduate, has contributed so much to the sport of skateboarding that her downhill helmet is in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
A world champion multiple times in a variety of disciplines, Oyama was so good as a teenager that Aptos developed a physical education class for her to train in the parking lot and earn high school credits, as did Cabrillo College.
At age 57, she is still ranked No. 7 in the world.
Mitchell, a 1980 graduate, not only excelled as an All-American high school volleyball player but she also developed into one of the best beach volleyball players in the state. While at Aptos High, she was a gymnast and basketball player as well.
She went on to become an all-conference player at Cabrillo College and played at nationally ranked San Jose State.
As the No. 1 tennis player at Aptos, Schiro, a 1991 graduate, was a league singles champion and helped the Mariners end a six-year team league title drought.
As the Mariners’ tennis coach, Schiro’s teams won eight league championships from 1999-2008 and went unbeaten in league play for close to six straight seasons. Schiro was selected a Central Coast Section Honor Coach for Boys Tennis in 2005.
A special inductee this year is Steve Bunner, a 1980 graduate, as an honorary member.
Bunner not only was a standout athlete at Aptos but has also been a dedicated coach, volunteer, fundraiser, historian and avid supporter since he was the ball boy for the football team at 7.
Bunner earned six varsity letters, competing in football, basketball and baseball. An award-winning television news broadcaster and producer, Bunner is a founding member of the Aptos High Sports Hall of Fame.
Joining them are KC Fox (Class of 2005), Casey Nevitt (Class of 2003), Bobby Powers (Class of 2000), Kelly Stratton (Class of 1990) and Bryan Van Meter (Class of 2004).
