Aptos High Sport Hall of Fame Inducts Newest Class

The standard of achievement for Aptos High athletics was set during the 1970s, with the example set by the breakthrough boys basketball team of 1972-73 and dedicated football coach Frank Lynch. Together with surfing legend Peter Mel, they form a special list of inductees into the Aptos High Sports Hall of Fame at the awards dinner Thursday, April 18 at Seascape Golf Club.

Mel, whose successful professional surfing career recently added the title of the 2013 Maverick’s Invitational, will be the first surfer to be inducted into Aptos High Sports Hall of Fame. California’s premier big-wave rider, Mel is a 1987 Aptos High grad who now divides his time between Santa Cruz and Newport Beach. Besides chasing big waves around the globe — he was crowned 2012 Big Wave World Tour champion — Mel is part of the Quiksilver pro surf team, as well as Director of Marketing for Quiksilver’s Waterman Collection.

In only the fourth school year after Aptos High opened its doors in 1969, the Mariner basketball team, coached by the legendary coach Bill Warmerdam, won the school’s first league title and made it to the final four of the Central Coast Section tournament (a field that consisted only of league champions, combined into one division, regardless of school size).

Lynch, who coached Mariner football from 1972 through 1979, transformed a lackluster program that went 8-30 in its first four seasons into a perennial league championship contender. After one season with the junior varsity, Lynch took over the varsity and in his second season was named the league’s Coach of the Year. He went on to earn that honor again in 1977 and 1978 and is still the only Aptos football coach to win that league honor three times.The Mariners lost in the semifinals to eventual champion Riordan, but ran past top-seeded Silver Creek to finish third among all the schools in the section. Their 25-5 record became the benchmark for a program that developed not only into one of the best basketball programs in the area (10 championships in a 14-year span), but in Northern California (with a NorCal title in 1986). One player from that team, forward Kjell Stakkestad, already is a member of the Aptos High Sports Hall Of Fame.

Lynch’s 1978 team won the school’s first league championship in football, also making it to the CCS playoffs for the first time. The following season, the Mariners repeated as league champions prior to Lynch stepping down as head football coach.

Six more individual honorees round out the 2013 Class of inductees:

Jacob Evans (Class of 2004): only runner to win CCS 800 & 1600 in same meet, set school and county records in both distances; all-American at Stanford University.

Kayse Hagins (Class of 1991): all-league and all-county in volleyball and basketball; played volleyball on UC Davis conference championship teams; became professional snowboarder.

John Kaitz (Class of 1983): Linebacker who was all-county Defensive Player of the Year; played linebacker at California, as well as Cal rowing team. As rowing coach, is in UCSB Hall of Fame

Kirsten Loftin (Class of 2003): League and section pole vault champion who set CCS record at 12-4. Vaulted at UC Irvine, and then became all-American at Cal State Stanislaus.

Jamie McCabe (Class of 2004): all-county basketball star scored more than 1,400 points; all-America nominee; played at University of Hartford, which made NCAA tournament three times.

D. J. Powers (Class of 1992): three-time MVP in golf who led Aptos to 1992 CCS title; played at San Jose State, leading team to Top 10 in NCAA; coached golf at Stanford and Santa Clara. n

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Dinner tickets are $50 each and may be reserved through Aptos High Athletic Director Mark Dorfman, at 688-6565, ext. 483 and mark_dorfman@pvusd.net