© by Ray Sanchez 03.09.14
Eight more outstanding El Pasoans were nominated for induction into the El Paso Athletic Hall of Fame last Monday. That brought the total of nominees this year to 17.
The meeting, which opened with a moment of silence in honor of 2008 inductee Bob Haynsworth who passed away on Feb. 23, was the last in which nominations will be accepted this year.
Eight of the 17 nominees will be chosen when voting is held on March 17 (three in the athlete category, two in the coaches/administrators category, one in the media/supporters category, one in the officials/trainers category and one in the posthumous category)
The induction banquet will be held April 30 at Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino.
Following are the eight latest nominees in order in which they were introduced:
BOB RAPANUT, the first non-student equipment manager in the history of UTEP athletics. He worked with hundreds of coaches, student athletes, trainers and equipment managers in his 23 year career with the Miners and had a significant impact on their lives and UTEP as a whole.
LARISA ITO PITCHKOLAN, one of El Paso’s greatest lady runners who has competed in 21 marathons. She won the El Paso Marathon four years in a row from 2010 to 2013 and qualified and competed in five Boston Marathons. She was the top finisher from Texas in the Boston Marathon in 1998.
BRIAN KANOF, El Paso professional photographer who has covered just about every sport imaginable in El Paso and many major sports events throughout the country. Some of his photos of UTEP sports have become legends, including the one of Don Haskins with his arms outstretched which led to Haskins being nicknamed “The Bear.”
MARK MILLER, former Eastwood High and UTEP baseball star who was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the fourth round. A prolific hitter, he played three years in the Texas Rangers organization before an injury ended his career. He was also an outstanding softball player and participated in five fast-pitch world tournaments.
JOE OVERTON, who played both baseball and football at Auburn University. He was a pitcher in baseball and quarterback in football. He won 14 games for the Tacoma Giants in 1965 and later played for the El Paso Sun Kings. He stayed in El Paso and had a successful career as a coach at Coronado High School.
GORY GUERRERO, professional wrestler and promoter. The sport was highly popular in El Paso in the 1950s, 1960s and into the 1970s and Guerrero was the super star of that era. His matches and promotions packed the El Paso Coliseum with cheering fans and he became a hero of sorts all over town.
HARRY GROESSEL, who is known as the “Granddad of El Paso Drag Racing” and dominated the sport in El Paso and the southwest area for 35 years. He was Texas and New Mexico National Hot Rod Association champion six times. All in all, he won 18 track titles.
RUBEN DOMINGUEZ JR., who never had coaching but became one of the best long distance runners in El Paso. Running for Austin High, he won the Texas cross country championship in 1973, the Texas mile title with a time of 4:17.4 in 1974 and was an alternate team member for UTEP when it won the NCAA cross-country title in 1975.
THERE WERE nine other nominees prior to last Monday, which I introduced to you previously. To refresh your memory, they were:
Football official Gen Semko, professional golfer J.P. Hayes, sports promoter Bob Azar, Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino publicist/racecaller Eric Alwan, UTEP basketball star Gloria Estrada, UTEP women’s basketball coach Keitha Adams, UTEP Fan Club president Larry Rodriguez, Austin High basketball star Gabe Nava and sports supporter Fred Loya.
I’m sure you’ll want to be at the induction banquet to honor these outstanding folks. Stayed tuned here for details on tickets and other news.