By Brandon HENSLEY

After four decades of service to CAfter four decades of service to Crescenta Valley High School, the memories are plentiful for Jim Beckenhaur, though a couple stood apart for him as he spoke to a full room Saturday night at Oakmont Country Club.

There was the installation of the synthetic track and field in 2006, which took enormous work from CV CAN, in which Beckenhaur was involved. There was also the time then-principals Gary Talbert and Linda Evans asked him to represent the school in Washington, D.C. for the National Blue Ribbon ceremony in 2000. CVHS was given the honor, and “Beck,” as everyone knows him, asked Talbert why he chose him.

“You would be representing CV athletics,” Beckenhaur remembered Talbert saying, “which is always important to the success of the school.”

The 2017 Hall of Fame Induction Class for Falcon athletes was another reminder how intertwined sports, school and character are in La Crescenta. Joining Beckenhaur were inductees Doug English, Thomas Gossard, Allen Holmquist, Adam Jacobsen, Keith Kinsel, Baillie Kirker, Aaron McGuinness, Mike Norseth, Kenny Pritchett and Amanda Peek.

Several inductees made the focal points of their speeches about recognizing the role their parents played into molding them into successful student-athletes.

Kenny Pritchett was a standout running back in the mid-’90s for the football team. He was All-CIF and finished his career with 4,576 yards rushing. He also led the team to an undefeated regular season in 1997 before moving on to UCLA.

Pritchett said his mother Lillie, who was showered with applause, was the strong presence he needed growing up, calling her “my number one fan, my rock, my hero.”

“[She was] the person [who] sacrificed everything so that her two kids wouldn’t want for anything,” Pritchett said. “The person who would throw the football with me and rebounding the basketball for me after working all day and never complaining … the person who always believed in me and taught me at a young age I could be anything I wanted to be.”

Baillie Kirker dominated softball like few others since she left the program in 2009. Kirker set the state record for most home runs in a season by a freshman (16), hit .632 as a junior and was named CIF Player of the Year. As a senior, she was All-CIF, EA Sports Team All-State and CalHiSports First Team All-State.

With both her parents seated at the table nearest to the podium, Kirker held it together the best she could as she called her mother Sandy someone who gave her “a lifetime of sacrifices.”

“She taught me that at the end of the day it doesn’t matter what your batting average is as long as you’re a great person,” Kirker said.

She said her father Randy was the man who taught her everything she knew about softball.

“With his dedication to me and the sport, he has taught me so much and I continue to admire him for that,” she said. “Thank you for never letting me down and always showing up.”

Amanda Peek, class of 2004, was a baseball player before she dominated on the softball field. In Little League, she clubbed 15 home runs in one week at Cooperstown Dreams Park in New York, which still stands as the record for girls in baseball.

At CVHS, Peek spent her freshman and sophomore years as a baseball player before switching over to softball. It was there under the late Dan Berry where Peek was named Pacific League Player of the Year and All-CIF her junior and senior seasons.

“We won championships and I found myself a whole new family,” Peek said of her days with Berry and the girls. Peek went on to success at Cal State Northridge, and has since returned to CV as the varsity softball coach, a position she’s held since 2015.

The team honor of the night went to the 1999 boys’ swim team, which won the second of three straight CIF championships, and was determined to be the 19th fastest in the country.

Pete Loporchio, who was the coach, couldn’t be in attendance but sent a letter of thanks that emcee Leland Waters read.

“No matter the sport, to win three consecutive CIF championships is a Herculean feat, and would be very difficult to accomplish in today’s high school sports environment,” Loporchio wrote. “For that I am very grateful to each and every one of them and their families:”

Travis Taylor, who broke the school-record in the 500-yard freestyle, was present to accept his medal, as was Mary Jenkins, mother of the late James Jenkins, who won first place in the 50 and 100-yard freestyle events that season.

As Beckenhaur closed his speech, he teared up before stopping himself, as he had promised he wasn’t going to get emotional. He finished with this:

“It’s what you become as a person that’s most important. How great it is to hear a hall of famer’s name and the first thing that comes to your mind is not how great a coach, athlete or administrator he is, but what a great person [he/she is],” he said. “The 2017 Hall of Fame class is no exception and I’m very proud to be part of that.”

  Brandon Hensley