In 1972, high jumper DeAnne (Wilson) Nicholas and swimmers Carolyn Woods and Dana Schroeder-Butler competed for Team USA at the Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany.

In 1987, quarterback Jim Karsatos was drafted by the Miami Dolphins after having played two seasons as starting quarterback at Ohio State University. 

In 2003, catcher Gary Carter was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame after playing 19 seasons in Major League Baseball [MLB] with the New York Mets, San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers and Washington Nationals. 

All five of these athletes are Sunny Hills High School graduates. In fact, the three Olympians were actively Sunny Hills [SH] students when they competed at the Summer Olympics, representing not just the U.S., but also Sunny Hills. 

Despite the scope of their careers, many, including individuals in the SH community, do not know of the fact that these athletes were once Lancers. 

“We have a rich history of student athletes here who have done great things while they were students here, but nobody would know unless somebody told them,” athletic director Paul Jones said. “So I knew we had to do something to make sure that people know about all of the great things that our current and former student athletes have done, because we want everybody to know about it.”

That moment of realization spurred Jones to propose the idea of creating an athletics Hall of Fame at Sunny Hills to principal Craig Weinreich, Jones said. 

Working in collaboration with a digital design company, Jones said the athletic department will begin developing a digital Hall of Fame experience to be placed in the gym on campus.

“It will be an interactive program, where you will be able to touch the screen and scroll through different athletes’ pages,” Jones said. “The pages will have the athlete’s photo and their bio highlighting their career and journey.”

He said that because this will be a digital project, fundraising will not be necessary.

As an athlete himself, soccer player junior Ameer Akram said this Hall of Fame will be a very positive addition to the athletic program.

“I think it’ll be really cool because these amazing athletes will be recognized for all the hard work that goes into being a great athlete, and it’s always a big deal if you get in the major leagues,” Akram said. “I didn’t know that our school had Olympic athletes until today, so this Hall of Fame is a great idea to help students learn.” 

Having one year left at Sunny Hills, Akram said he plans on making the best of his senior year, using the Hall of Fame athletes as a positive motivator to be even better.

Volleyball captain senior Kayla Thienprasiddhi said the Hall of Fame will be a positive inspiration to many of her younger fellow athletes. 

“It might bring hope and influence into going professional because if students at Sunny can see other examples of people going past high school sports, it can motivate them,” Thienprasiddhi said. “In the long run, there is a possibility that this recognition would allow more students to realize the possibilities of going pro in their sport.”

Similarly, basketball player sophomore James Arada said the Hall of Fame will help him aim for a greater career in his sport. 

“I think it will change my mindset – it will push me to work harder and take the sport more seriously,” Arada said. “It will give me more inspiration and a drive to work harder and go past my limits to reach higher goals than I previously thought I can achieve.”

In addition to student athletes, notable athletic coaches from Sunny Hills will also be featured in the Hall of Fame, such as CIF Hall of Fame inductees Mike Schade and Keith Nighswonger.

Golf coach Scott Enrico said he thinks this addition will be great for the athletes’ spirits going into next year. 

“I would hope that a Hall of Fame would inspire current athletes to strive to be as great as the names in the Hall,” Enrico said. “And I think a Hall would show current students and athletes the great athletes our school has produced.”

The athletic director said he plans to create a committee that will go through the nomination process, but it has not been fully developed yet.

However, Jones said the SH community is free to reach out to him and suggest any individuals they believe have a Hall-of-Fame-worthy career.

“We have not put an official date down yet, but we are aiming to have it set up by the fall or spring of next year,” Jones said. “Personally, I love this school, and I’m kind of a history buff, so I love knowing where we’ve come from; we can recognize the people who have made our school into what it is because there is no ‘us’ without them.”