Hall of Fame

Epifanio Arce, ’52, Football
Epifanio had a prowess and killer instinct that eventually garnered him a reputation as one of CSD’s greatest football players from the late 1940’s and early 1950’s. He was an All-American Tackle in ’49 & ’50. Well known as a strong and tough lineman with great blocking and tackling, no ball carrier could escape his path. 

 

 

Jose Gonzales, ’57, All-Around

Jose was one of CSD’s most versatile all-around athlete from the mid-to-late 1950’s. On the gridiron, Jose was an outstanding football player who earned All-American honors as Tight End in ’55 and was named to the All-League Team in ‘55. On the hardwood, he was the leading scorer for the Basketball team in ’56 on his way to earning All-League honors. For the Track & Field team, he competed in 100 yards up to 880 yards, long jump and relays. His blazing speed helped CSD win the ‘55 National Track Championship. Jose eventually became a Deaf Olympian in ’57.

 

 

Maurice “Crazy Legs” Mosley, ’57, All-Around

Crazy Legs could do it all. As a quarterback, Maurice led the football team to a 5-3 season earning him All-American honors in ’55. In ’54 and ’55, he also led the team on the hardwood with his electrifying performances as the leading scorer averaging 11.2 points per game garnering BCL All-Star status in both years. Crazy legs also excelled on the track, winning best long jumper in the league and was a member of both the BCL and National Championship team in ’55.

 

 

Hugo Schunhoff, ’60-’75, Superintendent
Hugo was a staunch supporter for Athletics at CSD. He strongly believed students should give back to CSD by playing their best. Even if it was raining outside, he would show up with his umbrella and watch with his wife. His extreme support led CSD Athletics to garner nationwide attention in 1950’s and 1960’s. He had tremendous school spirit and had immense respect for coaches who devoted their time to students. When he was unable come to games, he found a way to reach the coaches and their teams by writing short notes of support for them.

 

 

Melvin Pedersen, ’62, Basketball
Melvin is one of CSD’s most recognized basketball star from the early 1960’s. Melvin played Varsity for 4 years, earning All-League and All-American honors in ‘61 and ‘62. He also won the East Bay Prep Writers’ Association Sportsman of the Week in ‘61 & ’62 as well as the prestigious Oakland Tribune Sportsman of the Year in ‘62. Averaging 13.0 points per game (1008 in 77 games), Melvin won the FAA MVP award twice, in ’61 & ‘62.

 

 

 

John “Tony” Ziviello, ’64, Football and Track

Tony was considered Mr. Footballer through and through during the years of ‘61-‘62. The bruising fullback posted a sparkling 7.8 yards per game average, earning 352 yards in 45 carries. Ziviello was a main cog of CSD’s first winning seasons in ‘61-‘62. In 1962, at the CSD-St.Vincents High School at Petaluma, Ziviello blocked FOUR opponents paving the way for Quarterback Zanon run around to win the game, 20 to 19. He was chosen on the Bay Counties All Star League team. Tony’s feet carried him to success in hurdles and relays. He won the FAA MVP for Football in ’61 and Track in ’63.

 

 

 

Peter Murello, ’65, Football

A bulldozer of a fullback, Peter, was All-League and Deaf All-American for two straight years, ‘62-‘63. At times it took two or more opponents to stop Murello from stomping through the scrimmage line. He was a well-disciplined player capable of doing everything on the field: breaking away for a 55-yard run, 10 tackles, blocking punts, and recovering fumbles.

 

 

Richard “Ricky” Zanon, ’65, Football
Only 5’6” tall and 145 pounds, Ricky won the highest honor, Player of the Year, as a quarterback in 1963. He guided ‘62-‘63 teams to win the league championship and in ’63, the National Champions among the schools for the Deaf. When crafty Zanon went into action, he could rollout to the left, right or middle, throw a pass, toss a pitchout or run with his dangerous option play. Despite his stature, Zanon truly was an amazing quarterback with fleet feet who won the FAA MVP in ’62.

 

 

Henry Bella, ’67, Football
Henry’s heart in playing football displayed much bigger than his physical size, 5’7” tall. For three straight years on the varsity team during the “Golden Era” (1962-64), he played admirably as guard and tackle. Often, while the sports news was glorifying backfield rushers, they overlooked Bella’s impressive part, making about ten tackles per game. He was the unsung hero for paving lanes for runner’s touchdowns, Bella was selected as a Deaf All-American as a tackle and won FAA MVP in ’64.

 

 

Raymond Ponciano, ’69, Football
All-American linebacker, a solid and rugged player, Raymond served as the team’s sparkplug in defense playing his heart out. Ponciano averaged 12 tackles per game and led the team to Co-National Championship in ‘66. In ’66, he was named on San Francisco Chronicle High School Defensive Honor Roll several times, All-Bay Counties All-League, Oakland Tribune Sportsman of the Week. Berkeley Gazette’s All Star Team and the FAA MVP.

 

 

Donald Ingraham, ’70-’00, Historian
He is one of the icons of CSD’s sports history. CSD’s sports history is rich partially due to his tireless efforts to preserve and document it. He spent many, many hours collecting highlights, statistics, pictures and other related items from the early 1900’s to present. He has done this for many years. He has tremendous ORANGE and BLACK pride that is evident through his loyalty. CSD is truly fortunate to have him as a school historian. He often shared many amazing CSD sports stories with students, alumni and the community. CSD’s sports legacy remains strong because of his love for CSD.

 

 

Wesley Feria, ’71, Wrestling
Quickest and coachable lightweight grappler, Wesley won three years in a row as Bay Counties League Meet Champions from ’68-‘70. He was the first CSD grappler to reach the highest level of wrestling competition in the NCS Championship in ’70. Undefeated in BCL wrestling season led him to being selected as Prep of the Week by Berkeley Gazette and FAA MVP in ’70.

 

 

Dave Herdrich, ’73, Wrestling
Considered as one of the best light heavyweight wrestlers as he competed in the BCL Meet Championship for three consecutive years, from ’71-’73. Dave advanced to the NCS Meet Championship in ’71 and earned 2nd in NCS Championship in ‘72. His undefeated season in ’73 led him to be the 1st CSD wrestler to qualify for the C.I.F. State Wrestling Championship. Dave was named Prep of the Week by the Oakland Tribute in ‘72 and ‘73. He also was the FAA MVP in ’73. Dave won Bronze in Greco-Roman discipline at XII World Games for the Deaf in ’73.

 

 

Stuart Harold, ’74, Wrestling
Stuart is one of CSD’s most storied wrestlers of all time with a record of 79-25-2. His matches were always packed with fans. Strong and quick grappler with lean and cut physique; Stuart entered state and won the most outstanding Midweight class. Stuart went to Deaflympics in ’73 as a junior at CSD. Harold was voted twice as Deaf All-American and won FAA MVP in ’74.

 

 

Paul Eyrond, ’75, Manager
Traditionally, sports managers as students are not induced into hall of fame. But, Paul Eyrond is a figure that must not be forgotten as part of CSD’s illustrious athletic history. Eyrond was an outstanding manager who gave it his all and worked tirelessly for three major sports for three straight years. Eyrond was truly an unsung hero to both his teammates and his coaches, Eyrond diligently and promptly tended to every detail to meet their needs.

 

 

Henry Klopping, ‘75 to ’12, Superintendent
Hank has always been one of CSD Athletics’ fierce supporters. He has been steadfast in his desire to provide the best for CSD students and consistently made sure that they had the same opportunities and access as other schools. His expectations for Athletics remains high and he has found various ways to support the Athletics Department and its coaches, athletes, parents and alumni. Dr. Klopping is one of the reasons why the bar is so high at CSD Athletics. He founded the California Classic Tournament, which later evolved to Western States Basketball Classic (WSBC) at Berkeley in 1978. Fondly, his well-known quote remains: “CSD is #1!” and is always declared at pep rallies, assembles and meetings.

 

 

Ralph Nieves, ’75, Football
A hard-nosed Tackle/Linebacker, Nieves brought home the Northwestern League Championship with a 5-1 record (6-3 overall) in ’74. He had 25 tackles in one game, establishing himself a leader on the defensive end. Ralph was named to All-League, All-American, and FAA Co-MVP in ’74.

 

 

Ken Pedersen, ’77-‘97, Basketball and Track Coach
On the hardwood and track field, Coach Pedersen remains a coaching giant who coached legends and cemented his legacy. Coach Pedersen’s calming demeanor brought out the best from Boys and Girls Basketball, and Track. In Track, he brought home 10 BAC Championships for both boys and girls teams. With the Girls Basketball, they were co-champions of BCL Girls’ East Division II in ‘95. In Basketball, he won Boys’ WSBC a record 8 times (with 7 consecutive wins), BCL Championship (’86), NCS Class A Boys Basketball Playoffs (’86) and two Class A Boys NCS Championships in Track (’84 and ’86), Class A Girls Track NCS Runner-up and two Girls Track National Champions in ’86 and ’87.

 

 

Robert Ellis, ’78-’82, ’84-‘91, Volleyball Coach
A dedicated and motivated coach who in ’78, finally broke the string by beating sister school, Riverside, the lengthy drought of 19 years. Robert won the Coach of the year in ‘88. He coached his team to the first ever Deaf School Invitational Championship in ‘89 and directed his famous team, The Iron Girls, to the National Championship with a 20-5 record in ‘90. During his reign, he produced 3 players to earn the honors as Player of the Year and 5 players to the All-American Team.

Jovette McCallon, ‘78-92, Contributor
Jovette was one of the key reasons that the Foothills Athletic Association is such a strong organization. Much of the time, his contribution to FAA was behind the scenes; hence he is a unsung hero. Before the 1980’s, FAA was responsible for the expenses of all Varsity and Junior Varsity officials. Jovette always worked hard to make sure that the concession stand was well-stocked with drinks and food, so FAA was able to maintain a strong revenue in order to be able to cover the expense of the officials and other items such as awards. He maintained that responsibility for approximately 15 years and served on the board as well. He was one of the reasons why FAA has remained solid throughout the years of its existence.

 

 

James “Jim” Koetz, ’78-’98, Cross Country Coach
Dedicated, motivated, devoted, and “tireless” coach, Jim brought many Deaf National Champions from ’87-’92 and ‘94-‘96. He produced 28 All-American Cross Country harriers, one girl and five boys as Harrier of Year by Deaf Preps, and 4 harriers into C.I.F. State where one medaled. Koetz won Coach of the Year for the Deaf in ‘88, ‘90 and ‘95. The team won the US Deaf Athletic Federation Prep CC Championship three times in row. A plaque was presented to James in recognition for his dedication to the sport by the Bay Counties League and Coaches in ‘98.

 

 

Joselina Arias, ’79, All-Around
As FAA and GAA was combined into a co-ed organization in the school year of ’77 -‘78, Joselina was a pioneer for FAA and was recognized as an all-around athlete although there were no statistics for the female athletes. She was named FAA Volleyball MVP in 2 years in a row ’77-‘78 and FAA Basketball MVP in ’78.

 

 

Reginald “Reggie” Dean, ’79, Football and Basketball
A true leader on the field and hardwood court, Reggie, as Co-Captain and quarterback, led the Football team to NWL Championship with 5-0 (6-3 overall) record winning him the All-League Honors in ’78. On the hardwood, Reggie led the team in both rebounding and scoring averaging 12.1 points per game career-wise. His leadership helped the team claim runner-up in the California Classic Tourney (’79), the highest finish at the time. Dean was named All-American in ’79 and also won the FAA MVP twice in ’76 and ’78.

 

 

Bruce Price, ’81, Track
As one of CSD’s versatile and dedicated tracksters, Bruce was All-American in ‘80 and ’81. Bruce led the team into Bay Counties League Track Championship in ’81 while specializing in 300m Intermediate Hurdle, 39.6 and Long Jump, 21’10” and breaking school and BCL records in both events. Price also ran anchor in both relays (400m and 1600m relays) and even willingly ran other events when asked. Bruce won the FAA MVP in ‘80 and ’81.

 

 

Debbie Saavedra, ’81, Track and Volleyball
One of the first female athletes to excel in two sports. Debbie made 256 assists and saves in 17 games. She was selected BCL All-League in ’80. She holds 2 track school records for 100m low hurdles (16.8) and a member of the 400m hurdle relay (1:17.8).She was named FAA MVP for Track and Volleyball in ’80.

 

 

Becky Bonheyo, ’83, All-Around
One of the finest all-around athletes, Bonheyo excelled in three sports. She was dangerous at the net in Volleyball with her blocking and hitting. Becky boosted the victory in the ’83 California Basketball Classic, Becky won All-Tournament in ’80. A sharpshooter with high point average, Becky was named to Girls All-American in basketball in ’82. She holds 5 school records of track: 800m run-(2:30.7), 300m low hurdle (51.0), 1600m relay (4:21.6), 3200-m relay (10:42), sprint relay (2:03.6) and distance med. relay (14:39.2). Becky won the FAA MVP Award for Basketball in ’82-’83 and Track in ’81.

 

 

Mark King, ’83, Basketball
A strong inside presence with huge frame at 6’5”, red-headed King was one of the greatest rebounders. Mark broke the school record with 30 rebounds in a single game. He also helped led the team to the first-ever California Classic Championship in ’81 and their second in ‘83. Leading the team in both rebounding and scoring in ’83 led him to All-American, National Player of the Year, and FAA MVP.

 

 

Tamara Gaudet, ’84, Cross Country and Track
The first CSD female harrier made a dazzling effort by placing 41st out of 102 competitors in the NCS championship. In Cross Country, She was placed second in the BCL by one second. A star long distance track runner, Tamera set a school record 3200m run (12:12.0). She was on the 3200m relay and set another school record (10:42.0). Gaudet won the FAA MVP for Cross Country in ’81-83 and Track in ’83-’84.

 

 

Tim Siaki, ’84, Football and Track
Statistics often don’t tell the entire story. This is true of Tim Siaki, one of the most charismatic athletes at CSD. Fearsome at 6’3”, 240lbs, Tim played both sides as a Fullback and bone-crushing defender. Siaki played in the East Bay All-Star Game, made All-American twice and won the FAA MVP in ’82. Siaki led Track in winning both discus and shot put helping land the overall team victory in Class A NCS Championship in ‘84. He still holds the school Discus record at 157’8” and won FAA MVP in ’84.

 

 

Robert Garcia , ’86, All-Around
“Deaf Athlete of Steel” played as fullback and linebacker for three years earning Deaf All-American in ’85 and was member of the National Deaf Champions in ’85.Robert was also one of best heavyweight wrestler with 28-2 record in ’84 and 24-3 ‘85 and 21-3 in ’86. Garcia qualified for MVAL Championship in 1986 and NCS in ’84-‘86. He also was the Prep of the Week by the Argus Newspaper in ’84 and ’86. He excelled in track as shot putter, discus thrower, 100/200-meter dash, and relays help win BCL Track Championship and NCS Class-A champions in ‘84 and ‘86. He won FAA MVP for football in ’85 and wrestling in ’86.

 

 

Norman Edwards, ’86, All-Around
One of the best versatile and all- time athlete in CSD sport history, Norman played football for four years as quarterback and free safety in Football, power forward in Basketball and triple jump, long jump, hurdles, and relays in Track. Edwards was All- American Deaf Prep in ’84 and ’85 for both football and basketball. In ’85, Edwards was also Deaf All-American Football Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year, Co-MVP Defensive Player in Bay Six League, and the 1st Deaf Prep to participate in annual Alameda and Contra Costa Counties All-Star Classic as Safety. He was a member of the National Deaf Championship team in Football and Basketball in ’85. He also was on the WSBC Championship Team from ‘83-’86 and was 1st team Bay Athletic Conference in ‘85. In Track, he was a member of the BCL Meet Champs and NCS Class A-champions in ‘84 and ‘86. Norman holds the record for triple jump – 45′ 3 1/2″and was in the C.I.F. State Track and Field Meet in the Triple Jump. Edwards won the FAA MVP for Football in ’85 and Track in ’86.

 

 

Rodney Pedersen, ‘86, Basketball
Rodney, a methodical and sterling playmaker, three time All-American, directed CSD winning four straight WSBC titles (‘83-‘86) and Team of the year (’85). With his ferocious heart on the court, he led the team winning the league championship in ‘86 and brought the team to the first ever in school history to earn a berth in State NCS Class A Playoffs. Pedersen was selected as BAC MVP in’86 and named to NCS Class A All-Star team (’86). Rodney also holds the school career record in both assists (601) and steals (290). He averaged 15.8 points per game in his 4 yrs career, third on the all-time list. Pedersen won the FAA Basketball MVP in ’85 and ’86.

 

 

Ron Obray, ’87-’90, Baseball Coach
With his passion for the game, Coach Obray resurrected baseball at CSD in 1987, when he helped to reestablish the school’s program after years of not fielding a team. Due to his tenacity to bring out the best in his ballplayers, his influence today resonates beyond CSD well into the collegiate ranks with former players playing or coaching nationwide. Because of Coach Obray’s commitment to excellence, CSD baseball is now a national Deaf prep powerhouse.

 

Lynn Barlow, ’88 Cross Country and Track
A sensational and tenacious runner who holds several school records in Cross Country. Barlow led the team to a fine track season (’87) winning the Team of the Year among the Deaf schools in ’87. On the track, she won the National Championship for 800m, 1600m, and 3200m, which earned her a prestigious Trackster of the Year Award in ’87. One of her notable memories was that she was often asked to run 1600m relay as an anchor after finishing her specialized event; she would sometimes win in the clutch! Barlow was named FAA MVP for Cross Country and Track in ’86.

 

Quilla Mosley, ’89, Volleyball and Track
Quilla’s hitting prowess helped led her team to 11-3 overall record in 1988 earning a spot in the league playoffs. Mosley was selected the Argus Preps of the Week, Player of the Year in ’88 and Deaf All-American ‘88. In track, Quilla was a lightening quick sprinter ran a school record in the 200m (26.3) and also in the 800m relay (1:54.1) and 400m relay (52.0). She was a member of the BCL Championship teams from ’86-’88. She helped the team win the National Deaf Championship in ’86 and ’87.

 

Merrill Samuel, ’90, Cross-Country and Track
Merill was one of CSD’s greatest runners, a man among boys. With his massive trunk-sized thighs, he did it all, from 100m to 800m. Samuel still holds CSD’s records for 100m (10.68), 200m (21.82), and 400m (47.77). His prep career accolades: a Deaflympic Bronze Medal, 3-time All-American, NCS/State berths in Cross Country and Track, FAA MVP for Cross-Country in ’87 & ’89, and FAA MVP for Track in ’89 & ’90.

 

Karen Gilbert,’90, All-Around
One of the greatest all-around athletes, Karen made the most kills (177) and most blocks (36) in ’89 in Volleyball earning her the Deaf Player of the Year in ‘89. A solid Deaf All-American Basketball player in ‘90, Karen had a strong inside presence as well as a deadly mid-range jump shot. She set the school records in Track at the time in high jump (5’2”) and triple jump (30’7”) qualifying her for a berth in NCS. She was named the FAA MVP for Volleyball in ’89 and Basketball 3 years in a row from ’88-‘90.

 

Dyan Kovacs, ’92, Basketball and Volleyball
The Fremont Argus and the San Jose Mercury news tapped her for Prep Player of the Week during the height of the team’s winning streak. The National Deaf Publications selected her, one of the Iron Girls, All-American in ’91. At the time, Kovacs set CSD’s Volleyball records for Kills, Blocks, Digs, and Aces. She earned FAA MVP honors for Volleyball in ’91. She was named All-American in basketball in ’91 and ’92. Dyan was known as a great scorer, mastering both the paint and jumper which earned her FAA Basketball MVP honors in ’91 and ’92.