A multi-sport star for two years at Sequim High (Class of 1997) before she focused on volleyball, Lisa (Fryer) Tuiasosopo dominated the courts and earned success for the Wolves and later at the University of North Carolina. Lisa was a standout athlete from day one, earning varsity positions in volleyball, basketball and tennis as a freshman. She earned all-league honors and a WIAA Outstanding ScholarshipAward as a sophomore in basketball, and two first team all-league and two state tourney appearances in women’s doubles tennis, including a fourth -place finish at state in 1995. It was volleyball where she stood out, however, leading the Wolves’ offense in hitting and setting. A three-time all league first team selectee, Lisa powered her 1996-97 team to a 14-0 league record, and was named league MVP, All-State captain and MVP at the Dairy Farmers of WashingtonAll-State Game.
Lisa stood out in the classroom as well, earning the Senior Year Athlete of the Year Athletic Achievement Award. She was on the Honor Roll each of her four prep years, was a State of Washington Principal’s Scholar, a National Merit Scholar Candidate in science, and was SHS’s class secretary as a sophomore and class senator her senior year. Lisa went on to study and play at the University of North Carolina, leading the Tar Heels’ volleyball squad to two Atlantic Coast Conference titles and three NCAA tournament appearances, in 1998, 1999 and 2000. Sporting a double major, she earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from UNC’s School of Journalism and Mass Communications, as well as a bachelor’s degree in psychology, earning spots on both the UNC andACC honor rolls. Lisa took leadership roles at UNC as well, serving with ACC Outreach, ACC Project Literacy, Athletes in Action and other roles.
Following her university years, Lisa worked for Rubbermaid as a product manager, overseeing a $21 million book of business with multiple new product launchesand threeactive patents in product design. Her job also helped her move back to the West Coast, where in 2007 she married Marques Tuiasosopo, the University of Washington football standout. Said Lisa, “Our life took off in the football world with his playing career and coaching pursuits. My greatest accomplishment in life has truly been knowing the Lord and his blessing on our family. Marques and I have three amazing children who will most likely be way moreaccomplished in lifeand sport than we ever were.”
An ace on the court and in the classroom, Branette (Smith) Richards (Class of 1979) dominated with Sequim High School’s tennis team. Growing up in a tennis playing family, Branette says her earliest memories are playing tennis at the Sequim Bay State Park with family and friends. Her father, John Smith, was a good player and was often her hitting partner, and several extended family members provided competition as well.
By age 13 she was hitting against the top player at the high school and took first place at the Port Angeles Derby Days Tournament.
Earning a letter in the sport from freshman year through her senior year, Branette was undefeated in league play and earned a berth in the state tourneyall fouryears. She wasamong the top eightat state each season, placing third asajunior. An Honor Society member, Branette was named Sequim High School’s ClassValedictorian in 1979. Following graduation, she attended Prairie Bible Institute from 1980-1984, and earned a bachelor’s degree in religious education. She kept her hand in tennis, playing in various tournaments in California before moving back to Washington state.
Branette passed on her court skills to the next generation: She and her husband Tim have four children — Michael (Sequim High class of 2007), Angela (Class of 2009), David (Class of 2011) and Matthew (Class of 2016) — who each played all four years on their SHS varsity tennis teams. Each qualified for districts at least once, and several earned state tourney appearances: Michael placed second in doubles in 2007; Angela was a doubles state qualifier in 2009; and Matthew was a two-time state qualifier who placed eighth in singles his senior season.
A two-sport standout at Sequim High, Derrin Doty was one of the University of Washington’s top athletes of all time and was drafted into Major League baseball before earning statewide success as a high school coach. In high school, Derrin broke the single-season rebounding record (240) and earnedAll-Olympic League first team honors in basketball in 1989, but it was his prowess on the baseball diamond — all-league first team selections in 1988 and 1989 — that earned him a baseball scholarship to UW.
In 1992, as an outfielder, he led Washington to the 1992 NCAA regional with wins over Frenso State and Arizona, as the Huskies finished just one game short of theWorld Series.The effort earned Derrin a first teamAll-Pac 10 selection. In 1993, he hit .402 to become just the second Husky to top the .400 mark. That season, he reached base 13 consecutive times, a Pac 10 record.This earned Derrin a second consecutive all Pac 10 first team nod.
In the UW baseball record books, he finished in the top 10 in hits (second all time), runs scored, RBIs, stolen bases, home runs, doubles, walks and plate appearances. He was elected to the Husky “All Century” team in 2001, an honor recognizing the 50 best Huskies in the past 100 years. Derrin was drafted on the first day, in Round 17, of the 1993 major league baseball draft — on his birthday (June 3) — by the CaliforniaAngels.
In the minor leagues, Derrin racked up an impressive resume: his Boise Hawks won the 1993 Northwest League title, with Derrin getting the game-winning hit in the championship game; he was voted to the 1994 Midwest League All Star team with Cedar Rapids Kernels; he set a single game Midwest League record with six hits in a nine-inning game as his team took the 1994 Midwest League title; he was selected by theAngels to play in the 1994Australian pro baseball winter league; and he was listed in Baseball Americaas one of Angels top prospects. He played through 1996 with theAA MidlandAngels.
Derrin has found plenty of success as a prep coach as well, and in multiple sports. On the soccer pitch, he led Crosspoint Academy to state high school championships in 2014 and 2015, with daughter Deserée Doty breaking the state scoring record with 53 goals. He started Crosspoint Academy’s baseball program in 2015 and took them to six consecutive state tournaments, including the state championship game in 2022. Again, the Doty family (his sons Derrin Jr. and Thunder) had a hand in Crosspoint’s success.
As Crosspoint’s head basketball coach, Derrin led the school to the state tournament in 2022. For his coaching efforts in base ball and basketball, Derrin was voted Kitsap Sun’s “Coach of the Year.”
Richard N. “Dick” Ballard (Sequim High Class of 1955) was a multi-sport star who followed his passion for athletics into a coaching and athletic director career. Dick earned seven letters while at Sequim High: two in football, two in basketball, and three in baseball. On the basketball court, Dick won the Team Inspirational Award and played point guard. In his senior year, when Sequim took second place at the district tournament and earned a win at the State B tourney, he was named All-State second team. Dick was a pitcher and shortstop for the Wolves’ baseball team, and in his junior year he pitched every game. In his senior year, under the leadership of coach and Hall of Fame inductee Bill Schade, Dick was co-captain and quarterback of Sequim High’s football team. Dick received a basketball scholarship from the University of Puget Sound. There, he played for four years, winning the team’s Inspirational Award twice.
After graduating from College of Puget Sound — later named the University of Puget Sound — in 1959, Dick began his career at Riverside School District, near Puyallup, teaching eighth grade for two years. Dick spent one year teaching junior high at North Kitsap High School, as well as coaching the high school baseball team. He then spent the next six years at Golden dale High School, where he taught social studies. He was the head basketball coach, head baseball coach, assistant coach for the football team, and served as the school’s athletic director. After that, Dick returned to North Kitsap to serve as athletic director and head basketball coach while teaching social studies. In the last five years there, he was the school’s full-time athletic director. He retired from teaching and coaching in 1992. Dick Ballard and Donna Joy, high school sweethearts, were married on September 12, 1955. They now reside in Yuma, Arizona. They will celebrate their 70 anniversary during the Hall of Fame event this year.
A former league MVP, Todd Franklin took his basketball skills halfway around the world before returning stateside to coach. The Sequim High 1985 graduate broke into the varsity rotation for coaches Rick Kaps and Larry Hill halfway through his sophomore season and wound up Olympic League MVP in his senior campaign. He also competed for SHS tennis, baseball and track teams throughout his prep career. Todd went on to Skagit Valley Community College, where, under head coach Dave Qualls, he averaged a double- double (18 points, 10 rebounds) over his two years and was named Athlete of theYear in 1987.
He went on to play for Dan Fitzgerald at Gonzaga University, where he earned a bachelor of arts degree in public relations while averaging 12 points and 7 rebounds per contest on the court. Todd took his hoops skills Down Under, playing for Australia’s Brisbane Bullets and Mildura Mavericks over five seasons (1990-1994). He averaged 32 points and 15 rebounds per game over those five years. In 1990, he was named league MVP and tournament MVP while leading Mildura to a championship. In that year’s tourney semifinal, he scored a career-high 60 points. In Mildura, he started a youth basketball program — not unlike the Gym Rats program established in Sequim. Back stateside, Todd was the head boys basketball coach at Chimacum from 1997-1999, and head coach of the girls basketball program at Black Hills High School from 2003 2006.
Inspired by his coach Dave Quall, Todd earned a master’s degree from City University in guidance counseling in 2002, and recently finished his 23 year as guidance counselor at AG Black Hills High School in Tumwater. Before working for the Department of Corrections at four locations, Franklin worked as a bartender at 7 Cedars Casino (1995-1997), where he met his wife Lisa. Now married for 29 years, Todd and Lisa have three daughters: Caroline (27), Coletta (22) and Amelia (19).
William Joseph “Bill” Schade led Sequim’s football and track programs in the late 1940’s and 1950’s and helped establish Sequim’s youth football league. An athletic standout in his own right, Bill graduated from Vallejo High School in California in 1937, where he starred in football, basketball and track.
He continued his athletic career at Washington State College (now Washington State University) as a tackle on the football team as well as a high hurdler and high jumper on the track team. An unusual combination in today’s sports world, Bill’s playing weight in football was about 205 pounds, and he would slim down to 190 pounds for track season. He placed fifth in the Pacific Coast Conference in hurdles and briefly held theWSC high jump record.
Bill signed to play with the New York Giants after college, but his obligation to the U.S. Army through ROTC required him to report to Fort Lewis instead. He served domestically until attending Ranger school, after which he saw combat in the St. Marshal Islands and the Philippines. He attained the rank of 1 Lieutenant. After returning to WSC to finish his degree, he and his wife Frances, along with their young son Mike, moved to Sequim in 1948, where he took over coaching football and track. He coached both sports through the 1956-57 school year, at which time he decided to focus entirely on his teaching responsibilities. Of all the big wins and tough losses, Bill said the highlight of his career was the Homecoming win over powerhouse South Kitsap in 1956.
After stepping down as high school coach, he worked to help establish Sequim’s little league football program, initially with the Eagles and later with the Lions. He coached his son Bruce as a member of the Eagles in 1961 and 1962. Bill remained a lifelong Wolves fan, often attending football games and track meets until his health no longer allowed.
A three-sport standout athlete and student at Sequim High School, Len Beil made his greatest impact on the basketball court. At 6 feet 4 inches, Len (SHS Class of 1963) was a dominant center known for his rebounding, defense and scoring prowess. He was a two-time All-Olympic League firstTeam selection (1962-63), leading the league in scoring his senior year (23 ppg), and setting a long-standing SHS record of 43 points in a single game, against North Mason. In 1963, he helped lead Sequim High to its first state tournament appearance in a decade and earnedAll-State honors. Len was a standout first baseman and batter in baseball. In football, he played both offensive and defensive end, earningAll- Olympic honors his junior season. Len is also remembered as a very talented tennis player. After baseball practice, he and Cliff Echternkamp would go play and routinely beat Sequim’s No. 1 doubles team.
A 3.9 GPA student at Sequim High, Len was deeply involved in student government, clubs and the arts. As a sophomore he won a speech contest, earning a memorable, four-week trip across the country to visit the United Nations and embassies in New York City. Raised with strong values of community service, he left a lasting mark by being the one who peeled all the logs for what became the first light poles for the football field. Highly recruited by basketball programs including WSU and South Carolina, Len earned a full basketball scholarship to Seattle University. His freshman team went 19-0, and his 1966 team earned a bid to the NCAA Tournament. They eventually lost a close game to Texas Western, who went on to beat Kentucky for the National Championship. (Important note: Len’s team had beaten Texas Western earlier that season Texas Western’s only loss that season.)
After college, Len stayed active in sports by coaching youth basketball and baseball in the various cities he lived in. He also became a passionate long distance cyclist, completing rides across the U.S., the entire East and West Coasts, and countless other long distance rides, including a 14,000-mile world tour. Professionally, Len held leadership positions as district manager and labor relations with Bell Telephone and its successors. While at US West (1982-84), Len led a team who developed the first no-smoking policy for a major corporation in the U.S. — an initiative that influenced corporate no smoking policies nationwide.
Mark Verstegen starred in three sports at Sequim High before becoming one of the world’s foremost experts on human performance. Mark attended classes in Sequim from kindergarten through his senior year of 1987, when he was named Sequim High’s Athlete of theYear, competing in football, basketball, and track & field. Mark went on to play football at the U.S.Air Force Academy and Washington State University. He earned his master’s degree in sports science, exercise and nutrition from the University of Idaho.
After developing successful performance programs for football, men’s basketball and golf at Georgia Tech, Mark moved to Bradenton, Florida, to create the International Performance Institute, and his vision of creating a facility completely dedicated to helping athletes achieve their goals led to the development of Athletes’ Performance in Tempe,Arizona, in 1999. Since that launch, Mark founded and is the current president of EXOS, the global leader in human performance, with more than 3,500 employees across six continents. Working with world-class athletes, the U.S. military, and leading corporations, while reaching countless others through his the EXOS platform, he has shown millions how to upgrade their lives through his integrated system of “Mindset, Nutrition, Movement, and Recovery.” He expanded the EXOS brand to assist more than 150 corporations in keeping their employees healthier, more productive, and resistant to injury.
Now a Phoenix, Arizona resident, Mark is a global keynote speaker and the author of six books, including “Every Day Is Game Day” and “Core Performance,”which popularized integrated performance training. He has appeared on numerous television programs and been quoted or featured in hundreds of stories by media outlets includingThe NewYorkTimes, The Wall Street Journal, ESPN, Sports Illustrated, ABC’s Good MorningAmerica, USAToday, Men’s Health, Fast Company, and Forbes. Mark has also served as the Performance Director for the NFL Players Association for more than 20 years. His EXOS team has trained an industry-leading 134 first-round NFL Draft picks prior to the NFL Scouting Combine, and a total of 628 players selected in the NFL Draft through 2016. He directed the EXOS training team that supported Germany enroute to the 2014 FIFAWorld Cup title and has supported five MLS championship teams.
A dominant player on the hardwood, Kris Kruse left his mark on Wolves basketball as one of the top Sequim High players of all time. A 1980 Sequim High graduate, Kruse was a“swing”player as a sophomore before earning full-time varsity status his final two seasons. On the strength of those two seasons, he racked up 1,087 points and 436 rebounds — both school records, now since broken. He shot 50% from the field for his prep career, and 54% in his senior campaign.
A 6-foot-5 forward, Kris was equally adept in the post as he was outside, assistant coach Larry Hill recalls. A very good ball handler, he was often used to break the press, and his scoring totals would have been even higher had the 3-point line been in play. His senior season saw Kris tally 20.8 points per contest, earning him first team all-Seamount League and a first team nomination for an all-state team that heralded the top 20 prep boys inWashington state, regardless of classification. He also earned a 2A state tournament first team selection, leading the Wolves to a 3-1 mark and third place finish. Sequim knocked off Battle Ground and Centralia before falling to Timberline, the eventual state champs, in triple overtime in the semifinal (Kris had 22 points). Sequim came back to edge Enumclaw for third.
Head coach Rick Kaps was quoted after the final game on his thoughts about Kris: “It’s going to be embarrassing with Kris Kruse going across the stage to receive his diploma with me hanging on to one leg trying to prevent him from leaving.” After high school, Kris played basketball for Peninsula College, Lower Columbia College and Seattle University. He was also part of the coaching staff of Blaine High School’s outstanding boys basketball program for 10 years, including the back-to-back state championship teams in 1999 and 2000, earning aspot in the Blaine High School Hall of Fame.
The 1963 Sequim High School basketball team captured the Olympic League title with a 7-1 conference record and earned a berth to the StateTournament — the first Sequim team in a decade to reach the ClassA State level. The team was led by senior standout Len Beil, who averaged 23 points per game and earned both All-Olympic League and All-State honors, and junior Cliff Echternkamp, who contributed 17.3 points per game and was also named to the All- Olympic League team. The roster included seniors Doug Powell (now deceased), Eric Hendrickson, and Nat Williams (now deceased); juniors Bill Hahn (now deceased), Steve Callis, Don Swanson, and Mike Schade (now deceased); and sophomore Don Bruckner.The team was coached byVirgil King.
Sequim finished the regular season with a 13-6 record, competing against both Class A and AA schools. The Wolves were dominant against their ClassA opponents, going 10-1, with their only loss — a one-point heartbreaker — coming against North Kitsap. They went 3-5 against larger ClassAA schools, with several of those games decided by narrow margins. At the state tournament held at the University of Puget Sound Fieldhouse, Sequim faced a tough first-round draw against the eventual champions, the Selah Vikings.The Wolves matched up well early, but momentum shifted after Echternkamp was injured in a fall while battling for a rebound in the second quarter and was unable to return. With the offense short-handed, Selah focused its defense on Beiland pulled away to a 75-50 win.
In the consolation round, Sequim fought hard in a nail-biter of a battle against Castle Rock but fell just short, 52-50, ending their postseason run. Despite the early exit, Beil was named to theAll-State team, capping an outstanding season for one of Sequim’s most memorable squads. It would be 17 years before a Sequim team would make it back to the state tournament.
The Sequim High 1987-88 boys basketball team simply dominated opponents all the way to the state 2A title game, finishing 25-1 and runner-up to Rainier Beach. Despite being somewhat undersized — no one on the roster was taller than 6-foot-3-inch Danny Von Tom — the Wolves were undefeated in Olympic League play. Led by head coach Rick Kaps and his son, league MVP Ryan Kaps (both 2024 Sequim Athletic Hall of Fame inductees), the Wolves also boasted a pair of all-league first-teamers inVon Tom and Brandon Funston, and all-league honorable mentions Derrin Dotyand J.D. Patterson.The roster was rounded out by RobWright, JimWatson, Pat Nickerson, Ian Riensche, Brad Peterson, and JustinYoung.
Sequim averaged 73.9 points per contest and outscored opponents by more than 17 points per game. Sequim opened the season with 22 consecutive wins to earn the No. 1 seed in the 1988 2A state tournament. “That team absolutely captured the imagination of the community,”assistant coach Larry Hill said. “We had a fire marshal at the gym door counting bodies and not allowing entry by halftime of the junior varsity games. “Sequim fans filled about three-quarters of the East Bremerton High gym for the district championship well before start time … which did not sit well with the North Kitsap faithful when they arrived.” After knocking off Aberdeen 76-52 in the opener, theWolves got by fifth-ranked O’Dea 70-62 and Woodway, the No. 2 seed, 65-58, before falling to Rainier Beach 68-53 in the championship.
