Banquet to honor college coaches

Dave Ashleigh and LeAnn Millar, two of the area's most successful collegiate coaches of the modern era, will be honored at the 41st Outstanding Athlete Awards Banquet on Wednesday night at the Sportsmen of Stanislaus Club.

Ashleigh, a former Olympian, put Modesto Junior College water sports on the map and will be inducted into the OAA Hall of Fame. Millar, who built the Cal State Stanislaus Warriors into a women's basketball powerhouse, will receive the Darell Phillips Coaches Award.

Stanislaus County's top athletes of 2007 will be honored Wednesday. Also to be announced is the Jay Pattee Award winner for public service to the sports community. The Tom Moore Award, named for the late lifeblood of the California Invitational Relays, also will be given.

The guest speaker is Central Catholic's Mike Glines, who has stepped down after a spectacular run as the Raiders' football coach.

Here is more on Wednesday night's honorees:

HALL OF FAME -- Ashleigh, a graduate of Whittier High, was a member of the United States water polo team at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo. He also starred in water polo and swimming at UCLA and was the Bruins' water polo MVP in 1963 and '65. In swimming, Ashleigh was UCLA's first All-American after he set school records in the 1,650 freestyle, 500 free, 200 breaststroke and 400 individual medley. He coached water polo and swimming at MJC from 1971-98 and led the Pirates to 27 conference titles.

PHILLIPS -- Millar, the women's basketball coach at Stanislaus from 1981-2001, put the Warriors on the map by winning five Northern California Athletic Conference titles. Millar, a native of Iowa, was named the NCAA Division II West Region Coach of the Year in 2000 and was inducted into the Stanislaus Hall of Fame in 2004, thanks to her 338 career wins.

MELLIS SCHOLARSHIP -- Senior student-athletes Katie Drueen (Modesto High), Jacqueline Holt (Pitman) and Marcus Garcia (Turlock Christian) each will receive $2,500 grants from the Tom Mellis Scholarship Foundation.

This story was originally published March 4, 2008 at 4:50 AM with the headline "Banquet to honor college coaches."