Sac-Joaquin Section to induct 14 locas into Hall of Fame

Go to YouTube and punch in Wilbur “Moose” Thompson. Watch him, a strapping athlete performing beneath overcast London skies, setting an Olympic record and winning the gold medal – all filmed in slow motion – in the shot put.

Thompson, a member of the Modesto High School class of 1937, tossed 56 feet, 2 inches en route to immortality that day in 1948, the first Olympiad since the Berlin Games of 1936. Earlier in his career, he also won state and national titles for Modesto Junior College in 1939 and ’40 and also starred at USC before his Olympic heroics.

It’s not surprising that Thompson, who died last December in Long Beach at age 92, has been inducted to several halls of fame, and now comes another. He will join an impressive list of 14 local athletes, coaches and officials who enter the Sac-Joaquin Section Hall of Fame.

Thompson is one of five Modesto-area athletes to win Olympic gold medals. The others: Emerson “Bud” Spencer in the 4x440-meter relay (1928), Cy Young in the javelin (1952), Tisha Venturini-Hoch in soccer (1996) and women’s-eight rower Erin Cafaro (2008 and ’12).

A total of 32 personalities will be inducted when the section honors its third “class” on Sunday night, Aug. 24, at Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento. For more information on the Hall of Fame, visit www.cifsjs.org.

The rest of the local honorees:

Norm Antinetti (Oakdale) – Antinetti has served for more than 54 years as a coach, director of student activities, athletic director and league commissioner at Oakdale High and the Valley Oak League. He was the varsity basketball coach for 27 years and the A.D. for the Mustangs for 11 years. Antinetti has received the Cal Rasmussen Award by section athletic directors, the Orron Qualls Award by state athletic directors and the CIF Distinguished Service Award.

Scott Brooks (East Union) – Brooks, the head coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder and a former NBA Coach of the Year, was the best basketball player ever produced in the Manteca-Lathrop area. He led the Lancers to the section Division II finals in 1983 and averaged 28.1 points as a senior, third-best in Northern California. He played 10 seasons in the NBA and earned a championship ring with the ’94 Houston Rockets.

Doug Burke (Beyer) – Burke led the Beyer water polo team to three section championships from 1972 through ’75. He was named a high-school All-American and later attended Stanford, where he was a three-time All-American and a member of two national-title teams. Burke also was a member of the 1980 and ’84 Olympic water polo teams and annexed a silver medal in ‘84.

Adam Cuestas (Merced) – Adam Cuestas was a three-time section wrestling champion (1976-78) and a two-time state champion (1977-78) en route to a berth on the Wrestling USA All-American team. At Cal State Bakersfield, he was a three-time NCAA Division II champion (1981-’83). He still serves as an official at many section events each season.

Dan Cuestas (Merced) – Dan Cuestas, Adam’s brother, was a two-time section wrestling champion (1976-77) and also won two state titles. He attended Cal State Bakersfield, where he claimed both NCAA D-II and D-I national titles in ’81 and ’82. He was the 1980 Olympic Trials champion but didn’t wrestle in the Olympics due to the boycott. Like his brother, Dan works many tournaments as an official.

Chuck Edmonds (Ceres, Grace Davis) – Edmonds worked as the president of four different leagues during his tenure as principal at both Ceres or Davis from 1986-2004 and also became the Modesto Metro Conference Commissioner in ’04. Edmonds has served on numerous section committees and was the chair or co-chair on seven realignment committees.

Randy Fasani (Del Oro) – Fasani, the Ripon Christian head football coach last fall, was considered one of the nation’s top prep quarterbacks at Del Oro. He was named a Parade and USA Today All-American as a senior (1996) after he passed for 5,299 yards and 53 touchdowns and rushed for 16 TDs in his career. He continued at Stanford, where he started as a junior and a senior and played one season for the Carolina Panthers.

David Porath (Atwater) – Porath, the section and state champion in both the shot put and the discus in 1978, still holds the oldest section records in both events (65-8 in the shot and 199-31/2 in the discus). He was named the 1978 CalHiSports state track and field athlete of the year and also was a standout football player for the Falcons.

Bob Amerman (Linden) – Amerman coached the Linden baseball team to 610 victories from 1966 to ‘08, and his Lions won the 2004 and ‘05 section D-IV championships. Linden won 38 straight in ’04 and ’05. Amerman’s teams placed in the top two in his league 37 out of 43 seasons.

Rick Francis (Sonora) – Francis, the winningest boys basketball coach in section history, coached Sonora from 1978 to 2013 and went 660-377. His 1992 Wildcats won the section Division II championship and his ‘96 and ‘97 teams reached the section finals.

Bob Loureiro (Escalon) – Bob Loureiro’s baseball teams at Escalon went 606-324 from 1963-2004 and his Cougars claimed the section Division III title in 1991. Three other teams made the section finals. He also coached his son Mark, a quarterback. “It’s pretty darn unique,” Loureiro said in reference to him and his son’s induction. “He (Mark) always had this quality about him. He was really a student of the game.” Loureiro, a 1955 Escalon graduate, played for the school’s memorable coach Lloyd C. Engel.

Mark Loureiro (Escalon) – Mark Loureiro has coached the Cougar football team to a 246-45-1 record from 1989 to the present, No. 2 in section history. His teams have won eight section titles and the 2010 CIF State Division III championship, including “mythical” state D-IV titles in ’93 and ’96. “The fact that it’s happening now, where I can enjoy it a little bit, and especially going in with my dad, makes it all the more special,” he said.

Bob Nicholson (official) – Nicholson, a four-sport standout for Sanger in the Central Section, played basketball at Stanford before he transitioned into a 32-year career as a basketball official. He officiated four state championship games, 13 Northern California Regional games and 12 section finals. Nicholson, who works for Ameriprise Financial Services in Modesto, officiated for two of the five stirring meetings between Brooks’ East Union teams and eventual section champion Modesto in 1982-83. Modesto won all five.

“I remember one of the preseason games ... my recollection was it was a double-overtime game and it was thrilling. I remember fighting off cramps in the second overtime.”

This story was originally published July 31, 2014 at 10:59 PM with the headline "Sac-Joaquin Section to induct 14 locas into Hall of Fame."