Snohomish County’s long, distinguished and diverse sports history will be celebrated again this year with the addition of several new members to the county’s Sports Hall of Fame.
The class of five athletes, one coach, one sports contributor and two teams, announced on Wednesday, will be formally inducted at a Hall of Fame banquet on Sept. 28.
Joining the Hall of Fame this year are:
— Kayla Burt, who was an all-state and honorable mention All-American at Arlington High School and went on to play at the University of Washington between 2001 and 2006, though her college career was cut short due to a heart condition;
— Randy Couture of Lynnwood, who won three Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight titles and two UFC light-heavyweight titles, and has been inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame;
— Rower Bob Cummins of Everett, who won a gold medal in the 1997 world championships and a national championship the same year at the University of Washington, where he was also later inducted into the UW Hall of Fame;
— Karen Thorndike of Snohomish, who became the first American woman to sail around the world solo, a journey she completed in 1998;
— Jack Westland of Everett (deceased), a golfer who won 13 amateur titles including, in 1952, the U.S. Amateur championship; he later served 12 years in the U.S. House of Representatives.
— Keith Kingsbury, the men’s basketball coach at Edmonds Community College for 32 years, during which he won 570 games, guided teams to 18 conference tournaments, and won the 1985 Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges championship;
— Bill O’Mara of Everett (deceased), a longtime radio and television broadcaster who announced unlimited hydroplane racing for many years (he was inducted into the Unlimited Hydroplane Museum Hall of Fame in 1998) along with high school and pro sports.
The two teams being inducted are the 1955 Darrington High School boys basketball team and the 1981 Meadowdale High School girls soccer team, both winners of state championships.
“What’s nice about this class is that it’s such a diverse class,” said Frank Foster, chair of the Snohomish County Sports Hall of Fame committee. “The accomplishments are not just in the typical major sports. This is across the board from Karen Thorndike in sailing to Randy Couture in mixed martial arts. It’s really an interesting blend of exceptional people from Snohomish County.”
The Class of 2016 will raise the total number of Hall of Fame inductees to 40 athletes, 17 coaches, seven contributors (includes executives and media), and 11 teams.
The induction banquet is scheduled for Xfinity Arena’s Edward D. Hansen Conference Center in Everett. An announcement of ticket sales is expected later in the summer.
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