2018 - YCHS Induction Class

 

Hall of Fame induction Class of 2018

 

 

 

 

  • Bruce Allison
  • Jason Bird
  • Farrolyn Bond-Caver
  • Kyra Caldwell
  • Tom Hall
  • Diana Jackson
  • Howard Neely, Jr.
  • Jacob Rhodes 
  • William “Billy” Sorrell
  • Ronald Tarrant 

Bruce Allison - Ypsilanti High School - 1962

YHS – FOOTBALL – WRESTLING – TRACK
CO-CAPTAIN – FOOTBALL AND TRACK

  • 1961 – scored final touchdown in major upset in Halloween/ Homecoming victory
  • against highly ranked Ann Arbor Pioneer- first win over them since 1948
  • Earned 9 varsity letters
  • Member of League Championship teams in wrestling and track
  • Member of 1961 and 1962 State Championship wrestling teams
  • 1961 – Track - member of the All State mile relay team
  • Student council president
  • Senior class president
  • Varsity Club president

POST YHS ACHIEVEMENTS

  • University of Michigan football team member – 4-year walk-on player
  • 1964 – member of U of M Big Ten Championship team
  • 1965 – member of the Rose Bowl Championship team
  • 1966 – earned BA in Design from U of M
  • Designed the Rose Bowl ring for the U of M team and staff
  • Volunteer work for St. Joe’s Hospital Radio-thon and coaching youth soccer
  • 1976 – saved a drowning person in Three Rivers in Pittsburgh
  • Currently lives in Ann Arbor with wife, Sue.

Jason Bird - Ypsilanti High School - 2001

YHS – BASKETBALL – TRACK

  • Captain - basketball
  • Basketball – 2 x all conference and 1st team All-Metro West
  • 2001 - Led team in points, assists, rebounds, and steals
  • 2001 -Led team to district championship and regional finals
  • 2001 – Ann Arbor News Player of the Year
  • McDonalds All American nominee
  • Detroit News top 25 players in the state – regardless of class
  • 1st Team All-Metro West
  • 2001 – Basketball - 4th team All State – Class A
  • 2001 -Track – member of the 4x100 relay- regional and state champions

POST YHS ACHIEVEMENTS

  • University of Buffalo basketball scholarship
  • 2005 - Co-captain University of Buffalo basketball team
  • Set Buffalo’s single season 3-point shooting percentage record - 46.7%, ranking in
  • 2004 NCAA Division1 top 25
  • 2005 Buffalo basketball team – laid foundation for D - 1 success
  • Led the 1st U. of Buffalo basketball team to play in MAC Championships
  • Led the 1st U. of Buffalo Basketball team to play in the NIT Tournament
  • 2005 – Completed bachelor’s degree in economics at University of Buffalo
  • Certified Financial Planner – owns own business – Inspired Wealth Planning
  • On Board of Directors of UB Alumni Association
  • On Board of Trustees at Park School of Buffalo
  • Coached youth sports for many years
  • Currently lives in Amherst, NY with wife Grace and three sons

Farrolyn Bond-Caver - Willow Run High School - 1978

WRHS – BASKETBALL

  • Varsity Basketball
  • Senior Superlative - Voted Most Athletic Female Athlete
  • Captain of the cheerleading team
  • President Student Union/Government – senior year
  • Senior Rotarian
  • Member of Class Council
  • National Honor Society
  • Prom Queen

POST WRHS ACHIEVEMENTS

  • Volunteer assistant cheerleading coach at Willow Run High School
  • Worked at Eastern Michigan University and the University of Michigan athletic facilities
  • Graduated with a BS in Communications from Eastern Michigan University
  • Volunteer youth coach – baseball, basketball, track and field, volleyball
  • Mentored youth in developing academic and athletic success
  • Employed by Coca Cola for almost three decades – rose from Service Dispatcher to
  • Group Manager; Inbound and Customer Specialist Team
  • Group Manager – coordinates daily activities of 130 Customer Communications
  • Specialists, 4 Team Managers and 4 Floor Supervisors
  • Impacts young employees through hiring and promoting individuals
  • Works with Coca Cola partnership program – college student given the opportunity to work with Coke while in college
  • Over 30 years members of Israel Missionary Baptist Church -on Deaconess Board and works with Youth ministries
  • Currently lives in Suwannee, Georgia with husband Herbert where they raised their two children

Kyra Caldwell - Ypsilanti High School - 2008

YHS – TRACK AND FIELD – CROSS-COUNTRY

  • 2006-2008 – 6-Time regional champion-100mh,300mh,1600m relay
  • 2007-2008 – 5-Time State champion -100mh, 300mh, 1600m relay
  • 2007 – AAU All American – 400mh
  • 2008 – Most Valuable Track Athlete Washtenaw County
  • 2006 – YHS - Most Valuable Cross-Country runner
  • 2006 – All Area Cross Country team selection
  • Washtenaw County Scholar Athlete
  • National Honor Society
  • 2004-2008 – Student Council -representative, Secretary, vice president
  • 2008 – Awarded Capt. C. Robert Arvin Award for Excellence Scholarship

POST YHS ACHIEVEMENTS

  • Accepted Track and Field Scholarship to Columbia University
  • 7 – Time Ivy League Champion -sprints and hurdles
  • 2012 – received Columbia University Manniaty Award for Most Outstanding 4-year Athlete
  • 2010 – MVP – Ivy League Outdoor Track and Field Conference Championships
  • 2010-2015 -400mh Ivy League Conference meet record holder
  • 400mh – Columbia University school record holder
  • 4x400 Relay – Columbia University school record holder
  • 100mh – School record holder
  • Active in many service groups and community activities including Athletes in Action, coaching and mentoring at Georgetown Day School, Georgetown Learning Center, church work, and more.
  • 2012 – BA from Columbia University in Pre-Medical Studies and Religion
  • 2017 – MS from Georgetown in Physiology and Biophysics: Complementary Alternative Medicine – GPA – 3.63 and Class President
  • 2017 – completed research project – Central Sensitization Syndrome Project: Assessing GI Microbiome
  • Plans to enter Medical School in 2019
  • Currently lives in Washington DC

Tom Hall - Ypsilanti High School - 1963

YHS – FOOTBALL – BASKETBALL – BASEBALL

  • Football team co-captain
  • Earned 9 Varsity letter – 9 out of 9
  • 1961 – Football team defeated highly ranked rival Ann Arbor Pioneer – 20-6 Homecoming and on Halloween – first time since 1948
  • 1962 – Member of Football League Champions
  • 1962 – 1st team All-League Football - quarterback
  • 1963 –Member of Basketball League Champions-
  • 1963 -Won Districts and lost in Regional finals
  • Student Council representative
  • 3 – year member of A Cappella Choir and choir vice president

POST YHS ACHIEVEMENTS

  • Awarded football scholarship to Western Michigan University
  • 1966 – joined the semi pro football team – the Ypsilanti Vikings
  • Low handicap golfer, “shooting his age” with 69’s when he was 71 and 72
  • 1968 – Volunteered for the draft, then volunteered for Vietnam serving at Military Assistance Command (MACV) in 1969
  • Served 10 years in the Florida National Guard, then transferred to US Air Force Reserve and 15 years active duty in the Air Force in Florida
  • 1973 completed his BS from EMU in Special Education
  • Taught 2 years in Ypsilanti Public School’s PEP program
  • 18 years -taught Emotionally Handicapped, socially maladjusted, and behaviorally disordered middle school and high school students
  • Volunteer coached State Tournament Special Olympics basketball team
  • Coached high school football several years in Florida
  • Continued choir singing in Catholic choirs in Florida – toured Italy and Ireland singing concerts and Masses, including singing at St. Peters at the Vatican in Rome
  • The last 6 years organize and coordinate YHS multi-class gatherings in Michigan and the Villages in Florida
  • Currently lives in Seminole, Florida with wife Nancy

Diana Jackson - Ypsilanti Public Schools

30 Years of Dedicated Service

  • Attendance secretary, Athletic Department secretary, and Accounts Payable and Employee Benefits secretary
  • Tireless, efficient –Reliable, tasks done well and on time
  • Organized and scheduled athletic events
  • Worked with more YHS Athletes and coaches than any other YHS employee
  • Organized staff and volunteers for athletic events and fundraisers
  • Department backbone and “go to person” for many years
  • Always professional and kind to everyone
  • Did not hesitate to volunteer herself
  • 2004 – 2018 – Key member of the Athletic Hall of Fame Committee
  • Department /Booster’s Fundraisers – Great Train Show, Holiday Bazaars
  • 1981 – Jaycee’s Outstanding Young Woman of the Year
  • 1999 – Senior Class – Outstanding Achievement Humanitarian Award
  • Past member of Heritage Festival Fundraiser Committee
  • Past board member of Ypsilanti Jaycee’s
  • Past board member of YHS Athletic Booster’s Club
  • Current member Villages Twirlers and Drum Corps
  • Current member of the Villages Home decorating Club
  • Current member of the Villages Baby Boomer Club
  • Volunteer –Feeding His sheep backpack – feeding children on the weekends
  • Serve in various areas at the Ypsilanti Free Methodist Church
  • Attended Bob Jones University and Washtenaw Community College
  • “Nana” and husband Leon between them have 4 children and 5 grandchildren
  • Currently living in the Villages in Florida with husband Leon

Howard Neely, Jr - Ypsilanti High School - 1950

YHS – FOOTBALL – TRACK

  • Vice President – Varsity Club
  • Earned 6 Varsity letters
  • 1948 - Member of State Championship track team
  • 1946 – 47 – 48 - Member of three State Championship football teams POST YHS ACHIEVEMENTS
  • Michigan State - lettered in football and track
  • Member of the 1954 MSU Rose Bowl winning team
  • 1955 -Member of the National Champion Michigan State Football team
  • Earned a BA and MA in Art from Michigan State University
  • 1957 -co-captain of the 12th Anti-Aircraft Group football team in Karlisruhe, Germany – battling for the Army football championship of Germany
  • 1960 – Played for the Port Huron Raiders – in the Ontario Rugby Football Union – making the championship playoffs
  • Boy Scout Leader
  • 30 years as a teacher and coach in Lansing School District Received Certificate of Merit from Lansing Board of Education for his service to the District
  • Lansing Everett High School – Coached football, boys’ track, and girls’ cross-country for many years
  • First black head coach in Lansing schools
  • Passed away August 7, 2018

Jacob Rhodes - Ypsilanti High School - 2007

YHS – FOOTBALL – BASEBALL

  • K-8 attended Willow Run Schools – Thurston, Holmes, Kettering and Edmonson Middle School
  • Entered YHS in 9th grade
  • Outstanding catcher for the baseball team
  • 3 Time captain of the YHS baseball team
  • 2005,2006,2007 - 1st team All-Conference
  • 2005,2006,2007 – 1st team All District
  • 2006, 2007 - 1st team All Region
  • 2006 – 2nd Team All State
  • 2007 – 1st Team All State; 2006
  • 2007 – Ann Arbor News Player of the Year
  • Career Batting average of 435 and career throw out percentage of 70%
  • Led the Braves to back to back conference championships

POST YHS ACHIEVEMENTS

  • Earned Associates degree from Wabash Valley College
  • 2009 – 2010 – 2 time All Conference -Wabash Valley College
  • 2010 – GRAC Conference MVP – Wabash Valley College
  • 2010 – All American Honorable Mention – Wabash Valley College
  • 2012 – Earned Bachelor’s in Mass Media Electronics from Murray State
  • 3 years professional baseball experience with Traverse City Beach Bums
  • 2014 – Frontier League All Star – Traverse City Beach Bums
  • 2015 – Frontier League Champions – Traverse City Beach Bums
  • Lifetime member of the Church of God
  • Volunteer work with children with special needs and develop their talents
  • Volunteers by giving back to the community and helping others
  • Currently lives in Britton, Michigan with his wife Alyssa

William “Billy” Sorrell - Ypsilanti High School - 1959

YHS – FOOTBALL – SWIMMING (DIVER) – BASEBALL

  • 1959 – Winner of the All Sports Trophy for outstanding senior athlete
  • Earned 9 varsity – 3 in each sport
  • Participated in interclass sports
  • Appeared in the all school play
  • Member of the French Club, Varsity Club and homeroom officer
  • Intense, aggressive competitor

POST YHS ACHIEVEMENTS

  • After high school, signed minor league contract with Philadelphia Phillies
  • Played 12 years in the minors, and parts of 3 seasons in the pros
  • Played 2 years in Japan
  • Began in Class D and worked up through B, A, AA, and AAA
  • 1960 – Appalachian League All Star Team
  • 1961 – Led California League stolen bases with 43
  • 1965 – called up to the majors with the Philadelphia Phillies
  • 1965 – September 2nd became the 10,000th major league player in history
  • 1967 – played with the San Francisco Giants for part of the season
  • 1970 – played with NY Mets and Kansas City Royals part of the season
  • 3rd baseman / left fielder – 267 lifetime major league batting average
  • 280 – lifetime career batting average for all levels
  • After retiring from baseball, became a successful insurance agent in the San Diego, California area
  • Passed away July 22, 2008

Ronald Tarrant - Willow Run High School - 1971 – 1990

WRHS – TEACHER – COACH – ATHLETIC DIRECTOR

  • 1971 -Developed inter-district elementary basketball program for 5th and 6th graders
  • Ran a summer work program for Willow Run students
  • 1978-79 – became head basketball coach
  • 1979 – 1990 – 4 basketball semi-finalist appearances – first 4 years as head coach
  • 9 District Championships
  • 4 Regional Championships
  • 1980 – won the Class B State Championship
  • 5 – Time Coach of the Year – 5 different venues
  • 14 All-State Players
  • Over 20 players attended college on basketball scholarships
  • Over 250 wins over a 12-year coaching career
  • 1980 – became WRHS Athletic Director
  • Currently lives in Milan, Michigan