***Press Release***
The Colorado High School Coaches
Association is proud to announce its Hall-of-Fame class for the year 2013. This will be the 50th class to be inducted. Please give these men and women any
recognition possible for their outstanding careers and this achievement.
The Hall-of-Fame induction will be held
on Saturday, March 30th at the Red Lion Hotel, 3200 S. Parker Road,
Aurora, CO. A reception will be held at
5:30 p.m. with the dinner and induction starting at 6:30 p.m. Ticket prices for the event are $42 per
person and reservation forms may be obtained from the CHSCA web site at www.colohsca.org or by e-mailing CHSCA executive director John Burke at jburke24@cox.net.
Following is a brief biography of the 5
inductees.
Brian
Christensen – Football – Wrestling – Akron High School
Brian graduated from Akron High School in 1989 and
returned to teach and coach in 1993.
After serving as an assistant for two years with the football team he took
over as the head coach in 1996 and has been in that position to the
present. His teams have compiled an
amazing 173-33 record while winning five state championships and finishing as
runners-up five other times. The Rams
had winning streaks of 38 and then 46 games.
In addition to leading the football team Brian has been the head
wrestling coach and assistant track coach.
Under his guidance the Ram grapplers have been regional champions three
times and finished as the second place team twice at the CHSAA state wrestling
championships. The 19-year husband and father of four is in his second year as
the principal at Akron.
Greg
King – Football – Basketball – Stratton High School
Greg’s teaching, coaching, and
administrative career has spanned 35 years, six schools, and seven state
championships. Starting in 1976 in his
hometown of Walsenburg he has made stops in McClave, Stratton, Del Norte, Grand
Junction, and Norwood. Greg currently
coaches both boys and girls basketball at Norwood High School where he took
both teams to the state tournament last season.
It was at Stratton High School where King’s team secured the state
championships. In football the Eagles
won five state championships and settled for second once while winning 48
consecutive games. Greg led the boys’
basketball team to two state championships during his Stratton stay. Greg’s basketball teams have made the trip to
the state tournament eleven times. Greg
has enjoyed coaching with his son for two years while at Norwood. The Colorado Athletic Directors Association
named Greg the athletic director of the year in 1999 and 2004.
Mike
Pallotto – Wrestling – Roosevelt High School
Coach Mike Pallotto, a 1974 graduate of
the University of Northern Colorado, has spent his entire 38-year coaching
career at the helm of the Roosevelt Roughrider Wrestling program. That tenure has produced three team state
championships and seven second-place teams.
In all Mike has coached 32 individual state champions, and 96 state-placers. In 2012 the National Wrestling Hall of Fame
presented Coach Pallotto their Lifetime Service to Wrestling Award.
Sue
Snyder – Volleyball – Simla High School
Sue did not venture far from her hometown
of Rush, Colorado when she accepted her first and only
teaching and coaching position at Simla High School. The business-technology teacher has led the
Cub’s Volleyball Teams to two state championships and five runners up in her 29-year
coaching career. Her overall coaching
record is 570-142. A 27-year member of
the CHSCA Sue served as president of the organization in 2002, and received the
organization’s Don DesCombes Distinguished Service Award in 2002. Through the years she has received many Coach
of the Year honors and in 2012 was named Dave Sanders Coach of the Year by the
Denver Post.
Scott
Yates – Football – Kent Denver Schools
Scott, the son of the late Richard
‘Dick’ Yates a 1984 CHSCA Hall of Fame Inductee, will be inducted with the 2012
class for his work done at Kent Denver Schools.
Scott has been the schools head football coach since 1981. His football teams have amassed a 273-69
record during that time and won three state championships along with one runner
up. The most recent championship was
recorded in 2012. He was the schools
head baseball coach from 1981-1988, and has been an assistant coach for the
past 23 seasons. Scott currently serves
as the Director of Athletics for Kent Denver Schools. Coaching and playing athletics has been a
family affair for the Yates. Scott
played for his dad at Kennedy High School, and has coached his brother Shannon,
and son Richard at Kent Denver.
