2023 Marin Athletic Foundation Hall of Fame capsules
The Marin Athletic Foundation is set to induct its 2023 class into the Hall of Fame at the Embassy Suites in San Rafael on Saturday night.
This year’s class features a pair of phenomenal basketball players, a few of the county’s most decorated track athletes, a softball player, a swimmer, a soccer coach, a basketball coach and a long-time referee.
Ralph Brott, swimmer, Tam
Brott swam at Tam from 1954 until 1957, the latter three years on varsity as the top points getter as the then-Indians won three consecutive North Bay League championships.
Brott set a number of league records during that run, including as a member of the 200-free relay, plus individually in the 100-yard backstroke and 150-yard individual medley.
Brott also took first place in the 200 free and the 150 IM during his senior season. Brott never lost a freestyle race to a North Bay League swimmer in his three years on varsity, making it to the section meet all three times. There was no State Meet back then.
Brott went to College of Marin for one year before joining the Navy in 1958. Brott went on to become a decorated masters swimmer, including earning USMS All-American honors in both 2011 and 2016.
George Cagle, track athlete, Novato
Cagle was one of the top runners in the county in the 1970s, going undefeated in MCAL races as a varsity runner on Novato’s track team in 1973 and 1974.
Cagle’s best year came as a senior in 1974 when he won both the 400 meters and the 800 meters and set county records in the process. Cagle’s time of 1 minute, 51.94 in the 800 still stands as the best time in Marin history while his time in the 400 (49.14) remains inside the top 10.
Cagle went on to win the 880 at the North Coast Section Meet of Champions in 1:52.5 which remains the third fastest time in meet history. Cagle finished seventh in the 880 at the State Meet en route to being named Novato High’s athlete of the year.
Cagle was also a first-team all-MCAL selection in both years and was all-NorCal First Team in 1974.
Christine Choppelas, basketball player, Redwood
Choppelas was a three-sport standout at Redwood during the 1980s but made her biggest impact on the basketball court. Choppelas was an all-league selection from 1985 through 1987, claiming MVP honors during her senior season and leading Redwood to the MCAL postseason title.
When Choppelas graduated in 1987, she held a litany of program records, including most career points (1,392), most career field goals (573), most career assists (321) and steals (311) and most career varsity wins (99).
Choppelas went on to play at Santa Clara University from 1987 until 1991. The Broncos put together a 28-3 campaign during her senior season, winning the West Coast Conference title in the process. Santa Clara went on to become the first California team to win the WNIT that season.
Choppelas was also a two-time first-team MCAL all-league player in soccer (1986, 87) and made the first team for volleyball in 1987.
Mike Crivello, soccer coach, Terra Linda
Crivello has been coaching at his alma mater since 2006 and the Trojans have been a fixture in the MCAL playoffs ever since. Crivello’s teams have made it to the postseason tournament – a notoriously difficult task in boys soccer – in 13 of the past 16 seasons. TL has posted a 190-93-51 record and won five regular-season titles, three MCAL postseason titles, two section titles and a NorCal championship during Crivello’s tenure.
The program is coming off perhaps its best season under Crivello, having won all three postseason titles including its only NorCal championship. That team featured five first-team MCAL selections in Liam Hadden, Roan Goertz and the Maldonado cousins – Kleber, Chris and Elvin.
Crivello himself was a two-time all-leaguer during his playing days at TL from 1994-95. TL won its other section title in 1995, going 26-0-0 during Crivello’s senior year. Crivello went on to play at the University of San Francisco, earning all-conference honors in his junior and senior seasons.
Mike Evans, basketball coach, Tam
Evans spent the better part of three decades coaching at his alma mater. A 1974 Tam grad, Evans began coaching the boys basketball program in 1987, compiling a 215-187 record while winning MCAL titles in 1997 and 2000.
The 2000 team, which Evans co-coached alongside Ralph Wilson, was led by Michael Tabb, Bryan Defares and Jair Veldhuis and went on to win section and state titles. Tam defeated St. Bernard for the state title, 61-60 on a last-second tip-in by Veldhuis to cap a 33-2 season.
Evans also experienced success with the Tam girls program, going 185-121 during a run between 2010 and 2020 that was highlighted by back-to-back MCAL titles in 2016-17. The 2016 team, led by Jaiana Harris, Megan Lee and Amari Allison, won the first league title in program history.
Liz Hartmann, softball player, San Marin
Hartmann was a three-sport standout for the Mustangs who played softball, basketball and volleyball, but her biggest accomplishments came on the diamond. Hartmann was an all-MCAL first team player all four years at San Marin, culminating with a player of the year award during her junior season in 2000 during which she batted .538.
Hartmann hit above .400 all four seasons, helping San Marin to regular-season titles in 1998 and 2001. The Mustangs enjoyed the most success during her senior season, winning the league’s postseason title and making it to a section title game.
Hartmann received a full scholarship to play at the University of Notre Dame, where she was a four-year starter. Hartmann hit 28 home runs and drove in more than 120 runs during her career at Notre Dame, helping the Fighting Irish to four Big East regular-season titles and two tournament titles.
Hartmann has been coaching softball at San Marin since the 2006 season and has been the head coach of the program since 2013.
Bob MacLean, special recognition
MacLean spent almost two decades as one of the top officials for MCAL basketball games, beginning in 1972 and finishing in 1990. MacLean was selected to work the league’s championship game for 10 consecutive years from 1980 until 1990.
His officiating career also saw him referee games in the West Coast Athletic League and East Bay Athletic League at the prep level, plus college games at the JuCo, Division II, and Division I levels.
As an athlete, MacLean played varsity basketball, football, baseball, and golf before graduating from Drake High in 1969.
“Bob worked tirelessly to be the most prepared and knowledgeable official he could be and thus gave all his effort to every single game he officiated,” his brother Doug MacLean, also a longtime basketball official, wrote in his nomination letter. “His passion for the game itself and his quest to do everything possible to get his calls right and manage games was appreciated by players, coaches, fellow officials, AD’s and fans alike.”
Hal Schulz, track/cross country athlete, Redwood
After a relatively innocuous start to his running career at Redwood during his freshman and sophomore years, Schulz put together a dominant two-year stretch from the fall of 1974 until the spring of 1976.
Schulz won the MCAL cross country race as a junior and went on to win the league title in the 2-mile in track. Strong performances at the section meets followed both seasons, including a sixth-place finish that led the Giants to the cross country team title.
Schulz’s key to success was that he spent the summer before his junior season running 100 miles every week. Schulz adhered to the same regimen in the summer before his senior season and the results were even more impressive.
Schulz nearly went undefeated during the cross country season, winning the individual section title and helping Redwood to the team title with the Giants putting up a historic point total of 29 in the process. That 1975 team finished the season ranked second in the country and Schulz was named the NorCal runner of the year.
The following track season, Schulz won both the mile and the 2-mile at MCALs then won the 2-mile at the section meet. Schulz qualified for the State Meet, where he finished in fifth.
Brooke (Smith) Easter, basketball player, Marin Catholic
Smith is one of the most decorated athletes to come out of Marin in any sport, a four-time all-leaguer and two-time league MVP for an MC program that won a state title in Smith’s senior season of 2002.
Smith set single-season and career marks at MC which remain unbroken to this day. She holds career records for points (1,780), rebounds (1,490), steals (412), and blocks (468).
Smith was named the team’s MVP in three consecutive seasons which all ended in regular-season and postseason league titles.
Smith was named first team all-state by Cal-Hi Sports after leading MC — alongside Nickie Warren, Adrienne Payne and Lauren Michalski — to a 29-5 record and a state title in 2002. Smith is the only player from Marin to participate in a McDonald’s All-American Game.
Smith went on to play collegiately at Duke University and Stanford, making a Final Four with the Blue Devils and two Elite Eights with the Cardinal. Smith averaged a career-high 17.2 points and 7.5 rebounds during her junior year at Stanford in 2006.
Smith was selected with the 23rd pick of the 2007 WNBA Draft by the Minnesota Lynx and spent three seasons playing with the Phoenix Mercury from 2008-10, winning a WNBA championship in 2009.
Wendy Von Fries, track, Tam
Von Fries was one of the fastest athletes in Marin history, dominating the sprints with times that still stand up today among the best ever by a county athlete.
Von Fries won the 100-, 200-, and 400-meter races during her sophomore season in 1981 then repeated the feat in both 1982 and 1983. For her senior season, Von Fries added a fourth league title by anchoring the mile relay for Tam.
Von Fries’ record in the 400 sets in 1983 still stands at 55.24 seconds while her marks in the 100 (12.14) and 200 (25.44) remain inside the all-time top 10. Von Fries was a double qualifier for the State Meet in both the 200 and 400 in 1982 and 1983. She was also named team MVP in basketball during her senior season.
Von Fries spent a year running for College of Marin in 1984, winning three state titles in the 100, 400, and 1,600 while also competing on a second-place 400 relay team.
Von Fries later attended the University of Copenhagen in Denmark and ended up running for the Danish National Team from 1987 until 1993. Von Fries was again the fastest runner in the 100, 200, and 400 events.