The Long Beach Century Club is set to host its 66th Annual Sports Banquet on June 19 at The Grand in Long Beach, with a distinguished list of honorees for this year’s event. Each year, the club recognizes the city’s top high school athletes in each sport, while also honoring a host of special award winners along with a Hall of Fame class.
This year’s Century Club Hall of Fame inductees are longtime Millikan High girls’ basketball coach and administrator Lorene Morgan, Long Beach State legend and MLB All-Star Jered Weaver, along with outgoing CIF-Southern Section commissioner Rob Wigod.
“The Century Club is thrilled to honor such a fantastic slate of Hall of Fame inductees this year,” said club president Mike Fillipow. “It is sure to be one of our best banquets ever!”
Morgan just finished her 34th season as the Millikan girls’ basketball head coach, and has amassed an impressive 613 wins and counting. That win total ranks 18th all-time in California and ninth among the state’s active coaches, according to the Cal-Hi Sports record book. She also led Millikan to the program’s only CIF championship in 2014.
Weaver joins the Century Club Hall of Fame as one of the greatest Long Beach State Dirtbags ever. After a decorated collegiate career that included the 2004 Golden Spikes Award as the best player in the nation, he was a first round selection of the Anaheim Angels in that year’s draft. Weaver went on to a 12-year MLB career, which included three All-Star Game selections, three years finishing Top 5 in Cy Young Award voting, and 150 career victories.
Finally, Wigod is being recognized for his decades of involvement in Long Beach sports as an athlete, coach, educator, and administrator. After coaching stops at Lakewood, Wilson, and Los Alamitos high Schools, Wigod has spent the last 22 years in the CIF-SS office. Half that time was spent as an assistant commissioner, and for the last 11 he’s been at the head of the CIF-SS office as commissioner.
In addition to the Hall of Fame selections, the Century Club will also be recognizing its Co-Athletes of the Year–Cleveland Browns offensive guard Joel Bitonio and New York Mets utilityman Jeff McNeil.
Bitonio, a Wilson High grad, has been regarded as one of the best offensive linemen in the world over the past five years. He’s picked up five consecutive Pro Bowl selections for the Browns, while also earning All-Pro status in all five of those seasons. Bitonio was a first-team All-Pro selection each of the last two years and he’s made 129 starts in his nine-year NFL career.
McNeil is the reigning National League batting champion after hitting .326 for the Mets in 2022. The former Long Beach State Dirtbag is in his sixth big-league campaign in New York, and is a two-time All-Star. McNeil has been a versatile weapon for the Mets, playing six different positions while hitting .305 for his career. He also won a 2022 Silver Slugger Award as the best offensive second baseman in the National League.
The Long Beach Century Club’s 66th Annual Sports Banquet will be held on June 19 at The Grand, located at 4101 E Willow St. in Long Beach. The program will begin at 5 p.m. with dinner provided for all guests.
To RSVP and purchase tickets to the event, visit www.lbcenturyclub.org for more information.
