The562’s coverage of Long Beach Wilson Athletics is sponsored by Joel Bitonio, Class of 2009.
Wilson High continued its tradition of inducting the next Athletic Hall Of Fame class at halftime of the home football game last week while the Bruins beat visiting Compton. The 2023 Class included two softball, two basketball, two water polo and two track and field representatives.
Terry Kennedy was the highlight of the evening to commemorate his run as Bruins track and field coach from 1993-2011. He was a three-time National High School Coach of the Year and his 2001 squad was the USA Today High School Team of the Year. Kennedy led the Bruins to six Moore League championships, five CIF team championships and 54 CIF individual titles. Nine of his former athletes became Olympians.
Track and field athlete Ashley Freeman was also inducted, and she won five CIF Southern Section championships and two CIF State titles in the 200, 400, 800 and relay races. Freeman, Class of 2003, went on to Stanford where she was a four-time All-American.
A pair of water polo players from the Class of 2005 were honored as Chay Lapin and Scott Swanson were inducted. They were both named Moore League Player of the Year, they both won four CIF championships as Bruins, and they both went on to play at UCLA. Lapin was a goalkeeper who is the all-time career saves record holder at UCLA and he played in the 2012 Olympics. Swanson ranks fourth in scoring and assists at UCLA, and he also coached UCLA to NCAA championships in 2014-15.
Wilson basketball was represented by Christofer Hart and Eric “E-Will” Williams. Hart, Class of 2004, averaged 20 points a game as a three-year starter and was named All-American before going on to play at Long Beach City College, Cal State Los Angeles and nine seasons professionally. Williams, Class of 2003, also went on to play at LBCC, Tarleton State and professionally in Australia where he was a three-time MVP and three-time champion in six seasons.
Softball sisters Loren and Zoe Stavrou were also inducted. Loren, Class of 2012, was two-time Moore League Pitcher of the Year with a 1.98 ERA and was named Long Beach Century Club Softball Player of the Year. She had a good collegiate career at Fairleigh Dickinson and played for the Greek National Team for 10 years where she was named European Pitcher of the Year in 2014. Zoe, Class of 2015, had an incredible .416 batting average as a Bruin while being named All-Moore League in all four years. She helped North Dakota State win four Summit League championships, and is still a member of the Greek National Team.
