Hall of Champions banquet honors Oliver, Murphy, Hasvold, Leake

Fallbrook High School graduate Mike Leake, Fallbrook High School wrestling coach Roye Oliver, and current Fallbrook High School seniors Clark Murphy and Bret Hasvold were honored by the San Diego Hall of Champions for their 2007 Star of the Month accomplishments during the Salute to the Champions banquet March 4 in San Diego.

The Salute to the Champions banquet honored the Breitbard Star of the Month winners for 2007 along with the professional, amateur, and disabled Stars of the Year and the Breitbard Hall of Fame inductees.

Oliver, Murphy, and Hasvold were present at the banquet while Leake, who is currently a sophomore at Arizona State University, was unable to attend.

The Salute to the Champions also included a tribute to San Diego County sports figures who passed away in 2007, including Fallbrook High School cross-country and track and field coach Marty Hauck.

Oliver was one of five Amateur Star of the Month recipients for August.

The Veterans Freestyle World Championship tournament, which in 2007 was held August 2-5 in Istanbul, is for wrestlers over 35 years old.

Oliver, who turned 51 in November, competed in the 85 kilogram (187.5 pounds) weight division of the 51-55 age division.

He won a gold medal for his division and defeated ten-time world champion Rahim Abofi of Iran in the semifinals.

“I really enjoyed it,” Oliver said of the banquet. “I thought it was done really well.”

Other than the Breitbard Hall of Fame inductees, Oliver was the oldest honored recipient.

“I thought it was a really good thing, what they did,” he said.

Murphy, a left-handed batter and first baseman, was one of 38 players in the nation chosen as an AFLAC All-American.

He played in the AFLAC All-American High School Baseball Classic at Tony Gwynn Stadium on August 11, and he was a finalist in the AFLAC All-American home run derby competition.

Although high school Star of the Month awards are usually bestowed for activity during the high school season, Murphy and Valhalla High School’s Ryan O’Sullivan were given Prep Star of the Month awards for August for their AFLAC All-American High School Baseball Classic distinction.

“It was quite an honor to be there, especially with the people who were there, and to see two other guys from Fallbrook, Bret and Coach Roye, that really made my night to see those guys,” Murphy said.

More than 100 athletes were honored and more than 1,000 people were in attendance.

“I wasn’t aware of how big an award it is,” Murphy said. “To see thousands of people show up, that was pretty neat.”

Hasvold was recognized as a Prep Star of the Month for November for winning the CIF San Diego Section Division I meet and posting the fastest time among San Diego Section runners at the state meet.

His November races also included the North County Conference finals, where his time of 15:51 on the 3.1-mile course not only won the Avocado League meet but was also the fastest among all runners in the three participating leagues.

Hasvold’s time of 15:24 at the state meet was the fourth-fastest performance among Division I runners and the eighth-fastest among the 969 runners in all divisions.

His time of 15:59 in the San Diego Section championship was 20 seconds faster than his closest competitor.

“I thought it was well done,” Hasvold said. “It was really cool to be there. It was a huge honor to be invited to that.”

The 2008 Breitbard Hall of Fame induction covered hockey pioneer Willie O’Ree, basketball coach and general manager Pete Newell, runner and coach Steve Scott, and soccer’s Shannon MacMillan.

All four of the 2008 inductees were present, as were several other Breitbard Hall of Fame members.

“It’s just a cool thing to have been part of that, and with all the Hall of Famers there and inductees, it was really cool,” Hasvold said.

The memorial tribute honored ten San Diego County sports figures who passed away in 2007.

Hauck, who died of a heart attack September 19 at the age of 53, was a teacher for 30 years and a head coach for 20 years. Several of his cross-country and track athletes earned CIF championships.

“I was really happy to see that,” Hasvold said of Hauck being included in the tribute.

Leake compiled a 13-2 won-loss record for Arizona State University during his freshman baseball season in 2007 and earned an Amateur Star of the Month for June. The second loss was in relief during the College World Series.

Leake’s record was compiled in 13 starts and 12 relief outings, including three starts and the relief appearance in the NCAA post-season.

Two of his starts were complete games, including a June 2 win over the University of California, Riverside in the NCAA regional.

Leake finished with a 6-0 record in PAC-10 play, and his eight starts in PAC-10 play totaled 55 1/3 innings.

In addition to winning the conference championship and reaching the College World Series, Leake also earned the Most Outstanding Player award for the Tempe regionals and was named to the PAC-10 first team.

He was also a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American and was on the overall All-American third team.

A selection committee at the Hall of Champions studies statistics and achievements.

In addition to collecting statistics, Hall of Champions staff speak with coaches, and athletic directors in the case of high school stars, to obtain recommendations.

Typically six prep athletes are chosen each month of the academic year, although some months may have more than six athletes selected and some months may see fewer than six prep stars honored.

Each month also typically sees the selection of four amateur stars and six professional stars to receive the monthly honors.