Triton A.D. Announces Hall Of Fame Inductees For 2017
January 28, 2017 at 6:56 a.m.
Triton A.D. Announces Hall Of Fame Inductees For 2017
By Staff Report-
Since the school’s inception during the 1963-1964 school year, many athletes have worn the blue and gold. While all athletes have played a role in Triton’s success, the hall of fame will recognize those Trojans who set themselves apart on the playing fields and the courts of Triton and beyond. These athletes won acclaim for running the fastest, jumping the highest, winning championships, and otherwise distinguishing themselves in high school, college, and at professional levels.
To honor these high school sports legends, the athletic department will annually induct new members.
The hall of fame will induct candidates in the following categories: athlete, coach, alumni and contributor.
To be eligible to be inducted as an athlete, the candidate must be a graduate of Triton and must have participated in interscholastic athletics while a student at the school. The election committee will be looking for those athletes who set themselves apart by receiving, among other things, conference and state-wide recognition.
In order to be eligible to be inducted as a coach, one must have coached at Triton for at least four years and must be inactive at the time of the induction. An alum is a Triton graduate who has made it a purpose to be involved with athletics beyond high school (ex. officiating, broadcasting, college coach, etc). A contributor is someone who has given of themselves for the betterment of the Triton Athletic Department.
The class of 2017 will include two athletes, one coach, and one contributor. Athletic Director Mason McIntyre said, “The selection committee did an outstanding job selecting the Class of 2017. The selection process is difficult, but the committee was able to narrow it down to the group that they felt most deserved to be inducted into the Class of 2017.”
The first athlete to be inducted is 1965 graduate Max Anders. He participated in basketball and track. Anders was the 1965 county high hurdle champion, the 1965 high jump sectional champion, finished second in high jump at the regional, setting a school record with a jump of 6-3 and advanced to the 1965 state finals in the high jump.
Anders was also a member of the 1965 semistate runner-up basketball team, scoring a career 298 points. He went on to attend Grace College where he played basketball and ran track. He has held two Grace College records, one in basketball with the most rebounds in a game (20) and the other in the high jump with a 6-7 leap.
The second athlete to be inducted is 1992 graduate Sharon Patterson. She participated in basketball, tennis, track and volleyball, earning 13 varsity letters.
Patterson was named the MVP her senior year in volleyball and tennis, and shared the MVP in basketball with Justina Reichert. She was named to the Sunburst All-Star basketball team as well as the Indiana Top 40. She went on to play basketball for two years at Southwestern Michigan College where she was a starter and won the NJCAA national title in 1994. She then transferred to Bethel College where she played for the remainder of her two years as a starter, and a captain her senior year.
Bob Burris will be the seventh Triton coach to be inducted into the hall. Coach Burris came to Triton in 1970 and coached a variety of sports at all different levels. He was the girls varsity basketball coach from 1984-1988, the girls tennis coach from 1981-1987, and the head football coach during the 1982 season.
Along with these varsity positions, Coach Burris served as an assistant football coach, junior high basketball coach, boys freshmen basketball coach, boys JV basketball coach and junior high track coach.
Burris also taught science at Triton Jr/Sr. High School until he retired following the 1994-1995 school year.
Mike Byron will be inducted as the class of 2017 contributor. Mike began working as the athletic director at Triton High School in 1993, where he served as A.D. and tought English until he retired in 2007. During his 14 years as A.D., Byron was pivotal in implementing an athletic handbook, coordinating painting of the high school gym and secured artist Dan Hutton to paint the Trojan on the north gym wall. He also established the athletic wall of fame (individual state finalists and all-state winners), as well as supervising the construction of the state championship trophy cases outside the concessions stand.
Byron is the longest tenured athletic director in school corporation history. His many contributions helped move the athletic department forward to a first-class program.
The hall of fame weekend will kick off with recognition of these inductees at the Triton vs. Tippecanoe Valley boys basketball game on Feb. 17. The inductees will be recognized at halftime of the varsity contest.
The tip-off for the JV game that evening is scheduled for 6:15 p.m. The festivities will be continued during the induction banquet on Feb. 18. The evening will begin at 6 p.m. at the Back Forty Banquet Center in Bourbon. McIntyre will serve as the emcee for the evening.
Tickets for the Banquet can be purchased in the Triton High School office for $25 per person, and will includes a meal. The last day for ticket sales will be Feb. 10.
“At this time we have received a confirmation from all inductees,” McIntyre said. “We look forward to honoring them during the hall of fame weekend and look forward to recognizing Triton Athletic Legends for years to come.”
Since the school’s inception during the 1963-1964 school year, many athletes have worn the blue and gold. While all athletes have played a role in Triton’s success, the hall of fame will recognize those Trojans who set themselves apart on the playing fields and the courts of Triton and beyond. These athletes won acclaim for running the fastest, jumping the highest, winning championships, and otherwise distinguishing themselves in high school, college, and at professional levels.
To honor these high school sports legends, the athletic department will annually induct new members.
The hall of fame will induct candidates in the following categories: athlete, coach, alumni and contributor.
To be eligible to be inducted as an athlete, the candidate must be a graduate of Triton and must have participated in interscholastic athletics while a student at the school. The election committee will be looking for those athletes who set themselves apart by receiving, among other things, conference and state-wide recognition.
In order to be eligible to be inducted as a coach, one must have coached at Triton for at least four years and must be inactive at the time of the induction. An alum is a Triton graduate who has made it a purpose to be involved with athletics beyond high school (ex. officiating, broadcasting, college coach, etc). A contributor is someone who has given of themselves for the betterment of the Triton Athletic Department.
The class of 2017 will include two athletes, one coach, and one contributor. Athletic Director Mason McIntyre said, “The selection committee did an outstanding job selecting the Class of 2017. The selection process is difficult, but the committee was able to narrow it down to the group that they felt most deserved to be inducted into the Class of 2017.”
The first athlete to be inducted is 1965 graduate Max Anders. He participated in basketball and track. Anders was the 1965 county high hurdle champion, the 1965 high jump sectional champion, finished second in high jump at the regional, setting a school record with a jump of 6-3 and advanced to the 1965 state finals in the high jump.
Anders was also a member of the 1965 semistate runner-up basketball team, scoring a career 298 points. He went on to attend Grace College where he played basketball and ran track. He has held two Grace College records, one in basketball with the most rebounds in a game (20) and the other in the high jump with a 6-7 leap.
The second athlete to be inducted is 1992 graduate Sharon Patterson. She participated in basketball, tennis, track and volleyball, earning 13 varsity letters.
Patterson was named the MVP her senior year in volleyball and tennis, and shared the MVP in basketball with Justina Reichert. She was named to the Sunburst All-Star basketball team as well as the Indiana Top 40. She went on to play basketball for two years at Southwestern Michigan College where she was a starter and won the NJCAA national title in 1994. She then transferred to Bethel College where she played for the remainder of her two years as a starter, and a captain her senior year.
Bob Burris will be the seventh Triton coach to be inducted into the hall. Coach Burris came to Triton in 1970 and coached a variety of sports at all different levels. He was the girls varsity basketball coach from 1984-1988, the girls tennis coach from 1981-1987, and the head football coach during the 1982 season.
Along with these varsity positions, Coach Burris served as an assistant football coach, junior high basketball coach, boys freshmen basketball coach, boys JV basketball coach and junior high track coach.
Burris also taught science at Triton Jr/Sr. High School until he retired following the 1994-1995 school year.
Mike Byron will be inducted as the class of 2017 contributor. Mike began working as the athletic director at Triton High School in 1993, where he served as A.D. and tought English until he retired in 2007. During his 14 years as A.D., Byron was pivotal in implementing an athletic handbook, coordinating painting of the high school gym and secured artist Dan Hutton to paint the Trojan on the north gym wall. He also established the athletic wall of fame (individual state finalists and all-state winners), as well as supervising the construction of the state championship trophy cases outside the concessions stand.
Byron is the longest tenured athletic director in school corporation history. His many contributions helped move the athletic department forward to a first-class program.
The hall of fame weekend will kick off with recognition of these inductees at the Triton vs. Tippecanoe Valley boys basketball game on Feb. 17. The inductees will be recognized at halftime of the varsity contest.
The tip-off for the JV game that evening is scheduled for 6:15 p.m. The festivities will be continued during the induction banquet on Feb. 18. The evening will begin at 6 p.m. at the Back Forty Banquet Center in Bourbon. McIntyre will serve as the emcee for the evening.
Tickets for the Banquet can be purchased in the Triton High School office for $25 per person, and will includes a meal. The last day for ticket sales will be Feb. 10.
“At this time we have received a confirmation from all inductees,” McIntyre said. “We look forward to honoring them during the hall of fame weekend and look forward to recognizing Triton Athletic Legends for years to come.”
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