Inductees added to Outlaw Hall of Fame

The Sisters High School Hall of Fame inducted a total of six individuals and one group at an afternoon ceremony held Sunday, November 3 at Sisters High School (SHS).

Don Pollard, co-chair of the Hall of Fame committee, helped welcome the attendees and thanked the numerous sponsors for supporting the Hall of Fame for the tenth year celebration. Dennis Dempsey emceed the evening.

Photo by Jack Turpen

The Sisters High School IEE Program was honored by the Outlaws Hall of Fame, along with: Zoe Falk; Coach Jim Anderson; Natalie Ambrose; Bryce Gardinier; Stefan Redfield; and Brandon Pollard. Falk and Ambrose were out of the country, so family members accepted their plaque, a copy of which will be enshrined in the Outlaws Hall of Fame display at SHS.

The ceremony included guest speaker Pat Tyson, currently the head cross-country coach at Gonzaga University where one of the ceremony's inductees, Brandon Pollard competed collegiately. Tyson, a runner for the University of Oregon during the Steve Prefontaine era in the early 1970s, spent much of his career teaching and coaching at Mead High School in Spokane, Washington, where his boys' teams won 12 state titles and had 26 individual titles. At Gonzaga, where he has coached for the past 17 seasons, Tyson has built the distance running program to a level of national relevance and he has been named the West Coast Conference Coach of the Year three times.

Tyson spoke directly to some of the current SHS cross country runners during his speech, sharing the three principles Gonzaga adheres to for its student athletes.

"Win in the classroom, win in the community, and win in your sport," he said. He said he recognized a very positive culture in his short time in Sisters and quipped, "If I could go back and do my high school coaching over again, I would want to coach here!"

Senior athletes introduced this year's inductees, starting with Brooklyn Cooper, who spoke about Zoe Falk of the class of 2014, selected for her outstanding accomplishments in cross country and track and field. Falk started her running career with a bang as a state qualifier in cross country and track as a freshman and won the 800 meter title that year. She went on to score in multiple track events the following years as well and helped the Outlaws place third at state in both track and cross country. Zoe Willitts accepted the award on behalf of her granddaughter who was traveling in Croatia, and could not attend.

Jim Anderson, the legendary track coach for the Outlaws, was introduced by Spencer Tisdel. Anderson, who retired to Sisters in 1994, immediately got recruited to coach pole vault upon his arrival and has ended up doubling his career, with a total now of 61 years in the sport. Anderson was described as a coach with a unique ability to inspire athletes and is known as the "Pied Piper of Pole Vaulting" for his ability to get kids hooked on the event starting in middle school.

Upon accepting his award, he joked, "I guess if you stick around long enough something good happens."

A four-sport athlete at Sisters High School, Stefan Redfield (class of 2007), introduced by Cooper Merrill, was honored for his stellar high school and collegiate career as a runner. After his high school years, Stefan went on to compete at Willamette University where he earned All-American honors and was named the Male Athlete of the Year in 2011. Stefan lives locally with his wife and two children and is working as a software developer and engineer.

Natalie Ambrose (Class of 2014), introduced by Tallis Grummer, could not attend due to being overseas, but sent in a video message detailing her gratefulness for being selected while acknowledging the power of the experiences she had as a student and athlete at Sisters High. A standout soccer and track athlete at Sisters who earned numerous accolades, Ambrose went on to compete for Columbia University where she continued to accrue recognition, including the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year. In her video presentation she shared that in the ten years since she left Sisters she has never felt a sense of place as much as her time in Sisters, which she attributed to her experiences as an athlete and, in particular, due to her participation in the Integrated Environmental Expedition (IEE) program.

A three-sport athlete in football, basketball and baseball Bryce Gardinier (Class of 1999), was named the SHS athlete of the year as a senior for his high level performance across all three disciplines. Former coaches describe Gardinier as having an unwavering work ethic and spirit. He went on to earn National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics All-American honors in baseball at Western Oregon University. He works in Salem as a senior software engineer.

The final individual recognized was Brandon Pollard, a state champion runner for the Outlaws' track team as a senior in 2014. John Berg presented the introduction on Pollard, which included a long list of honors and accomplishments including holding the school record at Gonzaga University for 800 meters. Pat Tyson spoke extensively about Pollard in his talk that highlighted Pollard's incredible persistence after dealing with injuries during his career at Gonzaga. Brandon is now teaching sixth grade in Mukilteo, Washington.

To wrap up the evening the IEE program was inducted under the special contributor category of the Hall of Fame. The program started 24 years ago under the leadership of teachers Rob Phelps, Samra Spear, Glen Herron, and Rand Runco. Interestingly, four of the inductees, Pollard, Redfield, Falk, and Ambrose, took part in the program while in high school and have remarked on its impact in their lives.

IEE students explore the ecological and cultural significance of our surroundings here in Sisters. Two expeditions each year highlight the program: one into the Three Sisters Wilderness and the other on the Deschutes River. Hands-on activities including leave-no-trace camping, forest studies, orienteering, and restoration projects develop a sense of leadership, community, and stewardship among the students. The program is commonly acknowledged by graduation speakers and past graduates as their most impactful learning and high school.

Rand Runco said, "It's such a privilege and an amazing experience to be able to be in the outdoors with kids and see them start to realize what their footprint and impact can be in the world. And when past students come back and tell us what they learned, that's when we, as teachers, get to understand the power of what the program offers kids."

Don Pollard summed up the impact of the ceremony.

"Every time we have this event it reminds me of what a special place Sisters is," Pollard said. "The enduring love expressed by the inductees about their experiences in Sisters from their community, schools, teachers, and coaches, and how their experience had such a positive impact on their lives, is such a strong reinforcement of why we all live in Sisters."