CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA : Eleven individuals who

have made outstanding contributions to high school athletic and activity

programs have been selected to the 2008 Virginia High School Hall of Fame.

Members of the Class of 2008, the 19th to be inducted, will bring total

membership to 198.

The Class of 2008 includes three athletes

(Thomas Jones, Megan McCarthy and Calvin Talford), four coaches (Roger Bergey,

Shelly Blumenthal, Patricia Mitchell and Jim Rike) and four contributors (Martha

Akers, Jeff Dietze, Ralph Law and Charlene Tiller).

Sponsored jointly by the Virginia High School

League and the Virginia High School Coaches Association, the hall is dedicated

to preserving the rich heritage of outstanding achievements by students and

adults in sports and activities within Virginia's public high schools.

Athletes are eligible for consideration 10

years after completion of their high school careers and are judged primarily for

their achievements in interscholastic sports. Coaches are eligible after 15

years of experience or upon retirement and are judged on the merits of their

achievements at the high school level. Contributors are professionals who have

rendered significant services in some other capacity such as administration,

academic activities, officiating, media or sports medicine.

The induction dinner will be held on Monday,

October 27 at the DoubleTree Hotel in Charlottesville. The honorees are as

follows:

Athletes

Thomas Jones led Powell Valley to back-to-back VHSL football championships

in 1994-95. In leading the Vikings to two state titles, he finished his prolific

football career first and third in the VHSL record book in single-season rushing

with 3,319 yards as a junior and 3,007 yards during his senior year. He also

finished first in single-game rushing with 462 yards, first in career touchdowns

with 104, second in single-season scoring with 296 points and second in both

career scoring (638 points) and career rushing yards (7,193 yards). In addition,

he guided

Powell Valley to a VHSL track championship and was named the Gatorade High

School Player of the Year in Virginia following his senior year. Jones continued

his football career at the University of Virginia where he holds 15 UVa records

and 10 ACC records. He was a consensus all-America in 1999, a Doak Walker Award

finalist and was a first-team all-ACC running back as a junior and senior.

Following his final year at Virginia, Jones was the seventh overall pick in the

2000 NFL draft by the Arizona Cardinals. As a Chicago Bear in 2006, he gained

over 1,000 yards rushing and in Super Bowl XLII he rushed for 123 yards against

the Colts. He joined the New York Jets in 2007 and will be entering his eighth

NFL season in 2008.

One of the most celebrated women's soccer players in U.S. history, Megan

McCarthy was a two-time NSCAA (National Soccer Coaches Association of America)

high school all-American. Twice named first team all-state, she was the Virginia

High School Player of the Year in 1984 and was a first-team Washington Post

all-Met selection four times. In addition, she earned first-team all-district

and all-region honors all four years at James Robinson Secondary School. She led

the Rams to the first-ever VHSL Group AAA girls soccer championship in 1984. She

continued her soccer career at William & Mary earning NCAA co-Freshman of

the Year honors; NCAA all-American honors three times and was the Adidas/NCAA

National Collegiate Player of the Year in 1987. Following her college career,

she was a member of the U.S. Women's National Team from 1987-1991 and 1994

helping the U.S team win the first-ever Women's World Cup Championship in

1991. She was a Medal of Honor Recipient in 2001 along with her U.S. national

teammates. McCarthy played professionally with FC Prato in Florence, Italy in

1988 and with the USASA Maryland Pride from 1995-98. She currently teaches

mathematics at Centreville High School and is the assistant varsity girls soccer

coach.

For two years, few players in VHSL history dominated two sports like Calvin

Talford did during his junior and senior years in track and basketball at

Castlewood High School. In basketball, he was named Hogoheegee District Player

of the Year, first-team all-Region C, first-team Group A all-state and Russell

County and Southwest Virginia Player of the Year. He recorded 1,657 career

points, including a single-game high of 59 points. In track, he owned the Group

A state jumping events winning six individual championships in the long jump,

triple jump and high jump. He established Group A state records in each event

that are still the standards today. Talford also earned second-team Group A

all-state honors in football as a senior and all-region honors in baseball. He

was named the 1988 Roanoke Times Male Athlete of the Year following his senior

year. He continued his basketball career at East Tennessee State University

earning four letters and winning the 1992 NCAA Slam Dunk contest before playing

pro basketball in Europe. He currently resides in Johnson City, TN.

Coaches

In 30 years (1972-2002) as head boys basketball coach at Harrisonburg High

School, Roger Bergey amassed 435 wins, two VHSL Group AA state basketball

championships, six region championships and numerous district titles. Under his

guidance, the Ralph Sampson-era at Harrisonburg produced back-to-back state

titles in 1978 and 1979. He also coached the most sought after high school

player in the nation during the 1978-79 season. The protective "Recruitment

Guidelines" he established during Sampson's recruitment by college coaches

are still being used today by the NCAA and its member schools. In addition to

coaching basketball,

Bergey served as the Blue Streaks athletic director for 13 years. He also worked

tirelessly in leadership positions within the VHSCA, VIAAA and VHSL serving as

director of the Group AA football championships for over 10 years and director

of district and regional boys and girls basketball tournaments for 12 years.

Bergey began his coaching career at Patrick Henry High School in Ashland

(1963-68) as head boys basketball, baseball and JV football coach before moving

to Varina High School (1968-72) as assistant boys basketball, baseball and JV

football coach. He retired in 2002 but is still active in the VHSCA serving on

the Legislative Council; the Executive Committee; Chairman of the All Star Games

Committee and Hall of Fame Committee.

In 16 years as the head boys soccer coach at Blacksburg High School (1992-2007),

Shelly Blumenthal established a powerhouse program that captured eight VHSL

Group AA boys soccer championships (1993, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2005 and

2007); four state runner-up finishes (1992, 2001, 2003, 2006); plus 14 regional

championships and 16 district titles. He compiled a 313-20-14 overall record and

his 93.9 winning percentage is the second best in NSCAA (National Soccer Coaches

Association of America) history. Under his guidance, his Blacksburg players were

just as impressive in the classroom as on the field, earning seven NSCAA Team

Academic Awards with a team GPA of 3.25 or higher. In addition to his numerous

coach of the year awards, which included being named the National Boys Small

Public Coach of the Year by the NSCAA in 2007, Blumenthal produced 27 first-team

all-state players, 13 second-team all-state players, 21 honorable mention

all-state players and three NSCAA Scholar all-Americans. He came to Blacksburg

in 1990 and spent two years as the assistant boys soccer coach and goalkeepers

coach helping the Bruins to back-to-back regional titles and a Group AA

runner-up finish. He has served on numerous VHSCA and NSCAA committees during

his career. He currently works at the Roanoke Valley Governor's School and is

a volunteer assistant coach with the Roanoke College men's soccer team.

A pioneer in the Virginia High School Coaches Association, Trish Mitchell was

among the first group of women admitted into the organization in 1974. In 1992,

she became the first and only woman president of the VHSCA serving in that

leadership position until 1994. She continues her long service with the VHSCA

serving on the Executive Committee, Legislative Council and Budget and Finance

Committees. In addition, she has served on the Hall of Fame Screening Committee

and the Virginia High School League Advisory Council. Through her tireless

efforts the VHSCA has doubled its membership over the past 15 years and is

regarded as one of the finest coaches associations in the country. In addition

to her duties with the VHSCA, Mitchell spent 32 years as a teacher, coach and

athletic director at Hampton High School earning numerous awards, including

National High School Region 2 Coach of the Year in 1980. She spent 26 years

(1967-1999) as the girls tennis coach and served as the school's athletic

director from 1985-2001. During her time guiding the Hampton athletic program,

the Crabbers captured 11 VHSL team championships. She has served in various

leadership positions within the Peninsula District serving as director of the

Scholastic Bowl and Forensics activities, as well as establishing and directing

the District cheerleader competition.

Jim Rike has been the main voice for girls soccer for over 25 years and is a

major reason why the sport has enjoyed tremendous growth in Virginia. In 26

years as the head coach at James W. Robinson Secondary School, he guided the

Rams to four VHSL Group AAA state titles, including the first-ever girls soccer

state championship in 1984 captained by fellow Hall of Fame inductee, Megan

McCarthy. In addition to his state success, his teams have won nine regional

championships and 10 district titles. He's been named VHSCA Coach of the Year

three times, Washington Post all-Met Coach of the Year twice and was NHSACA

National Coach of the Year in 2005. Including his five years as head boys soccer

coach at Falls Church High School, Rike has a lifetime record of 420-19-40. He

has also made significant contributions through his association with the VHSCA

serving as chairman for the girls soccer all-state selection committee and

all-star selection committee. Besides coaching soccer, Rike has also been an

assistant varsity wrestling coach for 20 years (five at Falls Church and 15 at

Robinson) and assistant varsity football and head freshman coach for 10 years at

Robinson.

Contributors 

For the past 28 years, Martha Akers has had an abiding commitment to students,

teaching, learning and leadership. Not only is she recognized as an outstanding

educator at Loudoun Valley High School, but her contribution to scholastic

journalism is recognized nationally. She has been a director of four

VHSL/Jostens Regional Journalism Publications Workshops and a Director of the

VHSL's Fall Publications Workshop. She has served on the VHSL Scholastic

Publications Advisory Committee and served on the VHSL committee that formed the

Charles E. Savedge Scholarship for Virginia student journalists and the Charles

E. Savedge Award for Sustained Excellence in Journalism. In 2006, the Journalist

Education Association named her the national Yearbook Adviser of the Year, the

highest honor the association can give. Her students have won numerous

publication awards, including 22 VHSL Trophy Class Awards in Yearbook, which is

the equivalent to a state championship in scholastic publications. Loudoun

Valley has won three Charles E. Savedge Awards for Sustained Excellence in

Journalism from the VHSL. Among her many accolades, she was inducted into the

Journalism Hall of Fame in 2003 and was awarded the Virginia Association of

Journalism Teachers and Advisers' Thomas Jefferson Award for Lifetime

Achievement in Scholastic Journalism. She continues to teach photojournalism and

is the yearbook and National Honor Society Adviser at Loudoun Valley where she

has taught since 1980.

The "Father of Professional Development" in the state of Virginia and known

as the "Dean of Student Activities Directors," Jeff Dietze retired this past

February after serving the West Potomac community for more than 37 years, and

for 33 years as Director of Student Activities at West Potomac High School. He

was instrumental in the development of the national certification program for

athletic administrators during his service to the National Interscholastic

Athletic Administrators Association. He co-authored the National Council for

Accreditation of Coaching Education state certification of state coaching

education program. His development of the Virginia high school coaches'

education program to educate coaches in local and state regulations set the

standard for coaches' education across the country. Through his leadership,

Virginia has the only national certified coaching education program for high

school coaches in the United States. A past president of the VIAAA, he also

served in numerous leadership positions within the VHSL, including serving as

co-chair since 1995 of the VHSL State Coaching Education Steering Committee.

Among his many national awards, he received the NIAAA Distinguished Service

Award, NIAAA State Award of Merit, VIAAA Athletic Director of the Year, VIAAA

John C. Youngblood Lifetime Achievement Award and VHSL Regional Award of Merit.

Ralph Law has been a VHSL football official for 44 years and has officiated

nearly 600 varsity football games and over 600 sub-varsity games. He has been

selected to officiate 25 regional and three state championship games. Since

1980, he has been the Commissioner of the Piedmont Valley Officials Association

and is responsible for providing training programs for over 125 officials in

Central Virginia. In addition to his officiating duties, Law has made

significant contributions to the Virginia High School League over the past 40

years. He has directed and assisted with a number of VHSL championships

including the Group A state track meet and served as the official scorer for

VHSL state basketball championships. In addition, he has been a member of the

VHSL Strategic Planning Policy Committee. After graduating from Granby High

School and the College of William and Mary, he returned to Granby as head track

and swimming coach. He led Granby to the 1962 Group AAA track and field state

title and won an Eastern District championship in swimming. In 1963, he was

named the head swimming coach at the University of Virginia before serving as a

school principal in the Charlottesville school system.

Charlene Tiller has directed the VHSL state forensics tournament since 2001

managing and organizing annually a staff of 130 judges and 360 students who

represent over 110 high schools across the state. Since taking over the

tournament, she has been responsible for selecting tournament personnel;

organizing the schematics for four rounds of competition in 10 events in three

simultaneous tournaments in Group A, AA and AAA. In addition to running the

state tournament, her contributions for training Virginia high school speech

coaches may be her legacy. As an officer with the Virginia Association of

Speech, Debate and Drama Coaches (VASDDC), she organized an annual summer

workshop inviting national and state leaders to present a two-day workshop in

all aspects of forensics and debate competition. The workshop was so successfull

she added a third seminar to include theatre. She was selected as the Section 2

(Mid-Atlantic States) representative on the NFHS Speech, Debate and Theatre

Association board, where she is instrumental in developing a supporting speech

program nationwide. She began her forensics career in 1987 at Hopewell High

School coaching the forensics team before taking over the same duties at Charles

City County High School from 1990-1999 and at Prince George High School

1999-2000. She is currently employed as an assistant professor of speech arts

and sciences at John Tyler Community College.

Inductees in the Virginia High School Hall of

Fame include:

1990: Athletes - Keith Atherton, Edd Clark Jr., Carroll Dale, Doug Dickinson,

Benton Dodd and Ralph Sampson. Coaches - Jimmie Bryan, Fred Cooper, Bobby Crantz,

Howard Deel, Bill Littlepage, Billy Martin, Alger Pugh, George Quarles Jr., Mike

Smith and Gracie VanDyke. Contributors - John Caywood, Greever Crouse, Bob

Frank, Art Greene, Marshall Johnson, Bill Pace and John Youngblood.

1991: Athletes - Ollan Cassell, Moses Malone, Sidney Snell and Bobby Stokes.

Coaches - Vince Bradford, Julius Conn, Ralph Cummins, Pat Dean, Chester Fritz,

Harry Fry, Husky Hall, Bill Long and Lefty Wilson. Contributors - Richard

Fletcher, Hubert Grim Jr., Ben Hurt, Norm Lord, Frank McCue and Chuck Savedge.

1992: Athletes - Johnny Oates, Tommy Theodose and Ben Valley. Coaches - Gordon

Bragg, James (Suey) Eason, John Epperly, Del Norwood, Charlie Nuttycombe, Al

Rinaldi and Paul Sizemore. Contributors - Harry Blevins, Eddie Crane, George

Gasser, Clarence Jones, Robert McLelland, Barbara Reinwald and Gene Thompson.

1993: Athlete - Paul Gentry. Coaches - Ken Brown, Bob Hardage, Charlie Harkins,

Jim Holdren and Thad Madden. Contributors - Vic Blue, Joel Grimm, Bob McCoy and

Wendell Seldon.

1994: Athletes - Raymond Crouch and Frank Eastman. Coaches - Francis (Boodie)

Albert, Welton Bloxsom, Pete Brewbaker, Louise Martin and Joe Robinson.

Contributors - Carl Deane, Earl Gillespie, Jimmy Jones, Charles Karmosky and

Bert Smith.

1995: Athlete - Jeff Baker. Coaches - Eddie Dean, Paul Hatcher and Claude

Warren. Contributors - Hud Clark, Don Riviere and James (Smokey) Stover.

1996: Athlete - Jacob Adams. Coaches - Donald Glick, Joan Hudson, Norman

Lineburg, Ronald Skeen and Robert Williams. Contributors: Nancy Haga and James

Omps.

1997: Athletes - Eric Sievers and Tom Trice. Coaches - Ed Henry, Phil Robbins

and Frank Webster. Contributors - Robert Carson, Bill Knowles, Bill Lee and

Betty Morton.

1998: Athletes : Paula Girven and Barty Smith. Coaches : Glynn Carlock, Nancy

Fowlkes, Ann Lockett and Mack Shupe. Contributors : Richard Fitz, Charles Kurtz

and Bob Sandell.

1999: Coaches : A.K. Johnson, Bill Lawson and Sam Woods. Contributors : Jennifer

Bradley, Jim Carroll and Larry Pence.

2000: Athletes : Jackie Gordon, Benita Fitzgerald Mosley, Buster O'Brien and

Ken Willard. Coaches : Kate Carter and Chip Chappell. Contributors : Delmer

Botkin, Bill Leffler and Bob Patterson.

2001: Athlete : Robert Banks. Coaches : Bill Brown, Jim Cutler and Willis White.

Contributors : Buddy Comer, Ralph Harrison, Nancy Ruth Patterson and Jim

Sangston.

2002: Athlete : Tamela Penny. Coaches : Pat Austin, Gerald Burke, Eddie Icenhour

and Glenn Proctor. Contributors : Claudia Dodson, Carol Lange and Hugh

Pendleton.

2003: Athletes : Barry Hamler and Grant Hill. Coaches : Stephen Hubbard, Joe May

and Lillie Moore. Contributors : Karen Finch, Cecil Layman Jr. and Judy Wallace.

2004: Athletes : Doug Bates and Bryant Stith. Coaches : Leo Anthony and Leroy

Dail. Contributors : Edward Allen, Evelyn Dawkins, Donald Hitt and David Morgan.

2005: Athlete : Evan Tracy Stallard. Coaches : Dominick Joe Colobro, Frances Ann

Simpson, Jerry Lee Slaughter, Thomas L. Turner and Lucy Elizabeth Walker.

Contributors : Larry Johnson and Vito A. Perriello, Jr., M.D.

2006: Athletes : Ronde Barber and Tiki Barber. Coaches : Bo Bowers and J.J.

Updike. Contributors : Joe Gieck, Donna King, Nancy Phaup and Wilma Wirt.

2007: Athletes : Dell Curry, Terry Kirby and Chris Slade. Coaches : Wayne Crosby

and Dennis "Koz" Kozlowski. Contributors : Bruce Bowen, Dr. Carol Chory,

Jerry Deviney, Sandy Hadaway and Harry Ward.

2008: Athletes - Thomas Jones, Megan McCarthy and Calvin Talford. Coaches -

Roger Bergey, Shelly Blumenthal, Patricia Mitchell and Jim Rike. Contributors -

Martha Akers, Jeff Dietze, Ralph Law and Charlene Tiller.

Nominations for the Hall of Fame are due October 31 of each year, for induction

the following fall. Nomination must be made through members of the VHSL or VHSCA,

and those interested in nominating deserving individuals may secure a nomination

packet from Sharon Condoulis at the VHSL office (434-977-8475), scondoulis@vhsl.org.

About VHSL

The Virginia High School League is an alliance of Virginia's public high

schools that promotes education, leadership, sportsmanship, character and

citizenship for students by establishing and maintaining high standards for

school activities and competitions. The 311 member schools and nearly 200,000

students participate in 27 different sports and eight academic activities,

culminating in 86 state championships each year.

About VHSCA

The idea was born in 1947. A purpose and constitution was established in 1957.

By 1968, 1,219 coaches belonged to the VHSCA. Today, over 7,100 coaches

representing 293 public high schools are members of the Virginia High School

Coaches Association.