CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA — The Virginia High School Hall of Fame, sponsored by the Virginia High School League (VHSL) and VAcorp, welcomes its eight newest inductees who have made outstanding contributions to High School athletics and activities programs.

*** Full Press Release Here ***

The Class of 2025 includes All-Americans, state champions, legendary coaches and contributors, and an esteemed sports journalist.

The 36th Annual Hall of Fame enshrinement dinner is 3:30 pm, Sunday, April 27, 2025, at the Omni Charlottesville Hotel in Charlottesville. Tickets are $35 and can be purchased online: https://gofan.co/event/1389602?schoolId=VHSL

The Virginia High School Hall of Fame Class of 2025 (bios below):

Athletes/Activity Participants

Inductee School Sports(s)/Activities

Luther Bates - Fluvanna County - Basketball

Jerome Mathis - Petersburg - Track & Field/Football

Coach

Inductee - School Sports(s)/Activities

Jennifer Aubel - Broad Run/Heritage (Leesburg) - Gymnastics

Mark Seidenberg - Mills Godwin/Douglas Freeman Boys and Girls Tennis/Boys and Girls Basketball

Wendy Wilson - Tabb Field - Hockey

Contributor

Inductee Category School/Affiliation

Robert Anderson - Media - Roanoke Times/Bristol Herald Courier + VirginiaPreps.com & Cardinal News

Willard Hunt - Athletic Director - Tabb High School

David Rhodes - Athletic Administrator - Va. Beach City Public Schools

Bob Seabolt - VHSL State Director - VHSL State Debate

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 ten years after completing 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 evaluated on the merits of their accomplishments at the high school level.

Contributors have rendered significant services in other capacities, such as administration, academic activities, officiating, media, or sports medicine.

Nominations are necessary to ensure the very best in VHSL’s long history are recognized for their outstanding achievements. Nominations are due in the VHSL office by October 1.

Luther Bates Fluvanna County Basketball/Football/Track

An outstanding three-sport athlete at Fluvanna County HS from 1987-1991 ... was a three-time first-team all-state, all-region, and all-district basketball player ... scored over 1,600 points ... earned state basketball defensive player of the year honors and named Central Virginia Player of the Year as a senior ... led team to a state runner-up finish and a state championship ... as a 6’5” strong safety in football, he earned all-district, All-Central Virginia, all-region, and all-state selection as a junior and senior ... excelled in track competing in the high jump, long jump, and 400 meter run.

Jerome Mathis Petersburg Indoor & Outdoor Track /Football

Mathis was a standout athlete in both track and football ... he was all-state, all-district, and all-Metro as a wide receiver and kick returner ... his speed propelled to become one of the most decorated track and field athletes ever at Petersburg ... he captured state outdoor titles in 100m (10.62), 200m (21.24), and long jump (24-1) ... was a two-time indoor 55m champion ,,, won the 2001 national indoor 200-meter title running the 7th fastest time in the nation at 21.79 ... starred at Hampton University earning All-American honors ... won the MEAC conference championships in the 60m and 200m indoor events and placed second at the NCAA National Championships in the 200m dash ... drafted in the 4th round by the Houston Texans in 2005 ... earned Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors as a rookie with the Texans.

Jennifer Aubel - Broad Run/Heritage (Leesburg) - Gymnastics

Aubel began her gymnastics coaching career at Broad Run in 1984 leading led the Spartans to their first state championship in 1991 ... she moved to Heritage (Leesburg) in 2002 leading the Pride to a runner-up state finish in 2020 ... she currently has over 400 career wins which is the most in VHSL history ... her career includes eight district titles (six at Broad Run, two at Heritage), and five region championships (four at Broad Run, one at Heritage ... recognized as one of the top coaches and mentors in the state, Aubel is a four-time Washington Post/Loudoun All Extra Coach of the Year ... retired from teaching, she also works as a gymnastics and cheerleading official and has worked countless VHSL state championships.

Mark Seidenberg - Mills Godwin/Douglas Freeman - B&G Tennis/B&G Basketball

Seidenberg took over the girls tennis program at Mills Godwin in 1994 ... winning his first title in 1995 until his retirement in 2021 his Eagles won 11 state championships and finished state runner-up four times ... during one stretch from 2001-17 Godwin claimed 16 straight region championships and played in 14 consecutive state title matches ... his teams were 423-53, second in VHSL history ... he has another state title as the boys tennis coach at Douglas Freeman in 1989 ... additionally, he coached the Godwin’s boys varsity basketball team for 11 years.

Wendy Wilson - Tabb - Field Hockey

In Wilson’s 18 seasons as head coach, she owns a 412-31 career record, second in VHSL history ... her 11 state championships are the second most in VHSL history behind the legendary Virginia High School Hall of Famer, Nancy Fowlkes (394-55-20 record, 13 state titles) ... Wilson also holds three runners-up trophies ... her teams have 13 region and 15 Bay Rivers District titles ... Wilson is a 4x National Coach of the Year and a 12x VHSL state coach of the year ... she currently has longest winning streak in VHSL history across all sports, boys and girls, with 90 straight wins ... as head indoor and outdoor track and field coach, she owns three state title, three runner-up finishes and 22 regional championships.

Robert Anderson - Media - Roanoke Times/Bristol Herald Courier

A respected voice in Virginia sports journalism Anderson chronicled, celebrated, and highlighted the achievements of generations of VHSL student-athletes throughout his award-winning career from 1978 until his retirement in 2022 ... began his career at the Bristol Herald Courier (1978-2001) before moving to the Roanoke Times (2001-2022) ... as the preeminent high school sports reporter in the state, he was awarded the 2017 Associated Press Sports Editors top 10 writing award ... the Virginia Press Association presented him with the top sports portfolio writing award twice and with three 2nd place awards ... he was presented with the E.B. Whitmore Award by the SW Virginia Coaches Association and the prestigious 2006 Marshall Johnson Award by the Virginia High School Coaches Association ... he still is active as a frequent writer for the Cardinal News and VirginiaPreps.com.

More on Anderson Joining VaPreps Here

Willard Hunt - Athletic Director - Tabb High School

An educator, coach, and athletic administrator from 1965-97 ... first at York from 1965-75 and then at Tabb from 1976-97 ... Hunt virtually created the Tabb athletic program, selecting Tabb’s Tiger mascot and school colors... his tenure included the implementation of Title IX in 1972 with the addition of girls sports ... his hiring of legendary coaches produced 11 state championships, 167 regional championships, 211 district titles, and three Central Fidelity Cups ... a standout coach, he guided the Tigers to the 1977 Group AA wrestling state title ... he was best known in coaching as the offensive coordinator for Tiger football teams that went 143-27-2 from 1980-93 and winning three state titles ... Mr. Hunt passed away on May 10, 2024 and is survived by Carolyn, his wife of 60 years, three children, two grandchildren, and one grandson.

David Rhodes - Athletic Administrator - Va. Beach City Public Schools

Rhodes has served in public school athletic administration since 1985, all in the Virginia Beach City Public Schools ... he has held the positions of junior high school student activities coordinator (1 year), high school student activities coordinator (14 years) and central office district athletic administrator (25 years and counting) ... as the student activities coordinator at Frank W. Cox, he directed 5 state tournaments,18 region tournaments, and 37 district tournaments ... as a coordinator of student activities at Virginia Beach City Public Schools he provides schools with resources, guidance, and training to help them better manage successful school-based programs ... He implemented several initiatives in the school division including mandatory coaches education ... A former secretary and president of the Virginia Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (VIAAA), he has chaired 3 different standing committees for the Association ... selected the Group AAA Athletic Administrator of the year by the VIAA in 2001-02.

Bob Seabolt - VHSL State Director - VHSL State Debate

Served as long-time director of the VHSL State Debate Tournament, beginning when he was a first-year law student at UVA law (spring of 1978), while also serving as assistant coach of the UVA Debate Team (undergraduate) ... service continued as he began legal career as a litigation attorney with the Richmond VA based law firm of Mays & Valentine and continued through 1995 (a total of 17 years) ... also served as coach of the debate team at Charlottesville High School, working with eight students to introduce them to competitive debate ... one of his teams won their district and region and qualified for the state tournament finishing in third place ... he was in charge of a week-long summer debate workshop at the University of Richmond for high school students ... followed that with a summer debate instructional program in Chesterfield County for beginning high school debaters ... as a high school debater at Warwick High School in Newport News, he received numerous awards at invitational tournaments around Virginia and nearby states ... as a junior, he and his partner won second place in the VHSL State Debate Tournament, and they placed first in Bob's senior year (1973) ... he also received the first-place speaker award in the 1973 event, a designation as the best debater at state.