It was a night for champions, coaches, families, broadcasters and well-wishers Monday, June 16 at the annual Tacoma Athletic Commission Athlete of the Year Awards Banquet. The cream of the crop, past and present, was on-hand to usher in a new batch of Pierce County’s finest student-athletes into the Tacoma Athletic Commission’s happy family.
Athletes from all over Pierce County were in attendance at Bellarmine Prep’s gymnasium and for the first time ever, the high-honor of the night - the boys and girls athlete of the year award - was unknown to the attendees beforehand. In truth, the award could have easily been given to several of the athletes on-hand, as this was one of the most successful years for the area’s schools in a long time.
In the end it would be one girl and two boys sharing the award; Hannah Derby from Bellarmine Prep, Benjamin Scott from Steilacoom High School and Matt Voss from Puyallup High School.
Derby ended her track and field career at Bellarmine as the only four-time 400-meter champion in Washington state history at the larger-school level. She overcame a bout of illness at the 2014 4A Meet and defeated a field that was thought to have a shot at beating her. In the fall, Derby was also a member of Bellermine’s state cross country championship squad. Derby will be taking her impressive combination of speed and endurance north to Husky Stadium next year for the University of Washington.
“It was an absolute surprise tonight,” said Derby after the ceremonies. “As I think everybody could tell by my speech – I’m not a very good speech maker. I’m very blessed to have gotten this award. This is a real honor.”
Scott wrote and rewrote the Steilacoom swimming record books. He garnered All-American and Academic All-American honors during his career, graduating with a 4.0 GPA. Scott won three gold medals at the state 2A/3A meet and will be attending the University of Utah next year.
Voss went 80-0 for his career as a wrestler in the 220-pound division, winning the past two 4A state titles. He was also a captain on the football team, where he earned three letters. Voss will take his mastery of the mat to George Mason University next fall.
The night was full of other awards and familiar faces. Last year’s top girls winner, Courtney Schwan from Bellarmine, was honored with the Dick Hannula Amateur Athlete of the Year award. Schwan finished her career as a two-time Gatorade Washington Volleyball Player of the Year and led the Lady Lions to back-to-back 4A state championships. Joining Schwan was former Foss defensive lineman Scott Crichton, who attended Oregon State University and was recently drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the third round.
Andrea Bowman of Bonney Lake won the Clay Huntington Sports Communications Scholarship Award. Bowman was a standout on the soccer pitch for four years and will be taking her 3.96 GPA to the University of Montana.
The First Family of Sports Award went to the Shelton family. Parents Al and Shari Shelton were joined on stage by their six children Aaron, Aubrey, Ben, Austin, Kaleb and Karina. All six were standout athletes at Lincoln High School and have maintained a love of athletics and leadership to this present day. The elder Shelton was very dynamic on the microphone as he spoke of his early experiences in Tacoma and raising up a family of Abes. Shelton was beaming from ear-to-ear with an infectious smile and looked as if he never wanted to leave the stage.
The TAC also awarded the Excellence in Officiating Award to men from several sports. Larry Stevens, Bill Weathersby, Greg Farias, Clarence Leingang, Joe Tompkins, Paul Jensen and Hugh Birgenheier were all honored for achieving the highest-degree of dedication and professionalism in their respective sport.
Before the big award was handed out, there was one more honor to be given – and it was probably the crowd favorite. Bob Robertson was on hand to accept the 2014 Doug McArthur Lifetime Achievement Award. Robertson is known around the state as the long-time play-by-play voice of Washington State Cougar football and basketball. Of course, Tacomans also know Robertson as the play-by-play voice of the Tacoma Tigers and Tacoma Rainiers for 16 seasons – and still behind the microphone for home Rainiers games on Monday nights.
Robertson was also the play-by-play announcer of the original Seattle Sounders in 1974 and is a member of the Washington State Soccer Hall of Fame, as well as the recipient in 2013 of the “Golden Scarf” from the Seattle Sounders for his role in introducing the region to game of soccer.
“Lifetime achievement? I don’t know, I hope that doesn’t mean it’s the end,” said a laughing and smiling Robertson after the festivities.