Eight former Monroe High School athletes are the newest members of the Monroe High School Athletic Hall of Fame. The sixth class to be inducted into the Hall has athletes from as far back as 1936 to one who still is playing in the National Football League today, as well a legendary coach. The honorees will be introduced in ceremonies set for half-time of the girls’ basketball game on February 7. Here is the Class of 2014: John Bork Jr. – track, 1954-1957. Twice finished second in the state meet, once for the half-mile and once in the 880-yard run. Became a MAC champion at Western Michigan University. Once held the American Indoor Dirt Track record for 1,000 yards and is the only NCAA individual champion in Monroe High history. Audie Cole – football, 2004-2007. Played four sports in high school, winning 10 varsity letters. Racked up numerous awards for his high school football career and set an MHS passing record which still stands. Led North Carolina State in tackles for three seasons, and ranked 12th in school history with 328 tackles. Recently completed his second season as a linebacker with the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings. Kris Evans – football, 2001-2004. Twice was the MHS football MVP, including most valuable offensive player twice. Ran for more than 100 yards eight times and over 200 yards twice. He returned kicks for 95, 93 and 90 years and received many all-league and all-region mentions. Went on to play collegiate football at Stanford. Justin Heck – track, 2004-2008. Won two separate running events in the state meet in the same day in 2008 and was an all-stater in two sports, track and cross country. Went onto a running career at Columbia University. Justine (Mueller) Bowker – swimming, 2000-2004. A four-time state swimming champion at Monroe High who went on to swim at the University of Michigan for four years. At U-M, she was an eight-time All-American Honorable Mention and eight-time Big Ten Champion. Competed three times in Olympic trials. Last August she moved into the Top 10 swimmers in the world by winning the US Open Title in the 200-meter individual medley. James Naveaux – track, 1936-1939. State pole vault champion in 1939, helping lead Monroe High to third place in the state meet. Was a four-year diver on the swim team and was MVP of the football team as a quarterback and running back as a senior. Ward Olson – tennis coach, 1972-1993. A member of the Michigan Tennis Coaches Association Hall of Fame and the MHSAA Hall of Fame, Olson’s teams won more than 400 matches, earning many regional titles and many players reached state finals. Joseph Vitale – football, 1956-1959. Captained the MHS football and baseball teams his senior year, earning honorable mention all-state honors in football. Played football at the University of Wyoming, earning team MVP honors in 1962 and UPI All-American Honorable Mention. Was Wyoming’s assistant AD from 1986 to 1995.
Posted on: Fri, 31 Jan 2014 13:59:44 +0000