2018 Inductee

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Will Conn

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Will Conn
PHS Class of 2007

Conn earned nine varsity letters at PHS while competing in Football, Basketball and Lacrosse. He earned three varsity letters in Football, serving as captain his senior year. In 2005 the team was Bay Shore Athletic League Champions and he was named the league MVP. He was selected as the 1stteam All-League quarterback his junior and senior seasons. He was given the team Optimo Award (MVP) in 2005 and the Brick Johnson leadership award in 2006. He played three years on the varsity basketball team, serving as captain his senior year. He received All-League honorable mention in 2007 and his teammates selected him as Most Inspirational. As a three-year varsity player in Lacrosse, he earned multiple All-League honors. He was a two-time All-League attackman (2ndteam in 2006 and 1stteam in 2007) and served as team captain his senior year. The team was league co-champions in 2006 and an NCS semi-finalist in 2007. He was the PHS Male Athlete of the year in 2007.

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Annie Crangle

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Annie Crangle
PHS Class of 2006

Crangle lettered all four years in both basketball and tennis. She was a four-year singles player for the varsity tennis team that won four Bay Shore Athletic League (BSAL) titles. She earned All-League honors in tennis for three years. Crangle was also a four-year starter for varsity basketball. This powerhouse team won four BSAL titles, four North Coast Sectional Championships, three Regional Championships and two California State Championships. She holds the current records for Most Games Started, Most Games Played and Most Games Won (for both boys and girls). She was First Team All-League her senior year and received All-League Honorable Mentions for the SF Chronicle’s All-Bay Area Girls Basketball team for three years (2002-2005). She was named a BSAL All-League Team all four years of competition. She was the PHS Female Athlete of the year in 2006. Crangle joined the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Basketball team from 2006-2008 and was awarded Academic All-Big Ten for the 2007-2008 season. 

Links:

https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2006/05/03/crangle-takes-hard-route/

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Jim Kilmartin

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Jim Kilmartin
PHS Class of 1967

Jim Kilmartin epitomized the three-sport athlete during his high school years. Competing in Football, Basketball and Baseball, Jim received seven Block P awards. His teammates remember him not only as a skilled and competitive athlete but also as a very humble individual. 

As the senior quarterback, Jim earned 1st team All FAL and was selected to the 1967 Alameda All Star 1st team. Under the direction of Coach Bob Muenter and Jim, the 1967 football team was the highest scoring team in the East Bay. Jim then played at Merritt College holding career quarterback records for many years. In 1970 and 1971 he started as quarterback for Oregon State. He led the PAC-8 league in rushing for quarterbacks in 1970 with 239 yards and three touchdowns.

In basketball, Jim improved year after year culminating in a stellar senior season. He was selected to the 1st team All FAL and All Metropolitan team as well as received the team Optimal Award. Jim led the team in steals (57) and broke the school record for shooting percentage.

In the spring Jim played baseball. He started on the Varsity team for three years and earned 2ndteam All FAL honors in both his junior and senior years. Jim served as Sophomore class president and as a Student Body Officer his junior year. As a senior, he was named Athlete of the Year.

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Rich Kitchens

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Rich Kitchens
Basketball Coach

Kitchens contributed to Highlander Athletics in multiple ways over his 34-year career at PHS. First as a basketball coach, then as Athletic Director and finally as Principal.

He coached 20 years of basketball at various levels including 14 seasons as a head coach. He was the JV boys head coach from 1979-1982 and the Varsity head coach for 10 years (1982-1992). From 1982-1986 PHS won five straight Alameda County Athletic League (ACAL) Championships under the direction of Coach Kitchens. During his tenure, Kitchens coached four Hall of Fame members: Chris Roberts, Jim Stehr, Michael Stehr and Rich Watts.

He served as Athletic Director for three years while still fulfilling his full-time teaching duties. As Principal he supported all PHS sports teams at both home and away games and was always easy to recognize with his trademark hat. He also served on the Piedmont Sports Hall of Fame Board of Directors and multiple Nomination Committees.

He currently is the director of the “Constitutional Law Education Project” and author of Constitutional Law, a high school textbook used in 10 states. He retired from PHS in 2013.

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Neil Rothenberg

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Neil Rothenberg
Tennis Coach 2001-2015

Rothenberg coached PHS tennis for 15 years (2001-2015) becoming the winningest coach in PHS sports history. His overall varsity match record stands at an impressive 501-103-4. He began as the JV girls coach in 2001 and 2002. In 2003 he moved to the Varsity girls head coach and stayed through the 2015 season. When the boys Varsity program needed a coach in 2004, he accepted that position as well. From 2004 through 2014 he was the head coach for both programs.

Under his guidance both Piedmont Tennis programs became dominant teams in the very competitive North Coast Section (NCS) of the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF). The boys program was League Champions every year from 2004-2014. They went undefeated from 2004-2012 and 2014 and lost just one match in 2013.

The girls program was undefeated League Champions 13 consecutive years from 2003-2015. In addition, he coached the boys and girls programs in 11 NCS Championship finals. Under Rothenberg’s direction, the PHS boys were 6-time NCS finalists and won 3 NCS titles. PHS girls tennis won three NCS titles (2013, 2014 and 2015) and were finalists in 2011 and 2012. He coached several NCS singles and doubles champions including Kaelli Thiel (2014-15), Jon and Matt Wang (2011-12), Matt Wang and Daniel Cooper (2013), Ashley Shuster and Aubrey Douglass (2011-12).

Rothenberg was selected as NCS Honor Coach for Women’s Tennis in 2007 and for Men’s Tennis in 2011.

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Linda Siegel Splivalo

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Linda Siegel Splivalo
PHS Class of 1979

When Siegel Splivalo was not traveling the world as a Junior National Tennis Champion, she competed on the PHS boys tennis team. Her teammates included Hall of Fame members Dana Gilbert Heinemann and Richard Carlson.

In 1973 she won her first Junior National Championship – US 12 Hard Court. In 1977, her sophomore year, she was a two-time US Junior National Champion – US 16 National Championships and US 18 Clay Court Championships. She beat Tracy Austin in the semis and Pam Shriver in the finals of that tournament to achieve the #1 National ranking in the 16 division that year. In the 18 tournament she defeated Peanut Louie in the finals. In 1978, her junior year, Linda defeated Ivanna Madruga 6-4, 6-4 to win the US Open Girls Championship. She also made it to the final of the South African Open Women’s Singles Championships.

In 1979, her senior year, she achieved a WTA (World Tennis Association) pro ranking of 36. That year she played in several Grand Slam tournaments: US Open, Wimbledon and the French Open. Martina Navratilova, Billie Jean King, Virginia Wade and Evonne Crawley are some of the opponents she faced during her professional career.

Links:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linda_Siegel_(tennis)