Ygnacio Valley Hall of Fame Class honors seven
The seventh Ygnacio Valley High School Athletic Hall of Fame induction dinner on Saturday, May 4, will have a unique twist when Mike Ivankovich is one of seven inductees. Ivankovich was an excellent athlete at the school who returned after college to establish himself as an outstanding, championship-winning coach at his alma mater.
The Class of 2019:
Mike Ivankovich (Class of 1987 football, track and field and coaching) was a white letter winner at Ygnacio Valley. He was a first-team all-league football player and second team all-East Bay before being selected to the Contra Costa County All-Star team. He came to Ygnacio Valley as a freshman student in 1983. Following YVHS graduation he went to Sacramento State and came back to his alma mater to do his student teaching, after which he was hired to teach history and PE there. He followed in the footsteps of his Ygnacio Valley Hall of Fame father-in-law Kent Robie and also became a coach. He coached football at the school for 14 years. His Hall of Fame nomination says, “While Mike was football coach at YV, there was never a problem with his players in terms of negative behavior at the school. He had total control of the players, because they had so much respect for Mike as a coach and Mike had so much respect for the school.” As a player and coach, he won six league and two North Coast section championships. He also coached track for 10 years and wrestling one. In his last year at YV, 2006-07, he helped coach the JV team before departing for Acalanes.
Ron Thompson (1972 baseball and football) played under Hall of Fame coaches Dick Ryan (football) and Robie (baseball), spending three years on varsity baseball and two on football. As a senior he was MVP of both teams. He was named all-DVAL in baseball as a junior and senior and all-league football his senior year. He also garnered all-East Bay football recognition as a senior. He was named all-East Bay baseball two years and was further selected all-Northern California as a senior. He capped his high school career playing in the North-South All-Star baseball game as a senior and he signed to attend the Kansas City Royals Baseball Academy in Sarasota, Florida.
Xan Halog (1984 tennis, basketball and softball) was an all-around athlete who earned a white letter with eight varsity letters including three years each for tennis and basketball and two years for softball. She was a two-year team captain of Warriors basketball while earning defensive player of the year and all-league honors both seasons. She was the No. 1 singles tennis player two years running as well as a Big C award winner, team MVP and all-league. She qualified for NCS as a senior. These accomplished earned her the YVHS female athlete of the year award. She played tennis at Diablo Valley College and Chabot College at No. 1 singles and doubles, earning her a full scholarship to University of Texas Permian Basin where she played No. 3 singles and No. 2 doubles for the Falcons.
Joe Del Bene (1978 basketball and football) was on Warriors varsity basketball for three years and played football his senior season. He was all-league basketball as a senior and was selected to the Contra Costa All-Star game. He also was voted most improved for the football team. Those laurels earned him the school’s 1978 athlete of the year award. As a freshman hew as starting guard on the Los Medanos basketball team. The next year he was the most inspirational player at Chabot College for the state’s runner-up team. The Gladiators were 32-3 and Del Been was all-Golden Gate Conference and was named to the all-tournament team at State. In the backcourt he played alongside Lester Connor (Oregon State and 13 years in the NBA. He was called the “consummate team player” and had a 4-1 assist to turnover ratio. He went on to Chico State and helped the Wildcats to a Far Western Conference title and was on the FWC best sportsmanship team. He came back to coach freshman basketball at YVHS and also was a CYO coach and JV coach for Clayton Valley. He was a director for the West Coast Eagles non-profit AAU basketball program.
Shawn McGarry (1984 football and basketball) helped the Warriors to the league championship his senior year when he was the DVAL and East Bay player the year, all-league and all-East Bay. As the YVHS quarterback he accounted for 27 touchdowns and 34 PATs. The San Francisco Examiner named him East Bay player of the year and first team all-Bay Area. He finished up his prep career at the Contra Costa-Alameda All-Star game. He also played basketball as a senior. He was an all-Big 8 Conference wide receiver at Diablo Valley College before going to the University of Illinois.
Doug King (1972 tennis) dominated the Diablo Valley Athletic League tennis scene, leading the Warriors to four consecutive team championships. He won the DVAL singles title his junior and senior years. As a junior he was a North Coast Section singles finalist and came back his senior year to go one better as the NCS champion. He was ranked No. 2 in Northern California that year and was the Mark of the Year recipient. King accepted a Wheeler Scholarship for academics and athletic excellence to UC Berkeley, where he anchored No. 1 singles and doubles and was team captain his junior and senior years. He went on to play played professionally from 1976-80. In 1979 he was ranked No. 1 in NorCal Men’s Open Singles. He was head pro at Moraga Tennis Club and Meadowood Resort in Napa. He founded Acceleration Tennis, a revolutionary approach to tennis. He teamed with his son to capture the 2012 Pacific Coast Father/Son championship and with his daughter for the Father/Daughter championship to make it a clean sweep.
Coach Wes Greenwood (coach and teacher 1969-2002) coached Warriors football for 25 years, track and field for 10 years, baseball seven years and wrestling three years. He was called a “consummate professional coach and teacher.” Greenwood was an integral part of five football and two track championship teams. He taught PE at the school until his 2002 retirement. He pitched for his Richmond High baseball team and was a starting pitcher for two years each at Contra Costa College and San Francisco State, going 5-1 his senior year. He coached baseball and wrestling at Albany High for three years before coming to YVHS. Greenwood took a break to go to Australia in 1975 where he coached basketball and pitched for a semi-pro baseball team. Locally, he played softball for a Concord-Walnut Creek team that won the Northern California regional championship 13 years in a row.
The Ygnacio Valley Athletic Hall of Fame began in 2013 with a new class inducted each year since.
Social gathering at Contra Costa County Club in Pleasant Hill on Saturday, May 4, is at 5:30 p.m. with dinner at 6:45. People interested in attending should contact Debbie Carlin by phone (925) 518-8455 or email ygnaciovalleyhalloffame@gmail.com.