Wayzata High School To Establish Athletic Hall of Fame
Over the decades, Wayzata High School has produced a stunning array of athletes.
From football players like Marion Barber and James Laurinaitis, to divers like Jaime Sanger. In the coaching ranks, there’s cross-country running coach Bill Miles and longtime dance coach Leslie Swiggum.
“Wayzata has such a rich tradition in athletics,” said Meghan Potter, Wayzata High School’s athletic director. “It’s been in existence for over 100 years as a school and there have been just so many people that are so deserving of accolades.”
Wayzata’s halls are filled with trophies from every major sport. They have a hundred state titles in all. Some more recent; others dating back nearly a hundred years.
But one thing the school doesn’t have is a hall of fame to honor those athletes.
Potter is working to change that.
“Your time spent in high school is so fun and so important, that it’s just a really good chance for us to honor those people that really truly deserve the accolades, for all that hard work that they spent,” Potter said.
The 2021 Class AAAA Boys Basketball championship trophy, one of many pieces of hardware displayed in the halls of Wayzata High School.
Seeking nominations for inaugural class
Potter and other school officials are forming a committee to nominate the best of the best for Wayzata’s inaugural Athletic Hall of Fame.
Athlete nominees must have graduated 10 years ago and brought some of the highest accolades possible in their sport.
Coaches, meanwhile, need at least 10 years of service at Wayzata High School and must have retired from coaching the specific sport at Wayzata at least three years prior to nomination.
“We’re really truly looking for someone who was not only an exemplary athlete here at Wayzata but then also went on to do really good things in college and then really good things out of college in the community, and someone who has been a Trojan their whole life,” Potter said.
The hope is that people from different generations will submit nominations. That way, there’s accurate representation among the hall of fame class.
“The question for the big inaugural class is a little tricky because we don’t want to put everyone in right away because we don’t ever want to run out,” Potter said. “We really have to be mindful of who is accepted.”
The committee will have about six months to narrow things down. They plan to unveil the first class of 10 to 12 former Wayzata athletes in the fall.
“Right now, we just need people to nominate,” Potter said.
After the inaugural class, Wayzata hopes to introduce a new group of hall of famers every three years.
To nominate someone, you can go to the Wayzata Athletic Hall of Fame website.
Wayzata High School
