The Spartan sports community welcomed its newest members to the SHS Athletic Hall of Fame during the ninth annual banquet Saturday, October 7, 2023. Six athletes, a coach, a contributor, two teams, and a local family were honored at halftime of the Oct. 6 football game and then were inducted the following night in front of a packed SHS Commons.
The honorees were: Janet Marrinier, Ray Breum, Theresa Nicholas, Mason Phillips, Barb Betz, Mark Laures, Bob Petrosik, Ron Hendricks, along with the 2003 girls tennis and 2006 boys tennis teams. Recognized as the Hall of Fame committee’s Family of the Year are the athletic progeny of Bernard and Helen Lund Fure.
Janet Marrinier, a 12-letter athlete in volleyball, basketball as well as track and field, established no less than 11 Stanwood High records while playing in the early to mid1980s. Following graduation she played basketball at Seattle Pacific University and later coached varsity sports at both the high school and collegiate levels.
Ray Breum was a three-sport athlete for Twin City High School during the years 1946-1950. He was named to the Washington All-State “B” Basketball second and honorable mention teams his junior and senior years when the Cardinals squad took second and sixth, respectively. As starting quarterback, he led the Cardinals to a 17-1-1 two-season record. In addition, he lettered three seasons as a top-flight pitcher.
During her high school career (2000-2004), disabled athlete Theresa Nicholas competed in track and field and swimming. She set numerous records in both sports at SHS and then participated in the district and state championships as well. While attending Everett Community College, Theresa continued with her Northwest Wheelchair Sports teams, eventually placing twice in the Junior National Swimming Championships.
Mason Phillips excelled on the wrestling mat while at Stanwood High. Between 2014 and 2018, he accumulated a perfect 85-0 career record and earned three state championships (a torn knee ligament prematurely ended his freshman season). In addition, he won two national grappling titles and represented the United States at the Cadet World Championships in Athens, Greece before earning a pair of letters at the University of North Carolina.
Barb Betz’s athletic accomplishments during the first years of Title IX (1971-1975) included 10 varsity letters in track and field, basketball and volleyball. She qualified for three state track meets, placing 7th in the 400-yard dash and javelin throw. Betz eventually played on four league championship teams and was inducted into the SHS Athletic Hall of Fame with the 1975 girls track and field squad.
In the mid-1970s, Mark Laures broke, rebroke or tied no less than 20 Stanwood High track records while running individually or as a member of several relay foursomes. During that time he placed first 50 times, second 29 times and third 19 times. At the state level, Laures earned a medal in the 100 (twice), the 220, the 440 relay (twice) and the mile relay. He also played football and basketball for the Spartans.
Bob Petrosik served as a Stanwood High coach and mentor for more than 30 seasons (1961-1990). He was Hall of Fame coach Ray Cresap’s varsity basketball assistant for more than 20 years. During that time, they blended to develop skills and confidence in their players that evolved into numerous district and state appearances. In addition, he was SHS track and field head coach for 12 seasons and started the first boys golf team at the school. In 2013 Bob was inducted into the state Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame.
Ron Hendricks was recognized for his longtime support of SHS athletics not only as a coach but in his other roles as teacher, principal and athletic director over nearly four decades of service to the district. Ron served as head coach in football and track in his early years. He and Bob Petrosik were starters for track and field meets for more than 30 years as well.
The 2003 SHS girls tennis team (16-0) was the first — boys or girls — to win a league championship undefeated with an overall individual match record of 96 wins, 16 losses. They also won the Northwest 4A District tournament. Their No. 1 doubles team of Liz Currey and Lauren Mickels placed second in the Washington state 4A Tennis Tournament after taking first in the district meet.
Stanwood’s 2006 boys tennis squad took the WesCo 4A North Division Championship after completing the regular season undefeated (16-0). They then won the WesCo 4A League Tournament before finishing second in the district meet. The doubles team of Daniel Redfern and Zach Tafoya advanced to the state tournament for the second time in two years.
The Fure family has been awarded no less than 60 varsity letters and been members of Stanwood teams that won nine league titles, three district championships and three state placings in the top six. They have helped preserve the rich athletic history in the Stanwood-Camano community.