By Dixon Bledsoe
If there were ever a better all-around athlete at Silverton High School than Owen Von Flue, he or she must have worn a cape and leaped “tall buildings in a single bound.”
A Silverton attorney and builder, Von Flue was an all-state athlete in three sports.
The 1992 graduate of Silverton High School was state wrestling champion at 191 pounds; a 1991 and 1992 first team all-state selection in baseball; a 1991 first team all-state selection in football for both offense and defense, and the OSAA 3-A Football Defensive Player of the Year. His 1992 band-of-brothers football team won the Oregon 3A State championship. The team was previously inducted into the Silverton High School Hall of Fame.
Saturday, April 9, 6 p.m.
Silverton High School, 1456 Pine St.
Tickets: $35 per person
SHS Athletic Department:
503-873-6331
Needless to say, the judges didn’t hesitate when Von Flue was mentioned as a 2011 nominees for induction into the Silverton Athletic Hall of Fame.
In typical Von Flue fashion, the soft-spoken former athlete said, “I was part of some great teams with very good friends, outstanding coaches, and had the support of this tremendous community we live in. I feel lucky to have been a part of it.”
Von Flue will be honored along with fellow inductees at the fourth annual Silverton Athletic Gala Saturday, April 9 at Silverton High School’s gymnasium, 1456 Pine Street. Doors open at 6 p.m. and tickets are $35 per person. Dinner will be served and there will be an auction.
A VIP session will begin at 5:15 p.m., with special guests meeting honorees and getting a tour of the new high school and athletic facilities.
The Athletic Gala is a fundraiser to fulfill high school coaches’ wish lists for athletic equipment.
“In 2009, the Gala paid for the first $25,000 worth of equipment brought into the new weight room to start the school year,” said Kirsten Barnes, one of the organizers.
The event also has funded seven scholarships to the outstanding senior athletes the past three years, and the committee hopes to do more.
“Last year’s gala paid for new spinning bikes that arrived this spring,” Barnes said. ” What is exciting is that it’s not just the athletes who are benefiting – all students have a chance to benefit from the gala and become better physically fit.”
Silverton varsity football coach John Mannion is looking forward to his first gala. He was part of the planning committee and his team is a likely beneficiary of the proceeds from this year’s auction.
“Being my first year in Silverton, I am excited to be involved with the gala dinner. It should be a great night; honoring former athletes and teams, getting the community together, having our current athletes participate, all in the name of raising much-needed funds for the SHS athletic department,” Mannion said.
Other honored guests and inductees include one of Silverton’s all-time great basketball players, Lis Brenden, also from the Class of 1992. Brenden was a standout in soccer, basketball, softball and golf. She was a first-team all-state basketball team selection three years in a row. She was selected as the Oregon 3A Basketball Player of the Year; was a First-Team All-League Soccer selection, and was a leading reason the Silverton girls basketball team won the Oregon State Championship in 1989.
Brenden went on to play four years at the University of Nebraska, where she graduated in 1996.
The 1989 OSAA Girls State Champion Basketball team, coached by Tom Steers, also will be inducted into the Hall of Fame. The team included assistant coaches Eddie Willig and Cheri Rasmussen, and players Mary Purdy, Lis Brenden, Kellie Hill, Nancy Riedman, Toni Trierweiller, Alana Brown, Melissa Conley, Maureen Purdy, Sherri Gubbles, Shellie Hill, Jenny Simas and Amy Savage.
John Waldrupe was Silverton’s first two-time state champion wrestler in 1972 and 1973, was one of the stars of a team that claimed the Oregon State Wrestling Championship in 1972. That team was inducted in 2010. Waldrupe, also an all-league football star, will be inducted this year.
The public is invited to honor these athletes, enjoy an evening of camaraderie, and support the sports program at this fundraising event. For tickets, call 503-873-6331 and ask for the athletic department.
