Tonight, Tumwater will celebrate 50 years of boys basketball by honoring the school’s first team. Twelve of the 14 members will be represented, including family members of Bill Ward, who coached the Thunderbirds from 1961 to 1986. Ward died in 2008. His widow, Eleanor, and his three children will be on hand.
Pregame activities begin at 5 p.m. at the high school’s performing arts center and cafeteria. The public is welcome, but if you haven’t preregistered, there’s no guarantee you’ll be fed.
The team will be honored at halftime of the Tumwater-Prairie game, which tips at 7:45 p.m.
When Tumwater opened that fall, the majority of the students came from Olympia High School. Seniors had the choice to stay at Olympia or be part of Tumwater’s first graduating class in 1962. Most stayed; the first graduating class had 40 seniors.
Bill Curtis, now 67, was one of those seniors who moved from Olympia to Tumwater. He was a starting forward on the 1961-62 team. He recently retired after a 41-year career in education, including 38 years teaching Latin at Olympia High. He was a three-sport athlete as a senior at Tumwater, competing in football, basketball and baseball. He was also the school’s first student body president.
In the spring before the school opened, he helped select the school colors – Kelly green and white – as well its mascot, the Thunderbirds.
Curtis and Tom Elliott were the only seniors on the basketball team.
Curtis recalls the team being inexperienced – most players were freshmen and sophomores – but the coaching staff didn’t lack experience. Ward came from Yelm, where he led the Tornados to the 1958 B state title – still Yelm’s only boys basketball title.
Tumwater went 1-19 in that first season. The victory came on Dec. 15, 1961, against Saint Martin’s High School, 42-31. It was the school’s first varsity win after the football team went 0-9 under coach Chuck Loete.
Curtis remembers vividly the thrill of that first win on the hardwood and what it meant to the high school.
“That was exciting,” said Curtis, who will be a speaker at tonight’s event. “The student body was very excited. I could see there was potential.”
Ward accumulated 241 of his 374 career wins at Tumwater. His 1976 team placed third at the AA state tournament, the school’s highest placing at state in boys basketball.
30-POINT CLUB
There were plenty of high-scoring performances in the first week of the high school basketball season, including four boys scoring 30 or more points in a game.
Tumwater’s Daniel Hinkle scored 36 points in a 76-71 loss to White River (Nov. 30); River Ridge’s Micah Hardeman scored 33 points in a 70-63 win over Battle Ground (Dec. 2); North Thurston’s Landon Rushton scored 36 points in an 87-60 win over Steilacoom (Dec. 3) and Northwest Christian’s Zach Carras scored 31 points in a 69-25 win over Portland Lutheran (Dec. 3). All were career highs.
LETTERS OF INTENT
Tumwater senior post Haley VandenHazel, 6-foot-1, signed to play women’s basketball at Northwest Christian University in Eugene, Ore. She averaged 10 points and three blocked shots a game last season as a junior, helping her team to a fourth-place finish at the 2A state tournament. … Olympia outside hitter Christie Colasurdo, who helped the Bears to the 4A volleyball state title last month at Saint Martin’s University, signed to play at Western Oregon University, where she’ll join former Olympia teammate Megan Triggs, a sophomore defensive specialist.
THIS AND THAT
The grandstands at Ingersoll Stadium will be closed until at least late February while crews repair and upgrade the roof. The field and track will remain open. District officials hope to reopen the grandstands for the start of spring sports Feb. 27. … Rainier had the WIAA’s 1A state academic champion in boys cross country. Coach Rob Henry’s team had a 3.64 GPA. … Aberdeen football coach Ron Clark resigned after nine seasons. He was accused in October of bullying a player, who later quit the team.
Meg Wochnick: 360-754-5473 mwochnick@theolympian.com
