Fourteen 2024 inductees add to Alaska High School Hall of Fame excellence.
The depth and excellence of Alaska’s high school activities will once again be on display when the 2024 Alaska High School Hall of Fame class takes its rightful place in state history.
Fourteen individuals from all around Alaska will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on Sunday, May 5 including Bill Jack, formerly of Bethel.
The Special Olympics Alaska Jim Balamaci Training Center (3200 Mountain View Drive, Anchorage) is set to host the 2 p.m. ceremony and reception.
The Hall of Fame was established to identify and honor, in a permanent manner, individuals who exhibited high ethical standards and integrity while achieving excellence in high school athletics and activities, as well as others who have distinguished themselves by virtue of exemplary contributions to the advancement of interscholastic athletics and activities in the State of Alaska.
Categories include student athletes and students who participated in fine art and academic activities. Former students must have graduated at least five (5) years prior to induction. Other categories include coaches, advisors/directors, administrators, officials/adjudicators and major contributors.
Bill Jack, athletic coach for basketball and cross-country running of Bethel, Kotzebue and Nome high schools will be inducted into the 2024 class Alaska High School Hall of Fame.
Bill Jack mostly made his name coaching in Western Alaska.
However.
“His impact ripples across the state,” said longtime Bering Strait School District administrator Jeff Erickson.
Jack spent portions of four decades coaching basketball and cross-country running at Bethel, Kotzebue and Nome-Beltz in the west part of the state and also worked at Anchorage’s Heritage Christian. His team’s won numerous conference titles and reportedly won state crowns for small schools in 1976 and 1983.
“Coach Jack worked hard to prepare his teams for success in both sports and life,” said former Nome-Beltz player Uly Hall. “To this day, he remains a friend and mentor to many former students he coached over the years. He was not only a hard worker, but a dynamic person.”
Jack completed the Iditarod twice, finishing a career-best 20th in the 1992 edition of the Last Great Race.
“While the Iditarod was not directly related to high school (sports), it was incredibly motivating to his players who found it easy to buy into Coach Jack’s philosophy of dedication, hard work and unwavering commitment to get the best and most out of one’s self,” Hall said.
The 2024 class, the 19th in the Hall’s history, features six athletes, five coaches, two lifetime achievement honorees and one activities participant.
Listed in alphabetical order by last name:
Travis Adams, Athlete, Barrow
Carl Arts, Athlete, Valdez
Jim Beeson, Coach, Kenai
Zack Bowman, Athlete, Bartlett (Anchorage)
Rod Christiansen, Coach, Palmer
Jordan Clarke, Athlete, Bartlett (Anchorage)
Raymond Douville, Athlete, Craig
Bill Jack, Coach, Nome
Shawn Lundgren, Coach, Fairbanks
John Miles, Lifetime Achievement, Nome/Unalakleet
Dean Overbey, Lifetime Achievement, Nenana
Jesstina “Piggy” Pili, Athlete, Barrow
Ward Romans, Coach, Nikiski
Terek Rutherford, Activities (Drama, Debate & Forensics), South (Anchorage)
The High School Hall of Fame will house 198 Last Frontier legends once the 2024 honorees are officially inducted.
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