PRESCOTT, Ariz. – Last weekend, Yavapai College welcomed its alumni back to campus, hosted home volleyball and soccer games, inducted its 2022 Athletics Hall of Fame Class and hosted its annual golf classic to go along with other activities around its campuses for alumni weekend.
The events kicked off on Friday night, September 23, inside of Walraven Gymnasium where the Yavapai College volleyball team swept Phoenix College in its first home win of the season.
On Saturday, the festivities continued inside of Walraven Gymnasium as it was transformed into a dining hall for the Hall of Fame brunch which drew roughly 150 attendees. The guests mingled, were served delicious food and then listened to the Hall of Famers give their induction speeches.
Up first was Michele (Vickrey) Shuey who played basketball at YC from 1991-93. Following her was Casper Ware who also played basketball at YC from 1979-81.
Next up were the teams that were inducted into this year's Hall of Fame: the 1979-80 men's basketball team (finished fourth at the national tournament) and the 1992 men's soccer team (won the second national championship in program history).
Legendary men's soccer coach Mike Pantalione then spoke on behalf of his induction to close out the class, highlighting each player from the 1992 team that was in attendance with anecdotes of their playing days.
Seemingly done with the inductions, Yavapai College's Vice President of Community Relations and Student Development Rodney Jenkins then took the stage to give the closing speech.
In closing, Mr. Jenkins thanked all who made the weekend possible, encouraged those in attendance to become a part of the great things that are happening at YC and shocked the crowd with a surprise addition to the 2022 Hall of Fame Class for YC Athletics: current Director of Athletics Brad Clifford.
Clifford, a Roughrider student-athlete, assistant coach, head coach, assistant athletic director and current athletic director, took the stage in shock and bewilderment with his wife, Mindy, daughters, Randee, Annie and McKell, and granddaughter, Vada.
Clifford thanked Mr. Jenkins for the generosity and recognition and then expressed gratitude to all those in attendance and stated his classic line: "I really do bleed Roughrider green and gold".
All achievements and accolades for the most recent inductees into the YC Athletics Hall of Fame can be found here on the Hall of Fame page.
After the brunch, fans headed over to Ken Lindley Field where the Yavapai College men's and women's soccer teams dismantled the South Mountain Community College Cougars with the men winning 9-0 and women winning 12-0.
On Sunday, staff, alumni and fans shot a round of golf at Antelope Hills Golf Course in what turned out to be a sold-out success. At the event, YC thanked all players and donors for their generosity and participation, to close out the weekend.
The first-place winners at the golf tournament were Tom McCullough, Andrew Baird, Joe Baynes and Tim Legler. The longest drive was shot by Jermaine McKinney and the closest to the pin was Joe Baynes.
"What a weekend," said Clifford. "I want to thank everyone that made this weekend happen: the leadership team, facilities, the foundation, athletics, everyone who traveled into town to be a part of this and the countless other people who pitched in. This was a great weekend and I am proud to be a Roughrider."
