The newest members of the Los Gatos High School Athletic Hall of Fame will be honored in an induction ceremony at La Rinconada Country Club on May 3.
The list is a who’s who of former LGHS greats, including Donald Straub (class of 1950), Terrie Ogilivie Christiansen (1966), Russell Tanner (1996), Melissa Mullins (2004), Logan Schafer (2004), Danny Bates (2004), Naveed Bagheri (2007), Nico Weiler (2008), and Danielle Katz (2013).
Straub won the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League singles championship twice and played for four league-winning title teams. Ogilivie Christiansen was an All-American swimmer who was the fourth fastest backstroker at the 1966 USA National Championships along with being a member of the victorious 4×100 meter relay team.
Tanner was a member of the first LGHS boys volleyball team which debuted in 1996. In his senior season, Tanner earned league MVP and all-state selection honors before going on to play at BYU.
Mullins starred for the softball team, pitching every game in her sophomore and junior seasons and earning SCVAL Defensive MVP honors in both those years. A three-time first team all-league selection, Mullins led the Wildcats to CCS playoff appearances in each of her four years at the school.
Schafer was a four-year starter for Los Gatos’ baseball and soccer teams, declining an offer to play soccer at Northwestern University to pursue baseball in college. He played at Cuesta Community College and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo before getting selected in the third round of the MLB Draft after his junior season.
After working his way through the minors, Schafer enjoyed a six-year career in the MLB, including five seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers and one with the Minnesota Twins. Bates made his mark on the gridiron, becoming the first LGHS player to rush for over 2,000 yards in a season.
Weiler is the most accomplished track and field athlete in Program history
Bates totaled 2,380 yards rushing and 31 touchdowns in a spectacular senior season that saw him earn league MVP, first team all-CCS and second team all-Metro honors. Bates, who had an incredible 300-yard rushing game vs. Milpitas, was also a standout soccer player and sprinter for the track and field team.
Bagheri is one of the most accomplished wrestlers in LGHS history, finishing 112-36 and fifth in the CIF State Championships in his senior year. Bagheri went on to become a three-time All American at San Francisco State University, where he won the NCAA championship during his final year of collegiate competition.
Bagheri was inducted into the SFSU Hall of Fame in 2022. Weiler is the most accomplished track and field athlete in school history, winning two state titles in the pole vault and twice earning All American honors.
His personal-record vault of 17 feet, 6 ¼ inches remains a CCS record by a wide margin. Weiler went on to compete for four years at Harvard University, where he still holds the record for highest indoor and outdoor vaults in program history.
Katz established herself as the greatest long-distance runner in school history. She holds the LGHS female record for fastest course times in the CIF State Cross Country Championships at Woodward Park and the CCS Championships at Crystal Springs and Toro Park.
On the track, Katz holds the LGHS record in the 1600 meter run and the second fastest mark in the 3200. She went on to run both cross country and track at Stanford University, and still holds the fastest collegiate times in the 1500, the mile and 3000 by a LGHS graduate.
Tickets for the LGHS Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony can be purchased online at GoFan.co or at the following link: https://gofan.co/app/events/890642?schoolId=CA22963.
