Hall of Fame induction Class of 2018

• Bruce Allison
• Jason Bird
• Farrolyn Bond-Caver
• Kyra Caldwell
• Tom Hall
• Diana Jackson
• Howard Neely, Jr.
• Jacob Rhodes 
• William “Billy” Sorrell
• Ronald Tarrant 

Bruce Allison - Ypsilanti High School - 1962

YHS – FOOTBALL – WRESTLING – TRACK
CO-CAPTAIN – FOOTBALL AND TRACK

• 1961 – scored final touchdown in major upset in Halloween/ Homecoming victory
• against highly ranked Ann Arbor Pioneer- first win over them since 1948
• Earned 9 varsity letters
• Member of League Championship teams in wrestling and track
• Member of 1961 and 1962 State Championship wrestling teams
• 1961 – Track - member of the All State mile relay team
• Student council president
• Senior class president
• Varsity Club president

POST YHS ACHIEVEMENTS

• University of Michigan football team member – 4-year walk-on player
• 1964 – member of U of M Big Ten Championship team
• 1965 – member of the Rose Bowl Championship team
• 1966 – earned BA in Design from U of M
• Designed the Rose Bowl ring for the U of M team and staff
• Volunteer work for St. Joe’s Hospital Radio-thon and coaching youth soccer
• 1976 – saved a drowning person in Three Rivers in Pittsburgh
• Currently lives in Ann Arbor with wife, Sue.

Jason Bird - Ypsilanti High School - 2001

YHS – BASKETBALL – TRACK

• Captain - basketball
• Basketball – 2 x all conference and 1st team All-Metro West
• 2001 - Led team in points, assists, rebounds, and steals
• 2001 -Led team to district championship and regional finals
• 2001 – Ann Arbor News Player of the Year
• McDonalds All American nominee
• Detroit News top 25 players in the state – regardless of class
• 1st Team All-Metro West
• 2001 – Basketball - 4th team All State – Class A
• 2001 -Track – member of the 4x100 relay- regional and state champions

POST YHS ACHIEVEMENTS

• University of Buffalo basketball scholarship
• 2005 - Co-captain University of Buffalo basketball team
• Set Buffalo’s single season 3-point shooting percentage record - 46.7%, ranking in
• 2004 NCAA Division1 top 25
• 2005 Buffalo basketball team – laid foundation for D - 1 success
• Led the 1st U. of Buffalo basketball team to play in MAC Championships
• Led the 1st U. of Buffalo Basketball team to play in the NIT Tournament
• 2005 – Completed bachelor’s degree in economics at University of Buffalo
• Certified Financial Planner – owns own business – Inspired Wealth Planning
• On Board of Directors of UB Alumni Association
• On Board of Trustees at Park School of Buffalo
• Coached youth sports for many years
• Currently lives in Amherst, NY with wife Grace and three sons

Farrolyn Bond-Caver - Willow Run High School - 1978

WRHS – BASKETBALL

• Varsity Basketball
• Senior Superlative - Voted Most Athletic Female Athlete
• Captain of the cheerleading team
• President Student Union/Government – senior year
• Senior Rotarian
• Member of Class Council
• National Honor Society
• Prom Queen

POST WRHS ACHIEVEMENTS

• Volunteer assistant cheerleading coach at Willow Run High School
• Worked at Eastern Michigan University and the University of Michigan athletic facilities
• Graduated with a BS in Communications from Eastern Michigan University
• Volunteer youth coach – baseball, basketball, track and field, volleyball
• Mentored youth in developing academic and athletic success
• Employed by Coca Cola for almost three decades – rose from Service Dispatcher to
• Group Manager; Inbound and Customer Specialist Team
• Group Manager – coordinates daily activities of 130 Customer Communications
• Specialists, 4 Team Managers and 4 Floor Supervisors
• Impacts young employees through hiring and promoting individuals
• Works with Coca Cola partnership program – college student given the opportunity to work with Coke while in college
• Over 30 years members of Israel Missionary Baptist Church -on Deaconess Board and works with Youth ministries
• Currently lives in Suwannee, Georgia with husband Herbert where they raised their two children

Kyra Caldwell - Ypsilanti High School - 2008

YHS – TRACK AND FIELD – CROSS-COUNTRY

• 2006-2008 – 6-Time regional champion-100mh,300mh,1600m relay
• 2007-2008 – 5-Time State champion -100mh, 300mh, 1600m relay
• 2007 – AAU All American – 400mh
• 2008 – Most Valuable Track Athlete Washtenaw County
• 2006 – YHS - Most Valuable Cross-Country runner
• 2006 – All Area Cross Country team selection
• Washtenaw County Scholar Athlete
• National Honor Society
• 2004-2008 – Student Council -representative, Secretary, vice president
• 2008 – Awarded Capt. C. Robert Arvin Award for Excellence Scholarship

POST YHS ACHIEVEMENTS

• Accepted Track and Field Scholarship to Columbia University
• 7 – Time Ivy League Champion -sprints and hurdles
• 2012 – received Columbia University Manniaty Award for Most Outstanding 4-year Athlete
• 2010 – MVP – Ivy League Outdoor Track and Field Conference Championships
• 2010-2015 -400mh Ivy League Conference meet record holder
• 400mh – Columbia University school record holder
• 4x400 Relay – Columbia University school record holder
• 100mh – School record holder
• Active in many service groups and community activities including Athletes in Action, coaching and mentoring at Georgetown Day School, Georgetown Learning Center, church work, and more.
• 2012 – BA from Columbia University in Pre-Medical Studies and Religion
• 2017 – MS from Georgetown in Physiology and Biophysics: Complementary Alternative Medicine – GPA – 3.63 and Class President
• 2017 – completed research project – Central Sensitization Syndrome Project: Assessing GI Microbiome
• Plans to enter Medical School in 2019
• Currently lives in Washington DC

Tom Hall - Ypsilanti High School - 1963

YHS – FOOTBALL – BASKETBALL – BASEBALL

• Football team co-captain
• Earned 9 Varsity letter – 9 out of 9
• 1961 – Football team defeated highly ranked rival Ann Arbor Pioneer – 20-6 Homecoming and on Halloween – first time since 1948
• 1962 – Member of Football League Champions
• 1962 – 1st team All-League Football - quarterback
• 1963 –Member of Basketball League Champions-
• 1963 -Won Districts and lost in Regional finals
• Student Council representative
• 3 – year member of A Cappella Choir and choir vice president

POST YHS ACHIEVEMENTS

• Awarded football scholarship to Western Michigan University
• 1966 – joined the semi pro football team – the Ypsilanti Vikings
• Low handicap golfer, “shooting his age” with 69’s when he was 71 and 72
• 1968 – Volunteered for the draft, then volunteered for Vietnam serving at Military Assistance Command (MACV) in 1969
• Served 10 years in the Florida National Guard, then transferred to US Air Force Reserve and 15 years active duty in the Air Force in Florida
• 1973 completed his BS from EMU in Special Education
• Taught 2 years in Ypsilanti Public School’s PEP program
• 18 years -taught Emotionally Handicapped, socially maladjusted, and behaviorally disordered middle school and high school students
• Volunteer coached State Tournament Special Olympics basketball team
• Coached high school football several years in Florida
• Continued choir singing in Catholic choirs in Florida – toured Italy and Ireland singing concerts and Masses, including singing at St. Peters at the Vatican in Rome
• The last 6 years organize and coordinate YHS multi-class gatherings in Michigan and the Villages in Florida
• Currently lives in Seminole, Florida with wife Nancy

Diana Jackson - Ypsilanti Public Schools

30 Years of Dedicated Service

• Attendance secretary, Athletic Department secretary, and Accounts Payable and Employee Benefits secretary
• Tireless, efficient –Reliable, tasks done well and on time
• Organized and scheduled athletic events
• Worked with more YHS Athletes and coaches than any other YHS employee
• Organized staff and volunteers for athletic events and fundraisers
• Department backbone and “go to person” for many years
• Always professional and kind to everyone
• Did not hesitate to volunteer herself
• 2004 – 2018 – Key member of the Athletic Hall of Fame Committee
• Department /Booster’s Fundraisers – Great Train Show, Holiday Bazaars
• 1981 – Jaycee’s Outstanding Young Woman of the Year
• 1999 – Senior Class – Outstanding Achievement Humanitarian Award
• Past member of Heritage Festival Fundraiser Committee
• Past board member of Ypsilanti Jaycee’s
• Past board member of YHS Athletic Booster’s Club
• Current member Villages Twirlers and Drum Corps
• Current member of the Villages Home decorating Club
• Current member of the Villages Baby Boomer Club
• Volunteer –Feeding His sheep backpack – feeding children on the weekends
• Serve in various areas at the Ypsilanti Free Methodist Church
• Attended Bob Jones University and Washtenaw Community College
• “Nana” and husband Leon between them have 4 children and 5 grandchildren
• Currently living in the Villages in Florida with husband Leon

Howard Neely, Jr - Ypsilanti High School - 1950

YHS – FOOTBALL – TRACK

• Vice President – Varsity Club
• Earned 6 Varsity letters
• 1948 - Member of State Championship track team
• 1946 – 47 – 48 - Member of three State Championship football teams POST YHS ACHIEVEMENTS
• Michigan State - lettered in football and track
• Member of the 1954 MSU Rose Bowl winning team
• 1955 -Member of the National Champion Michigan State Football team
• Earned a BA and MA in Art from Michigan State University
• 1957 -co-captain of the 12th Anti-Aircraft Group football team in Karlisruhe, Germany – battling for the Army football championship of Germany
• 1960 – Played for the Port Huron Raiders – in the Ontario Rugby Football Union – making the championship playoffs
• Boy Scout Leader
• 30 years as a teacher and coach in Lansing School District Received Certificate of Merit from Lansing Board of Education for his service to the District
• Lansing Everett High School – Coached football, boys’ track, and girls’ cross-country for many years
• First black head coach in Lansing schools
• Passed away August 7, 2018

Jacob Rhodes - Ypsilanti High School - 2007

YHS – FOOTBALL – BASEBALL

• K-8 attended Willow Run Schools – Thurston, Holmes, Kettering and Edmonson Middle School
• Entered YHS in 9th grade
• Outstanding catcher for the baseball team
• 3 Time captain of the YHS baseball team
• 2005,2006,2007 - 1st team All-Conference
• 2005,2006,2007 – 1st team All District
• 2006, 2007 - 1st team All Region
• 2006 – 2nd Team All State
• 2007 – 1st Team All State; 2006
• 2007 – Ann Arbor News Player of the Year
• Career Batting average of 435 and career throw out percentage of 70%
• Led the Braves to back to back conference championships

POST YHS ACHIEVEMENTS

• Earned Associates degree from Wabash Valley College
• 2009 – 2010 – 2 time All Conference -Wabash Valley College
• 2010 – GRAC Conference MVP – Wabash Valley College
• 2010 – All American Honorable Mention – Wabash Valley College
• 2012 – Earned Bachelor’s in Mass Media Electronics from Murray State
• 3 years professional baseball experience with Traverse City Beach Bums
• 2014 – Frontier League All Star – Traverse City Beach Bums
• 2015 – Frontier League Champions – Traverse City Beach Bums
• Lifetime member of the Church of God
• Volunteer work with children with special needs and develop their talents
• Volunteers by giving back to the community and helping others
• Currently lives in Britton, Michigan with his wife Alyssa

William “Billy” Sorrell - Ypsilanti High School - 1959

YHS – FOOTBALL – SWIMMING (DIVER) – BASEBALL

• 1959 – Winner of the All Sports Trophy for outstanding senior athlete
• Earned 9 varsity – 3 in each sport
• Participated in interclass sports
• Appeared in the all school play
• Member of the French Club, Varsity Club and homeroom officer
• Intense, aggressive competitor

POST YHS ACHIEVEMENTS

• After high school, signed minor league contract with Philadelphia Phillies
• Played 12 years in the minors, and parts of 3 seasons in the pros
• Played 2 years in Japan
• Began in Class D and worked up through B, A, AA, and AAA
• 1960 – Appalachian League All Star Team
• 1961 – Led California League stolen bases with 43
• 1965 – called up to the majors with the Philadelphia Phillies
• 1965 – September 2nd became the 10,000th major league player in history
• 1967 – played with the San Francisco Giants for part of the season
• 1970 – played with NY Mets and Kansas City Royals part of the season
• 3rd baseman / left fielder – 267 lifetime major league batting average
• 280 – lifetime career batting average for all levels
• After retiring from baseball, became a successful insurance agent in the San Diego, California area
• Passed away July 22, 2008

Ronald Tarrant - Willow Run High School - 1971 – 1990

WRHS – TEACHER – COACH – ATHLETIC DIRECTOR

• 1971 -Developed inter-district elementary basketball program for 5th and 6th graders
• Ran a summer work program for Willow Run students
• 1978-79 – became head basketball coach
• 1979 – 1990 – 4 basketball semi-finalist appearances – first 4 years as head coach
• 9 District Championships
• 4 Regional Championships
• 1980 – won the Class B State Championship
• 5 – Time Coach of the Year – 5 different venues
• 14 All-State Players
• Over 20 players attended college on basketball scholarships
• Over 250 wins over a 12-year coaching career
• 1980 – became WRHS Athletic Director
• Currently lives in Milan, Michigan