By Chad Frey
Newton Kansan
The 2008 Newton High School athletic Hall of Fame class will feature five inductees from all eras of the school history.
Two of them, however, share something in common. They are the two fastest runners in school history.
Brent Coffman, who graduated in 1979, still holds the school record in the mile run with a time of four minutes, 27 seconds. He placed in the top 10 at the state cross country championships twice and earned eight letters as a Railer.
Clay Anderson, 1980 NHS graduate, holds the second- fastest average time for cross country. In addition to a top 10 finish at the state cross country meet his senior year, he was student council president and developed the first student handbook at the school.
The only basketball player of the 2008 class is also the class’ only female — 1988 NHS grad Alisa (Ferrell) Suarez.
Suarez was captain of the ladies’ hoops squad her senior year, leading Newton to a third consecutive league title. Suarez was selected as a consensus first-team all-state player and a unanimous all-league selection in addition to the Ark Valley League’s MVP. Suarez also helped Newton win a state championship in softball at the end of the 1986 season and was a captain of the volleyball team.
Joining Railer coaching legends in the Hall of Fame will be a former tennis coach. Phil Scott will be part of this year’s induction class. Scott, whom the school tennis courts are named after, started the tennis program at NHS and coached for 28 seasons. During his tenure, he coached 13 consecutive regional championships, one state title-winning doubles team and two AVL team title clubs.
The final member of the 2008 induction class graduated from NHS in 1944, David “Corky” Wright. Wright earned all-conference honors in basketball two consecutive years. He also earned all-conference honors in football his senior year. Wright went on to serve in the U.S. Navy before enrolling at the Kansas State Teachers College in Emporia where he led the hornets to a pair of NAIA basketball tournament berths and earned all-conference recognition in both football and basketball.
The induction ceremony for the Hall of Fame class will be at half time during the McPherson and Newton football game, Sept. 26, at Fischer Field in Athletic Park.
