Four of Hall Inductees
The Moorpark College Athletic Hall of Fame inducted five of its greats Sunday, June 24th at a ceremony attended by 280 people at the Moorpark Country Club. The induction class consisted of four former Raider student athletes (Serge Mezheritsky, Gil Carrillo, ToniAnn Templeman and Isaiah Mustafa) and John Keever, a 37-year employee of the college, coach of 3 sports, and 14 year as Athletic Director.
The inductee speeches shared several common threads. First, none considered MC as their first collegiate choice, instead wanting to attend “big-time” four-year universities. One even selected a different community college out of HS before realizing the error of his ways and enrolling at MC after only one semester at that college. The second common thread was the vital role that MC athletics played in their life success following college. The third commonality was the love and nurturing they felt in their time at MC from their coaches and the “A-Team” support staff. The last thread was the recognition of fellow inductee John Keever in their maturation and growth into adulthood. Emmy winner Isaiah Mustafa even credited Keever with making him “The Man”–pause for effect–”that your man could smell like,” playing on the famous tagline from his Old Spice commercials.
The induction class included two highly successful entrepreunerial business owners (Mezheritsky and Carrillo), an emmy-winning actor (Mustafa) and a successful HS teacher and coach (Templeman). Templeman shared the story of her decision to become a coach. After a tough loss she went to her car only to find a note on the windshield. It was a note from Asst Coach Kellee Roesel (now Head Coach t Cal Lutheran). Coach Roesel wrote to ToniAnn that kids like her are what makes her want to coach. That note touched ToniAnn so, that she knew from them on she was to become a coach.
Former Athletic Director John Keever spoke of his “37 years in the greatest job in the world.” His original plan was to be a Moorpark for a year or two before moving on to become a Division 1 Head Football Coach. After one year, he was offered a position at Chico State, where he earned his Master’s degree. He refused saying, “I was having too much fun working at this level. I thought I would give it another year or two. In fact, Keever didn’t leave MC until 2006, when he retired.
Mezheritsky and Carrillo both spoke about what a terrific coach and mentor Keever had been to them. Mezheritsky was leery of wrestling at Moorpark because Keever had never wrestled. Mezheritsky had wrestled for world-class coaches that had wrestled at the highest national levels. Frankly, he thought MC and Keever were below an athlete of his stature. In his speech, Mezheritsky said, “I could not have been more wrong. Keever was the best coach I ever wrestled for.”
Carrillo spoke highly of all his coaches at Moorpark. In fact, he has coached at the youth level for several years and he said he models his coaching after his Moorpark College coaches. he also spoke of meeting his wife of nearly 20 years, Heather in the MC Training Room.
The ceremony also honored 117 Scholar Athletes from the 2011-2012 academic year. Included in those 117 were seven 4.0 scholar athletes. The department’s six major award winners were presented with their award. Male Athlete of the Year: Nick Rogowski, Female Athlete of the Year: Karissa Flack, Dr. Mel Hayashi Scholar Athlete of the Year: Quentin Kantaris, Female Scholar Athlete of the Year: Bailey Schentrup, Diane Costabile Character Champion: Charnae Thomas, John Keever Character Champion: Baseball Team and Men’s Track & Field Team. The Captain’s Council also bestowed Faculty awards to Ranford Hopkins and Riley Dwyer. Head Athletic Trainer Vance Manakas was recognized for his induction into the CCCATA Hall of Fame in April.
To read the Ventura County Star article click here: http://www.vcstar.com/news/2012/jun/24/five-new-members-inducted-into-moorpark-hall-of/
