5 more to be inducted into Bemidji High School Athletics Hall of Fame on May 8

Apr. 24—BEMIDJI — The Bemidji High School Athletics Hall of Fame will add five new legends this spring.

On Monday, May 8, BHS will honor Selina Gilbertson Stanley, Carey Woods, Bob Strand, Spencer Price and Mark Fodness in its 21st Hall of Fame Banquet.

The school will also announce its Lumberjack Male and Female Athletes of the Year to the top senior athlete in each class. Letterwinners and other award recipients will be named, as well.

Doors open at 5 p.m. for a social hour before dinner is served at 6 p.m. Tickets are available at the activities office for $15.

Here's a look at the biography of each new inductee.

Selina Gilbertson Stanley graduated from Bemidji High School in 2010. She was a standout in swimming, basketball and track. Selina was a swimming captain, a school record holder in the 4x100 free relay, MVP for three years and a five-time letter winner. She participated at the MSHSL State Girls Swimming Championships in her senior year, swimming the 200 free and both the 200 and 400 free relays. Selina was a two-time letter winner in basketball and on the MSHSL State Basketball Team her senior year. She was a senior captain for the girls track and field team, MVP for three years and a four-time letter winner. Selina participated in the discus event at the MSHSL Track and Field Championships in her junior and senior years. After graduating with a 4.1 GPA, Selina went on to swim at the Division-I level for the South Dakota State Jackrabbits for four years. At SDSU, she graduated with a BS in Civil Engineering.

Carey Woods was a standout varsity football and basketball player at Bemidji High School from 2009-12. During his junior year of basketball, he broke the school record for points in a single game with 52. He was named MVP for basketball in 2011 and Offensive Player of the Year. In football, he was an All-State Second Team selection his senior year, scoring 25 touchdowns — 19 receiving, five rushing and one punt return — while also totaling over 1,300 yards receiving. He signed a four-year scholarship to play football for North Dakota State University. He redshirted his freshman year, played two years for NDSU, then transferred to Washburn University in Topeka, Kan., in 2016. He finished his football career in the fall of 2017. Carey graduated from Washburn in the spring of 2019 with a bachelor's degree in sociology.

Bob Strand was born and raised in Bemidji, graduating from Bemidji High School in 1958. The wrestling program at Bemidji began in 1955, and he joined the team in the middle of the inaugural season. He was a two-time state qualifier in 1957 and 1958, as well as a Region 8 Champion. He continued his wrestling career after high school with the Bemidji State team for two years. Intermittent periods of employment ended his college competition. After graduation, Bob had a successful career with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources in fisheries research and management for 30 years. Bob has been inducted into the Bemidji Wrestling Club Hall of Fame. His dedication to the sport continued in his family life with a son and stepson competing on the varsity high school team. This was followed by three of his grandsons, who are active in the youth wrestling programs, middle and high school teams. They all have benefited by having additional in-house coaching from their father and grandfather.

Spencer Price started his athletic career in Bemidji when he moved to the area in 1957 from International Falls. He was a three-year letter winner in both football and basketball and also lettered one year in track. In his junior year, he was vice president of the student council. Spencer was crowned homecoming king in his senior year and was co-captain of the Lumberjack football team. That year, the Lumberjacks went undefeated and became conference champions. Spencer was named the individual scoring champion of the NW Football Conference with 44 points — seven touchdowns and two extra points. In 1961, the basketball team played Duluth Central in the Minnesota State Championship game. The Lumberjacks lost 51-50. Spencer worked at various jobs in Montana, Minnesota and Wisconsin before moving back to Bemidji. He was employed by Northwestern Bell telephone company and retired after 35 years of service. He is living a good life between Bemidji and Arizona.

Mark Fodness led the Bemidji High School tennis teams to 404 wins and Bemidji's first Section 8AA tennis championship during the 1989 fall season. He retired as one of the winningest coaches in the history of Lumberjacks athletics. Mark was named Minnesota's Middle School Teacher of the Year and received countless other teaching and coaching accolades. Many former students and players hold him in the highest regard. Although most of Mark's coaching records came from his time leading the Lumberjacks tennis programs, Mark also coached speech, debate, football, soccer, basketball and baseball for Bemidji. He was an unforgettable teacher, an incredible coach and a loyal friend. Mark will always be remembered by his favorite quote from Albert Einstein: "What is popular is not always right; what is right is not always popular."