South Bend Washington announces 2023 Hall of Fame Class. Here's who made it
South Bend Washington High School has announced its Hall of Fame Class for 2023.
The eight-member class is comprised of Earl Hairston (1966, Track & Field), Darwyn Hillard (1978, Basketball and Track & Field), Charles Stallworth (1979, Track & Field Coach), Brady Neilson (1983 Cross Country and Track & Field), Jerry Taylor (2005, Basketball), Skylar Diggins-Smith (2009, Basketball and Volleyball) and Gehrig Dieter (2012, Football).
More:'It's pure excitement.' South Bend's Gehrig Dieter recalls Super Bowl triumph with Chiefs
A dinner and ceremony is set for Saturday, March 25, at 6 p.m. at Washington High School, 4747 West Washington St., South Bend. Tickets are $40. For reservations call 574-393-5522 or email whsathletics@sb.school.
Earl Hairston, 1966
Hairston was and outstanding track and basketball athlete. In basketball, he was part of the 1965 sectional and regional championship teams. In track, he was crowned as city, conference and sectional champion in the 100 yard dash, along with being a part of the champion 4x200 relay team.
Darwyn Hillard, 1978
Hillard was coached by fellow inductee Charles Stallworth. He was a four-time captain in track and cross country. In track, he earned all conference in the hurdles and mile relay along with being an all-stater in the mile relay.
Charles Stallworth, 1979
Stallworth coached seven individual state champions, 17 regional champs and 43 sectional champions. He coached a run of 32 consecutive wins by a mile relay team, an IHSAA milestone.
Brady Neilson, 1983
Neilson was the Most Valuable Player in both cross country and track & field. He was also first-team all-conference in both sports. He led Panthers to the 1982 sectional track championship. He was an individual sectional champ in the two-mile and a state finalist and holds records in cross country and track & field.
Skylar Diggins-Smith, 2009
Diggins-Smith was a four-year varsity letter winner, leading the Panthers to the state championship game each of those years. The Panthers won the 4A title in 2007. She was all-state first team in 2007, 2008 and 2009. Her national honors included Naismith Prep Player of the Year, Gatorade National Player of the Year and Gatorade Female Athlete of the Year. Diggins-Smith went on to play at Notre Dame, leading the Irish to three Final Fours and two National Championship games. She now plays for the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury and earned an Olympic Gold Medal with Team USA in the 2020 Tokyo Games.
Gehrig Dieter, 2012
Dieter was the Indiana Class 4A Player of the Year his senior season. In his prep career, he had 49 career touchdown receptions, setting the national record for receiving yards (437) and helped his team to conference, sectional, regional and semistate titles before falling in the state championship game. In 2012, he was conference MVP, a Parade All-American, MaxPreps first-team All-American, Sports Illustrated second-team All-American and an ESPN third-team All-American. Dieter went on to play college football at SMU, Bowling Green and Alabama. As an undrafted free agent, he signed with the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs where he played in 10 games over five years, earning a Super Bowl ring for the 2019 season.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: South Bend Washington announced eight-member class for 2023 HOF
