Stockton Athletic HOF class of 2022

Eight people and one team became part of a decades-long Stockton tradition when they were inducted into the Stockton Athletic Hall of Fame before about 500 people at Stockton Memorial Civic Auditorium on Nov. 16. The night was filled with reminiscing and stories at the 57th annual ceremony.

Below are the 2022 Stockton Athletic Hall of Fame inductees:

(Inductees listed in alphabetical order)

Bret Almazan-Cezar

Almazan-Cezar became the girls' volleyball coach for Lincoln High school in 1993 and would go on to become the winningest volleyball coach in California history. During his seven years at the helm of the Trojans, he led them to the CIF Northern California Championship in 1998 and 1999. Among the players he coached were Nicole Davis, a silver medalist at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, and Molly Mordaunt Hummel, the San Joaquin Delta College volleyball head coach.

David Ellis

Ellis began his racquetball career at the YMCA at the then Quail Lakes Athletic Club. He began coaching young players, including a team that won the Pan American Games in 1995. This jump-started his legendary racquetball coaching career. Ellis then became the team leader and head coach for the Racquetball Team USA in 2002. Throughout his 15 years as the Team USA coach, he was named the Coach of the Year five times and led his team to five World Championships and nine Pan American Championships.

Soon Gaal

Gaal has lived in Stockton since 1985 but has been mountain climbing and long-distance walking worldwide. Her achievements include completing the 2003 Boston Marathon with a time of 4 hours and 36 minutes, running in the 2007 100-mile Endurance Run from Squaw Valley to Auburn, California in less than 30 hours, and in 2019 she completed a 40-day 570-mile hike in France and Spain. Gaal’s conquests have been featured in several newspapers and publications including the Stockton Record.

Angelo Galindo

Galindo is a lifelong Stockton resident who has been an advocate for fitness and strength training in the community. He set up weight rooms in his garage to train and teach proper weightlifting techniques to local athletes including athletes from the University of the Pacific. In 1982 he took his training to St. Mary’s High school as an assistant coach. 38 years and counting, Galindo, or “grandpa” as St. Mary’s student-athletes like to call him, is still helping out the team and advocating for fitness.

Tony Martin (Memorial Award)

Martin was a jack of all trades, as he is being inducted in the Hall of Fame for bowling, baseball and football. He played football at Edison High school from 1977-1980 and throughout his time he was the team's co-captain and was named McDonald's Athlete of the Week in November 1980. After high school, Martin played baseball for the Stockton Lightning Bugs. As a bowler, he bowled 28 perfect games of 300 and 30 times had an 800 series with a high of 877. This will be Martin's second induction into a Hall of Fame after being inducted into the Stockton Mexican Sports Hall of Fame in 2014.

Quincey Noble

In the summer of 1989, Noble was hired by Pacific as their recruiting coordinator and hitting coach. During his 14 years at Pacific, he helped save the struggling baseball program at the time, and in 1994 they had the longest winning streak in the nation. Noble would continue to coach baseball at McNair High school from 2003-2017 earning him the Stockton Record’s Coach of the year award in 2015. Noble is currently the athletic director at McNair and a mentor for students and aspiring coaches.

Ruben Patron (Memorial Award)

Patron was an All-star level baseball player for Franklin high school, San Joaquin Delta College and Long Beach State. As a Yellowjacket, he was selected as the Most Valuable Player for the Central California Conference in 1970 as their pitcher. His success in high school earned him the recognition as The Record's Player of the Year on the All-City Team as their lead hitter with a .395 batting average. In college he continued to shine setting a NCAA record that still stands, pitching 20 innings in one game where he threw a total of 197 pitches and 147 being strikes.

Everett Rey

Rey was a baseball legend for St. Mary’s from 1973-77. As a catcher, he was selected to the All-League team as a senior with a batting average of .429. Rey would go on to play six years in the minors, playing for the Single-A Waterloo Indians, Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts, Triple-A Charleston Charlies, and Double-A Buffalo Bisons. Once he retired from pro ball, he returned to his hometown and began coaching the Lincoln boys baseball varsity team until 2010.

1990-91 Stockton Cougars under 13 boys' competitive soccer team

In 1991, the Stockton Cougars U-13 boys' soccer team was the first Stockton-based competitive soccer team to win the California Youth Soccer Association State Cup since the team was founded in 1981. Coached by Mark Kusanovich, Greg Pulas and trainer Ernie Roxas, the Cougars finished with a record of 70-7-8. The team was ranked No. 1 in the state by CYSA in December. The team won eight tournaments, and finished second in three tournaments. Made up of 18 players, the Cougars won the State Cup Championship on Feb. 23,1991 against the defending champs, the Chivas of Santa Cruz and Watsonville.

Record reporter Shannon Belt covers sports. She can be reached at sbelt@recordnet.com or on Twitter @ShannonBelt3. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at recordnet.com/subscribenow.

This article originally appeared on The Record: Stockton Athletic Hall of Fame inducts 2022 class