FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – The Fresno County Athletic Hall of Fame has announced the individuals and team that have been selected for enshrinement in 2023:
James Patrick
Jaime Ramirez
Todd Riech
Rolland Todd
1968 Fresno State men’s tennis
The class of 2023 will officially be inducted into the Fresno County Athletic Hall of Fame on Wednesday, September 20th in the hall’s permanent home inside the Save Mart Center.
“We have three high-profile coaches, an Olympian and a national championship team,” said president Gena Strang-Behrens in a news release. “This is a terrific class.”
James Patrick is the winningest high school baseball coach in Central Section history. He retired in May of 2019 with a career record of 757-272-3. Patrick spent the bulk of his career at Clovis High School, leading the Cougars to ten section championships and two national championships.
Jaime Ramirez is the head men’s soccer coach at Fresno Pacific. The winningest coach in FPU history, he is also a former Sunbird player after a standout career at Clovis High School. He was a three-time NAIA all-American from 1977-1980.
Todd Riech broke the NCAA record in the javelin as a senior at Fresno State in 1994. Two weeks later, he won the national title in the javelin at the U.S. Outdoor Track & Field Championships. He represented the United States in the javelin at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.
Rolland (pronounced “Raw-lund”) Todd was the first-ever head coach of the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers. A native of Strathmore, Todd played basketball at Fresno State in the 1950’s where his roommate was Jerry Tarkanian. Todd scored 965 points in 64 games with the Bulldogs.
The 1968 Fresno State men’s tennis team won the Division II national championship. The Bulldogs had an 11-1 record in dual meets that year, and they defeated Cal State Los Angeles to win the title. In addition, Jim Powers and Gary Ogden won the national title in doubles.
