By Piper Banning
Badger Sports Reporter
The Bonners Ferry Badgers will be well represented at this year’s North Idaho Athletic Hall of Fame awards banquet April 6 at the Coeur d’Alene Resort, with the Badger ladies 2023 Idaho State 3A championship golf team nominated for 3A-1A Girl’s Team of the Year, their coach Ralph Lotspiech up for 3A-1A Girl’s Coach of the Year, the 2024 Idaho State 3A Boy’s Basketball Champion Bonners Ferry Badger for 3A-1Boys Team of the year and coach Nathan Williams for Boy’s Coach of the Year, Asha Abubakari Girl’s Athlete of the Year and Trey Bateman Boy’s Athlete of the Year.
It’s been a spectacular year for Badger athletes, and joining those listed above as nominees will be teammates, classmates and friends for life Avery Bayer and Braylyn Bayer, golf; Eli Newell, soccer, Helene Rae, volleyball, Tarryn Bateman, Thomas Bateman and Idaho MVP Asher Williams, boy’s basketball, and Aubrey Wells and Eva Willis, wrestling … oops!
Can’t forget Trey for his performance on the boy’s baseball diamond or Asha her excellence in track and field!
According to the Coeur d’Alene Press, former U of I offensive lineman Mark Schlereth, now an NFL analyst for Fox Sports will be keynote speaker and KHQ TV’s Dennis Patchin will be the emcee. 2024 Hall of Fame Inductees are:
Randy Meller, who Mueller has been around professional football for four decades. Born and raised in St. Maries, he played quarterback for the Lumberjacks and then at Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon. As a senior in 1982 at Linfield, he led his team to the NAIA Division II national championship and was named MVP of the title game. A year later, Mueller began his pro football front office career as an assistant in pro personnel with the Seattle Seahawks. In 1990, he was promoted to pro personnel director, and then in 1995, he became the team’s vice president of football operations.
Jackie Ross Mattox is a 10-time Big Sky Conference champion. Born in Kingstown, the capital city of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Mattox attended UI during 1989-93. She is a three-time Big Sky champ in both the outdoor and indoor triple jump, a two-time winner in the indoor long jump, and also won titles in the outdoor long jump and heptathlon.
Darrah Eggers — Growing up in small town Bovill, Idaho, athletics were always important to the Eggers family. Darrah started young, building his own high jump pit out in the family barnyard. He eventually added a long jump pit and a two lane 35-meter sprint area. These homemade facilities helped him set the national 12-13-year-old high jump record in Memphis, Tennessee at 6-1½. Later that summer, he set the national record in the Pentathlon for 12–13-year-olds at 4,809 points.
Bill Bopp, a high school basketball official for 36 years before he retired in 2021. He also spent more than a dozen years officiating college games. Bopp, who lives in Cocolalla, graduated from Sandpoint High in 1978 where he played basketball, which began him on a life journey involved with the sport.
Founded by the late Duane Hagadone, the Idaho Athletic Hall of Fame was organized to honor those individuals from the state of Idaho who have achieved significant recognition in an area of athletic endeavor, or have made a special contribution to Idaho Athletics.
General admission tickets are $41.50, available online. Free tickets for nominees, coaches and athletic directors are available here. Doors at the Coeur d’Alene Resort, 115S 2nd St, Coeur d’Alene, open at 5:30, the event runs until 9 p.m. To learn more, call 1-855-280-4398.
