Placer Athletic Hall of Fame induction ceremony set for April 30

The Placer High School Athletic Hall of Fame has announced its 2020 class of inductees that includes six athletes spanning four decades of sports competition, an acclaimed college coach, a state champion alpine ski team and an influential team trainer. Following two years of postponements, the honorees will finally be inducted in a ceremony April 30 at the Placer High School Auditorium. All-around athlete Alton Caesar (class of 1972) heads the list. Caesar was the leading scorer for Placer's basketball quintet, leading slugger for the baseball squad and a top sprinter on the track team. After a successful two years playing basketball and baseball at Sierra College, he earned a scholarship to Cal Berkeley, where he played shortstop and outfield. Also being inducted is Randy Havens (1978), a basketball and tennis standout who went on to star at Sierra College and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. He became a ranked tennis professional and has coached basketball at Colfax and tennis at Placer. Rodeo superstar Aaron Semas (1985) is a retired professional bull rider currently residing in Weatherford, Texas. During his career, he was ranked as a top-tier rider who made the Professional Bull Riders Finals four times and has been honored in the PBR Ring of Honor. Jill Butler (1993) was a dual-sport star participating in basketball and tennis. In her junior and senior years, she won back-to-back CIF singles championships and was a starting guard on the basketball team that captured two Sierra Foothill League titles. She went on to play tennis at CSU Sacramento and Southern Utah University. Stuart Eastman (2001) is being inducted for his exploits on the Hillmen cross-country and track teams. As a senior, he was the California state Division III cross-country champion, a year after finishing second as a junior. The most recent graduate being honored is Karly Sipherd (2004), a star volleyball player and track athlete. She was a two-time SFL all-leaguer in volleyball, and on the track and field team, she set school records in the 100-meter dash and high jump. Being honored as a coach this year is Lisa Mispley-Fortier (1999), who starred as a basketball player at Placer but is being honored for her coaching career. She is in her eighth year as the women's coach at Gonzaga University and has led the team to four appearances in the NCAA Tournament. The state-champion alpine ski team from 1992 is being honored this year. The boys and girls teams combined were undefeated league champions and swept the California championship with the most points ever scored in the state meet while achieving the largest margin of victory over a second-place team. In the Contributor category, Dave Timpone will be inducted. Timpone served as the school's athletic trainer from 1976-88, a 22-year career in which he was responsible for the construction of the training room and Student Athlete Trainers program. Again this year, the Athletic Hall of Fame committee will recognize the top male and female athletes and a Coach of the Year from area feeder schools (Bowman, E.V. Cain, Newcastle, Ophir and St. Joseph's). The Athletic Hall of Fame induction ceremony will begin at 7 p.m., following a meet-and-greet reception at 6. Tickets for the reception cost $25 until April 15 and $35 after, and are available online at placerathletichof.bpt.me. Phone orders may be placed directly by calling Brown Paper Tickets at 1-800-838-3006. The induction ceremony is free to the public.