SPOKANE, Wash. -- On October 6th Whitworth
University will induct former football All-American Larry Paradis,
track and field national champion Drew Stevick and the 1978-81 era
of women’s volleyball as the 18th class into the Whitworth
Heritage Gallery Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony will take
place at Whitworth Community Presbyterian Church ’s Quall
Hall, beginning at 8:30 am.
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All-American T Larry Paradis
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Larry Paradis was a standout, even during one
of the greatest eras in Whitworth football history. Paradis
transferred to Whitworth after a year at the University of
Washington and was named AP Little All-America twice, as a third
team selection in 1953 and as a first team choice in 1954. A
two-way tackle, Paradis played a key role in Whitworth’s
Evergreen Conference titles in 1953 and 1954. Paradis was also an
All-Evergreen Conference and Little All-Coast honoree for three
years (1952, 1953, and 1954). The 1953 championship was
Whitworth’s first in football and set in motion the school
record of 20 consecutive wins that spanned the end of the 1953
season to the beginning of the 1956 season. Although he received
tryout invitations from six NFL teams, Paradis declined those
offers and followed in his father’s footsteps to become a
general contractor. For 35 years, he owned a business that focused
on multiple housing and commercial construction projects. Larry and
his wife, Virginia, have three children.
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NAIA champion Drew Stevick
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Clyde "Drew" Stevick came to Whitworth from
Colfax, Washington, despite an offer of a football scholarship to
the University of Washington. As a javelin thrower for the Pirates,
Stevick set records that will literally never be broken. As a
sophomore in 1968 he finished as runner-up in the javelin at the
NAIA Outdoor Track & Field championships in Albuquerque, New
Mexico. The following year he earned another All-American finish in
the event at the NAIA Championships in Billings, Montana, and in
1970 he returned to the national meet in Billings where he became
NAIA champion with a throw of 241’-6'. He had a toss of
254’-4' during the 1970 season which stands as a Whitworth
record for the "old" javelin implement, which was changed in 1988.
His performance during the 1970 season earned Stevick an invitation
to the 1972 Olympic Trials. He graduated from Whitworth in 1970
with a 4.0 grade point average and was presented the prestigious
President’s Cup. Stevick went on to medical school at
Stanford University, specializing in vascular and general surgery.
He and his wife Wendy have five children.
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JoAnn Atwell-Scrivner
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Whitworth’s volleyball era from 1978
through 1981 was a watershed for women’s sports at the
university. The 1978 team, coached by Peggy Warner, won the AIAW
Pacific Northwest small college regional tournament to earn a berth
in the AIAW small college national tournament in Orlando, Florida,
becoming the first Whitworth women’s team to play in a
national championship tournament. The 1979 squad, coached by JoAnn
Atwell-Scrivner, also won the regional and played at the AIAW
Division III tournament at Occidental College in California. In
1980 Whitworth was awarded the right to host the AIAW Division III
Tournament, where the Pirates finished in sixth place. The 1981
team finished with an overall record of 34-4, setting a school
record for single season winning percentage (.895) that has stood
for more than 25 years. Over the course of the four seasons the
team had a won-lost record of 130-33.
The class of 2007 will join a group of 58
individuals and six teams already enshrined in the Heritage
Gallery. The class of 2007, along with all current Heritage Gallery
members attending the induction, will be recognized at halftime of
the Whitworth - Pacific Lutheran football game on Saturday.
The Whitworth Heritage Gallery Hall of Fame is
sponsored by the Crimson Club and the first class was inducted in
1990.
Reservations for the induction ceremony and
breakfast can still be made by calling 777-3224.
