The Colorado High School Activities Association’s 23rd Hall of Fame class was announced today. It includes two Denver Post Gold Helmet winners.
Voted into this year’s class are: Bobby Anderson of Boulder; Justin Armour of Manitou Springs; Christine Bullard of Jefferson County; George Demetriou of Colorado Springs; Kristen and Cari Jensen of Fowler; and Marc Johnson of Cherry Creek.
“The Class of 2011 reveals the breadth and depth that Colorado high school athletics and activities represent in our member schools,” CHSAA commissioner Paul Angelico said. “Each of the inductees has left a snapshot of his or her impact on this organization in a positive way.”
Honorees will be inducted Jan. 18 at the Red Lion Hotel Denver Southeast.
Anderson is one of the state’s most well-known athletic figures. He followed his brother, Dick, to the University of Colorado before playing with the Broncos. A three-sporter as a schoolboy, he graduated in 1966 after starring in football, basketball and baseball. He followed eventual CHSAA Hall of Famer Hale Irwin at quarterback. In 1963, Anderson led the Boulder Panthers to the state championship.
A switch-hitting catcher who was drafted by the Houston Astros, he was MVP of the senior high school baseball game at former Bears Stadium. He won the Gold Helmet in 1965; set 18 CU records; was a consensus All-America in 1969; and a first-round draft pick of the Broncos. He’s in a half-dozen halls of fame and is also remembered for his bit part in the movie “One on One.”
Armour won the Gold Helmet in 1990 and was another three-sporter, and also starred in basketball and track. He also was on student council, and was school president, newspaper editor and class valedictorian.
He set the state record for total offensive yards in football and was his basketball team’s leading scorer and rebounder. Armour led his team to the 1990 state football championship and a state track championship, plus a final four finish in basketball. He went on to Stanford, played for Bill Walsh, was on the basketball team for two years and set a school mark with 2,482 yards receiving. He was a Super Bowl winner with the Broncos. He currently coaches Manitou Springs football.
Bullard has a long list of coaching and administrating accomplishments, including being a pioneer during the development of female athletics.
She was girls’ athletics director and one of the state’s top field hockey coaches at Kent Denver, where she had a 94-11-13 mark in field hockey and her teams had a 26-game shutout streak and 71-game unbeaten run (67-0-4). She served six years as a member of the CHSAA board of directors; seven years on what is now the CHSAA board of control; and chaired the field hockey committee. At Jeffco, where she was district AD, she hosted numerous postseason state events and earned an assortment of honors.
Demetriou has been one of the state’s top officials for decades. He’s a rules interpreter for football and baseball; has umpired three state baseball championship games; and been involved in the playoffs for 15 years.
Demetriou also served as president of the baseball umpires and football officials associations; is a member of the Minor League Football Hall of Fame; and creator and author of the biannual College Study Guide in baseball.
Johnson is one of the greatest coaches in state history. He has won 12 state championships (seven in baseball and five in boys’ soccer).
With the Bruins for 39 years, his baseball teams have won league titles and sent more than 300 players on to play collegiately, and 75 former Bruins have played professionally. He has a 631-147 mark in baseball coach and received nearly every award possible within the coaching community.
Kristen and Cari Jensen, twins, were three-sporters — volleyball, basketball and track — for Fowler. They were co-valedictorians and earned volleyball scholarships to Kansas State, where they earned numerous academic and athletic honors.
They also participated in student council, band, drama, National Honor Society, FBLA, FCCLA and a number of church activities. In volleyball, their teams were four-time district and regional champions, three-time state champions and a state runner-up.
The Jan. 18 festivies at the Red Lion Hotel Denver Southeast (I 225 and Parker) include a banquet and silent auction. It begins at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $45 and available by contacting the CHSAA at 303-344-5050.
