Class of 1991
Football and Baseball

James Richard Deeney was born in Redwood City in 1973. He attended Half Moon Bay High School from 1988 to 1991, earning honors in both sports and academics.

Athletically he received All-County, All-League and team awards such as Most Valuable Player and Most Improved player during his years at HMB High School. The highlight of his high school career was just playing sports in a small town atmosphere with friends who will last a lifetime.

Football for Jimmy proved to be successful during his four years at HMBHS. As a sophomore in 1987, the Frosh-Soph team had an undefeated season. As a Varsity football player, he played on the first undefeated football team in HMBHS history with a 9-0 record. That team went on to win the league and be ranked #9 in the AA Division & #1 in San Mateo County for nine weeks running. During Jimmy’s freshman year, he was awarded First Team All League for football. As a sophomore, his success continued with 2nd team All-League on the varsity football team, and he was voted Most Inspirational Player. Junior year his awards kept coming as he again made 1st team All-League for football, led the team in total defense and was awarded "Most Inspirational" by his teammates. He was again named First Team All League as a senior, and also named to the All-Star team for defense as a linebacker.

He brought the same passion for playing to the baseball field, and was just as successful. As a freshman, he was named First Team All-League with a .446 batting average. As a sophomore, his batting average jumped to .500, and he was recognized as First Team All-League again and Most Valuable Player for the team. Over the course of his Junior year, he was again awarded First Team All-League, All County with a batting average of .447 which was second in the NPL and was again awarded Most Valuable Player by his teammates. His senior year was the culmination of four years of hard work and determination. Jimmy was again awarded First Team All-League with a batting average of .368 and was given honorable mention for All-County.

With the encouragement of his high school coach mentors Neil McNevin, Don Dias, Gary Dilley, Jack Coolidge and Mike Krieger, he went on to play baseball at both Cañada College and College of San Mateo until a shoulder injury prevented him from pursuing his career further. He credits his coaches for inspiring him to play college ball.

Jimmy continues to live and work on the Coastside. He is a property manager for various ranches, which includes working for his family business raising black angus cattle and growing red oat hay. In 2004 he married his wife, Jessica, who is also a HMBHS alum. Together, on their ranch just south of Half Moon Bay, they are raising their three daughters, Olivia (10), Tessa (8) and Mariah (8). In his free time he watches his nieces play softball at HMBHS where they are making their own mark on Cougar athletics. He also enjoys archery, hunting and fishing and has coached softball for the HMB Girls Softball League for the past four years. He enjoys being able to spend quality time with his daughters, away from technology. The league means a lot to his family and has taught his daughters important aspects of being an athlete, including camaraderie, confidence, perseverance and a love of the game.

Class of 2006
Wrestling

Katherine Fulp-Allen was born in Redwood City in 1988 and attended HMBHS from 2002-2006. She loved being part of a close-knit community and felt that being a student athlete allowed her to connect with it in a very special way. Katherine was a member of both the Wrestling and Cross Country teams. In addition, she excelled academically spending four years on the Principal’s Honor Roll and earning the California CCS Scholar-Athlete Award, the HMBHS Female Scholar-Athlete Award, the HMBHS Cougar Booster Scholarship and the Cabrillo Unified Teachers Association Scholarship.

She was as dedicated on the wrestling mat and cross country course as she was in the classroom and gathered many awards and titles over the course of her high school career. She credits several important people in her life in helping her achieve her goals. First, she is grateful to Kevin Ostenberg, the head coach of the cross- country team. “He helped foster fun and hard work and gave me such an awesome perspective of how I enjoy being coached,” she said. Her wrestling coaches, John Rhodes and her father Lee Allen were “extremely supportive and fundamental in (her) growth as a young wrestler.” She feels that their leadership led her to pursue an athletic career. Lastly, her mother Joan Fulp was instrumental not only in Katherine’s success, but in supporting the small girls wrestling team from HMB. Without her support and sacrifice, the team would not have been able to travel to and compete in many competitions.

Katherine’s most memorable moment from cross-country came from the 2004 Mt Sac Invitational. It is a notoriously tough course and that year HMB entered a combined division that included the division above them. HMBHS won the entire competition, spurring them to set their sights on the California State Finals. They went on State and placed third, the highest a Half Moon Bay girls cross-country team had ever placed! Katherine left HMBHS having collected the following cross-country awards: four-time Team PAL League Champions from 2002 to 2005 (Scoring Team Member); CCS Division 4 Team Champions; 2002 and 2005 (Scoring Team Member); Mt. Sac Invitational Champions 2004 (Scoring Team Member); California State Championships Division 4; Third Place Team Champions, 2004 and 2005 (Scoring Team Member) and the Dick Calvin Cross-Country Award for 2004 and 2005.

When not training outdoors, she spent countless hours in the gym perfecting her wrestling skills. Again, the special nature of her experience at HMB formed the foundation of her career as a professional athlete. She was very close with her teammates, and their shared experience of being from a small town where their accomplishments were celebrated and recognized, created a very special bond. Katherine chose to wrestle in girls-only tournaments during her high school career. She chose this path as a way for her to test herself against her own gender and to support the growth of female wrestling in California. She achieved local and national honors in this sport. Her HMB record of 99 wins, 8 losses still stands! Her record, including USA Wrestling Tournaments, is 150 wins, 26 losses. At the California State Championships she was named Champion in 2004 and 2006 and received 2nd place honors in 2003 and 2005. She was the CIF Northern Regional Champion in 2006. She was a four-time title-holder in Freestyle Nationals and Champion at the Asics Napa Valley Girls Classic in 2006. Lastly, she was National Runner-up and Third Place USGWA Girls High School Nationals in 2004 and 2006.

Katherine continued her studies and wrestling at Menlo College from 2006 to 2010. She was two time College National Champion and two time National Athlete of the Year. She excelled there garnering more regional, national and international titles including Junior Pan American Champion 2007, University World Champion 2008 and U.S. Olympic Trials Participant 2008. She also graduated Magna Cum Laude and Alpha Chi with a Bachelors of Science in Business Finance.

As a resident athlete at the U.S. Olympic Training Center, she has continued to pursue her wrestling career, while working to improve the sport for all women by serving as a Board member for “Wrestle Like A Girl.” She is also the head coach for the School-Girl Pan American Championships and serves on the USA Wrestling Women’s Sport and Audit Committees. Twice she has been an Olympic Alternate, placing 3rd at the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Trials. She was the 2016 Dave Shultz International Tournament Champion and Outstanding Wrestler and five time National Team Member and multi-international medal winner. She is currently ranked 3rd in the U.S. with past world-rankings including 5th, 6th and 7th.

Upon her graduation from HMBHS, Katherine received the Cougars Head Award (given to athletes with 8 varsity seasons) and she was named the HMB Review Athlete of the Year for 2006. It is safe to say that the support, training and knowledge that she gained at HMBHS and the encouragement she received from the people close to her, and from the community at large, provided a firm foundation for her to leave HMB and continue to pursue her dreams.

Community Member
Sportswriter

When Mark Foyer covered his first Half Moon Bay High School event for the Half Moon Bay Review in 1997, he could have never guessed that his vocation and avocation would meld so beautifully. But in no time Foyer became a familiar face at the high school and the face of the newspaper at many community events. Over the next 20 years, Foyer would be on hand for wins and losses that span generations of Cougars. He values every sport and every competitor, not just high-profile Central Coast Section champions.

He holds a special place in his heart for track and field. His coverage of the Artichoke Invitational is just one example of how he raised the profile of Cross Country within the community and well beyond.

Mark has won a closet-full of writing awards over his tenure. In 2009, he received the Central Coast Section Distinguished Service Award. More recently, in 2015, he was honored with the Boys and Girls Club of the Coastside’s “From the Heart” award, which goes to a community member who goes the extra mile for area youth. It isn’t surprising that Mark hesitates when asked to remember particularly special moments. They are all special to Mark.

“It’s been my honor to watch the athletes reach goals they didn’t think were possible,” he said. “There are so many special moments to mention that I don’t want to miss anyone.”

Mark says he couldn’t have done all that he has done for the community without the support of his family. He also wants to thank some mentors from his past—Chris Stave, who was the San Mateo County sports editor of the San Mateo County Times, San Francisco Examiner prep writer Merv Harris and College of San Mateo journalism teacher Al Alexandre.

Class of 2005
Track & Field

Liza Reichert (nee Hitchner) was born in San Mateo and raised on the Coastside. Like many of her classmates, she spent her childhood in the Cabrillo District and enjoyed growing up in this close-knit community. From age four through her high school years, she took dance lessons at the Susan Hayward School of Dance. She also studied piano from the 4th grade on with Pat McNutt (the organist at the United Methodist Church).

Upon her arrival at Half Moon Bay High School (HMBHS), she became involved in a variety of activities and academic pursuits. She played the flute in the marching band and enjoyed performing at every home football game. She served as a Class Senator and was Valedictorian for the class of 2005. She loved the pumpkins decorating the school roofs at homecoming and enjoyed taking AP Biology (her favorite class).

When she wasn’t marching on the field, she spent time running the track and local trails. She competed in both Cross Country and Track. Her Cross Country coach, Kevin Ostenberg, helped her to find her passion for running, something that continues to be part of her life today. Liza gathered many athletic honors during her years at HMBHS. She was a PAL Cross Country Champion in 2004. She was also the PAL Champion in 2005 in the 1600 and 3200m races. She was a three-time Cross Country State Championship Team Qualifier. She was named Athlete of the Year for 2004-2005. Lastly, she capped off her HMBHS career by qualifying for the State Meet in the 1600m. At that time, she was the first athlete to advance to the State Championship from HMB in nearly 20 years! She placed 3rd at the CCS Championships setting a personal best time of 5:02—an HMBHS record which has yet to be broken!

Her most memorable high school race was at the 2004 Mt. SAC Cross Country Invitational. She won that race, leading HMB to a team win. In addition, that victory propelled HMB into the CA State rankings and ultimately led to collegiate recruiting interest in Liza. After graduation, she received a NCAA Division 1 scholarship and continued her studies (and her running) at UC Santa Barbara, where she was a member of two Cross Country National Championship qualifying teams. When not competing or training, she earned a BS in Microbiology (with Honors) and a Master’s in Molecular Biology.

She continues to run with the Aggies Running Club. She married Kota Reichert in 2015 and qualified for the 2016 Olympic Trials in the Marathon, running 2:42:24 in December 2015. She and her husband both enjoy running when they are not working at Stanford Hospital, she as a clinical researcher and he as a physical therapist.

The passion for running which Liza discovered at HMBHS continues to propel her forward today. Just this past summer, she ran her personal best mile time of 4:45!