Allie Ostrander, a 2015 graduate of Kenai Central High School, and Joshua Gemmell, a 2001 graduate of Soldotna High School, will be a part of the Class of 2023 of the Alaska High School Hall of Fame, as announced by the Alaska School Activities Association on March 10.
The class of 11 will be inducted May 7 at 2 p.m. at the Lakefront Hotel in Anchorage.
Ostrander participated in soccer, basketball, cross-country and track and field while at Kenai Central. She rose to national fame as a runner.
“Allie is a perfectionist, determined to be the best at everything she does and has done,” Stacia Rustad, who coached Ostrander in basketball at Kenai, said in a statement released by ASAA. “Allie was kind and supportive to all her teammates, she was a complete competitor and made her teammates around her better.”
Ostrander won Class 4A state cross-country titles as a sophomore, junior and senior. As a senior, she won Nike Cross Nationals. She also won the 800-, 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs at the Class 4A state track and field meet as a junior and senior, setting state meet records in 2015 that still stand in the 1,600 and 3,200.
Gemmell won all of his events — 100-yard freestyle and 100 breaststroke and his two relays — at the 2000 state meet to be named the boys outstanding swimmer. That day, according to ASAA, he broke a state record, broke three school records and helped SoHi finish second in the team standings.
“It was a great accomplishment because we weren’t a one-person team,” Gemmell said in a statement released by ASAA. “The entire team contributed, and everyone stepped up under pressure.”
As a junior, Gemmell also won the 100 freestyle and 100 breaststroke.
“An outstanding person and a great leader in and out of the pool,” said Sohail Marey, the former Soldotna swim coach. “As a high school swimmer, he was always a star.”
The other inductees are Brandon Drumm, in football and track and field from Service; Milo Griffin, in coaching and activity sponsoring at Eielson, Lathrop and West Valley; Izabelle Ith, in swimming and track and field at Petersburg; Armand Ruffin, in basketball, football, and track and field at Chugiak; Bob Rychnovsky, a coach and activity sponsor at Newhalen; Rus Schreckenghost, a coach, activity sponsor, administrator at Dimond and also a staff member at ASAA; Bill Stoltze, a major contributor and sponsor; Stacey Wayne, an activity sponsor and coach at Sitka; and Harold Wilson, a sports official.
