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The tenor of the evening at the Medford Sports Hall of Fame induction banquet Saturday was established early by keynote speaker Larry Fariss. The retired Air Force colonel, himself a Hall member who was at one time the Air Force Academy athletic director, told the story of a man who came around a bend in the road. Atop a fencepost, he saw a turtle. The man knew one thing above all else: The turtle didn’t get there by itself. Fariss’ advice to the 11 inductees being honored at Rogue Valley Country Club was to enjoy the moment, then start saying thank-yous to those who helped get them there. Each of them did just that. The ceremony was the first since 2012 and increased the membership to 157, with eight athletes, two contributors and one coach going in. The athletes were Stephanie Adams (softball), Jeff Barry (baseball), Missy Coe-Doerr (softball), Ryan Fiegi (basketball), Rob Folsom (multisport), Craig Johnson (basketball), Sam Pecktol (powerlifting) and Bryn Ritchie (soccer). Contributors were Gary Miller (baseball) and Jim Wise (golf), and the coach was Bill Rowan (track and field). Coe-Doerr was unable to attend. Honorees thanked parents, siblings and coaches and told stories of how those people helped them become successful. Fiegi, who led Oregon Tech to the NAIA national championship and was named national player of the year, thanked his parents for always being there. If they weren’t at a game, he said, it was probably because his older brother, Eric — a 2012 inductee — had a game. Ryan Fiegi expressed gratitude to his brother for never taking it easy on him and recalled a one-on-one game in the driveway. “For some reason, we bet a dollar on who would win,” said Ryan. “Of course, he kicked my butt.” Eric, said Ryan, was 3 years older, 7 inches taller and about 100 pounds heavier. “There are three things from that game that I remember,” said Ryan. “The first one is, I hate to lose, especially to my big brother. The second is, I really don’t like losing money. Even one dollar when I was 9 seemed liked the end of the world. And the third thing I remember is, don’t ever cuss in front of your mother. “So, sorry mom.” Adams starred at North Medford and Oregon State. When she entered the Black Tornado youth program, she wasn’t regarded as anything special. Then she went to work. Adams became a three-time all-state player, set numerous school records and continued her success at Oregon State. She, too, thanked her parents, telling her dad she knows the reason his shoulder aches is from all the whiffle balls he pitched to her. And she thanked her mom for all the driving to Portland in their Volkswagen bug, “Murphy.” A firefighter in the Portland area, she said she learned teamwork from North Medford’s coaches and her teammates, who she said she tried her entire career to keep up with. “I’ve been lots of places,” said Adams, “and I’ve been coached by a lot of people. I have yet to find a community like this town that supports their athletes and rallies around them, let alone that would select someone like me, who wasn’t very good in the beginning, for this honor.” Ritchie was a standout at South Medford who later was a two-time All-American at Washington. He was drafted by Colorado of the MLS and played two years with the Portland Timbers. His father, Mike, was an original Hall inductee. “I remember sitting in a room like this when I was 6,” said Ritchie, now a pastor in West Linn, “and after awhile, it was a little boring.” His parents, too, put in a lot of miles. So many, said Ritchie, that they bought a van with a bed in the back. Seeing old photos of Hall members on display left him humbled. “Pictures and names and heroes that I’ve had and looked up to my whole life in sports and athletics,” said Ritchie, “and dad being one of them, for sure. It’s just an honor to be here.” A number of his former South Medford teammates attended, and they reminisced. Ritchie was state player of the year, and the Panthers boasted 11 senior starters. They lost one game en route to the Class 4A state title. “I still remember when we would line up to start the game,” he said, “and you could look in the other team’s eyes and actually see fear and trepidation. I miss that.” Barry was an all-state quarterback at Medford High and — following a split to two high schools — South Medford High, but it was in baseball that he moved up the ranks. After starring at San Diego State, he played 13 professional seasons, including three in the majors. His formative years also involved a whiffle ball and a brother, Brent. “We’d spend hours and hours on Old Military Road playing one-on-one whiffle ball,” said Jeff. “The backstop was our little pool shed. When we got hot, we’d jump in the pool, then get out and do it again. “I always knew if I could hit (Brent’s) whiffle-ball curveball, I could hit anything.” Well, almost. “What I wish I would have done is taught him how to throw left-handed and throw Randy Johnson’s slider,” said Jeff. “I never could figure out how to hit that.” He stubbornly refused to try switch-hitting. That is, until Brent did it at his dad’s urging. “I probably never would have made the big leagues if I wasn’t a switch-hitter,” said Jeff. “I was never a starter in the big leagues. I was always the fourth outfielder, but it gave the managers an extra guy on the bench who could hit both ways.” About 300 people attended the banquet. Reach sports editor Tim Trower at 541-776-4479 or [email protected] null