Western Guilford High School Athletics Inaugural Hall of Fame Members

The inaugural class of the Western Guilford Athletics Hall of Fame has been announced. The class includes an administrator, a coach, a state championship team and five athletes. Those members are Henry Walters, Doug Henderson, Mark Guenther, Tatyana Kirichenko, Jerry Russell Anthony Saunders, Lisa Stockton, and the 1977 women’s track team.

The inaugural class will be honored at the Hall of Fame dinner on Thursday, September 14, 2017 and introduced to the public at half time of the home football game on Friday, September 15, 2017.

Henry Walters:Walters: Principal of Western Guilford from 1968 through 1982 Mr. Walters was Western’s first principal.  He established himself as a strong proponent of athletics as well as academics and saw the success of both as necessary components for a well-rounded school that met the needs of its students in the classroom as well as on the playing fields.

His vision was for Western Guilford to be a leader in academics and athletic competition, thereby bringing pride to Western Guilford’s students and community. The sustained athletic and academic success at Western Guilford High School during Mr. Walters’ tenure as its principal is a testament to his leadership and his inclusion in the Western Guilford Athletics Hall of Fame.

2017-06-01 WG - Doug Henderson WGHS

Doug Henderson: Western Guilford Coach and Athletics Director: 1972 through 1989. As Head Football Coach from 1972 through 1989, he compiled a record of 107 wins, 47 losses, and 3 ties.  His teams won 6 conference titles and in 1977, won the NCHSAA State 3-A Football Championship.                         

He also served as head coach of the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas, the NCCA East West All-Star game and the old North South All-Star game.  As Head Track Coach, Coach Henderson’s teams amassed an outstanding 180-5 record in dual and triangular meets including two different streaks of 40-plus consecutive dual meets.  Served as Athletic Director at Western Guilford, where he oversaw all sports and facilities at Western.  Elected President of the North Carolina Coaches Association in 1986.  One of the founders of the North Carolina Football Coaches Association, serving as Executive Secretary from 1988 – 2003. In 2011 he was inducted into the Guilford County Sports Hall of Fame In 2012, Coach Henderson was inducted into the prestigious North Carolina High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame. On September 12, 2014, the Football Stadium at Western Guilford High School was named Doug Henderson Stadium in honor of Coach Henderson’s

Mark Guenther: Western Guilford Class of 1975
Earned 13 Varsity Letters: 3 in Football, 3 in Basketball, 3 in Track, and 4 in Baseball.
Golden Helmet (MVP) Winner in Football 1974
All conference in Football 1973 and 1974
All conference in Basketball 1974 and 1975
All conference in Baseball 1974 and 1975
News and Record All State in Baseball – 1975
Member of the Winning NC Shrine Bowl Football Team 1974
NC East West Football Participant 1975
Received a scholarship to play Football at Wake Forest. Transferred to Guilford College to play baseball where he led the NAIA in hitting in 1978 with a .454 Average.

2017-06-01 WG Tatyana Kirichenko WGHS

Tatyana Kirichenko: Western Guilford Class of 2001
1999 3-A Outdoor State Champion team co-captain
2001 All-American: Pole Vault
North Carolina Female Athlete of the Year 2001
NCHSAA Track & Field State Meet Most Outstanding Athlete
Conference and Regional Champion in the triple jump, pole vault,
100m-meter hurdles and high jump in 2000 and 2001
State indoor champion in the high jump in 2000.
State outdoor champion in the triple jump and the pole vault in 2001. Set state record in the pole vault (11’ 6”)
State runner-up in the triple jump in both 1999 and 2000 
Two-time all-conference in volleyball.  Volleyball Conference Player of the Year in 2000;
Three-time all-conference in track and field.  Track Conference Field Events Athlete of the Year in 2000 and 2001.
2003 ACC Heptathlon Champion
2003 and 2004 NCAA East Regional qualifier in the pole vault
2003 NCAA East Regional qualifier in the high jump
2004 ACC Indoor Pole Vault Champion.  Broke the Carolina record in the indoor pole vault – 13’ 2 ½”
Six-time All-ACC in high jump and pole vault
Scored in the ACC Championships in four events – pole vault, high jump, heptathlon, and triple jump.

2017-06-01 WG - Jerry Russell WGHS

Jerry Russell: Western Guilford Class of 1984
Football: All Conference and All State in 1983
Basketball: Team MVP in 1982, 1983, and 1984  
-All Conference in 1983 and 1984
– Conference Tournament MVP in 1984
– Conference Player of the Year in 1984
– All State in 1984
Baseball: All conference in 1982 and 1984
– Starting catcher for the 1984 3-A State Championship Baseball Team
– Team MVP in 1984
– All Area and All Region in 1984
– All State in 1984
Played both basketball and baseball collegiately at Elon University 
Basketball: 4 year Letterman  
Baseball: Played in the NAIA World Series in 1985 and 1987
– All Conference, All Area, All District and Honorable Mention All American in 1986

Anthony Saunders: Western Guilford Class of 1997
Set North Carolina high school records for career rushing yards, carries, touchdowns, rushing touchdowns and 100-yard games.
Most Valuable Player of the 1996 Shrine Bowl as he led the North Carolina prep stars to victory with 102 yards on 18 carries.
First-team all-state selection in 1995 and 1996.  Three-time Conference Player of the Year.
State career rushing leader with 7,782 yards, one of the top 20 figures in national high school history.
Rushed a state-record 371 times for 2,793 yards and 30 touchdowns as a senior.
Scored 103 career touchdowns, including 100 rushing.   
Rushed for over 100 yards in each of his last 40 career contests.
NC Scholar-Athlete Award Winner
Played College football for The University of North Carolina Tar Heels

2017-06-01 WG - Lisa Stockton Wake Forest

Lisa Stockton: Western Guilford Class of 1982
Lettered 12 times in 4 different sports – 6 time team captain
Basketball: 4-time all-conference, Conference Player of the year ‘82
Volleyball: 4 seasons, 2-time all-conference
Softball: 3 seasons
Track and Field: 1 Season; elected most outstanding performer in 1982 conference track meet. 
Conference Champion in 4 events.  Honored by NCHSAA on the list of “100 to remember” female athletes for the 100-year anniversary of NC high school sports.
Played basketball at Wake Forest University.  Still ranks in the top 10 in points scored, made
field goals, assists, and steals.
Drafted by the WNBA but chose to enter coaching as an assistant at UNC Chapel Hill.
Has spent 23 years as Head Coach of the Tulane women’s basketball program and 27 years overall as a head coach.
Career record of 542-269 (.668) ranks her 26 th  among active NCAA Division-I head coaches in
victories.

1977 women’s track team: Coached by Mickie Tuttle, Western Guilford captured the 1977 NCHSAA State Track Championship, Western Guilford’s first ever State Championship. This accomplishment was all the more meaningful for Coach Tuttle and her team as this was a unified State Championship with all Divisions: IA, 2A, 3A, and 4A competing together to crown a single State Champion.