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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

WSU athletic hall will grow by seven

Class of 2009 includes Fry, Washington, Ehlo, Walden

Six men and one woman, whose history dates from 1952 to the present, have been selected for induction into the Washington State University Athletic Hall of Fame, director of athletics Jim Sterk announced.

Five athletes, a former coach and the man considered the unquestioned authority on Cougars athletic history are in the Class of 2009 that will be inducted during ceremonies Sept. 18-19. They will bring to 120 the number enshrined since the hall was chartered in 1978.

The list includes two pioneers (men before 1970, women before 1985) who were trailblazers in their respective Cougars careers:

•Richard “Dick” Fry joined the WSU staff in 1952 and served 13 years as sports information director and 15 years as the school’s news bureau director. After he retired, he wrote the definitive history of Cougars athletics for WSU’s centennial celebration and continues to write for WSU game programs and other publications.

•Duke Washington, an All-America football running back (1952-54) who played in the East-West Shrine Game and was the first African-American to play in the University of Texas’ Memorial Stadium. On Oct. 2, 1954, he received the loudest cheers of the day from 28,000 Longhorns fans following a 73-yard touchdown run.

The others:

•Craig Ehlo, who led George Raveling-coached men’s basketball teams in 1982 and 1983, including an NCAA tournament berth. He set several school records as a senior and followed with a 14-year NBA career.

•Keri Killebrew, who led coach Cindy Fredrick’s 1990-91-92 volleyball teams, including a first NCAA tournament bid in 1991. She became the Cougars’ first volleyball All-American in 1992 after leading her team to the NIVC title and winning tournament MVP honors.

•Peter Koech, who set the world record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 1989, following a brilliant WSU career that included five Pacific-10 Conference titles and 11 NCAA All-America certificates. He was a silver medalist in the 1988 Olympics in the steeplechase.

•Bernard Lagat is the WSU record holder for 800, 1,500 and the mile while earning 11 Pac-10 titles and four meet MVP honors, plus four NCAA titles and 11 All-America certificates. He has competed in three Olympic Games, 2000 (bronze in 1,500), 2004 (silver in 1,500) for Kenya, and 2008 for USA after taking USA citizenship.

•Jim Walden, who brought stability to a struggling WSU football program in 1978 and three years later had the Cougars in the Holiday Bowl, WSU’s first postseason appearance since the 1931 Rose Bowl. He left WSU after the 1986 season as the Cougars coach with the second-most wins, having defeated every team in the Pac-10. He has been a member of the WSU football broadcast team since 2001.