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It is time for the latest edition of the Amador Valley High School Athletic Hall of Fame, where another class of inductees will be presented on Sept. 26 between the varsity and junior varsity games against Foothill.
The inductees are former golfer Joel Kribel (Male Athlete), Sophia Dunworth (Female Athlete, volleyball), Diana Hasenpflug (Community), Clark Fuller (Coach) and 1982 girls’ basketball team (Team).
It’s cool that I had the chance to either see or cover all of the inductees.
Kribel was an amazing golfer for the Dons, winning three East Bay Athletic League titles, a North Coast Section title and a pair of NorCal titles. He went on to Stanford where he was a teammate with Tiger Woods. In 1996 he lost in the semifinals of the U.S. Amateur to Woods, and then in 1997 he lost in the finals of the U.S. Amateur to Matt Kuchar by the final score of 2 and 1. He played on the PGA Tour for 10 years and has been in the golf industry ever since.
Dunworth was one of the top volleyball players I ever saw play the game, earning the EBAL MVP title in 2005 and 2007. Amazingly enough, she was also a member of the award-winning Amador band.
She went on to Duke where she was successful on and off the court, winning the 2010 ACC Volleyball Scholar-Athlete of the Year. She currently serves as the assistant professor of anesthesiology at Duke.
Hasenpflug is the most unsung hero of Amador athletics for years. She is widely known as the top trainer on the EBAL. She has been a fixture on the Amador sidelines for years and is likely responsible for more wins than any athlete or coach in Amador sports history.
The 1982 girls’ basketball team is one of the top two or three teams in Amador’s 100-plus year history, along with the 1978-79 boys’ soccer team. They went 12-0 in winning the EBAL, winning the NCS title, as well as advancing to the CIF State Semifinals. Coached by Jack Hansen, they were the perfect mix of basketball talent.
Fuller was part of the basketball and golf programs at Amador for seemingly 100 years. He was the coach of both boys’ and girls’ golf, winning numerous league and sectional titles. In a sport where coaching gets little credit, Fuller kept the talented Amador golfers focused and disciplined. The Amador alum taught at the school for 34 years.
Girls’ volleyball
The 2025 Amador girls’ volleyball squad started league play, winning its first two matches, defeating Dougherty Valley 3-1 and then beating California 3-2 in a wild match that had the crowd rocking as the Dons rallied from a 0-2 deficit.
The Dons are led by fourth-year varsity player Hayden Moe under first-year coach Karishma Brooks.
For crosstown Foothill, the Falcons went 3-0 in regular matches last weekend, then went 3-1 to take the consolation bracket in the top division of the Bay Area Classic.
During the week it started with an 18-25, 25-9, 25-16, 25-18 win over Granada to open EBAL play. Highlights came from Paige Nelson (21 kills, 12 digs, 4 aces), Sewa Adesuyi-Fasuyi (8 kills) and Emily Evans (6 kills, 1 block).
Up next was a 25-12, 20-25, 25-17, 23-25, 15-12 thriller with a very strong Castro Valley team. This time top play came from Nelson (26 kills, 11 digs), Danielle Yeh (30 assists, 5 kills, 4 aces) and Sophia Zhang (14 digs, 2 service pts).
The second EBAL win was a 25-23, 25-22, 25-16 win against Dougherty Valley. Big plays in the match came from Nelson (14 kills, 10 digs), Yeh (28 assists, 9 digs, 3 aces) and Ale Sioco (15 digs).
In the 16-team top division of the Bay Area Classic, the Falcons opened the tournament falling to Homestead (25-23, 16-25, 13-15) before rebounding to beat Notre Dame (26-24, 25-13) and Castro Valley (25-18, 25-22).
That sent the Falcons to the Consolation Championship where they beat Monte Vista 25-23, 25-20.
Highlights for the tournament came from Nelson (39 kills, 32 digs), Yeh (67 assists, 22 digs), Brooke Stedman (20 digs, 18 kills, 14 assists) and Olivia So (34 digs, 6 aces).
Amador girls’ water polo
The Dons fell 18-6 to Monte Vista in league play.
Susan Swyers had three goals for the Dons with Addison Drain, Dorian Selway and Deepika Suresh scoring one goal each. Caitlin Brown had three steals to lead the Amador defense.
Editor’s note: Dennis Miller is a contributing sports writer for Embarcadero Media Foundation’s East Bay Division. To contact him about his Pleasanton Preps column, email acesmag@aol.com.
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