Cleveland High School welcomed the 33rd and 34th Mel Krause CHS Athletic Hall of Fame classes on Feb. 6 that included six graduates and two coaches for their excellent accomplishments in Cleveland athletics. 

Leading off were brothers Sam and Andy McIntyre, both football and baseball athletes for Cleveland and members of highly successful teams in the 2000s.

Sam McIntyre played offense, defense, and special teams for the 2006 5A PIL championship-winning football team. He is one of the very few to have been voted first team PIL for offense as a receiver, defense as a safety, and special teams as a place kicker. McIntyre also won the 2007 5A PIL championship for baseball, and was named to the first team. He was selected for the Les Schwab All-Star game in Oregon and attended the University of Oregon. 

Andy McIntyre was a part of four PIL team championships. Andy played quarterback and linebacker, and was a part of the historic 2006 PIL football championship team, like his brother. He also tacked on three PIL baseball championships in a row in 2007, 2008, and 2009. 

“It’s a great honor, being alongside my brother and many special athletes, and it’s awesome to be recognized,” said Andy.

Andy McIntyre went on to play football at the University of Oregon, and was a part of the 2010 PAC-10 championship football team. 

Another inductee, Howard Lao, was a soccer and track athlete who went on to set many records for Cleveland and the University of Washington, mainly for hurdling.

Lao was a six-time PIL track and field champion, and was undefeated all four years in 110-meter hurdles. He was also a two-time state champion in the 300-meter hurdles. In his senior year, he scored a whopping 19 points by himself in the state meet, leading Cleveland to fourth place overall, the best in school history. 

In college, Lao thrived in the 60-meter and 110-meter hurdles, being ranked seventh all-time in the Husky record books. This spring will be Lao’s 11th season as the Cleveland hurdles coach, sharing his legacy with many young athletes around the school. 

Another well-deserved inductee is Julie Ann Willis. Willis was a highly-accomplished female athlete for Cleveland and was very important in the establishment of women’s sports in OSAA. Willis began her sports legacy playing in the Portland Parks Bureau basketball league and the Portland Metro softball league, back in 1973 when the PIL didn’t include girls softball or basketball. She thrived in many different positions, playing in the Metro league, winning multiple All-Star awards, and winning a team championship for softball. 

At Cleveland, Willis played volleyball, competed as a hurdler and javelin thrower, and finally was permitted to play basketball, earning the MVP royal “C” vote. After high school, Willis competed in mountain biking. She was undefeated in races for two years and got fifth at the Mammoth Mountain World Championships. 

The first notable coach inducted into the hall of fame was Kendra Gardner. Gardner is recognized for her long and successful career as a teacher, coach, and athletic director. During her 17 years at Cleveland, she coached six sports and helped lead teams to six PIL championships.

One of her biggest achievements was helping create the Ed Warren Fitness Center, which became the largest and best-equipped school weight room in Oregon and allowed hundreds of students to take strength training classes each year. As athletic director, she also started student-athlete recognition awards and helped introduce the CrossFit strength training model to the district. 

Before becoming a teacher and coach, Gardner was an Academic and Basketball All-American at Concordia University, where she still holds the career scoring record, and later played professional basketball in Germany. Now retired, she lives in Portland with her family after making a lasting impact on Cleveland’s athletics and fitness programs.

Legendary wrestling coach Jeff Zerba was one of two coaches inducted in this class. Zerba taught health and coached wrestling for 33 years at Cleveland, winning a total of 21 PIL championships, including a streak of 12 in a row.

Along with the team’s accolades, Zerba coached 134 wrestlers who won a PIL championship, nine of them being state champions. 

Zerba is another large contributor to the establishment of women’s sports in OSAA, as he made it possible for Cleveland to have the first girls wrestling team in the PIL. 

Zerba cherished his role as a teacher and coach and was grateful to do it for as long as he did. “I got to be a wrestling coach for that long and I got to teach some of the perseverance, resilience, and other things that go along with this difficult of a sport,” Zerba said.

Zerba has been inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and does wheelchair rugby, snow skiing, adaptive water skiing, scuba diving, mountain biking, and even hand cycling. He will always and forever be a household name at Cleveland and deserves every bit of credit for what he has done for the school.