Wilson
Wilson

Wilson Inducting New Athletics Hall Of Fame Class At Football Game

As if the Friday night football clash between Wilson and Long Beach Poly wasn’t monumental enough, the Bruins will also be inducting five new members into the school’s Athletics Hall Of Fame at halftime.

The marquee member of the 2019 induction class is volleyball All-American Cynthia Barboza. She graduated from Wilson in 2005 after being named two-time Gatorade National Volleyball Player of the Year, and the 2005 Gatorade National Female Athlete of the Year. After finishing Top-10 at Stanford in all-time kills, digs and service aces, Barboza was a 10-year member of the USA Women’s National team and was a 2004, 2008 and 2012 Olympic alternate.

Track and field star Shelise Williams is also an inductee with international experience. Williams graduated from Wilson in 2007 after being named All-CIF three times. She has Top-10 times in the 100 and 200 meter races at Wilson, and was named and All-American multiple times while attending the University Of Arkansas. Williams also competed at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in 2012.

There are also a pair of former football players being inducted. Frank A. Russell was a member of the class of 1992 and was All-CIF and the Moore League Player of the Year in 1991. He played linebacker at Washington State, and safety at Southern Missouri State. Russell also played professionally for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League.

Tonny Lindsey is the second former football player to be inducted, and he’s also a current assistant coach on the varsity staff. Linsey was named All-CIF in 2012 after the led the Pac-5 in rushing. The running back averaged 9.6 yards per carry while at Cerritos, and then transferred to Utah State where he led the Aggies in rushing touchdowns and was named a team captain. Lindsey also was a candidate for the Doak Walker Award in 2017. It is given annually to the best college football running back in the nation.

Finally, Sammy Rivas is a soccer representative from the 2003 undefeated team that was ranked No. 2 in the nation. He was the Dream Team Player of the Year, and finished his career at Cal State Dominguez Hills as a Top-10 goal scorer at the school. He was named NSCAA All-Region twice.

JJ Fiddler
JJ Fiddler is an award-winning sportswriter and videographer who has been covering Southern California sports for multiple newspapers and websites since 2004. After attending Long Beach State and creating the first full sports page at the Union Weekly Newspaper, he has been exclusively covering Long Beach prep sports since 2007.
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