The Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table inducted seven members into its Hall of Fame on Monday night at Cabrillo Pavilion.
Of the seven inductees, five were honored for their performances as athletes, while one coach and one special achievement honoree were inducted.
The inductees were Mark Basham, Larissa Godkin Feramisco, Mike Fryer, Amber Melgoza, Michelle Romero Lee, Bill Oliphant and Mark Patton.
The event was co-emceed by Noozhawk’s Barry Punzal and Mike Klan of KEYT, speaking in front of a sold-out crowd full of legends from the long history of Santa Barbara sports.
Basham was a tennis star at Santa Barbara High, winning a CIF doubles title before capturing a pair of national championships at UCLA and enjoying a professional career in the 1980s and 90s.
Speaking of championships, Godkin Feramisco racked up the titles in the throwing events in track & field at Carpinteria High and Redlands, including a national title in the hammer throw in 1998.
Fryer shined on the gridiron as a Santa Barbara High Don, an SBCC Vaquero and a UCLA Bruin as a lockdown defensive back and punter.
Melgoza, meanwhile, lit up the local girls basketball scene as a record-setting Don on her way to a CIF-SS title before she wrote her name in the record book at the University of Washington. She is currently playing professionally overseas.
Romero Lee, who filled up the stat sheet on the soccer pitch at Bishop Diego and went on to play a key role in Westmont’s 1999 national championship, rounded out the athlete honorees in this year’s class.
Oliphant was inducted into the Hall of Fame for his illustrious local coaching career, which was headlined by his position as a Santa Barbara High baseball coach across all levels from 1985 to 2017.
Finally, Patton was enshrined in the SBART Hall of Fame for his years of service as a local sports writer for the Santa Barbara News-Press and Noozhawk, covering decades of local sports and athletes.
For full bios on this year’s inductees, visit the links below.
