Athletic Hall of Fame

Michele Barnhill was a standout soccer player at PCDS, amassing over 100 goals in her four years on Varsity.  In addition to numerous all-region and all-state accolades, Michele earned what her coach, Andy McKean, called "the greatest goal in PCDS women's soccer history," a 35-yard strike that brought PCDS a win over a school four times its size during her freshman year.  Michele played varsity soccer at Claremont McKenna College. 

Chris Sandor was a standout soccer and baseball player at PCDS.  On the soccer team, he was a 3-time Most Valuable Player, and won all-region and all-state honors.  On the baseball team, he won an MVP award, as well as first-team all-region and all-state recognition.  He played baseball at Scottsdale Community College and then at the NCAA Division-I level at the University of San Diego.

Robert Casselman was a standout athlete during his time at PCDS, on the 8-man football team, playing baseball, wrestling, and on the soccer pitch.  In addition to being named Senior Athlete of the Year, Robert led the PCDS community as Student Body President.  He continued playing sports at Occidental College in Los Angeles where he led the soccer and rugby teams to prominence.

Coach Hull has led the PCDS volleyball program since 2004, and during his tenure, has garnered over 250 wins along with a Coach of the Year Honors.  His teams have qualified for state championship tournaments nearly every year and finished among the top teams in the tournament multiple times.  Six of Coach Hull's players have continued playing college at the NCAA level, and he has impacted multiple students on and away from the court.

1995, 1996, 1997 Class 2A Women’s Singles State Champion

Women’s Soccer Most Valuable Player 2002-2004
First Team All-State 2002-2004
Arizona Republic 2004 Small School Player of the Year

1A West Region Champions

Mike Abbate ’92 (Managing Staff)
Raj Abhyanker ‘93
Frazier Bain ‘93
Jim Bojalad ‘93
T.J. Demark ‘92
Marc Grayson ‘93
Ryan Hart ‘93
Brian Hoblit ‘92
Tony Koppula ’94 (Managing Staff)
Jeff Matura ‘92
Sean Nolan ’92 (Managing Staff)
Matt Phillips ’93 (Managing Staff)
Matt Rankin ‘93
Jeremy Ringel ‘95
Zach Rubin ‘92
Adam Spiegel ‘92
Mukesh Vidyasagar ‘93
Matt Weinberg ‘93

Bob Hendrickson (Head Coach)
Brian Ellingson (Assistant Coach)
 

2002 State Finals Runner-Up, 2003 State Finals Runner-Up, 2004 State Semi-Finalists

Shannen Fish ‘05
Alice Gaston ‘05
Cassie Sonntag ‘05
Ashley Humes ‘04
Tammy McGavock ‘04
Lesley Silverthorn ‘04
Tara Wieger ‘04
Rebecca Dalton ‘03
Laura Garrity ‘03
Veronique Millon ‘03
Lauren Perlow ‘03
Laura Biel ‘02
Marina Ivanova ‘02
Kat Tomalty ‘02
Elizabeth McGavock ‘06
Stephanie Papp ‘04
Rachel Etzkorn ‘04
Becky McLaren ‘03
Christi Sanghie ‘03
Katie Luciano ‘03
Annie Gould ‘07
Thais Moraes ‘07
Carly Brey ‘07
Dania Gold ‘07
Clare Burnham ‘07
Caitlin Lisa ‘06
Julie Bauer ‘06
Natasha Fazel ‘05
Ruchika Gupta ‘05

Andy McKean (Coach)

Jeff Rollings was a standout baseball player at PCDS, and was highlighted by the Arizona Republic article that announced, "Small School Hero, Phoenix Country Day Star Has Developed Big Time Pitches."  As a leader of the 1981 State Championship baseball team, he was a two-time team MVP, Arizona Independent Athletic Association Player of the Year (1981), and two-time All State recipient.  After graduation, Jeff continued to play baseball at Cornell University.  

Adam Spiegel was a three-sport athlete at PCDS all four years of high school, playing soccer, basketball, and baseball.  During his time, Adam was recognized as team MVP five times, and won all-region and all-state honors, as well.  Finally, he won the coveted Eagle Award, honoring the school's most outstanding athlete.  He graduated from PCDS and attended Yale University.

Anne Allison was a three-sport athlete at PCDS, active in the swimming pool, basketball court, and softball field.  During her time at PCDS, she won three team MVP awards, an Most Improve Player award, and was voted as the school's most outstanding athlete.  She won metro region awards in basketball and softball, and all-state honors in basketball.  

Andy Kiltz coached the PCDS Girls' Varsity Basketball team from 1999-2001 and 2004-2007, winning the girls' basketball state championship in 2000.  He developed the Arizona Republic state basketball player of the year in 2000, and has impacted the lives of multiple students on and away from the court.  In addition to the 2000 championship, Coach Kiltz won three metro region championships, had four state tournament appearances, and was named Arizona Republic Coach of the Year, Arizona Coaches' Association Coach of the Year, and was twice selected as Metro Region Coach of the Year.  

Bob Simonds
Malcolm Clendenin (in memoriam)
Farley Weiss
Jimmy Friend
Jeff Weiss
Andy Dreyfuss
Evan Dreyfuss
Mark Weiss
Mike Bernstein
Greg Nelson
Bill Bollinger
Robert Dees (in memoriam)
Jeff Miller
Robert Ranucci
Sue Pitre Bushor
Krista Magnusson Martin
Ellen Smith Brennan
Wendy Scurr Rodriguez
Cathy Best Gordon
Carolina Lopez
Sabrina Espinoza Havard
Amy Abraham Bacal
Nancy Best Johnston
Laurie Bienstock
Holly Brown-Burns
Fran Cole Toro
Leora Romney
Roz Romney
Kent Berk
Laurence Schreiber
Sean McElheny
Greg Grant
Eric Hagstrom
Jennifer Beardsley
Lesley Micuda
Karen Polite Sullivan
Stacy Stone
Julie Burgess Sullivan (in memoriam)
Katy Ligon
Tina Walters Angle
Beth Richey
Patti Valenti Breedlove
Jim Rigberg
Eddie Shanken
Liz Dashnaw

Coach: George Baker

Robert Portnoy was captain of his varsity soccer, varsity men’s basketball, and varsity baseball teams. Rob played four years of soccer (twice voted MVP), basketball (twice voted MVP), and baseball (three times voted MVP). He was also voted by the coaching staff as the school’s Most Outstanding Athlete and he also won the coveted Eagle Award for character, sportsmanship and leadership. Rob also received All-State recognition in each of the three sports he played. After graduating from Stanford University, Rob played professional golf for seven seasons.

Heather Stocker Steinbock played four years on the varsity volleyball team (two-time MVP); four years on the varsity women’s basketball team (two-time MVP); four years on the varsity softball team (one-year MVP); and was co-founder of the cheer squad. Heather won All Region awards in volleyball, basketball, and softball and was All-State in volleyball and basketball. She won the prestigious Eagle Award for sportsmanship, character, and leadership in sports, and followed that by being voted as the school’s Most Outstanding Athlete.  She attended Chapman University.
 

Kristen Oelze led the Eagles varsity volleyball team to the State Championship game for two consecutive years, each year finishing runner-up.  Kristen won many PCDS athletics honors including Most Valuable Player Award all four years. She was an All-Metro Region performer and in her senior year was selected as Metro Region Player of the Year. In conjunction with that honor, she was selected to the Arizona Republic All-State team. Kristen went on to play volleyball at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. 

In 1965, the PCDS Upper School had a student body of 64. The 8th grade class was allowed to participate in varsity sports, which pushed the number of eligible student athletes up to 88. The 1964-65 school year marked the initiation of the first varsity football team at PCDS. A total of 22 boys from 8th through 12th grades showed up in early September, coached by Mr. Rist, Mr. Hickox, and Mr. Eiseman. PCDS played 5 games that season, and to quote the 1965 yearbook, “Our lack of scores made little difference. Football was a great experience and it was a lot of fun.” That school year also marked the first year of competitive wrestling. Coach Tooker and the team played one match against Judson and came away with a 15-13 victory, which signified an undefeated season! In addition to football and wrestling, the other sports offered to students in 1965 included baseball, basketball, soccer, track & field and tennis (tennis being the only sport offered to women). Our 1965 sports team members laid the groundwork for our student athletes today. As we reflect on Phoenix Country Day School’s athletic successes, we know that if it were not for their commitment in the school’s early years, our athletic programs would have taken much time to gain traction.

Kim Cotton was a top tennis player at PCDS, winning team MVP all four years of high school, and leading the team to three regional championships, a state championship, and three individual state singles championships.  She finished her career with a record of 62-1.  

T.J. DeMark was a standout basketball player at PCDS.  As co-captain of his team, he left it all out on the floor.  Along the way, he was named team MVP, won first team all-region, all-conference, and all-state honors, as was selected to be a part of the Arizona Coaches' Association State Basketball All-Star Team.  

Colin Jefferey was a standout athlete in cross country, basketball, and baseball at PCDS.  He was the recipient as the school's Most Outstanding Athlete as a sophomore, and won three team MVPs for cross-country, to go along with being named MVP of both the basketball and baseball teams.  He also won multiple all-region and all-state honors.  

Jennifer Wilson Juhl was a standout softball player at PCDS.  She was named team MVP all four years of her high school experience, and won first-team all-state, all-conference, and all-region honors.  

1983 Champions

Chuck Bain ‘86
Kyle Baird ‘86
Peter Cove ‘85
Hugh Daley ‘87
David Friedman ‘87
Morris Friedman ‘86
Greg Janis ‘87
John Morey ‘85
Rob Portnoy ‘85
Tim Richey ‘86
David Rigberg ‘86
Jason Schoeffler ‘87
Andy Shanken ‘86
Apichai Shipper ‘87
Brett Shire ‘87
John Snead ‘85
Kris Stathakis ‘87
Carter Sweet ‘84
Jim Vernon ‘87
Chris Webster ‘85
Jon Wechsler ‘87
Kevin Wernick ‘87

Coach: Paul Yardley

Michaela Skloven ’02 was a former elite gymnast whose hard work helped her make the move to diving success very quickly. According to Coach Kristin Pruett, “By the time her first season of high school diving started, she was a star in the diving world.” Among her high school achievements: undefeated in four years of dual meets; two-time 4A state champion; 4A Diver of the Year in 2001; both 11-dive and 6-dive PCDS record holder; three-time All-American; and six-time National Qualifier in U.S. diving, making the podium three times. She went on to compete at Stanford University, specializing in platform diving, and qualified for NCAA competition her freshman year. 

Blake Lewkowitz ’07 was destined for greatness in the PCDS pool—he swam his first club meet at age three and his first competitive meet with the Arizona Marlins at four. In high school, his dedication to training and being the best was fierce: As part of his training regimen, he swam every heat of every event during swim meets.  As a result, he set or broke every PCDS boys’ swimming record except the 100-yard breaststroke. Among his other PCDS achievements: undefeated in four years of dual meets; six-time high school state champion in the 200- and 500-yard freestyle; team captain sophomore, junior, and senior years; four-time high school All-American; U.S. Junior National Qualifier; and National Club Swim Association All-American. His success continued at Harvard, where he was a four-year letter-winner and in the top ten fastest all time for his three events: 200- and 500-yard freestyle and the mile. He also was an NCAA Championships Qualifier and two-time Collegiate Academic All-American. 

Mike Maczuga has coached swimming at PCDS for 30 years. PCDS swim teams often compete against schools of 1,500 or more students, yet their results are very impressive. Among the highlights: 2012 and 2013 girls’ teams were Division III state champions and runners-up in 2008-2011; over 200 wins in 300 career boys’ and girls’ dual meets; and eight undefeated seasons. Coach Maczuga has coached 12 All-Americans at PCDS, and many PCDS swimmers have gone on to swim at Division I college programs such as Yale, Harvard, Michigan, USC, and Stanford, as well as small schools such as Amherst and Emory.

Catherine Baggott    
Kirby Bowles        
Maggie Biancaniello    
Roz Bolger    
Karen Hader        
Kari Hubbard        
Marnie Janis        
Sara McNeff        
Kelly Meyer        
Maria Pallin        
Clarissa Simek        
Lara Sosnow        
Heather Stocker    
Karen Takagi    
Jennifer Wilson

Head Coach: Paul Schweikher
Assistant Coach: Georgia Buelow

The 1987 softball team was the first PCDS team to win a state championship while a member of the Arizona Interscholastic Association. The team won the championship game with a final-inning, come-from-behind victory. 

Stan Casselman
Michael DeMarzo
Greg Hoffman
James Levenson
Evan Lewis
Jeff Rollings
Matt Rollings
Eddie Shanken
Bobby Simonds
Ken Snodgrass
Bill Wrigley

Coach:
Bob Kosower

The 1981 varsity baseball team was introduced by former coach, Bob Kosower.  He spoke about the championship season saying, “In the spring of 1981, I had a goal for our baseball team, to be the best that we could be. It was a magical season with great pitching performances, clutch hitting, and some defensive gems.” But his true emotion came through as he talked about the best 2-out-of-3 championship series against Judson School at Scottsdale Stadium. He described in detail the last inning, 4-run, come-from-behind rally in game 2, capped by a Bob Simonds line drive to left field that scored Greg Hoffman and brought PCDS the state title.

The 2000 girls’ basketball team was honored not only for their state championship but also for a fabulous season, during which they set a state record with 34 wins and won a number of accolades, including Arizona Republic Coach of the Year and Arizona Republic Player of the Year.  Several members of the girls’ team had been at PCDS since Lower School and had played together for several years. The 2000 championship season was their fourth consecutive state tournament appearance. 

Kristina Simonds was a standout high school athlete in three sports: volleyball, basketball, and softball. She was an All-State player in softball and volleyball, was named Most Valuable Player in volleyball, received the All-State Leadership Award, the PCDS Eagle Award, and the Most Outstanding Athlete Award. An all-around student/athlete, she also was involved in the school play, French Club, Community Service Club, Bowling Club, band/jazz ensemble, and student senate. 

Erich Schweikher was a leader in soccer, basketball, and baseball. He earned Most Valuable Player honors in basketball, considered by his coach, Bob Hendrickson (also a Hall of Fame inductee) as the team’s “go-to guy” and a clutch performer. He earned All-Region awards in soccer and basketball and was an All-State goalie in soccer. In both his junior and senior years, Erich was voted Most Outstanding Athlete by the PCDS coaching staff. Few PCDS athletes have won that honor twice.
 

Sarah Engle was a shining star in one of the biggest games in PCDS history—the 2000 state basketball championship. With the team’s star fouled out, Sarah stepped up to lead the Eagles to an overtime win and the state championship.  Her high school basketball awards included Most Valuable Player, PCDS Most Outstanding Athlete, Coaches’ Award, Junior/Senior Year All Metro Region, and All-State Tournament team.

Alex Ashby was a star in soccer, basketball, and baseball. Among his soccer honors: Most Valuable Player two years, three years named All-Central Region Player, and an Arizona Republic All-State Selection. PCDS awards included the Coaches’ Award in soccer, basketball, and baseball and the Most Outstanding Athlete Award. Twice he was honored with the prestigious Eagle Award for leadership and sportsmanship. His crowning achievement came in his senior year when the Arizona Interscholastic Association selected Alex Scholar Athlete of the Year. 
 

Bob Hendrickson spent a quarter century as a PCDS coach, first as boys’ basketball coach and then as boys’ and girls’ golf coach. His professionalism brought the basketball program to new heights in the 1990s.  His 1992 varsity team won the regional championship and he coached PCDS teams to two state tournament appearances. His golf team twice placed second in the state. 
 

Mr. Kosower has been a PCDS athletics mainstay for over 40 years, and is the namesake for both Kosower Field and the Koswoer Fitness Center.  He has been named 2A Athletic Director of the Year and has been inducted to the Arizona Athletic Directors Hall of Fame.  Under his leadership, Mr. Kosower led the athletic program to designing its seven pillars of athletic excellence, led the program to receiving the prestigious Blue Cup award as a program Pursuing Victory with Honor, AIA School of Distinction honors, and the Girls' Athletic Program of the Year award.  

Lynne was an All State volleyball, basketball, and softball player, as well as a PCDS diver.  This rare four-sport varsity athlete (and multiple MVP award winner) was described at her induction as "setting a high bar for athletes at PCDS.  She was outstanding in everything she did."  Lynne attended Southern Methodist University before returning to Phoenix, where she opened and ran a successful clothing store. 

Jeremy Ringel was an All State and All Region basketball and baseball player who was also named 1A West Region Baseball Player of the Year.  During his induction, Jeremy was described as a "natural athlete with speed, quickness, and a unique athletic sense of being in the right place at the right time."  For three years in a row, Jeremy was named the PCDS Most Outstanding Male Athlete, along with three baseball MVPs and two basketball MVPs during his four years in the Upper School.  He graduated from the University of Michigan.  

Georgia Buelow was a coach and PE teacher at PCDS for 37 years.  Prior to joining PCDS, Coach Buelow was a national champion softball player at ASU, as well as a member of the Arizona Softball Hall of Fame.  During her time at PCDS, Coach Buelow taught at every grade level, as well as coached volleyball, soccer, basketball, and softball, in addition to finishing at PCDS as our Middle School PE coach before retiring.  

Billy was a four-year letterman in three sports at PCDS— soccer, basketball, and baseball— and his soccer team won the state championship in two of his four years. He scored over 100 goals in soccer, and received All League and All State awards along with a team MVP award, as well. On the basketball court, Billy won All League and All State honors, along with a team MVP award.  Finally, on the baseball field, he was the team's MVP after batting over .500 en route to winning All League and All State honors. Billy is a graduate of Pepperdine, where he played soccer, as well.  He continues to instill passion in athletes as the Athletic Director at Wildwood School in California.

Courtney made an impact on the basketball court, playing a major role on the 1999-2000 state champion varsity girls' basketball team, though she lettered in three sports each year— volleyball, basketball, and softball.  On the basketball court, she was named the Arizona Republic's 1A-3A Player of the Year, won All State and All Region honors, team MVP, and was named by USA Today as one of the top girls' basketball players in the country.  She played basketball at Dartmouth, followed by earning an Master's degree from NYU and a JD from Chapman University. 

For over 30 years, Paul Schweikher (or "Schweik," as his students and players called him) was a fixture on the PCDS softball field, in addition to his role as Director or College Counseling in the PCDS Upper School.  He led the team to two state championships in 1986 and 1987, with the latter ending in a thrilling extra-inning rally for the win!  Schweik embodies the PCDS experience, on the field and in the classroom, through his thoughtfulness, hard work, and stellar character.