SPOKANE, Wash. — Six local sports legends were inducted into the INW Sports Hall of Fame Tuesday at the Spokane Arena.
Gonzaga women's basketball assistant coach Stacy Clinesmith, WSU basketball legend Isaac Fontaine, West Virginia head volleyball coach Jen Greeny, former NHL referee Dennis LaRue and former KXLY sports director Bud Nameck make up the class of 2024.
Clinesmith starred at Mead High School before making her way to UC Santa Barbara. She was the back to back Washington state player of the year in 1995 and 1996. She began coaching at Gonzaga in 2014.
"It was the Spokane community that really supported women's basketball at that time and really kind of fueled my fire, actually, so I am being honored by my hometown which means the world to me and really there are so many people who have put me here," Clinesmith said.
Fontaine is Washington State's career leader in 3-point shooting percentage and was a Wooden Award finalist and the PAC-10 medal winner in his senior season in 1997.
Greeny starred at Davenport High School in basketball and volleyball and won state championships in both sports. She went on to a superb coaching career at Pullman High School, Lewis Clark State College and Washington State before taking the head coaching job at West Virginia.
"I grew up here in this area and my dad is already in the hall of fame and so many great athletes, coaches, broadcasters and sports people in this community are enshrined in here, so it means a lot," Greeny said.
LaRue graduated from Gonzaga Prep and was a referee in the WHL before moving on to the NHL in 1990. LaRue refereed in the NHL for 26 years and refereed the 2009 Stanley Cup Final. He also refereed four Olympics and did the gold medal game in 2010.
Nameck was the sports director at KXLY for 13 years and also called Washington State basketball and football games for 22 years on the radio.
Doering was a high school volleyball coach for 33 years. She spent four years at Deer Park before finishing her final 29 years of coaching at Colfax. Doering won 14 state championships and only had two teams in her entire career not make it to state.
"It is such a huge honor and coming in here and being a part of basketball and seeing all the names and now I get my own cubbyhole, it is pretty exciting," Doering said.
"I had an extremely supportive athletic community at Colfax and all I really needed was three good athletes a year and I always had three really good athletes a year," Doering said of her long run of success.
You can catch all of the cubbies lining the walls of the first floor of the Spokane Arena.