A salute for Southeast High School’s Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2024

Big ups to Southeast High’s Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2024, a notable group that includes a peerless basketball player, members of the legendary ’93 state football champs, a wrestling guru and lifelong friends who worked on Southeast’s sidelines for years.

Those honorees, to be feted at the Bradenton Country Club Sept. 21, are:

Depree (Bowden) Milledge: The 2004 grad was a four-year basketball starter, scoring a school-record 1,919 points along with 976 rebounds and 477 assists en route to winning four district championships, two region titles and reaching the final four twice. She helped produce the best four-year record (118-14) in program history and was Herald-Tribune 2004 Female Player of the Year, twice Florida Sports Writers Association 4A All-State First Team, and three-time Street & Smith All-America Honorable Mention. She was also an accomplished volleyball player and played hoops four years as a Florida Gator.

Howard Eberly: During more than 30 years of coaching the Noles, he was offensive coordinator, secondary coach and an AFLAC Assistant Coach of the Year in football, a basketball assistant, and head tennis coach. He was also a Top 10 finisher in his age group in Hawaii’s Ironman Competition.

Charlie Higdon: A ’93 Class 4A state champion in football at offensive guard and ’94 state champ in wrestling (189 pounds), he later wrestled at Carson Newman.

Rich Robich: The ’93 Class 4A Player of the Year anchored the 15-0 ‘93 state champions at middle linebacker, started three years in baseball in the outfield, and finished his football career at Georgia, where he was roommates with Kirby Smart, Georgia’s current head coach.

Bob Thomas: A wrestling coach more than 30 years, Thomas had 68 district champions, 18 region champions, 67 state qualifiers, 27 state placers, four state champions, two All Americas and the ‘93 state runners-up. He also coached freshman football and tennis. He organized Southeast’s original Hall of Fame and is in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Being inducted as “Contributors” are Wayne Beck, Terry “Julio” Price, Chris Roberts, Dan Schaffer and Terry Wilson, who comprised the “Chain Gang,” managing the yard-markers on fall Friday nights at home games during Paul Maechtle’s halcyon days as head football coach.

· The inimitable Luz Corcuera is 39. Again.

· A salute to Detective John Proll, Deputy of the Month with the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office for February. Responding to a drowning call involving a 2-year-old, Proll assisted EMS in performing CPR on the unresponsive boy until Fire-Rescue arrived. The child regained a faint heartbeat and was airlifted to All Children’s Hospital where, after several days in intensive care, he showed signs of recovery.

· That’s 31 years of wedded bliss for Cindy and Dwayne Denison.

· A bow to the individual program dance instructors who made the 15^th annual “Yes, We Can Dance!” possible: Breslyn Reiber (Bayshore Honeybears); Danielle Calabrese, Jeanne Calabrese (Braden River Middle); Hayley Milne, Sejal Desai (Lakewood Ranch Silver Stars); Erykah Finklea (Lee Elite Dancers); Erin Cooper, Chloe Kryyko, Linda Boone (Manatee Sugar ‘Canes); Elyse Born, Kristina Debbs (Manatee School for the Arts HEAT); Keely Karalis, Madison Brown (MSA HEAT JV); Konstantine Donadze (MSA Strikers); Kristina Debbs, Jennifer Smitman (MSA Inferno); Cheryl Carty, Catrinel Sandu-Schroeter (MSA Turning Point Ballet); Kerri Ranck (Parrish Blue Belles); Ashley Hassler (Rowlett Middle); and Celeste Matthews, Jackaia Nelson (Southeast Nolettes).

· Uh, oh! Jim Witters hit the Big 7-0!

· And props to Dr. Douglas Jungman, West Coast District Dental Association's Distinguished Service Award recipient.

Vin’s People runs Sundays. Email Vin Mannix at vinspeople@gmail.com. Or call 941-962-5944. X (formerly Twitter): @vinmannix.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: VIN MANNIX: A salute for Southeast High's 2024 Athletic Hall of Famers