Athletic Hall of Fame: New Members Inducted
ECC recently presented the 28th Athletic Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. Eleven individual inductees and three teams were honored at the event, including eight sports and covering more than 50 years of excellence in athletic pursuits.
The 2018 inductees include Kyle Petter, baseball; Brent Frohoff, men's volleyball; Don Garriott, wrestling; Kiff Kimber, swimming and diving; Minako Akiyama and Phyrun Tran, badminton; Aaron Craver, football; Karina Woehrstein, women's volleyball; David Cardona, track and field/cross country; Shalé Garland, track and field; Micah Carlson, swimming and diving; and the 1964, 1965 and 1966 state championship wrestling teams.
El Camino College Athletic Hall of Fame 2018 Inductees
A local stalwart in Hermosa Beach and Manhattan Beach as a young man, Brent Frohoff would attend Mira Costa High School and earn first team All-CIF honors for his success on the volleyball court. After a brief stint at San Diego State, Frohoff came to El Camino College, becoming a standout athlete for the Warriors. He earned first-team All-State Honors and a spot in the California Community College Men's Volleyball Coaches Association Hall of Fame as a member of El Camino College. He moved on to Loyola Marymount University to complete his indoor collegiate career before kicking off a 27-year beach volleyball career on the Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) Tour. Frohoff played from 1983-2009, played in 317 professional tournaments and won 18 titles. In 2008, Frohoff was inducted to the California Beach Volleyball Association Hall of Fame.
A wrestler at ECC from 1986-88, Don Garriott competed in the 126-pound division and earned first-team All-South Coast Conference honors both years he competed. He was also a two-time All-American for the Warriors before transferring to CSU Chico where he was a two-time Division II All-American at 134 pounds, winning the conference championship both seasons. Garriott also finished as the runner-up at 125.5 pounds in the 1996 Olympic Trials Western Regionals. Garriott is now wrestling team head coach at Cerritos College, a squad that won the CCCAA state championship in 2014 and CCCAA Dual Team State Championship in 2016. In his 12 seasons with the Falcons, the team also won five Southern California championships and six conference titles while coaching 14 individual state champs, 47 All-Americans and 24 Southern California champions.
A legend of the El Camino College pool, Kiff Kimber spent more than a decade associated with the Warriors swimming and diving teams. She was a two-time All-American in her two years (1978-79) of competition for the Warriors. Kimber earned All-American honors in 1978 in the 50 butterfly and the 100 butterfly and then followed that up with All-American nods in both events in 1979. In her second year with the Warriors, Kimber set the No. 1 national time in the 50 butterfly with a time of 27 seconds. She finished off her collegiate career at California State University, Long Beach where she was an NCAA Division I qualifier before returning to El Camino College as a part-time teacher and assistant for three years. In 1983, Kimber took over the men's and women's swim teams and coached them for five years.
A pair of standout badminton players at El Camino College, Minako Akiyama and Phyrun Than reached the top stage for their sport during their time with the Warriors. Than advanced to the CCCAA State Championship Final as the No. 3 overall seeded player in 2001. She eventually finished as the runner up to Cynthia Tran of Orange Coast College. The next year, Akiyama joined Than on the team and the duo advanced to the 2002 CCCAA doubles state championship match, falling to Lili Zhou and Ruby Hall of Irvine Valley in three sets. In 2003, Akiyama picked up where Than left off on the singles side, advancing to the final of the CCCAA State Championships. Akiyama dominated the match, earning a 2-0 win (11-3, 11-5) over Rulan Yeh of Irvine Valley to secure the state title.
One of the best running backs in ECC history, former NFL athlete Aaron Craver didn't start playing running back until he attended the college in 1987. Craver was a star track and field athlete at Compton High School and Moore League Champion in the 300-meter hurdles. He came to ECC to play baseball in 1987 before an ankle injury derailed his season; he joined the football team in the fall. Craver ended up leading the Warriors to the 1988 Pony Bowl and helped the Warriors dominate Saddleback College 49-22, earning MVP of the game. He continued his collegiate career at Fresno State, leading the Bulldogs to 19 wins and was twice named first team All-Big West Conference. Craver was the first Fresno State running back with consecutive seasons of 1,000 or more rushing yards and finished with 2,251 career rushing yards and 28 touchdowns. He then went on to have an eight-year career in the NFL, playing for the Miami Dolphins, Denver Broncos and San Diego Chargers, finishing his career with the New Orleans Saints. Craver has the unique distinction to be the only player to catch a touchdown pass from Dan Marino and John Elway. Craver currently serves as the head coach of the Woodbridge High School track team and led the team to its first CIF track title in 2015.
Karina Woehrstein came to El Camino College after a four-year varsity volleyball career at Mary Star of the Sea High School in San Pedro. Woehrstein was a member of the 2007 and 2008 Warriors state champion-winning squads, serving as the libero of the volleyball team where she amassed multiple awards in her two seasons with the Warriors. She was named to the all-state team and second team all-league during her first season in 2007. In her second season, Woehrstein was the state MVP, first team All-Southern Section and first team All-State. She moved on to California State University, Northridge to complete her collegiate career as a libero/defensive specialist for the Matadors.
David Cardona came to the ECC track and field program after recording one of the South Bay area's fastest 1600-meter times at North Torrance High School. Cardona led the Warriors to the conference cross-country title and placed second overall in the cross-country state championship in 2009, his first season. The next year, Cardona won the South Coast Conference title in the 1500 and 5000 meter. He would go on to win the Southern California 1500-meter title and the state championship 5000-meter title. In 2010, Cardona went undefeated in conference, Southern California and state championships. During that historic season, Cardona set four course records and led the Warriors to the South Coast conference title. Cardona was the South Coast Conference Cross-Country and Track & Field Athlete of the Year in his two seasons at the college. He is the ECC school record holder in the 5000 and among the ECC top-10 lists in the 3000-meter steeplechase and 3200-meter relay. Cardona continued his collegiate career at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, helping the Mustangs win their 12th Big West Conference title.
Shalé Garland was a standout track and field athlete from Inglewood High School, and after a brief stint at California State University, Dominguez Hills, Garland transferred to El Camino College. During her freshman year, Garland was among the state leaders in the 100 meters, 200 meters, 400 meters, and long jump, while earning a spot on the ECC top-10 lists in the 100, 200, and long jump. During her second year, Garland was the state champion in the 200 and 400. Garland went undefeated in the 400 race the whole season her sophomore year. Garland is the ECC school record holder at 200 meters (23.88) and 400 meters (54.12). Garland was also a Scholar-Baller at ECC, an honor for students who earn a 3.0 GPA or higher. She transferred to the University of Arizona where she was a member of the 4x400-meter relay team that set the school record and made it to the NCAA Division I National Championships. As a member of the 4x100-meter relay team, Garland earned all-conference honors.
Another legend of the El Camino College swimming pool, Micah Carlson came to El Camino College after a standout career at Mira Costa High School. Carlson had a historic 2003 season as he led the El Camino College swim team to an undefeated season in conference play where he was named the swim team MVP and the 2003 El Camino College Student Athlete of the Year. Carlson set El Camino College records in the 500 freestyle, 1000 freestyle, and the 1650 freestyle events and was named an All-American in multiple events. He had the No. 2 national time in the 500 freestyle and No. 3 national time in the 1650 freestyle. Carlson went on to continue his collegiate swimming career at Arizona State University.