Hall of Fame Inductees

Cal Athletic Hall of Fame - 2008

David Ortega, who accumulated a school-record 525 tackles during his football career, and Shellie Onstead, the first Golden Bear to earn All-America honors in field hockey, highlight a list of seven former student-athletes who have been selected for induction into the California Athletic Hall of Fame.

The Class of 2008 also includes Brian Hendrick, a three-time All-Pac-10 basketball player; Todd Mayo, who led the baseball team to the 1988 College World Series; Kristen Smyth, a three-time All-American gymnast; Derek Van Rheenen, who was league MVP in soccer and later earned his Ph.D. from Cal; and Joan Parker, who spent nearly 40 years at the school as an athlete, coach and administrator.

Formal induction ceremonies are scheduled for Friday, Oct. 24, at the annual Hall of Fame banquet at the Greek Orthodox Church conference center in Oakland. The new inductees will also be honored at halftime of Cal's Oct. 25 football game vs. UCLA.

With the addition of the seven members, the Cal Athletic Hall of Fame now features 229 individuals and five rowing teams. The school's Hall of Fame was inaugurated in 1986, with this year's group representing the 23rd class of inductees.

2008 California Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees

Name Sports(s) Years

Brian Hendrick Men's Basketball 1990-93
Todd Mayo Baseball 1986-89
Shellie Onstead Field Hockey 1980-82
David Ortega Football 1986-89
Joan Parker Athlete/Coach/Administrator 1960-2001
Kristen Smyth Women's Gymnastics 1989-92
Derek Van Rheenen Men's Soccer 1983-86

Brian Hendrick, Men's Basketball A three-time All-Pac-10 post player from 1990-93, Hendrick played on two NCAA Tournament squads. In 1990, the Bears earned their first NCAA berth in 30 years and advanced to the second round, and the 1993 team upset two-time defending champion Duke to its way to the Sweet 16. Hendrick's 1,556 points still rank seventh on Cal's all-time list, while his 898 rebounds are the third-best total ever at the school. He contributed 14.9 ppg in 1990 to earn Pac-10 Freshman of the Year honors. Cal's team MVP in both 1991 and '92, he was also voted the club's top defender in 1990, the same year he played in the U.S. Olympic Festival. In addition to scoring and rebounds, Hendrick rates among Cal's career Top 10 in field goals (7th, 580), field goal percentage (5th, 53.6%), free throws (5th, 397) and blocked shots (5th, 98).

Todd Mayo, Baseball An outfielder for the Bears from 1986-89, Mayo was a four-year starter who earned All-Pac-6 honors in 1987, '88 and '89 and a member of the U.S. National team that played in Cuba in 1987. Twice Cal's batting average leader - hitting .342 in 1988 and .333 in 1989 - he helped the Bears to the 1988 College World Series. Mayo finished his Cal career ranked first all-time in base hits (now second with 286), while his 12 triples still rate third in school history. He also had 204 runs scored (second), 100 stolen bases (fourth), 849 at-bats (third), 150 walks (third) and 221 games played (tied for fourth). On the Bears' season charts, his 66 runs scored in 1987 set a school record (since passed). In both 1988 and '89, Mayo received the Clint Evans Award as the team MVP.

Shellie Onstead, Field Hockey Onstead, who led the Bears to a runner-up finish in the 1980 AIAW national tournament - the program's best postseason showing - became Cal's first field hockey All-American as a senior in 1982. She helped the Bears to fifth-place national finishes in both 1981 and '82 and was a two-time all-conference selection. A member of the U.S. National team in 1985 and 1986, Onstead also competed at the Veteran National Team World Cup in the Netherlands in the spring of 1998. This fall, she will enter her 14th season as Cal's field hockey coach, having guided the Bears to a 156-84 record, which includes seven NorPac Conference titles and six NorPac Coach of the Year honors. A longtime coach for both men and women on the national level, Onstead will serve as an assistant coach with the U.S. Olympic women's team this summer.

David Ortega, Football Cal's all-time leading tackler with 525 career stops, Ortega started four consecutive seasons for Cal after moving into the opening lineup in the fourth game of his redshirt-freshman year. He earned second-team All-Pac-10 and first-team sophomore All-America honors from Football News in 1986 after registering a team-leading 142 tackles and posting a team-high six interceptions - the most ever by a Cal linebacker in one season. Ortega was a second-team All-Pac-10 choice as a junior and claimed first-team accolades his senior year when he finished with 159 tackles, an average of 14.5 per game. Twice chosen an honorable mention All-American, he had a personal-best 22 tackles (15 unassisted) vs. Wisconsin and 20 tackles vs. Stanford in 1989. He was named Cal's Most Inspirational Player as a senior and played in the 1990 East-West Shrine Game. Ortega currently works as compliance director for Cal Athletics.

Joan Parker, Student-Athlete/Coach /Administrator As an athlete, coach, faculty member and administrator, Parker spent nearly 40 years associated with Cal athletics. As an undergraduate, she played basketball, badminton and tennis, earning her BA in 1963 and an MA in 1966. Parker then coached for 13 years in the sports of women's basketball, softball, tennis, badminton and volleyball, winning conference titles and qualifying for the national championships in volleyball and tennis. She served as a faculty member in the Department of Physical Education for 13 years and was tenured at the age of 28. Parker joined Women's Intercollegiate Athletics as an assistant athletic director in 1978, and was promoted to associate AD in 1984. After the merger of the men's and women's athletic departments, she worked as executive director of Bear Backers from 1992 until her retirement in 2001. Parker was presented a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators (NACWAA) in 2006 and was the recipient of the 2007 Cal Spirit Recognition Award. She was named National Athletic Fundraiser of the Year in 1992 and was the first director of the Girls' and Women's Sports for the President's Council on Fitness and Sports.

Kristen Smyth, Women's Gymnastics Smyth, who competed for the Bears from 1989-92, is considered the greatest women's gymnast in Cal history. A three-time All-American, she capped an outstanding career as a senior in 1992 when she led the Bears to an eighth-place finish at the NCAA championships, the highest in the history of the program. That year, Smyth earned first-team All-America honors on vault and second-team status on floor and all-around. Also a three-time Academic All-American, she claimed All-Pac-10 and Pac-10 All-Academic notice as well. Smyth has spent the last seven seasons as head women's gymnastics coach at Stanford, where she was named National Coach of the Year in 2004 and is a three-time Pac-10 Coach of the Year.

Derek Van Rheenen, Men's Soccer Van Rheenen earned All-Pacific Soccer Conference honors for the Bears in 1983, '85 and '86, and was voted league MVP as a senior in 1986. He was also a four-time PSC All-Academic selection. Following graduation, Van Rheenen began his professional career with the San Francisco Bay Blackhawks, where was an all-star and served as team captain from 1989-93. The team captured the American Professional Soccer League championship in 1991. He later won four titles with the San Francisco Greek American Soccer Club - the U.S. Open Cup in 1994, over-30 championships in both 1996 and 1998 and an over-40 crown in 2004. Van Rheenen earned bachelor's degrees in Political Economies of Industrial Societies and German in 1986, a master's degree in education in 1993 and a Ph.D. in interdisciplinary studies in 1997, all from Cal. He is a professor at Cal in American Studies and the School of Education and since 2001 has been director of the Athletic Study Center.