August 14, 2005
BELLINGHAM, Wash. - A distance runner who earned All-America honors in two sports, a women's soccer player who performed during the best stretch in school history and a former football player who went on to become one of the finest high school gridiron coaches in the state of Washington are the newest members of the Western Washington University Athletic Hall of Fame.
The 2005 inductees are Robert "Bob" Ames, who is the head football coach at Meridian High School; midfielder Paula French, who was a pioneer in women's soccer; and Jeff Van Kleeck, who competed in both cross country and track for the Vikings.
The trio, which brings the hall's membership to 106, will be formally inducted on Sat., Nov. 5 (9:30 a.m.) in a ceremony at the Viking Union on the Western campus as a part of The Really Big Weekend. They also will be honored at halftime of Western's football game that afternoon with Western Oregon University.
Ames, who lettered as an offensive center in football at Western in 1964-67, has compiled a record of 214-109 in 31 years as head football coach at Meridian High School. He has directed the Trojans to four state championship games, winning in 1999 and 2003, and being runner-up in 1984 and 2000; and three other teams reach the state semifinals in 1992, 1995 and 1996.
The 60-year-old Ames ranks No.3 in victories among the state's active high school football coaches in all classifications. His teams have won 11 league titles and he has been named league Coach of the Year four times.
An assistant at Mount Si High School (North Bend) for seven years, Ames received his bachelor's degree in education from Western in 1967. In addition to football, he also earned two letters in rugby and one in track. He is a graduate of Castle High School in Kaneohe, Hawaii, where he competed in track and football.
Ames and wife, Pam, also a Western graduate, have three sons and two daughters, three of whom are WWU graduates. All three sons played football at the collegiate level.
The 42-year-old French, who scored 19 career goals, helped Western to a 49-5-5 record during her four-year career, the Vikings posting a 38-game winning streak and having a perfect 14-0-0 record in 1983 over the final three seasons. During that stretch, Western outscored its opponents, 212 to 26.
The Vikings, who were the NCSC champions in 1982, captured District 1 titles in 1983 and 1984, and reached the NAIA Region I playoffs in 1984, losing 3-2 in the title game to St. Mary's CA.
A four-year letter winner, French obtained a bachelor's degree in sociology from Western in 1985. She is a graduate of Bellarmine Prep in Tacoma, being a first-team Narrows League all-star as a senior, the first year girls soccer was offered, after playing on the boys team as a junior.
While at Western, French played on the Cozars club team, coached by former Washington State governor Booth Gardner. That squad toured Europe and placed second at the U.S. National Tournament in 1983, then the highest level for a woman in this country. She also played on club squads that won two West Regional titles and seven state championships, placing second at the U-19 girls national tournament in 1981.
Last June, French competed on a women's over-40 team that won the National Veteran's Cup Tournament held in Wilmington, N.C.
French, who is working on her national coaching license series, coached the Bellingham High girls soccer team for four years (1987-90), and has coached Whatcom Development League and Ranger girls squads. She is currently the purchasing agent for Aluminum Chambered Boats in Bellingham.
Van Kleeck was named Western Male Athlete of the Year for 1991-92, earning NAIA All-America honors in both cross country and track as a junior and senior. He placed fourth in the 5,000 meters at track nationals in 1993 and sixth in 1992, and finished 23rd at cross country nationals as a senior and 25th as a junior.
The 35-year-old Van Kleeck set school track records which still stand in the 3,000 and 5,000, and ranks among the top six Western times in the 1,500 and 10,000. He was the NAIA District 1 cross country champion in 1991, being a two-time district all-star.
A three-time national participant in cross country, Van Kleeck helped the Vikings place 17th as a team in 1989. He earned four letters in both cross country and track.
A 1988 graduate of Lynden High School, Van Kleeck placed third at Class A-B state cross country meet as a senior and 11th as junior. He was third at state in the 1,600 meters and fourth in the 800 as a senior, and finished seventh in the 1,600 as a junior.
Van Kleeck missed the 1991 track season because of a foot injury sustained in the steeplechase. That spring he concentrated on snowboarding and was the national amateur champion.
Van Kleeck graduated from Western in 1992 with a bachelor's degree in visual communication. He received a master's degree in fine arts at Central Washington University in 1998 while pursuing a career in photography.
Van Kleeck taught one year of photography at University of Wisconsin-Madison, and currently is completing his second year as a visiting professor at University of Redlands (Calif.). He and wife Charmaine have one son, Iain, born in April.
Bob Ames
Coach
Ranks No.3 in wins among state's active prep football coaches in all classifications
Has compiled record of 214-109 in 31 years at Meridian High School
Directed Trojans to state championship game four times, winning titles in 1999 and 2003. Reached semifinals of state playoffs on three other occasions.
Has guided MHS to 11 league titles, being named league Coach of the Year four times
Twice coached in East-West All-Star game
Assistant coach for seven years at Mount Si High School
Earned letters in football, rugby and track at Western
Paula French
Women's Soccer (Midfielder)
Second-team NSCAA West Region all-star in 1982
Northwest Collegiate Soccer Conference all-star in 1981, 1983 and 1984 NAIA District 1 all-star in 1984
Helped WWU to 49-5-5 record, 38-game winning streak, two district titles, one league championship and second place at 1984 NAIA Region I Playoffs
Four-year letter winner
Played on club teams that won nine division titles, seven state championships, two West Regional crowns and placed second at national tournament
Jeff Van Kleeck
Cross Country and Track & Field
WWU Male Athlete of the Year in 1992
Two-time NAIA All-American in track, placing fourth nationally in 5,000 meters as senior and sixth as junior.
Set school records in 3,000 and 5,000
Two-time NAIA All-American in cross country, placing 23rd at nationals as senior and 25th as junior.
NAIA District 1 champion in 1991 and two-time district all-star
Four-year letter winner in cross country and three-year letter winner in track
National amateur snowboard champion in 1991
