The Sonora High School Foundation will be presenting its 12th class to the Sonora High School Athletic Hall of Fame on Oct. 22 at the Sonora Elks Lodge. This year, seven individuals will be inducted.
The following are biographies for each of the inductees:
Robert ‘Bob’ Rundle – Honoree
Bob was truly an outstanding supporter and volunteer for Sonora High School athletics.
For over 40 years, Bob was a member of the Sonora High football chain gang. He started working with Babe Mason and when he stepped away, Bob recruited his sons Gary, Jerry and Loren.
Bob headed up the chain gang for the next 20 years until he could no longer stand along the sidelines. He then brought in the Rogers team of Dick, Greg and Nathan. Others would step in from time to time, but Bob never missed a game.
When the football season ended, Bob moved over to the basketball court, where he ran the clock for over 30 years with his best friend and wife, Ruth.
“When I took over the varsity program in 1977, I asked Bob if he would run the clock for our games,” Rick Francis, longtime varsity basketball coach, stated. “He agreed and not only ran our clock, but also for the freshmen and sophomore games. Our basketball program was so fortunate to have such a loyal and honest person on the clock.”
Bob also ran the clock for many years for the Columbia College Claim Jumpers and was well known throughout Tuolumne County for volunteering for youth sports and at the Soulsbyville Methodist Church. He also had the reputation as being “one heck of a fisherman.”
Brent Bynum – Class of 1964
Brent was an outstanding three-sport athlete, competing in football, basketball and track and field.
In football, Brent was an All-VOL (Valley Oak League) receiver his senior year. In basketball, he was a starting guard and an excellent defensive player.
Brent really excelled in track and field, competing in a number of events. He held the high-jump record for over 30 years, made the All-League VOL team and participated at the Sac-Joaquin Section meets.
After high school, Brent competed for two years at Modesto Junior College in basketball and track. In track, he recorded a high jump of 6 feet, 7 inches. After MJC, he went to California State University, Stanislaus, where he was on the basketball and track teams.
Brent became one of the finest hand ball players in Northern California after college, along with becoming an outstanding basketball official.
Brent wanted to acknowledge two role models who really shaped his adult life: Bob Gibson, his high school football coach, and John Boreiszis, his eighth-grade basketball coach and teacher.
“Growing up in Sonora really helped mold me into the person I am today,” he said.
Barry Bynum – Class of 1967
Barry participated in the sports of football, basketball and baseball, and he was a highly regarded athlete in all three sports.
He played two years on the varsity football team as a receiver and made the All-League team his senior year. In basketball, he was an outstanding guard his junior and senior years.
In his junior year, Barry was the starting guard on the basketball team that won the school’s first Valley Oak League Championship and won the very prestigious Modesto City Schools Invitational Tournament.
Barry was a unanimous All-League Selection in his senior year and led his team to the newly created Mountain Valley Conference League. His outstanding skills were rewarded by receiving a basketball scholarship to San Jose State University.
In the spring of his senior year, Barry moved on to become an All-League player in baseball and was the co-MVP for his team. He pitched a no-hitter and hit a game winning home run in his first start of the 1967 season.
Brent Adams – Class of 1976
Brent played varsity football for two years, freshmen and sophomore basketball for two years and was on the varsity baseball team for three years.
It was in football and baseball where Brent really excelled. As a running back, he averaged 7.9 yards per game during his senior year and was selected to the Valley Oak League All-League team.
He once held the record for the longest running touchdown of 94 yards, which stood for 30 years.
Brent was also an outstanding baseball pitcher. In his senior year, he had six games in which he struck out 15 or more batters. He was one error away from pitching a perfect game, with 19 strikeouts against Ripon High School.
He was a VOL All-League selection and an All-Area All-Star in baseball.
After graduation, Brent signed with the Philadelphia Phillies, where he played for two years until an injury put an end to his career.
Tim Brown – Class of 1995
Tim was a three-sport athlete participating in football, basketball and track and field.
In football, he was an All-League lineman both his junior and senior years whose teams made the Section playoffs. He was selected team captain his senior year and was selected to the Lions All-Star game.
After high school, Tim played four years at St. Mary’s College, where he was the starting offensive linemen his junior and senior years.
In basketball, Tim was the starting center on the 1995 team that lost in the finals of the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs. That team won 32 games. His teammates selected him as one of their team captains.
In the spring, it was off to compete in the shot put and throw the discus for the track team. Tim made the Section finals in the shot put in his junior and senior years.
Tim received the Fred Rowe Outstanding male athlete award for the Class of 1995. He was recognized in both the VOL and the Section “All Academic” awards in both his junior and senior years.
Abby Runte – Class of 2012
Abby was awarded the Elks Outstanding Female Athlete for the Class of 2012.
As a varsity athlete, she participated in soccer (two years), volleyball (three years) and track and field (three years).
In soccer, she was an All-League selection her senior year and also made the All-Area team. She was selected the VOL MVP for volleyball in 2011 after being selected to the First Team in her sophomore and junior years. She also made the All-Area team.
In the spring, Abby was an outstanding track athlete. She set school records in the long jump and in the 100 meters hurdles, qualifying in both events for the Sac-Joaquin Section track finals.
While attending University of California, Berkeley, Abby played volleyball for the women’s club team for two years
Abby maintained a 4.0-plus GPA in all four years of high school, in addition to being an outstanding athlete.
Jon Abernathy – Coach
Jon’s coaching resume is truly outstanding at Sonora High School.
After graduating from Sonora High in 1967, he returned home to start a career in teaching at Columbia Elementary and coaching at Sonora High.
He coached football for a total of 21 years, two at the varsity level, 16 at the junior-varsity level and three at the freshmen level. He was part of the coaching staff that won 12 JV football championships and one varsity championship.
Jon coached wrestling for 32 years, including 29 as the varsity coach and three as the JV coach. His teams won over 300 dual meet championships and the 2008 Division IV Sac-Joaquin Section championship. During those years, he had 12 state qualifiers.
In baseball, Jon was the varsity coach for nine years and the JV coach one year. He took Sonora to the Division II Section championship in 1995.
Jon then moved over to help rebuild the softball program. He spent 11 years in the program, two at the JV level and nine at the varsity level. He built the program all the way from only a couple of wins to one of great respectability and was the Tuolumne County Softball Director from 1974 to 1990.
He was also an outstanding fast-pitch player and was inducted into the American Softball Association San-Joaquin Metro Hall of Fame. His overall coaching career totaled 40 years.
How to attend
The 12th class of the Sonora High School Athletic Hall of Fame will be inducted at a ceremony at the Sonora Elks Lodge on Oct. 22.
Tickets are $40 per adult and $20 per child and must be purchased before Oct. 15. The social hour will begin at 5 p.m. on the day of the event, followed by dinner at 6 p.m. and the banquet at 7 p.m.
Checks for purchasing tickets should be made out to Sonora High School Foundation and mailed to (with the names of people attending): Hall of Fame Committee, 18440 Lambert Lake Road, Sonora, CA, 95370.
For reservations or questions, call Rick Francis at (209) 206-1633
