The Grandview High School Hall of Fame is set to turn 3 years old with another group of standouts to be honored in November.
The school began to recognize alumni for their character and excellence in athletics and activities during their time at school in 2023 in conjunction with the school’s 25th anniversary and has continued to do so.
Volleyball player Lindsey Licht, wrestler Fabian Santillan, football/baseball player Reece Weber and soccer player Beth West make up the Class of 2025 honorees.
For more information on the ceremony, visit the Grandview website (here).
The Hall of Fame selections were nominated by members of the community and picked by a panel of the school’s current and former administrators and teachers, Cherry Creek Schools officials and a local media member. Those eligible for selection must have graduated or concluded their service at Grandview at least five years prior, must have demonstrated high moral character and “made valuable contributions and had outstanding accomplishments” in their time at the school.
Below are bios of Grandview’s third Hall of Fame class:
LINDSEY LICHT (CLASS OF 2007)
Licht is literally one of the largest figures in the illustrious history of girls volleyball at Grandview, as she stood 6 feet, 5 inches, and was an imposing presence across the net from any opponent. Licht was one of the biggest parts to the evolution of the program into one that owns the second-most state championships in school history under head coach Patty Childress — who was part of the Grandview Hall of Fame’s first induction class — and also its rise to national prominence. A three-time first team all-state selection, the left-handed swinging right-side hitter played in the state championship match in all four of her varsity seasons and hoisted the championship trophy in 2004 (with a win over Doherty) and 2005, when she racked up 14 kills and had four blocks in a three-set sweep of Chaparral. Following a prep career in which she amassed 1,199 kills, 335 blocks, 385 digs and 80 service aces over four seasons, Licht committed to the then-preeminent NCAA women’s volleyball powerhouse, Nebraska, where she was a first team All-Big 12 pick and second team AVCA All-American.
FABIAN SANTILLAN (CLASS OF 2019)
Santillan — part of a family that made an impact on the Grandview wrestling program along with older brother Armando and younger brother Alex — placed fourth at the Class 5A state tournament as a freshman, but did not get compete at the state tournament in his sophomore season due to injury after he won the rugged Reno Tournament of Champions to achieve All-American status. He came back with a vengeance for his final two high school seasons for coach Ryan Budd’s Wolves and was one of Colorado’s best over that time at any weight. As a junior in the 2017-18 season, Santillan finished with an outstanding 44-4 record and claimed his first state championship (in the Class 5A 126-pound weight class), while he turned around the next season and became the program’s first-ever two-time state champion when he claimed the 5A 138-pound crown at the end of a 48-3 season in which he defeated every Colorado opponent he faced. Santillan went on to wrestle at Stanford University.
REECE WEBER (CLASS OF 2013)
Weber made a major impact on the Grandview athletic program in football and baseball, where he had a strong reputation for intangibles and leadership in addition to on-field contributions. He had to give up wrestling after two years, but he flourished in his other sports, especially as a senior in the 2012-13 school year. On the football field in the fall, the dual-threat quarterback racked up a total of 2,425 yards and a combined 26 touchdowns for coach John Schultz’s team, which went 8-4 and lost in the quarterfinals of the Class 5A state playoffs to ThunderRidge. He followed that up with a fantastic season with coach Dean Adams’ baseball team in the spring, as the slugging outfielder hit .405, homered six times and drove in 26 runs for a 20-5 team that made it to the semifinals of the 5A Baseball Championship Series for the first time in program history before a close loss to Rocky Mountain. For his career on the diamond, the 32 runs he scored in his senior season is second-most on Grandview’s all-time list, while he is tied for the fourth-most career home runs in program history with nine and 11th in RBI with 47. Weber went on to play three seasons at the University of New Mexico, which he helped to win two Mountain West titles and individually tied the program record for doubles in a game with four.
BETH WEST (CLASS OF 2008)
The girls soccer program has come to be one of the consistently great ones for Grandview and the roots of that reach back for quite some time to players such as West, an extremely talented midfielder who played four varsity seasons for the Wolves between 2005-2008. An exceptionally accomplished club player with Real Colorado National and member of several age group national teams, the playmaking West starred for then-coach Bruce Brown and helped the program to the first of its school-leading six all-time state championships in her senior season, when she was a Parade and NSCAA/adidas All-American. A team captain, West was also the first of Grandview’s two Colorado Gatorade Players of the Year that season when the Wolves defeated Heritage 3-2 in the Class 5A state final. The three-time All-Colorado performer went on to a college career at Texas A&M, where she started as a freshman for a team that went to the NCAA’s Elite Eight and ranked fourth in the nation with 14 assists in 2011 as a junior, when the Aggies won the Big 12 Championship.
— Sports Editor Courtney Oakes
GRANDVIEW HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES
2024: Greg Bird (baseball, Class of 2011); Brie Oakley (cross country/track & field, Class of 2017); Lauren Van Orden (volleyball, Class of 2008); Katie Reid (performing arts, Class of 2005)
2023: Michaela Onyenwere (basketball/track & field, Class of 2017); Eddie Yarbrough (football, Class of 2011); Kevin Gausman (baseball, Class of 2011); Patty Childress (coach, girls volleyball, Class of 2015); Erik C. Peterson (performing arts, Class of 2018)