Carpinteria High School will be inducting six new members to the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame on Friday during half time of the school’s home football game versus Nordhoff, which begins at 7:30 p.m.
The 2010 inductees are: Robert Calderon, a CIF wrestling champion from the 1960s; Cathy Caudillo, a four-sport letter winner from the class of 1978; Henry Gonzales, an All-CIF Quarterback and Santa Barbara County leader in touchdown passes thrown from the class of 1980; Tom Grewe, the 1982 California 1600 meter State Champion; Ann Latham, a three-sport athlete and leading lady Warrior basketball career scorer and rebounder from the class of 1982; and Lou Panizzon, a five-time CIF Champion coach for the Warriors. Full biographical information on the inductees follows. Photographs are available by request due to file size.
The six new inductees join 33 athletes already in the Warrior Athletic Hall of Fame. The last induction ceremony took place in 2000.
CARPINTERIA HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2010
Robert Calderon – 1960-1963
Born in San Bernardino, Calif., Robert “Bobby” Calderon, moved to Carpinteria in 1958 and attended Carpinteria High School from 1960 – 1963. During his tenure at CHS, Calderon earned nine varsity letters – three in football, three in wrestling and three in track & field. Calderon left Carpinteria High School his senior season when the school dropped its wrestling program, transferring to Oxnard High School to continue his career in wrestling. He graduated from Oxnard High School in 1964, but is recognized by the Carpinteria High School Hall of Fame Committee for his outstanding accomplishments while at Carpinteria High School that surely were a base for his future successes.
While at CHS, Calderon was a three-time winner of the Lions Club Award, given to the Carpinteria high point scorer of the Russell Cup Track Meet. He was a key member of the team’s 440 and 880 relay teams and held school records in the 120 low hurdles and 180 low hurdles. Calderon was also the Tri-Valley League Champion in the 180 lows in 1963.
Calderon’s standout sport was wrestling, where he earned numerous accolades, including a third place finish at the CIF Masters in 1962 and second place finish in 1963, as well as Carpinteria High’s first league championship in the sport in 1963. In 1964, Calderon won a CIF Championship at Oxnard High School and represented the United States in an exchange with Japan. With a four year record of 128-5-2, Calderon was the top-ranked wrestler in his weight class.
Calderon attended Western State College with a wrestling scholarship and graduated from UCSB with a degree in Social Science. He also served for eight years in the Marine Corps Reserves. Calderon has been a successful high school wrestling coach for 29 years, coaching for Fillmore for 25 years and Rio Mesa for four, winning two Tri-Valley League Championships and one Frontier League Championship. He lives in Oxnard, having retired from a 35-year career as a corrections services officer working with juvenile offenders. Calderon has two grown daughters, Melinda and Amy.
Cathy “Spunk” Caudillo – 1974-1978
A lifelong resident of Carpinteria, Cathy “Spunk” Caudillo was a four-sport athlete at Carpinteria High School, earning varsity letters in track & field, softball, basketball and volleyball. Caudillo earned the Block C for nine varsity letters and was awarded the Henry B. Beldem sportsmanship trophy her senior year for demonstrating outstanding sportsmanlike conduct both on and off the field. She is considered a pioneer in girls athletics at Carpinteria High School, helping to change the landscape of girls sports from recreational to competitive.
Caudillo’s letter in track was earned during the 1975 season, where she participated in the long jump, 200 yard dash and 440 yard relay. Caudillo played varsity softball for three years, earning Second Team All Tri-Valley League honors in 1978 and serving as co-captain that year. On the volleyball court, she earned Second-Team league honors in 1976 and served as captain in both 1977 and 1978.
Caudillo was a member of the first Carpinteria girls basketball team to enter CIF competition in 1976. She earned Honorable Mention honors that season and went on to be First Team All Tri-Valley League in both 1977 and 1987. Caudillo was captain of the basketball teams both her junior and senior years and earned MVP honors in her senior season.
Caudillo still resides in Carpinteria and works for Raytheon Engineering.
Henry Gonzales – 1976-1980
A Carpinteria native with deep roots in the Carpinteria valley, Henry Gonzales is one of four Gonzales brothers to play for the Warriors – Bobby, Frank (Poncho), Henry and Raymond – and is the father of Aaron, also a Warrior alum. He was a stand-out athlete during his career at Carpinteria High School, earning seven varsity letters in three sports.
Gonzales played varsity baseball and basketball in 1979 and 1980, earning all TVL honors in basketball both seasons. His most noteworthy accomplishments took place on the football field, where he quarterbacked the team for three seasons. The 1979 season was highlighted by the passing combo of Gonzales to Jerry Hamilton, who in one game, set a then national record for touchdown receptions in a game with six touchdown passes, and that was done while only playing half of the game. Under Gonzales’ stellar play that season, the Warriors beat Pater Noster, Westlake, and Rio Mesa to earn a trip to the CIF Finals, where they would finish as runner-up, losing to Indio, a significantly bigger school, 26-0.
Gonzales was named to the All Tri-Valley League football team three years in a row, and was the league MVP in both 1978 and 1979. He also earned All-CIF honors in 1978 and 1979. Gonzales previously held school records for passing yardage (career, season and game), passing completion percentage (career and season), passes completed (career and season), TD passes (career, season, and game), and is still the school record holder and Santa Barbara County leader for touchdown passes thrown at 57. Gonzales was inducted into the Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table Hall of Fame in 2005.
Carpinteria High School is fortunate to have Gonzales serve on its staff as a Security Officer, Assistant Varsity Football Coach, Freshman Boys Basketball Coach and Varsity Softball Coach. He credits his coach, Lou Panizzon, with instilling a positive work ethic in sports and life that he carries with him today and passes on to the student athletes he now coaches. Gonzales resides in Carpinteria and has one son, Aaron, who was also an award-winning quarterback for the Warriors. Together, the two are only the second father-son combination to earn All-CIF Honors in football for Carpinteria High School.
Tom Grewe – 1978-1982
Tom Grewe moved to Carpinteria with his family from Los Angeles in the seventh grade. While attending Carpinteria High School, Grewe became a runner, participating on both the Cross Country and Track & Field teams. He credits coaches Lou Panizzon, Joe Cantrell and John Larralde for developing his athletic abilities and also teaching him to be a champion on the track and in life.
Grewe used Cross Country as a training ground for his distance running career. From 1979 to 1981, Grewe was a member of three Tri-Valley League Championship teams. As an individual runner, he placed second in Tri-Valley League and 7th in CIF his sophomore year. His junior and senior years, Grewe was both the Tri-Valley League and CIF Champion and was named to the 2nd Team All Western United States.
On the Track & Field front, Grewe had successes in the triple jump and hurdle events, but excelled as a distance runner. He was the Tri-Valley League Champion in the mile in 1980 and 1981, when English distances were still run, and the league 1600 meter champion in 1982. In 1981, Grewe became the CIF Champion in both the 1600 and 3200 meter events, setting a record in the 1600 and becoming the first CIF 1A distance runner to win the cross country, 1600 and 3200 meter events in the same year. His senior season he took it a few strides further, again winning the CIF 1600 meters with a CIF record time, winning the 3200 meters and winning the CIF Southern Section Masters 1600 meter event. He also set several school and Tri-Valley League records. Grewe culminated his senior season by becoming the California State 1600 meter Champion in 1982.
In college, Grewe ran cross country and track at Tulane University and Santa Barbara City College, finishing his career at UCLA. While at SBCC in 1984, Grewe once again became a State Champion, this time in the 3000 meter steeplechase. While at UCLA, Grewe was an NCAA Finalist in 1985, made All Pac-10 in 1986 for the 3000 meter steeplechase and was a member of the 1987 NCAA Championship Team. He is still in the Top-10 at UCLA in the 3000 meter steeplechase.
Grewe earned a B.A. in Political Sociology from UCLA and went on to earn an MA in National Security Affairs from the Naval Postgraduate School. He has served more than 22 years in the Navy in both active and reserve service. As a Naval Intelligence Officer, Grewe made three deployments to the Persian Gulf. He is currently a Commander in the Naval Reserve and just received orders to return to active duty in March, 2011 for a oneyear deployment to Afghanistan.
Grewe has been married for more than 20 years to Lisa Weatherford, a CHS alum of 1986, whom he met at Foster’s Freeze. They have three children, Chloe, Spencer and Bennett and reside in Virginia.
Ann Latham – 1978-1982
A second generation Carpinterian, Ann Latham was a three-sport athlete during her high school career, participating in volleyball, basketball and softball. Of the three sports, she earned the most accolades in the gym. On the volleyball court, she was named to the All Tri-Valley League team as a junior and led the Warriors to their first ever Volleyball league title her senior year in 1981. That year, she was named the Tri-Valley League Volleyball Co-MVP.
The basketball court proved to be even more promising for Latham, where she became and still remains the leading career scorer in CHS history with 1,287 points and the leading career re-bounder with 1,037. Latham was named Tri-Valley League Co-MVP in both 1981 and 1982, earned first team All-Tri-Valley League honors three years in a row and was named to the All-CIF team her senior season. She helped lead the lady Warriors basketball team to their first ever Tri-Valley League title in 1982.
Latham was named the Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table Athlete of the Year in 1982 and was inducted into the Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table Hall of Fame in 2010. Latham left Carpinteria to follow in the footsteps of her parents, Robert and Vera, and her brother Van, to attend Stanford University. While majoring in Industrial Engineering, Latham also played rugby for the Cardinal, earning Norcal All-League honors in 1984, ’85, ’86 and ’87. She also played for the Pacific Coast Grizzlies from 1985-1987. After earning her B.S. in Industrial Engineering in 1987, Latham became a member of the USA Women’s National Rugby Team.
Now a marketing professional, Latham resides in San Jose, Calif. with her spouse, Rossana Monzon. Latham is proud of being a part of three Warrior teams that made tremendous strides over four years to become strong, competitive and winning programs. She was coached by Gabe Garcia, Kathy Hanley and Jacque Pechek Geary.
Lou Panizzon
The son of Italian immigrants, Lou Panizzon is a first-generation Carpinterian and lifelong resident of the community. A 1959 graduate of Carpinteria High School, Panizzon was a three-sport athlete for the Warriors, competing in football, basketball and baseball. He later became a coach at Carpinteria High School, leading the Warriors to multiple league and CIF titles, and more importantly, instructing, guiding and mentoring many CHS alumni.
As an athlete, Panizzon lettered in football, basketball and baseball at Carpinteria High School The leading hitter on the 1959 baseball team, he was named All-Frontier Third Base that season. He quarterbacked the Warriors for the 1957 and 1958 seasons, although injuries shortened both of his seasons.
After graduating from high school, Panizzon attended UCSB, graduating in 1965 with a degree in Physical Education. In 1966 he enlisted in the United States Army. He graduated from Officers Candidate School in 1967 and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant. Panizzon served in Vietnam with the 1st Infantry Division as an infantry platoon leader where he was wounded by friendly fire. He was awarded an Army Commendation Medal, Purple Heart and a Bronze Star for Valor. Under the GI Bill, he earned his Master of Arts in Education from UCSB in 1974.
In 1969, Panizzon was hired by Superintendent Bill Carty as a history and physical education teacher and coach at Carpinteria High School. He worked for the Carpinteria School District for 33 years, serving various roles including teacher, Dean of Students, Athletic Director, Counselor, Assistant Principal and ultimately Principal. He also led the capital campaign to build the new Carpinteria Valley Memorial Stadium.
On the athletic front, Panizzon coached football, baseball and track & field at various times during his career. As head Track & Field Coach in 1979 and 1980, the school won two Tri-Valley League titles. His baseball teams won three consecutive Tri-Valley League titles from 1972 to 1974 and won the school’s first ever CIF Championship in 1974, with a 19-5-1 record. In 1975, the Warriors won the first of four CIF Championships in football under Panizzon’s leadership. The next three would come in 1987, 1988 and 1989. Panizzon’s football teams also made it to the CIF finals in 1979 and 1986. During his 15 years as head Football Coach, Panizzon’s teams compiled a record of 133-43-2, including nine Tri-Valley League Championships. He was also named the Co-Head Coach of the Shrine All Star Football Game in 1980.
Panizzon was inducted into the UCSB Hall of Fame for Athletic Achievement in 1974.
He received CIF Coach of the Year honors for football in his division in 1987, 1988 and 1989, was named Small Schools State Coach of the Year by CalHi Sports in 1987 and was awarded the CIF Hall of Fame Award in 2002. Panizzon was also named Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table Coach of the year four times and was inducted into the SBART Hall of Fame in 1992. In 2000, Panizzon was awarded the prestigious Clare Van Hoorebeke Award by the Southern California Coaches Association, a great honor bestowed upon him by his coaching peers.
Panizzon retired from coaching after the 1989 football season and from the Carpinteria Unified School District in 2002. He served on the Carpinteria-Summerland Fire Protection District Board for 17 years and is currently serving as a board member for the Carpinteria Unified School District. He has been married to his wife Susie for 39 years.
They have two children, Christie and Matthew, and two grandchildren, Kate and Charlotte Cooney.
