Induction Year: 2025

Jeremy Fischer’s high jump career is one for the record books.

No other high jumper in Ventura County has approached his high school achievements.

A three-time county, Marmonte League and CIF-Southern Section champion for Camarillo, Fischer had a senior season to remember.

His 1994 high school season with a second-place finish at the National Scholastic Indoor championships. Then came a county record 7’-4” country record mark – fourth place on the all-time national high school list at the time – at the Santa Barbara Easter Relays.

However, Fischer was only beginning. He set the meet record at the Mt. San Antonio College Relays, won the state championships and soared to the title at the National Scholastic outdoor championship.

If those titles weren’t enough, his post-prep career was even better. At the University of Wisconsin, Fischer was a four-time All-American. At the 1998 NCAA Division 1 high jump finals, Fischer placed second with a school record 7-4 1/2.

Fischer was second at the 2000 USA Track and Field Indoor Championships with a mark of 7-5 1/4. He placed seventh at the U.S. Olympic Trials and second at the North American, Central American and Caribbean championships in Monterrey, Mexico.

Fischer ranked among yearly top 10 U.S. high jumpers three times. One of his more notable performances was a 7-6 personal best at the Mount SAC Relays. What made that notable that it was 21 inches over his height of 5 feet, 9 inches. It ranks among the top 10 performances ever for that category.

As a coach, Fischer has trained athletes to 18 Olympic and World Championship medals. The San Diego resident is a director of the Olympic Training Center’s Track and Field program and is the lead instructor for Coaches Education for USA Track and Field.

Not long after Westlake High School opened its doors for the first time, Connie Flanderka impacted the school’s athletic program. Months into that first 1978-79 school year, Westlake had its first CIF-Southern Section sports championship.

Flanderka had melded Westlake’s first girls tennis team all the way to the 1978 Division 1A team championship. Under her direction, Westlake appeared in seven Section Finals and won three additional team titles in 1984, 1990 and 1991.

By the end of her 39-year career as the longest tenured female varsity head coach in Ventura County history, Flanderka’s teams had won 20 Marmonte League championships and reached post-season playoffs in 38 of 39 seasons. Flanderka’s team won 601 times—the most by any female coach in section history at the time of her retirement in 2017.

That wasn’t all to Flanderka’s coaching resume. From 2002-2017, she was also the Westlake boys’ tennis coach. In that 15-year span, the Westlake boys won six Marmonte League titles and had 217 wins.

All together, Flanderka’s teams won 26 league titles and four section championships, and had an amazing 818 wins. Only legendary Santa Clara coach Lou Cvijanovich, who guided three sports teams, won more in county history with more than 1,000. It was no wonder that Flanderka was inducted into the CIF-Southern Section Hall of Fame in 2019.

In 2012, Westlake High School honored Flanderka by dedicating the school’s tennis courts as the “Coach Connie Flandeka Tribute Courts.”

Flanderka enjoys collecting Early American antiques, gardening, reading and spending time with her family. She and husband Peter reside in Brookings, Oregon. Son Kegan lives in Portland, Oregon.

Sara Griffin left a softball career to remember at the University of Michigan.

• First Michigan player to receive the Suzie Favor Big Ten Female AOY
• Three-time NCAA Division I First Team All-American 1995, 1996 & 1998
• Four-year participant of the NCAA Women’s College World Series 1995-98
• University of Michigan Female Athlete of the Year 1996 & 1998
• Recipient of the Bob Ufer Senior Award 1998
• University of Michigan Freshman Athlete of the Year 1995
• First Team Big Ten 1995,1996 & 1998
• Big Ten Player of the Year 1995 & 1996
• Big Ten Pitcher of the Year 1998
• Big Ten Freshman of the Year 1995
• Finalist for the Honda Award 1998

It’s no wonder that the Simi Valley High School graduate was inducted into the University of Michigan’s Hall of Honor.

She became the 15th pitcher in NCAA history to win 100 career games. Griffin had the program’s two longest winning streaks – 30 and 27 games. Her career pitching record was 106-19 with 40 shutouts and 602 strikeouts. Griffin helped herself at the plate with a .384 career average, 184 RBIs and 58 doubles, each ranking high among Michigan’s all-time lists.

Griffin closed out her senior season in 1998 with a 35-3 record, including 17-0 in the Big Ten with a 1.09 ERA and 88 strikeouts. During her final season, she became Michigan’s career wins, win percentage, shutouts, innings pitched and strikeout leader on the defensive side and the U-M career hits record holder on the offensive side. She was also a finalist for the Honda Award in 1998. In 1996, Griffin pitched a perfect game against No. 10 ranked Oklahoma.

Griffin drew the attention of colleges after being named the state’s Ms. Softball by CalHiSports.com in 1993 and 1994. She led the Pioneers to the CIF-Southern Section Division 1 Finals in 1992 but came up short, losing to Cypress 1-0. The following season, she led Simi Valley High School to their first section title, throwing a shut-out and hitting the game winning homerun. She was named the 1993 CIFSouthern Section Division 1 Player of the Year. Her career earned-run-average of 0.13 ranks 13th best in state history.

After graduating from Michigan, Griffin collegiate coaching realm. She served as an assistant coach at Arizona State University 1999-2000 and the University of Utah 2000-2001 before returning to school to complete her Master’s Degree at The Ohio State University. While at OSU, she was a Graduate Assistant in the Athletic Department Compliance Office. Upon graduating, Sara served as the Director of Compliance at the University of Southern California from 2002-2008. She closed out her administrative career as an Associate Athletic Director at Loyola Marymount University (2008-13), where she also helped as an assistant coach 2010-12.

These days Sara is a private softball instructor in the Columbus, Ohio area. She and husband Jesse Webster are the parents of Griffin and Grayson. They reside in Lewis Center, Ohio.

During Bill’s 30 plus year teaching and coaching career at Ventura High School, he has been the head boys’ and girls’ cross-country and has assisted in track and field with both boys’ and girls’ distance runners.

During his tenure as the head cross-country coach, Tokar’s teams excelled both in competition and in the classroom. As the head cross-country coach, his teams captured a total of 15 Channel League titles, including five boys’ varsity titles and 10 girls’ varsity titles. In addition, his teams captured two CIF SS Academic team awards, proving quality athletics and academics work hand in hand.

Over the course of his head coaching career, the Cougars qualified for CIF SS crosscountry finals 15 times and for the California State Cross-Country championships 10 times. From 2002 to 2005, the Tokar coached girls had an incredible run. They captured four Channel League titles and were the top team at CIF SS twice. The 2004 team was one for the ages, as they destroyed the then team time record for the famed Mt. Sac crosscountry course.

At the state meet, they did even better. In 2002, the Cougars earned their first ever state plaque in cross-country, finishing second in Division II. In 2003, the girls captured Ventura High School’s first ever California State Championship, winning the Division I crown. In 2004, the girls had a magical season, winning the CIF SS title and once again capturing the Division I title, scoring a mere 46 points. After the state meet, that team was ranked #2 in the nation. The next year, the Cougars continued their incredible four year run at Woodward Park. After not being ranked most of the season, the 2005 version ended up third in the state of California, a scant one point out of second and a mere 12 points behind the champions.

As an assistant track and field distance coach, Coach Tokar has coached numerous CIF SS individual champions, a California State champion and has helped the Cougars capture two CIF SS track and field titles.

But Coach Tokar’s legacy goes far beyond accomplishments on the field. He has been heavily involved with coaching education throughout the state through the LA84 Coaching Education programs in both cross-country and track and field. He has been honored by the Arcadia Invitational for his contributions to coaching education. He has also inspired several of his former athletes to coach athletes at Ventura High School. Tyree Cruz, Preston Biller and Josh Spiker have all coached at Ventura High School, and Coach Tokar has helped assist his former athletes. Coach Tokar continues to help mentor coaches throughout the county, section and state and steps in to help assist his former students when asked.

Bill Tokar lives in Ventura with his wife Cindy who is a leader for disabled youth sports in Ventura County. His daughter, Holly won the CIF SS pole vault title while competing for Ventura High School and went on to vault for the University of California, Davis, where she was a Big West Champion and earned all-conference honors for the Aggies.

Ruth Vomund took a different path to become one of Ventura County’s premier women’s distance runners.

A distinguished track and field career took her from days as a member of the St. Bonaventure High track and field team to the U.S. Olympic Trials women’s marathon starting line. Sixteen years apart.

In one of the rarest accomplishments by a Ventura County runner – male or female – Vomund placed 20th at the 1992 U.S. Olympic Trials, finishing with a personal-best time of 2 hours, 41 minutes and 30 seconds.

It would be only one of dozens of distance running achievements over her long and distinguished athletic career.

One of the first inductees into the St. Bonaventure athletic hall of fame, Vomund was a high jumper and sprinter for the Seraphs. In the first of two stints at Ventura College, Vomund made the program’s all-time high jump list by clearing 5 feet-2 inches.

In 1987, Vomund returned to VC as a distance runner, having run in numerous 10K road races and marathons. In helping VC win the Western State Conference cross country team title, Vomund later placed fourth individually at the state meet in a time that is still a school record for the Woodward Park course.

Vomund also met and married Ventura County Athletic Hall of Fame runner Gary Tuttle, a former two-time collegiate steeplechaser and a national record holder. With Tuttle as her personal coach, Vomund qualified for the Olympic Trials by meeting the time standard at the 1991 Portland Marathon.

Among her major accomplishments were titles at the 1989 Napa Valley, 1989 Medoc, France and 1999 Santa Clarita marathons. She placed fifth at the 1986 Ohme Hochi 30K in Japan, was a 13time winner of the Round Rarotonga 31K Road Race in the Cook Islands, 1994-2006, the 2004 and 2006 Oceania Masters Athletic Championships in the 5K and 8K races.

She has volunteered at hundreds of area charity road races over the years and the Ventura County Special Olympics track meet for 10 years. She assisted in the marathon at the 1999 World Special Olympics Games.

Vomund served on the board of the Team Inside Track running club for many years. She also worked at Inside Track for 10 years and still occasionally works at Mile 26 running company.