The Harvard-Westlake Athletics Hall of Fame recognizes alumni, coaches and contributors whose involvement in school athletics is formally recorded as part of the school’s athletic history. Individuals selected for the induction are officially documented by the athletic department. Inductees are listed on the school’s website and are also displayed on a physical board located in the hallway of Taper Gym, where each name appears with the individual’s graduation year, sport and role within the athletic program.

The Hall of Fame includes individuals from a range of sports, including track and field, baseball, soccer, basketball, water polo and equestrian. New inductees are announced annually and formally introduced during halftime at the Homecoming football game, where they are recognized in front of students, families, faculty and alumni.

The nomination and selection process is overseen by members of the athletic department, according to Upper School Head of Athletics, Terrance Barnum. Barnum said that these department members are responsible for managing the procedures involved, including reviewing nominations and coordinating the selection process.

“Nominations are taken primarily from athletics coaches and staff, but anyone in the school community can nominate someone if they want,” Barnum said. “Ultimately, all nominations are vetted by the athletic directors, and the most deserving can- didates are put on the ballot.”

Barnum said eligibility requirements are one reason the Hall of Fame is more familiar to alumni and parents than to current students.

“You must have been out of Harvard-Westlake for at least five years before you can be eligible to be elected to the Hall of Fame,” Barnum said. “Most of the current students did not go to school with the inductees.”

The Hall of Fame committee is made up of athletics coaches and staff members who have each served at the school for a minimum of 10 years. This group meets annually and votes on eligible candidates each May. According to Barnum, a candidate must receive at least 50% of the total votes casted by the committee in order to be elected into the Hall of Fame.

“The committee members can vote for half of the candidates on the ballot,” Barnum said. “In the case where there are an odd number of candidates, the committee members can vote for one more than half.”

Once elected, inductees are notified and formally inducted during Homecoming in October. Barnum said if an inductee is unable to attend Homecoming in person, the induction gets postponed.

“Once an athlete is officially inducted at Homecoming, the school’s website and the display in the hallway in Taper are updated,” Barnum said.

Last fall, during the Homecoming halftime, alumni walked onto the field as the newest class of Hall of Fame inductees was introduced. One of the inductees was alumni Ali Riley ’06.

Riley said although she wasn’t sure about the specific standards used to select the Hall of Fame members, she acknowledges her contributions to the school’s athletics program as part of the reason for her induction.

“I actually don’t know what the selection or what the criteria are to be nominated,” Riley said. “But I think that I had a very, very long and impactful career [at Harvard-Westlake] that helped tremendously.”

Riley said her career involved competing internationally.

“I was able to represent New Zealand at five World Cups and four Olympics,” Riley said.

Barnum said the Hall of Fame is intended to recognize individuals whose contributions to athletics can be evaluated over time.

Track and field and cross country athlete Charles Abemayor ’26 has been on the team since his freshman year, said he first noticed the Hall of Fame display in Taper Gym.

“I’ve seen [the display] in the hallway of the gym, and I remember people being inducted at homecoming,” Abemayor said. “The entire school celebrating their achievements and recognizing the hard work that led to their success was very cool to see.”

Abemayor said many athletes are more focused on their own goals rather than being in the Hall of Fame.

“I think athletes are more focused on their personal and team advancement and on getting to compete either at the next level or compete better at the current level,” Abemayor said. “I don’t think their main end goal is the Hall of Fame.”

Riley said she hopes other athletes associate her career with how she approached leadership and teamwork.

“I hope that it was my leadership and the type of teammate that I was.” Riley said, “That, along with the way I used my platform, made the biggest impact on people when they think about me and my career.”

Water polo athlete Harry Siafaras ’27 said the Hall of Fame is not frequently discussed among current athletes and students at the school, but he said if there were changes to how inductees are recognized it could increase awareness.

“Putting the inductees in a more public place at the school rather than just in Taper or featuring them in assemblies once in a while would increase recognition,” Siafaras said.

Barnum said the Hall of Fame includes people that aren’t just athletes such as coaches and volunteers.

“While most of the members are athletes, coaches and special volunteers have also been honored,” Barnum said. “The Hall of Fame should represent the best that HW Athletics has to offer to our community.”

In 2024, Barnum said the school established an additional committee to address past omissions.

“We established the HW Hall of Fame Legends Committee,” Barnum said. “This group works to select individuals who have been away from the school for a minimum of ten years. These candidates are deserving of being in the Hall, but have been overlooked in past elections.”

Riley said that throughout her career at the school, she focused on using her position in athletics to support and uplift those around her.

“I was able to have a long and successful career,” Riley said. “But what I did with that career was to empower the people around me.”

Abemayor said he hopes to guide others as an example for other athletes in his program.

“I hope to inspire other athletes to be diligent and have a good balance of the other aspects of their lives while maintaining a high level of their sport,” Abemayor said.

Tennis singles player Gideon Ames ’27 said increased acknowledgment of inductees could affect how current athletes engage with the Hall of Fame.

“The school can do a better job of acknowledging the athletes that have been inducted,” Ames said. “Announcing them in all-school assemblies or in mass emails could motivate athletes to push harder.”

Riley said improving opportunities in sports, particularly for women and girls, was a priority for how she approached her career.

“[It] was always [my] goal to make sports a better place for women and girls,” Riley said.

The Athletics Hall of Fame continues to be updated on an annual basis following Homecoming, with new inductees added each year. Alumni involvement in the school’s athletics program is documented through both the Hall of Fame’s online listing and its physical display located in Taper Gym.