Inland Northwest Sports Hall of Fame announces 30th induction class

SPOKANE, Wash. – Five Spokane-area sports legends will make up the 30th class of the Inland Northwest Sports Hall of Fame.

Ken Pelo, Pat Tyson, Jeff Brown, Rick Riley and Jared Lawrence will be inducted October 21 at Numerica Veterans Arena. The ceremony will also recognize Bill Stanley and Bob Tobiason as Scroll of Honor inductees.

Pelo spent 37 years as a history teacher and wrestling coach at Rogers High School, where he led the Pirates to 13 Greater Spokane League championships. His teams finished among the top four at state eight times, while producing 10 individual state champions.

Tyson built one of the region’s most dominant cross-country programs at Mead High School. From 1986 to 2004, his teams won 12 state championships and 79 consecutive dual meets. Tyson later took over at Gonzaga, leading the Bulldogs to four NCAA championship meets and the school’s first West Coast Conference men’s title in 2023.

Brown was a standout at Mead before starring at Gonzaga. He set the Greater Spokane League career scoring record and became Spokane’s first Washington Player of the Year after scoring a state tournament-record 127 points in 1989. At Gonzaga, Brown was a three-time All-West Coast Conference selection and the 1994 WCC Player of the Year.

Riley established himself as one of the region’s premier distance runners. At Ferris High School, he set a national record in the two-mile in 1966 that remained a state record for 58 years. At Washington State, Riley became the first Cougar and first Spokane native to break four minutes in the mile.

Lawrence went 133-0 during his Sandpoint High School wrestling career, winning four state championships. He went on to win an NCAA championship at 149 pounds for Minnesota in 2002 and later finished runner-up at the U.S. Olympic Trials.

The five inductees will bring the Hall of Fame’s membership to 174. The October 21 ceremony begins at 4 p.m. at Numerica Veterans Arena.