UNION CITY, MI (WTVB) – The Union City High School Athletic Hall of Fame formally added five new members during a ceremony Friday night before the Union City varsity basketball game against Reading.
There was an emotional moment when long time Union City wrestling coach Paul Smeltzer was inducted. He coached wrestling for 25 years at Union City. As a Head Coach, he compiled a record of 283-119. That included five district championships, Four Big 8 Conference crowns, three regional titles and a 1997 runner up finish in Division 4. Smeltzer was also a two-time Regional Coach of the Year and two-time Big 8 Conference Coach of the Year. He passed away in 2006 at the age of 52. Current Union City wrestling coach Jason Counterman, who wrestled for Smeltzer when he was in high school, presented the plaque to Smeltzer’s family.
Also inducted into the Hall of Fame on Friday…
- Russ Freds who won 11 letters in football, basketball and baseball. He later had an outstanding basketball career at Aquinas College and played semi-pro basketball and baseball. Freds also coached and mentored many youth sports.
- Jennifer Colvin who won 12 letters in volleyball, basketball and softball. Her many accomplishments included over 1,000 strikeouts as a pitcher as she earned three Big 8 Conference Most Valuable Player awards in the sport.
- Brian Vaccaro who earned 10 letters in baseball, football and basketball. He was the Big 8 Most Valuable Player in football during his senior season.
- Mike Marten who won 10 letters in football, basketball and baseball. On the baseball diamond, he led the Big 8 in home runs during his junior season.
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