BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Four former Western Washington University student-athletes, three of whom had roles in national championships, and another who overcame near impossible odds to become the school's first decathlon All-American, make up the school's Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2024. 

 

The quartet will be inducted on Saturday, May 18 at Sam Carver Gymnasium (Whatcom Educational Credit Union court) on the WWU Campus. The mid-May ceremony is open to the public and is scheduled to start at 1 pm with free admission and campus parking for all attendees.

 

The trio of national title winners, all women, are Jamie Arthurs, perhaps the finest soccer goalkeeper in school history, who has gone on to help two Viking soccer teams to NCAA Division II national championships as an assistant coach; Sonya Joseph Perez, who played an MVP role in leading Western softball to the 1998 NAIA national title, the school's first in any sport; and Sarah Porter Crouch, a 13-time All-American in track and cross country, who won the 10,000 meters at the 2011 NCAA II nationals in school, meet and stadium record time.

 

Rounding out the inductees is Blake Surina, who surmounted incredible personal odds to become Western's first All-America decathlete, placing sixth at the 1982 NAIA National Championships.

 

2024 WWU Athletics Hall of Fame Inductees:

• Jamie Arthurs (Women's Soccer)
• Sonya Joseph Perez (Softball)
• Sarah (Porter) Crouch (Women's Track & Field and Cross Country)
• Blake Surina (Men's Track & Field)

 

Joseph Perez is being inducted posthumously. She passed away on May 2, 2014, following a courageous battle with breast cancer.

 

"We are very proud to induct these four Vikings into the Western Athletics Hall of Fame," said WWU Director of Athletics Jim Sterk, himself a member of the hall. "They have been exceptional in every facet of life from their days at Western and beyond."

 

Illustrating the exclusivity of the honor, the Hall of Fame Class of 2024 brings the overall membership to 163 over the 122-year history of athletics at Western.

 

The inaugural WWU athletics hall of fame ceremony, which included seven inductees, was held in 1968 during halftime of a basketball game at Carver Gym.

 

The 2024 induction ceremony is the 47th for WWU. The school's hall of fame is the second oldest among Pacific Northwest colleges and universities, behind only the University of Puget Sound.

 

 

Jamie Arthurs finished her four-year playing career from 2009 to 2012 with 39 shutouts and a 0.58 goals against average, both school records. And Western had a winning percentage of 71.2 with a record of 50-17-11.

 

During Arthurs' 11-plus years as a top assistant women's soccer coach at Western, the school has posted a record of 190-26-22, a winning percentage of 84.5. During that stretch, the Vikings have won two NCAA II national championships (2016 & 2022) and were runner-up once (2019) while reaching the national tournament in nine of 10 possible seasons (no playoffs in 2020 because of COVID).

 

"During Jamie's career as a player and coach at Western, she has lived out some of the best qualities that run throughout the women's soccer program and throughout this entire athletics department," said Travis Connell, Western's head coach throughout Arthurs' career. "Like many players and coaches before her at WWU, Jamie made the most of her opportunity to play soccer. Using her work ethic, attention to detail and belief in herself, she shattered her perceived ceiling as a player to become a leader, champion, All-American and eventually a professional player.

 

"Jamie uses these same attributes as a coach. Her innovation is constantly pushing our program forward. Most importantly the players love to play for her. They see first-hand how hard she works for them, how much she believes in them and how much she values them as student-athletes and as people."

 

In her senior season of competition in 2012, Arthurs was the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) Women's Soccer Player of the Year and Western's Female Co-Athlete of the Year. She earned second-team All-America honors from both the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) and Daktronics, leading the nation by allowing a school and GNAC-record 0.39 average goals per game and ranked seventh nationally in save percentage at 88.2. She posted a GNAC and school-record 16 shutouts, one shy of the national record.

 

Arthurs allowed just nine goals in 23 games, at one time recording 10 consecutive shutouts, and having a scoreless string of 919 minutes and 29 seconds, both school records. Besides her All-America accolades, she was a first-team NSCAA and Daktronics West Region all-star on a team that finished 19-4-0, won GNAC regular-season and tournament titles, and reached the regional final.

 

Arthurs was 16th nationally in goals against average (0.55) as a junior, and notched 11 shutouts and ranked 13th nationally in both goals against average (0.52) and save percentage (.886) as a sophomore. She earned second-team GNAC recognition in 2011, and second-team NSCAA and Daktronics West Region and first-team GNAC all-star honors in 2010.

 

As a coach, Arthurs was honored as a member of the 2016 and 2022 United Soccer Coaches NCAA II Staff of the Year. With her guidance on the sidelines, WWU has reached the national tournament every year possible (COVID cancelled 2020 campaign) but one while claiming five West Region crowns, winning seven GNAC regular-season titles and taking five GNAC Tournament titles.

 

In 2013, Arthurs completed a bachelor's degree in kinesiology and that spring played professionally with the Seattle Reign.

 

Arthurs was a second-team Class 4A all-State selection as a senior at Richland (Wash.) High School. A first-team Tri-City HeraldAll-Area and All-Columbia Basin League pick, she had a 0.29 goals against average and 15 shutouts on a 17-4 team that placed fourth at the state tournament.

 

As a junior, she allowed just four goals on a 19-1 squad that reached the state quarterfinals and as a sophomore played forward on a state runner-up team.

 

Her father, David, played basketball at the University of Calgary, and her aunt, Carol Turney-Loos, competed on national championship basketball teams at both University of British Columbia and University of Victoria where she was the national MVP in 1980. In the Canada West record book, Turney-Loos still ranks first all-time in points-per-game (21.10).

 

 

During her four-year career at WWU from 2007 to 2011, distance runner Sarah Crouch, whose last name was Porter when she ran for the Vikings, earned United States Track & Field and Cross Country (USTFCCCA) All-America honors an amazing 13 times, while being a three-time selection as the school's Female Athlete of the Year.

 

Crouch, who held seven school records when she graduated, competed at the NCAA II national championships all four years in cross country, indoor track and outdoor track – making 12 total appearances at nationals. And she was the USTFCCCA DII West Region Female Athlete of the Year in all three sports, besides being a national champion and a four-time national runner-up.

 

Today, the 33-year-old Crouch, after running professionally for ZAP Fitness and 361 USA, has shifted focus to raising her two young children, daughter Charlotte (3) and son Emerson (1), and writing her first novel, "Middletide," scheduled for release by Simon and Schuster in June.

 

Previously, Crouch ranked among the top women marathon runners in the country. She placed 11th (2:37.36, second among U.S. runners) at the 2016 Boston Marathon, and in the Chicago Marathon was sixth in both 2014 (2:32.44, 3rd U.S.) and 2018 (personal best 2:32.37, 1st U.S.), and ninth in 2016 (2:33.48, 2nd U.S.).

 

Crouch's crowning collegiate achievement at Western came on May 26, 2011, at Turlock, California, when she won the 10,000 meters at the NCAA DII nationals in a meet and stadium record time of 33:17.39, a personal best by 19 seconds. The clocking was the fourth-fastest in NCAA II history, just 12 seconds off the all-time NCAA II standard of 33:05.80 set in 1987.

 

And just two days later, Crouch placed second nationally in the 5,000 meters. 

 

During the summer of 2011, Sarah married Michael Crouch, an accomplished runner himself. They toured the country pursuing their mutual goal of running professionally and competing in the Olympic Games, before settling in Huntsville, Alabama.

 

Following graduation from Western, Sarah Crouch made an immediate impact on the professional scene by placing fifth at the 2011 USA 10-Mile Championships and qualifying for the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials in the 10K. She went on to place second at the New York City Emerald Nuts Midnight Run and followed that up with two straight runner-up performances in Ireland.

 

Crouch then gravitated to the marathon. Running the 26.1-mile race is no small task, taking a huge level of commitment.

 

But in Crouch's case, running, especially long distances, is in her family genealogy.

 

Her mother, Laurie Porter, a recent addition as a coach into the Washington Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) Hall of Fame, is a top age-group marathoner who has run a best time of 2:49.

 

Crouch's father, George Porter, runs anywhere from 45 to 50 miles a week, and competes mostly in 5Ks. And all of her siblings, two sisters and a brother, reached national collegiate competition at their respective universities.

 

And grandmother Maureen Hennessy was a former competitive age-group marathoner and ultra-marathoner.

 

Crouch hails from Hockinson, Washington, a town of 5,000 located near Vancouver in the southwest corner of the state. A graduate of Hockinson High School, she ran cross country for four years and track for three, going to the state meet every year in each sport.

 

As a freshman at WWU, Crouch was the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) Women's Freshman of the Year in cross country, placing 45th at nationals and being named a conference and region all-star for the first of four straight years. She also went to nationals in indoor track, finishing 15th in the 5K, and outdoor track, crossing the finish line ninth in the 10K.

 

As a sophomore at nationals, Crouch placed 13th in cross country, sixth in the indoor track 5K and in outdoor track was fifth in the 10K and seventh in the 5K.

 

During her final two seasons, Crouch was the national runner-up in cross country, being named the West Region and GNAC Female Athlete of the Year in 2010. She was fourth in the 5K and seventh in the distance medley relay at the 2010 indoor nationals and third in the 5K in 2011. Crouch was second in the 10K and third in the 5K at the 2010 outdoor nationals, then won the 10K and was second in the 5K as a senior.

 

"To have someone come into your program and right away make a big difference and then to see her do things we're never had done before and become a team player as well was very special," said her coach Pee Wee Halsell, who directed the program for 36 years.

 

"Her best trait was her willingness to put in the hard work. She was very focused and to witness her accomplishments, that was fun to watch. And it was special to watch her continue to grow as a runner. It's a great testament to her determination and talent."

 

Crouch feels that the Pacific Northwest made her a better runner. And she believes that she could not have chosen a better school than Western.

 

Crouch says that despite her success at running, winning races is not what motivated her. What she likes most is competing against herself and always trying to do better than her previous time..

 

 

Sonya Joseph Perez, whose last name was Joseph during her Western softball career, ranked second among program leaders in runs scored (102) and steals (68), third in doubles (23), fourth in triples (7) and fifth in hits (134) upon graduation. During one stretch, the speedster stole 54 consecutive bases.

 

"Sonya was an amazing athlete, teammate and friend," said her Western teammate, team co-captain and WWU Hall of Famer Jennifer Brandolini Register. "She pushed us all to do better and be better."

 

Joseph Perez helped Western to three consecutive 30-win seasons (1998: 33-13, 1999: 33-13 and 2000: 32-13), a winning percentage of .715.

 

She was the Vikings' co-captain as a senior.

 

The Most Valuable Player at the 1998 NAIA National Tournament, she led the Vikings to the school's first national team title in any sport. The Vikings won all five games at the 16-team, double-elimination tournament, though trailing in four of those contests and winning two in their final at bat.

 

Joseph Perez made four sparkling defensive plays in the title game, a 5-1 win over Simon Fraser, including a diving catch in the fifth inning that saved a pair of runs.

 

In a 4-1 second-round victory against William Woods, she threw out the potential game-tying run at the plate in the fourth inning.

 

In one of the biggest upsets in NAIA history, Joseph Perez drove in the game-winning run with a two-out double in the seventh inning of a third-round 4-3 victory over then four-time defending national champion Oklahoma City.

 

Joseph Perez was a third-team Easton Sports All-American in 2000, one of just seven non-Division I picks among the 45 players honored. A first-team PacWest Conference all-star and team co-captain, she finished with a .400 batting average and led the Vikings in 11 offensive categories, one being multi-hit games with 30.

 

A four-year letter winner, Joseph Perez graduated from Western in 2001 with a degree in business finance. She worked in finance, handling multi-million dollar accounts for Technogym, a world leader in gym equipment, Oldcastle Infrastructure, an industry leader in building solutions, and U.S. Oil and Refining.

 

She married Miguel Perez in 2008 and they had a daughter, Kailana, now 14 years old.

 

Joseph-Perez, who attended Dimond High School in Anchorage, Alaska, was the Lynx MVP twice in basketball and softball as well as a state champion in track. She hit .465 as senior on a softball team that finished third at state where she was all-tournament.

 

 

As a senior in 1982, Blake Surina became the first WWU student-athlete to earn All-America honors in the decathlon, placing sixth at the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championships held at Charleston, West Virginia. He finished with a then school record of 6,678 points.

 

A year prior, Surina helped Western win its first NAIA District 1 championship in outdoor track and field. The Vikings claimed a six-point victory with Surina the team's top point scorer with 22. That included placing first in the javelin, second in the shot put and fourth in the decathlon. 

 

"Blake is so deserving of this hall of fame honor," said his Viking coach Ralph Vernacchia. "Above all, he was an inspirational and beloved teammate who led our 1981 and 1982 teams to NAIA District 1 Track and Field Championships (team MVP both years)."

 

"His teammates fed off his work ethic, energy, personality, and performances. He thrived in the competitive environment and developed into an outstanding "big meet" performer. Blake's determination, dedication and ability to overcome adversity are at the heart of his academic, athletic and professional successes."

 

A team captain and four-year letter winner in track, Surina graduated from Western in 1982, earning a bachelor's degree in physical education with an emphasis in pre-physical therapy. He was named the Health, Physical Education and Recreation department's outstanding graduate.

 

In 1985, Surina, a graduate of Stadium High School, received a bachelor's degree in secondary education and began graduate work at WWU while serving as an assistant track coach for weight events and strength conditioning as the Vikings extended their district title string to five (1981-85).

 

Surina completed his master's degree in 2002 at the University of Puget Sound in hospital administration, graduating summa cum laude.

 

He served as a sports medicine intern and administrative assistant for the Sports Medicine Division of the Olympic Training Camp located in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

 

In 1987, Surina opened The Exercise Center in Fircrest, and now is one of the foremost authorities in the United States regarding exercise testing, performance and evaluation.

 

Surina also has won a bronze medal for the USA at the Team Handball National Championships and was a three-time Masters track & field national champion, twice in the 35-pound weight throw and once in the 56-pound weight throw. 

 

Surina has patented methods of adjusting metabolic parameters using allometric scaling algorithms and a device for monitoring hydration status. 

 

But what makes Surina's story so compelling is the path he had to take to accomplish it. 

 

At age five, his parents separated, leaving him virtually on his own. He spent a year living in a cabin in the Olympic National Forest, then periods of time in a juvenile detention facility and later lived in the poorest section of Tacoma where he survived alone by having a large paper route. As a junior in high school, he moved in with his grandparents.

 

Despite those and other obstacles, Surina used an incredible work ethic and will power to overcome them all, be it athletically and/or professionally.

 

He has since served two terms as a City Council member for the City of Fircrest, from 1996-2000 and 2016-2020 and currently serves as the city Historian. There he promoted a bond to build an $18.5 million Park and Recreation Facility and Swimming Complex, then helped secure over $10 million in gifts and endowments to offset costs for the community. He then co-founded the Fircrest Park and Recreation Foundation that has raised over $300 thousand with the interest used to pay for community park and recreation programming.

 Jamie Arthurs

Western Washington University is a four-year public institution located in Bellingham, Washington, featuring over 300 student-athletes that compete for 15 intercollegiate athletic teams at the NCAA Division II level and in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. WWU Athletics has finished in the top 50 in the NCAA II Learfield Directors' Cup standings in 16 of the past 17 years, and in the top 20 in eight of the last 13 years (no award in 2019-20 or 2020-21). WWU's programs have won 12 team national championships, most recently the 2022 women's soccer team and the 2017 women's rowing team. Outside of competition. WWU's student-athletes have compiled an academic success at 90% or better in six of the last seven years, earning the NCAA's President's Award for Academic Excellence six times. The 2022-23 athletic season was another banner year for the Vikings, earning the GNAC All-Sports Trophy for the 14th time while capturing seven conference titles and having 10 teams advance to the NCAA postseason, and the 2023-24 season is off to a great start with WWU listed No. 38 in the Directors' Cup Standings following the fall season.