Aaron Merz- Athlete (Class of 2001)

Aaron Merz graduated from Wasco High in 2001, earning varsity letters in football, basketball, and golf.  During Aaron’s four years on the golf team, he earned the Captain award two years, as well as also selected Most Valuable Player two of the four years.  On the basketball squad, Merz lettered two years on the varsity, earning All-Tourney awards at the Corcoran and Wasco tournaments, and during his senior year, he was chosen as the Tigers MVP and Captain.  Aaron earned two varsity letters for the Tiger football squad starting on both the offensive and defensive lines.  During his senior year, the Bakersfield Californian selected him as an All-Area lineman, and he also won South Sequoia League 1st team honors on both offense and defense.  The end of Aaron’s senior year saw him selected as Wasco High’s Tiger of the Year, an award for academic and athletic success.  After graduating, Aaron enrolled at University of California, Berkeley and, as a walk-on freshman, earned a position on the Cal football team, and then given a scholarship after his sophomore year.  He went on to become a four year letter winner, starting over 30 games primarily at right guard, playing with teammates including future stars Aaron Rodgers, Marshawn Lynch, and DeSean Jackson.  Awards during his four years at Cal included Honorable Mention Pac-10 as a junior and 2nd team Pac-10 as a senior, along with being selected to play in the East-West Shrine game.  Head coach at Cal, Jeff Tedford, selected Aaron as the recipient of the Ken Cotton Award for Courage, presumably for overcoming offseason shoulder surgery prior to each of his last three seasons.  Merz was then drafted in the 7th round of the 2006 NFL draft by the Buffalo Bills, earning a spot on the team and having to learn all three offensive line positions.  Aaron played in 9 games as a rookie, only to see his 2nd season and career in the NFL was cut short by a 4th shoulder surgery.

Charles Guyton – Contributor

Charles Guyton moved to Wasco in 1985 after retiring from the United States Army, and when his love for tennis became apparent to the tennis community, Guyton started giving individual lessons in 1989.  For the next 20 years, Charles became a popular coach for both boys and girls, spending countless hours on the courts to help improve students’ tennis skills, as well as the Wasco High tennis teams, which tremendously helped the Wasco High tennis program’s success. 

Don Perales – Athlete (Class of 1964)

Don Perales, a 1964 graduate, earned eight varsity letters while playing football, basketball, and baseball all four years at Wasco High.  During his senior year, Perales demonstrated his leadership skills as he was selected team Captain in all three sports.  After earning a degree from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, Don was hired by Lindsay High School where he coached JV baseball for 8 years and girls’ volleyball for three years.  During his fourteen years of coaching boys’ volleyball, he was selected to coach All-Star teams twice and was a Coach of the Year during one season. Don also coached nineteen years in the football program, with four of those as the head coach.  Those same leadership skills developed earlier led to Perales leading Lindsay High School as its Athletic Director for 30 years.  It was as Lindsay’s head basketball coach for 36 years that saw Don achieved much success, as he led the Cardinals to seven league championships, three Sierra Division championships, three Division IV Central Valley runner-up games, and participation in three State Playoffs.  Perales was also chosen as his league’s Coach of the Year seven times, the Tulare-Kings County Coach of the Year once, and also coached three County All-Star games.  Most impressive was at the time of his retirement in 2008, Don led all Central Section basketball coaches in wins with a total of 469.  For his 36-year success as Lindsay’s basketball coach, Don was honored by the Central Section CIF with its Lifetime Achievement Award in Basketball.          

Gordon Skeels – Athlete (Class of 1951)

Gordon Skeels, a 1951 Wasco High graduate, is in an elite class, as there are just a handful of athletes that have passed through Wasco High that lettered all four years on the varsity team in the two sports of football and baseball.  However, Gordon did just that, playing fullback and linebacker for four years for the Tiger football team and third base on the baseball squad.  During his senior year, Skeels was selected as the Captain of both the football and baseball teams. After graduating, Skeels went on to play football at Porterville College, as well as playing for the Wasco Dons, a travelling baseball team.  During 1953 through 1955, Gordon served in the Army Civil Core in Japan, and eventually gave back to the community as a Little League and Babe Ruth baseball coach for 15 years, as well as an assistant JV softball coach at Wasco High in 1997 and 1998 and an assistant coach on the for the Tigers varsity softball team in 1999.

Michael Serda – Athlete (Class of 1991)

Michael Serda graduated from Wasco High in 1991, and during his four years on the Tigers’ wrestling team, Michael achieved greater success with each wrestling season.  As a freshman, Serda wrestled at the 98 lb. division, the weight he would compete at all four years, and won the South Sequoia League championship. Michael’s sophomore season saw him again win a second SSL title, and then go on to place 3rd in the Central Valley, giving him the chance to compete at the State Championships, though not placing.  Serda’s junior year saw him take it to another level, winning a 3rd straight SSL title, another 3rd place in the Central Section, and then capturing 6thplace at the State Championship, finishing with a 41-5 win/loss record.  Eager to improve in his senior year, he did just that, winning a 4th straight SSL title, also taking 1st place in the Central Section at 98 lbs., and at the State Championship, Michael placed 3rd,  suffering his only defeat of the year, finishing with a outstanding 46-1 record.  Serda was selected to the All-Area team at the 98 lb. weight class during his sophomore, junior, and senior seasons, while also being named the Tigers team Captain and MVP those same three years. After graduation, Michael wrestled for Bakersfield College in 1994. He then coached at Shafter High in 1999 and 2000, was an assistant coach at Porterville High School in 2001, and the Head Wrestling Coach at the Marine Military Academy (TX) in 2007.    

 Milton Stowe – Athlete/Alumnus (Class of 1970)

Milton Stowe, a 1970 graduate from Wasco High, earned varsity letters in basketball and baseball.  During his senior season on the basketball team, Milt defensive skills and hustle were instrumental in helping the Tigers capture the 1970 South Sequoia League title, and on the baseball field, Stowe played with that same enthusiasm as an infielder.  After graduation, Milt attended Porterville College, again lettering in basketball and baseball, and his skills in baseball really stated to become evident as he was named Most Valuable Player and Co-Captain in both years at Porterville.  During Milt’s sophomore year, he was named to the All-State 1st Team, and his career batting average of .407 stood as a Porterville College record for over 38 years.  Stowe then transferred to Sacramento State University, where he lettered two years in baseball and earned All-Conference honors while playing for the Hornets.  After receiving a degree at Sacramento, Milt returned to Porterville College and served as the head baseball coach from 1975 until 1982, becoming the first coach in the school’s history to record a 20-win season.  Stowe also served as Porterville College’s Head Women’s Basketball and Volleyball coach and assisted with the men’s basketball team during his stint there.  While working in the Recreation profession in Porterville and Tulare for over thirty years, Milt also devoted himself to a second job as a basketball official, starting first at the high school level and then on to the college ranks.  Stowe’s expertise earned him many chances to officiate high school and junior college state championships, games in the major West Coast college conferences, as well as the NCAA tournament, and in the 2012-2013 season Milt was selected as the Official of the Year for the West Coast Conference.    

 Vaniesha “Vandy” Noldon – Athlete (Class of 2000)

Vandy Noldon graduated from Wasco High in 2000 and earned varsity letters in each of her four years in volleyball and basketball and the one and only year she competed on the softball team.  It was only the basketball court that Vandy excelled, as her versatility to play any position on the court made her one of the top players in the area.  During her freshman season on the Lady Tigers’ basketball squad, Vandy earned 2nd team South Sequoia All-League honors, while the next three seasons saw her earn not only 1st team All-League awards, but also chosen by the Bakersfield Californian as 1st team All-Area. Other team awards for Noldon included being selected Captain during sophomore, junior, and senior seasons and Co-MVP her junior year and MVP during her final senior year.  More individual awards were to come for her play in tournaments, capturing two All-Tournament awards at the North High tourney, and the Corcoran and Foothill tournaments’ MVP award in her junior year.  Also, Vandy’s playmaking, scoring, and leadership led the Lady Tigers’ to three straight Central Valley Division III championships in her sophomore through senior seasons, which also put her teams in the State playoffs all three years   During her senior year, Vandy served as Wasco High’s Student Body President, as well as being selected by the coaches as the girls’ Tiger of the Year for her athletic and academic success. After graduation, Noldon went on to play two years for Porterville College’s basketball team, and then finished her final two years at Armstrong Atlantic State University in Georgia, where her teams played in the Division II NCAA tournament both years and Vandy selected to the 2nd team All-Peach Belt Conference team in her senior year.        

Wayne Wallace – Contributor

Wayne Wallace’s passion for Wasco High athletics started almost fifty years ago in 1964 when Wayne was hired to teach Auto Shop.  During that first year of teaching, Wallace began helping the Tiger football team by scouting opponents in preparation for upcoming games, and for many years Wayne would film games for coaches to use for evaluation. For ten years, Wallace also volunteered to provide dinners for the varsity football squad.  Because of his interest in volleyball, Wayne became the Lady Tigers’ varsity volleyball coach in 1974, and during his eleven-year tenure, his teams won one league title and made it to the Central Section Finals in 1985.  His passion with volleyball has led him to continue to give back to the Wasco High volleyball program as a walk-on assistant coach. For over forty years Wallace has been a Wasco High Sports booster, attending almost all Tiger sporting events, and one can find him in his regular seat high atop the bleachers at basketball and volleyball games, in his reserved seat under the football announcer’s booth, timing at a track or swim meet, or just in the bleachers to support Wasco High athletes in softball, wrestling, baseball, soccer, and tennis.