5 State Athletes Have Made Annual Best-In-wEst List

How about Mark Rypien of Spokane or Chris Chandler of Everett at quarterback?

Tailback? Go with Phil Carter of Tacoma or Jim Stone of Seattle's Kennedy High.

And at fullback, the choice is easy - Rick Fenney of Snohomish.

Since The Long Beach Press-Telegram began having a panel of 10 coaches survey the West Coast high-school recruiting crop in 1977, 32 players from Washington high schools have been acclaimed Best in the West, earning at least six votes.

The list includes Rypien, who played at Washington State and is now with the Washington Redskins; Chandler, the ex-Washington Husky now playing for the Indianapolis Colts; Carter and Stone, who went on to play at Notre Dame; and Fenney, another ex-Husky who might be the Minnesota Vikings' best eighth-round draft choice ever.

One Washington ``best'' - offensive lineman Curt Marsh of Snohomish - became a first-round NFL draft choice (Raiders, 1981).

The UW has signed 43 Best in the West players since the first list was published. The only Pac-10 schools with more signees are USC with 75 and UCLA with 59.

Washington State University has signed only two recruits off the Best in the West list - Rypien and linebacker Kyle Foye, who made the list last year.

The state of Washington has produced 32 ``bests.'' California has produced 294, Oregon 18 and Arizona 8.

Gonzaga Prep in Spokane ranks as the state high school with the most ``best'' selections - five. The overall leader is Long Beach Poly with 12 choices, including defensive lineman Dennis Brown and safety Eugene Burkhalter, both recruited by the Huskies.

Two high schools have produced 11 ``bests,'' three have graduated six and Gonzaga is among four schools that have turned out five.

Following is the list of Washington state players acclaimed Best in the West:

1977 - Curt Marsh, Snohomish, OL, signed by Washington, drafted by Raiders first round; Brad Plemmons, Auburn, LB, UCLA; Jim Stone, Seattle (Kennedy), RB, Notre Dame, Seahawks ninth round; Scott Westering, Tacoma (Washington), LB, UCLA, transferred to PLU.

1978 - Pat Kramer, Colton, DL, Notre Dame; Eric McIntyre, Spokane (Rogers), LB, California.

1979 - Phil Carter, Tacoma (Wilson), RB, Notre Dame; Rob Hedequist, Spokane (Gonzaga), OL, USC.

1980 - Brenno DeFeo, Seattle (Kennedy), RB, Washington.

1981 - Mark Rypien, Spokane (Shadle Park), QB, WSU, Redskins sixth round; Mike Vindivich, Tacoma (Mount Tahoma), RB, Washington/PLU; Tony Wroten, Renton (Hazen), TE, Washington.

1982 - None.

1983 - Chris Chandler, Everett, QB, Washington, Colts third round; Rick Fenney, Snohomish, FB, Washington, Vikings eighth round.

1984 - David Rill, Port Orchard (South Kitsap), LB, Washington; Brett Wiese, Issaquah, OL, Washington.

1985 - Darron Bennett, Spokane (Gonzaga Prep), LB, Stanford; Ron Evans, Issaquah, LB, UCLA; Joe Mark, Spokane (Gonzaga Prep), DL, Washington.

1986 - Cary Conklin, Yakima (Eisenhower), QB, Washington; Brad Durbin, Bothell, LB, Washington.

1987 - Kris Rongen, Federal Way, OL, Washington.

1988 - Brandon Jumper, Eatonville, FB, Oregon; Mike Lustyk, Bellevue (Interlake), DT, Washington.

1989 - Glen Cavanaugh, Spokane (Gonzaga Prep), DL, Stanford; Demetrius DuBose, Seattle (O'Dea), LB, Notre Dame; Kyle Foye, Yakima (West Valley), LB, WSU; Tom Gallagher, Puyallup, OT, Washington; Dinny Hansen, Spokane (Gonzaga Prep), LB, Stanford; Bill Hobert, Puyallup, QB, Washington.

1990 - Lake Dawson, Federal Way, WR, undeclared; Andrew Peterson, Port Orchard (South Kitsap), OT, says he will enroll at Washington.