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Quincy legends added to Wall of Fame

CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 year, 6 months AGO
by CHERYL SCHWEIZER
Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities. | September 12, 2024 1:20 AM

QUINCY — Athletic legends at Quincy High School were recognized with inclusion on the QHS Wall of Fame during an induction ceremony Sept. 6.  

Devin Howe, Wade Gebers, Franciso Alejandrez, Manny Ybarra Jr. and the 1997 boys 4x400 boys relay team were recognized during halftime of the Quincy-Selah football game. 

“I have a lot of good memories,” Ybarra said of his career at QHS. “I remember the good people of Quincy behind us. 

“It’s fun growing up in a small town,” he said.  

Ybarra brought home three second-place finishes and one fourth place from the state wrestling tournament. He was part of the wrestling program at Boise State University and became a teacher and coach at Bishop Kelly High School in Boise.  

The relay team — Howe, Brian Harrington, Cory Medina and Walter Brisbon — brought home a 1A state championship in 1997 and finished second at the 2A state track meet in 1998. The team set seven QHS track records that still stand.  

Medina was inducted for his individual accomplishments in 2023 — he set five individual school records. Being up there with his team was just as good, he said.  

“It was great to be inducted with my teammates,” he said.  

He’s currently a QHS teacher and coach.  

Howe earned six medals in state track competition between 1995 and 1998 and set four school records, three of which still stand. While a student at Brigham Young University, Howe was a 10-time Mountain West Conference track medalist, including a pentathlon championship. After college he became a track coach, working at QHS and Eastmont Junior High in East Wenatchee. 

Gebers was a three-sport athlete, lettering in football, basketball and baseball. He was named a first team All-state kicker in 1992 and was a key player on the QHS team that went to the 1992 state semifinals. He was an All-American at Western Washington University and a key player on the WWU football team that went to the national championship game.  

Alejandrez was a key player on the Jacks’ 2014 state championship soccer team, scoring the winning goal and being named the tournament’s most valuable player. He helped the Jacks return to the state final as a senior.  

The inductees, surrounded by family, friends, former coaches and teammates, received a plaque and congratulations from current Quincy School District officials. There is an actual Wall of Fame outside the QHS gym, and the names of the class of 2024 inductees will be added. 


    Devin Howe accepts a plaque recognizing his induction into the Quincy Wall of Fame from Quincy School Board Member Shannon Durfee.
 
 


    Accompanied by family and friends, Francisco Alejandrez, left, is inducted into the Quincy Wall of Fame Friday.
 
 


    Manny Ybarra Jr., center, was one of seven Quincy athletic legends inducted into the school’s Wall of Fame Friday.
 
 
    Wade Gebers, right, accepted his induction plaque for the Quincy High School Wall of Fame with family and friends in attendance.
 
 


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