Samuels was inducted into the Washington State Gymnastics Coaches Association Hall of Fame last year. With Ridgefield’s Evie Dreiling qualifying on Saturday, Samuels will have taken gymnasts to the state meet in 20 of his 21 years as a high school coach.
“Richard is a pillar in the gymnastics community in Vancouver and throughout the state,” the Washington State Gymnastics Coaches Hall of Fame said last year. “His years of dedication and involvement makes him a perfect addition to the WSGCA Hall of Fame.”
Samuels started coaching at the club level in 1977, shortly after graduating from Springfield College in Massachusetts. He twice earned All-American honors along with an NCAA Division-II national team championship.
School spirit is the big winner at ‘Battle of the Bear’
The rollicking atmosphere at Evergreen Fieldhouse for a pair of basketball games between Evergreen and Mountain View last Friday had been building for weeks.
Since it was announced in January, the two Evergreen Public Schools began a new school spirit competition called “Battle of the Bear,” which culminated with Friday’s boys and girls basketball games.
The idea was hatched by Evergreen Leadership students and teacher Peggy Smith, before they pitched it to Mountain View and the two schools began to organize the details.
Each school had a theme for Friday. Evergreen students wore pink shirts for their theme, “Barbie’s Dream House,” and Mountain View students chose “Men In Black,” sporting jackets, dress shirts, ties and sunglasses.
The two student sections combined to fill nearly the entire lower section of bleachers starting with the girls game, which Evergreen won 87-17. The Plainsmen boys followed with a 59-47 win over the Thunder boys.
“The minute we walked in, watched the girls game and saw how hyped it was, we all gave each other that look, like, we all knew it was going to be high energy,” Evergreen junior Hudson Nellis said. “We knew our student section was better than theirs. So our buckets and our stops were getting us more hyped.”
“I think we just made sure to feel the energy, bring it in, don’t let it distract us (and) stay composed,” Evergreen senior Kai Speer added.
At the conclusion of the boys game, the crowd stuck around to hear the winner of the inaugural event. Evergreen was announced as the winner and awarded its prize, a stuffed animal named “Bobby the Bear.” Students stormed the court and celebrated together, concluding a memorable night of hoops and school spirit.
“I give the leadership teacher (Peggy Smith) a ton of credit,” Evergreen coach Brett Henry said. “When I first heard about it, I was like, oh I don’t know, it feels like it might take away from the game. But she busted her tail to put it together and I was really, really impressed.”
date: 2026-02-10 14:22:00