FORMER LA CENTER COACH Forbes Lapp (right) offers instruction to Dustin VanWeerdhuizen (left) during a state tournament game at the Tacoma Dome in 1996. Lapp guided the Wildcats to back-to-back state titles. He will be inducted into the La Center High School Sports Hall of Fame at a dinner event Fri., Dec. 18 at La Center High School.
IN 15 SEASONS coaching the boys basketball teams at La Center High School, Forbes Lapp’s teams compiled a 247-137 record and advanced to the state tournament eight times. Photo by Mike Schultz
LA CENTER – Members of the La Center High School Basketball Boosters Club have organized a two-day celebration to honor the 20th anniversary of the Wildcats’ back-to-back – 1996 and 1997 – Class 1A state championship boys teams.
In addition to the celebration of the championship teams, the event will also include the induction of former coach Forbes Lapp into the La Center Sports Hall of Fame. The event will also serve as a fundraiser for the school’s boys and girls basketball programs.
On Fri., Dec. 18, a dinner will be held at 6 p.m.in the commons area at La Center High School, 725 NE Highland Ave., La Center. Dinner and dessert will be served. There is no cost for the event but donations to the boosters club are welcomed.
The evening will include slide shows, old photos and newspaper accounts of the La Center championships. Lapp and members of the Wildcats’ championship teams will be in attendance.
The following night – Sat., Dec. 19 – La Center’s boys will play host to King’s Way Christian in a Trico League matchup at 7:30 p.m. and the La Center girls will face Ridgefield in a non-league game at 6 p.m. The boosters club will hand out free T-shirts to the first 300 fans who attend in an attempt to have a “white out’’ in the La Center gymnasium. Members of the boosters club encourage La Center fans to wear white to support the effort. Lapp and members of the championship teams will be recognized at some point during the evening.
La Center boys coach Jeremy Ecklund, assistant Scott Weaver and Wildcats’ girls coach Herm VanWeerdhuizen supported the efforts of the booster club members, including President Alexis Mills, in organizing the event.
“We thought it was important to bring back the history of La Center basketball,’’ said Weaver, who served as an assistant coach for the Wildcats’ title teams. “We are expecting a huge crowd as the past of La Center basketball collides with the future.’’
In addition to the dinner on Dec. 18, there will also be a silent auction for those in attendance to bid on donated items such as golf items, sports memorabilia, fishing gear and a guided fishing trip and other items. Members of the boosters club will also provide attendees an opportunity to purchase Wildcat gear. Donations to the boosters club will also be accepted and the club is welcoming new members.
Lapp coached the La Center boys for 15 seasons from 1990-2004. During that time, his teams compiled a 247-137 record and advanced to the state tournament eight times. In addition to the back-to-back titles in 1996 and 1997, the Wildcats finished third in 1995.
La Center’s girls team is off to a 3-0 start this season and their Dec. 19 opponent, Ridgefield, is off to a 4-1 start. La Center’s boys improved to 3-1 with a Friday win at Woodland. Their Dec. 19 opponent, King’s Way, was recently ranked No. 3 in the state Class 1A poll.
