Hyde, Russell lead 2018 class
FORT LAUDERDALE – South Florida Sun Sentinel sports columnist Dave Hyde and former Miami Dolphin Twan Russell were two of seven people inducted into the Broward County Sports Hall of Fame on Tuesday night.
Held at the Broward County Convention Center, the award-winning writer joined Claire Sua Amundson, Rocky Gillis, Melvin Randall, James Reilly and Seilala Sua-Zumbado as inductees into the 2018 class.
Hyde has long been ingrained within the South Florida community. A 27-year Sun Sentinel veteran, he won the 2016 National Headliner Award from the Press Club of Atlantic City for the national’s best sports column. He’s also placed 16 times in the top 10 of the Associated Press Sports Editor’s contest for his column and investigative work.
“It feels like I’m going through the looking glass,” Hyde said. “I’m used to writing stories about people being inducted and not giving a speech myself. It’s great — it’s a lot of fun with a lot of friends and people I want to share the night with.”
The new class of Hall of Famers were nominated by Broward County residents and chosen by the 14-member Hall of Fame committee, co-chaired by Joe Hess and Pat Lawlor.
Russell, a St. Thomas Aquinas alum, played seven seasons in the NFL — including three with the Dolphins from 2000-02. The former University of Miami linebacker has also been known for his work off the field, founding the Russell Education Foundation to help address the high illiteracy rate of inner-city youth and lack of educational resources. He continues his work in the community as the Miami Dolphins Youth Ambassador.
“There’s only a couple of times you can take a step back and reflect,” Russell said. “I feel honored. It’s been awesome for me, because the last two weeks I’ve really thought about all the people that have allowed me to be successful. … For me, I just want to make sure it’s less about me and more about the people that filled me up — like coach [George Smith], my wife, my kids, my mother, the people who really invested in me and allowed me to be where I am today.”
One of the state’s top high school basketball coaches, Randall has dominated the landscape during his 25-year career. The South Plantation alum has won eight state championships — guiding Deerfield Beach to two and Blanche Ely to six. Randall — who’s served as Blanche Ely’s coach since 2001 — has been named Broward County Coach of the Year 10 times and was named USA Today National Coach of the Year in 2015.
“It means a lot,” Randall said. “[For me] Paying attention to the pioneers that paved the road for me and understanding and getting their blueprint they had set for me. Now, I’m a part of the Hall of Fame and going in with an awesome class.”
A two-time Olympian, Sua-Zumbado is one of the best track and field athletes in Broward history. At St. Thomas Aquinas in 1996, she set the all-time FHSAA record for the discus throw. She starred at UCLA, becoming a two-time recipient of the Pac 10 Women’s Track and Field Athlete of the Year. She was later inducted into the school’s Athletics Hall of Fame.
She was a member of the 2000 Sydney and 2004 Athens Olympics teams for the discus. Sua-Zumbado has also been a throwing coach at UCLA, Cal State Northridge and Hawaii.
Seilala’s sister, Sua Amundson also starred at St. Thomas Aquinas. As a softball standout she hit .474 with 27 home runs and 140 RBI. On the mound, she was equally dominant, finishing 48-4 with 534 strikeouts and a 0.36 ERA. In college, she played at UCLA, notching a career .325 batting average. She was a four-time All Pac 10 selection and earned All-American honors twice. She is currently the coach at Cal State East Bay.
One of the unsung heroes for Broward High School sports, Gillis has served diligently as the Broward County Athletic Association director. The Pompano Beach High School alum has also been a dedicated teacher and coach at his alma mater and Blanche Ely.
A longtime Coral Springs resident, Reilly is known for creating one the country’s top high school basketball tournaments — the Kreul Classic. Created in 1989, the tournament has evolved into a premier destination for hoops. More than 18,000 studentathletes representing 26 states have competed at the Classic — and many have gone on to compete at D-1 colleges and in the NBA.