On Saturday, November 11th, members of the Sahuaro community gathered in the cafeteria for a breakfast together to celebrate the work of the Cougar Foundation and to induct two new members into the Sahuaro Hall of Fame – Mark Diebolt and Gary Vilas.

Sahuaro’s Culinary Club, Chef Me Up, prepared a spectacular breakfast of biscuits and gravy, pancakes, bacon, sausage, parfaits, muffins, fruit, juice, and definitely not to be forgotten, an omelet bar where aspiring future chefs made omelets to order for each person. Karyck Donnelly, junior, said that to get ready for this event, “A few of us were here yesterday, from about 10 to 2, getting everything prepared, and then this morning we made scrambled eggs and pancakes, and some of us got here at 5 am.” They had a great time making all the food, especially since they prioritized having fun alongside cooking.

In the absence of the Cougar Foundation Board of Directors President, Jeffry Gardner, the vice president, Peter Demars stepped up. After his introductory speech, Principal Estrella talked about what is currently going on in the school. He shared that with the money from the passing of Proposition 496, TUSD can sell $480 million in bonds and use it for school improvement. “It’s not going to be for anything that’s glittery. It’s not about technology, it’s about toilets,” Estrella said. Sahuaro is planning to upgrade the basics that have been looked over for years, like the restrooms and fire alarm systems.

Peter Demars then gave a quick update on the Cougar Foundation. Not only does the Cougar Foundation give out scholarships to current students, but they also support the “teachers, the educators that are working with your students. So the various clubs, the various institutions, the various organizations – the needs of those educators that aren’t being fulfilled through some sort of a budgetary process,” shared Demars. The teachers can make monetary requests that the foundation will review and then do their best to help out where they can. They also encouraged those in the audience to make donations, become board members, or go to the golf tournament – the Cougar Foundation’s only fundraiser.

A moment of honor was then taken for veterans and those who are currently serving. Sahuaro’s Concert Choir sang the National Anthem – which they executed beautifully. Shortly following, choir members read an analysis of In Flander’s Fields, a poem written by John McCrae. Then, they sang In Flander’s Fields. They also gave out poppies, in honor of Veteran’s Day. The marching band played Sahuaro’s fight song, accompanied by band director, Jack Schmidgall. The energy was felt around the room through cheers, clapping, and huge smiles.

Now, the moment you have all been waiting for…let’s meet the inductees (drumroll please):

Gary Vilas was an amazing athlete at Sahuaro. His coach, Jeffrey Lockwood said that he had “It”. “When I looked at the list of athletes, it occurred to me that there was another tier, beyond the normal elite athlete that we have at Sahuaro. I’d like to call that tier and tell you about this grouping because I think Gary Vilas is going to be inducted into this group. I’d like to call this group super-elite athletes,” said Lockwood. He says that Gary has this factor because of his self-confidence and dedication, which helped him achieve all that he has in sports and life.

Among Gary’s list of achievements (in high school) is All-City First Team, as only a sophomore, 1500, 1600, and 3000, 3,000-meter school records – which he still holds, runner-up state champion in the 1979 State Cross Country Meet, and high-school all-American title. He also holds the top performance of all time Sahuaro track and field events, with his 9:07.2 3,000 meter race.

Gary also loves Sahuaro as a whole. He said, “…the lessons that I learned here have been really the foundation for my career. It taught me so much about leadership, it taught me about hard work, it taught me work ethic. The coaches here – I mean I couldn’t have gotten coaches like this at other schools. These guys were just amazing,” he explained. He led his team to show up at school all summer at 6 am by the flagpole, while his coach was teaching summer school, to run anywhere from 4 to 8 miles. This is something that was unique to Sahuaro, especially during his years as an athlete, and he is glad to have been a part of it, and hoping it still goes on today. (Don’t worry Gary…it does.)

Gary is an inspiring athlete who has always gone the extra mile (literally). Despite battling brain cancer, he continued to work as the CFO of NextEra Energy Resources and expanded his running career. He uses the leadership skills he gained as an athlete at Sahauro and for the rest of his life “working from entry-level managers to vice presidents of corporations,” Gary said. After being challenged to run one marathon, he ended up running 11 marathons in 10 years, despite being in the midst of his first battle with cancer.

The other inductee, Mark Diebolt, was also an incredible athlete. He won the state wrestling championships in his senior year and was a starter for varsity football during his junior and senior years. He was even named Outstanding Defensive Back. He was a walk-on at the U of A for wrestling, but after a year, he decided the best option for him would be to quit. Despite being done with wrestling, winning the state championship stuck with him and was the “defining moment when I realized by working hard and achieving things that I could do anything I wanted in life. So it kind of propelled me into the future for college and law school,” he expressed.

What Mark has gone on to become, however, is beyond amazing. He graduated from the U of A with a Bachelor’s in Fine Arts, then went to Western Michigan Law School to earn his Juris Doctor. He passed his Bar exam and became a deputy prosecutor for the Pima County Attorney’s Office. He was reviewing, issuing, and prosecuting cases of homicide and gun and gang crimes. He is currently the Gun and Gang Crimes Chief. He has also won several awards: the Pima County Attorney’s Office Community Service Award for ongoing commitment and dedication to the citizens of Pima County, Felony Prosecutor of the Year at Large – Large Jurisdiction, Lifetime Achievement Award – Arizona Prosecuting Attorneys Advisory Council, and Distinguished Service Award from the Pima County Attorney – prosecuting 300 felony jury trials.

He also was on In the Jury Room, an ABC documentary. “Well, ABC News approached me and the Supreme Court of Arizona and a lot of people and we all agreed they could film an actual criminal trial involving the death of a young person. So ABC News filmed everything – the first part of it, the trial itself, and the jury deliberations,” Mark described. This was the first time, on television, that cameras were allowed into a jury room to view jury deliberations.

Bill Hansen, who is also in the Hall of Fame, introduced Mark. The two had gone to school together but became reacquainted after working together in several homicide cases. “We’ve never lost any cases together,” said Hansen.

Mark loves the community around Sahuaro and the strong traditions they have. He also enjoys how “people care about other people – students care about students; faculty, teachers, staff, and the coaches cared a lot. I mean they put in extra time, they did a lot of work, and they got us ready for life after high school.”

Both the Hall of Fame inductees were given their awards following their speeches; after the event was over, all of the attendees caught up with each other, mingled, and said their goodbyes. Congratulations to Gary Vilas and Mark Diebolt – you are now among the Sahuaro greats, to be remembered forever.