BOURBON – The Triton High School athletic department is proud to announce the next class to be inducted into the Triton Athletic Hall of Fame. In this round of induction is the 1964-65 boys basketball team and First State Bank of Bourbon. The class of 2015 will be the fifth class inducted.

The 1964-1965 basketball season for Triton High School proved to be an exciting and thrilling year for the Trojans. Triton, in its second year of consolidation, was led by players like Joel Berger, Dennis Craig, Max Anders, Steve Frenger, and Larry Feldman. Triton finished the season with a 20-6 record that ended with the Trojans being defeated by Gary Roosevelt in the Semi-State championship at the Purdue Fieldhouse in West Lafayette.

Triton won its first championship trophy by winning the Argos tourney, defeating the Mentone Bulldogs by a 22-point margin. The team won the school’s first sectional and regional championships, something that would not be done again until the implementation of class sports, when Triton’s boys basketball team won their Class 1-A Sectional in 1999. The 1964-65 team also had the most wins in a season until broken by the 2008 Trojans which won the Class A state championship.

The inductees will include players Max Anders, Mike Bailey, Joel Berger, Dennis Craig, the late Larry Feldman, Carl Feldman, the late Steve Frenger, Terry Klingerman, Hal Kuntz, Phil Lewallen, Roger Moriarity, Owen Tracy, Dave Westafer, and John Yantiss; managers Glen Cunningham and Al Field; head coach the late Tony Newell and assistant coach Don Felten.

The Hall of Fame also recognizes the cheerleaders: Jackie Abell, Claudia Angling, Bonnie Booz, and Cinda Stouder; along with superintendent Leonard Hewitt and principal Nicholas Richer.

The First State Bank of Bourbon, a privately held community focused organization with a legacy of service that dates back to 1884, will be inducted as the 2015 Hall of Fame Contributor. Founded by James Matchett, the First State Bank of Bourbon has changed hands several times since its doors opened in April of 1884, but one family has dominated the leadership of the bank. The Mason family has been in control of the bank since Ralph Mason assumed the presidency from James Matchett in 1939. By the early 1960s, Mason had groomed his son, Lewis Mason, to take over as president. Lewis remained president of the bank until August of 1998 when his oldest son, Ralph Mason, assumed the presidency.

Since opening its doors during the 1963-1964 school year, the Triton School Corporation has benefited greatly from the contributions of the First State Bank of Bourbon. Under the leadership of Lewis Mason, the First State Bank of Bourbon has always been generous with contributions to the Triton School Corporation and the Athletic Department through advertising and other means such as sponsoring the annual Triton academic awards banquet, the Triton athletic pocket schedules, the Triton athletic Hall of Fame, and many other events and activities of the Triton School Corporation.

The Hall of Fame weekend will kick off with recognition of these inductees at half-time of the Triton versus Tippecanoe Valley boys basketball game on Feb. 20. The tip-off for the JV game that evening is scheduled for 6:15 p.m.

The festivities will be continued during the induction banquet Feb. 21. The evening will begin at 6 p.m. at the old Bourbon High School gymnasium. Triton’s athletic director, Mason McIntyre, will serve as the banquet’s emcee for the evening. Tickets can be purchased in the Triton High School athletic office beginning Jan. 26 for $20, which includes a meal. Tickets will also be sold at the home boys basketball games against Bremen and Rochester. The last day for ticket sales will be Feb. 17.