UTEP’s Keitha Adams, PGA golfer J.P. Hayes head 2014 El Paso Athletic Hall of Fame class

The 2014 El Paso Sports Hall of Fame class has been announced with eight set for induction in April.

In the athlete category, Gloria Estrada was part of the first UTEP women’s basketball team in 1974 and coached Fabens to two Final Four appearances in volleyball.

Two-time PGA tour winner and former UTEP Miner golfer J.P. Hayes, and Larisa Pitchkolan who is a four-time El Paso marathon winner and has qualified for the Boston Marathon 21 times.

Hayes won a lot of people’s respect in 2008 when he realized that he had mistakenly used a non-regulation ball for just two strokes in a PGA Tour qualifying tournament in Texas. Since the ball was unapproved for competition, Hayes admitted his mistake — and was disqualified.

“I violated a rule and I had to take my medicine,” Hayes said at the time.

But Hayes didn’t really have to turn himself in. No one filmed it. No one else saw it and no one would ever have known about the two shots with a prototype golf ball.

“No one would have known, but I knew,” he said. “And I have some people looking down on me that would have known, so that was the decision I had to make.”
Character, they say, is what you do when no one is watching. While that’s a powerful mantra, it’s easier to say than to live by. And for a player who was working hard to earn a PGA Tour card, admitting his mistake put a full-time spot on the line.

Read the full story on Hayes’ 2008 incident at http://abcnews.go.com/WN/story?id=6300276

In the coach and administrator category UTEP women’s basketball coach Keitha Adams and Bob Azar, who brought the Juarez games as well as the international games to El Paso, will be inducted.

Adams is wrapping up her 13th year at UTEP and over those years has racked up more than 200 wins and won the school’s first ever Conference USA Tournament championship in 2012.

Adams also too the team to the NCAA Tournament in 2008. This year, UTEP went 24-7 during the year.

Also joining this year’s class is Gene Semko who will go in as an official.

Semko is a currently a referee in the Big 12 for football and has been a part of two BCS title game officiating crews in his career.

Larry rodriguez is headed in as a supporter and is known as UTEP’s biggest fan and helps lead UTEP activities at sporting events.

And last but not least Gabe Nava who will go in postheumously. Nava is regarded as one of the 10 best high school basketball players ever from El Paso. He played his high school ball at Austin High, but sadly died prematurely.