CRESTVIEW — Five Bulldog alumni have joined Crestview High School’s Hall of Fame for their athletic accomplishments.
Here’s a look at each inductee:
Chelsi Esinhart Chilcott is a speech-language pathologist at the Emerald Coast Autism Center and the mother of 5-month-old twins.
At Crestview High School, she was a 12-time varsity athlete for volleyball, soccer and softball. She also played volleyball for the 2004 Panhandle Conference champion Pensacola Junior College Pirates.
Chilcott earned a bachelor's and a master's degree in Communication Science and Disorders at Florida State University and Southeastern Louisiana University, respectively.
Chilcott says that being in a small town gave her a sense of commitment.
“You have the hometown sense that you’re not going to find in a big city,” she said. “Everyone comes together here. Everyone supports each other, and that’s a big deal.”
Blake Dean is the country’s youngest Division I head college baseball coach.
Dean, who serves at the University of New Orleans, graduated from Crestview High School in 2006, already earning a Junior Olympic silver medal and several player-of-the-year awards while playing baseball for the Bulldogs.
While playing LSU baseball, Dean earned several individual honors while being a part of the 2009 College World Series Championship team.
Dean was drafted twice into the Majors for the Minnesota Twins and the Los Angeles Dodgers. When he started coaching for the University of New Orleans in his first season, the baseball team had its best record in nine years and the second best turnaround for Division I baseball.
Among these accomplishments, Dean says that making CHS’s Hall of Fame is his biggest honor to date.
“You go off and do a lot of things, but there’s always a start to every finish,” he said.
Russell Hughes, principal at Walton High School in DeFuniak Springs, is a candidate for Walton County School superintendent and pastor of a church he founded 16 years ago.
After playing football and graduating from CHS in 1986, Hughes received full football scholarships to East Mississippi Community College and Langston University, where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Education. He also holds a master’s degree in Educational Leadership from the University of West Florida and he is pursuing a master’s in Biblical Studies from Andersonville Seminary.
Hughes was a teacher, coach and administrator at Choctawhatchee High School, and became Okaloosa County’s first African-American head football coach at Richbourg Middle School.
Hughes said he could have made more money playing football after college, but education was his calling.
“The love for children, the love for this community, the love for the traditions that were established in me at Crestview High School — that impacted my decision and encouraged me to stay with what I’m doing now,” he said.
Renee Polk is stationed as a staff sergeant with the 56th Fighter Wing at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona.
Polk played basketball for the Bulldogs until she graduated in 2003. She later played for Santa Fe Community College, Langston University and the University of West Florida. Polk returned home to be an assistant coach for CHS’s girls basketball teams for three years before playing a year in Gulfport, Miss., for the Mississippi Storm semi-pro team in 2012.
Polk never saw herself achieving a Hall of Fame induction this soon, but says everything has come full circle.
“Being in a tight-knit community humbled me and taught me the value of hard work, commitment and dedication,” she said.
Crestview Coach Kenny Rogers played for his father, Ken Rogers, at CHS before graduating in 1976. He received individual county, district and state honors.
Rogers played for Jefferson Davis Junior College and in the state tournament both years there before moving on to volunteer as CHS’s boys basketball assistant coach. The team won the state championship in 1985.
Rogers coached at Richbourg Middle School from 1988 to 1995, took his team to four conference titles and earned 39 consecutive wins in Okaloosa County — a record that remains to this day.
After three years of coaching varsity basketball at Niceville High School, he came back to the Hub City to coach the Bulldog varsity team from 1998 to 2004. Rogers is currently the Crestview girls golf coach, winning seven regional qualifiers and winning the district in 1999.
Rogers is the third member of his family to be inducted into the Crestview High School Hall of Fame.
“To join my dad and my oldest daughter is an added bonus,” he said.
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Editor's Note: A previous version of this article stated that Chelsi Esinhart Chilcott earned her bachelor's degree at Southeastern Louisiana University. Her correct school information has been updated.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Meet the 2016 Bulldog Hall of Fame inductees