Hall of Fame

Joey Dansby '88

High School – Joey was a three-time league champion, CIF Central Coast Section Champion, the only one at Palma to place twice in the CIF State Championships in wrestling, California Cadet Freestyle All-American, and a three-year member of the California Junior National Team. 3x State Champion in both Freestyle and Greco-Roman Wrestling.

College – At Cal Poly, Joey was a four-time letterman, three-time Pac-10 Conference Medalist, and Team Captain.

Internationally – Joey was a three-time Final Olympic Trial Qualifier, Dave Schultz International Champion, and a 1995 National Greco-Roman Team Member.

Coach –Joey was the assistant wrestling coach at Cal Poly from 1994-1997 before returning to his alma mater to coach from 1997-2000. He went on to become the head coach at Cuesta Community College in 2001. As a coach, he has won five Conference Championships, had three Community College State Champions, and has coached sixteen All-Americans. Joey has been Conference Coach of the Year five times and was inducted into the California Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2017 and inducted into the California Chapter of the National Hall of Fame on October 24, 2021.

Nate Holaday '68

Nate’s sport in high school was basketball. Nate was on the lightweight team during the 1965-1966 season, defeating Salinas High in the season’s opening game. Nate led the team as a consistent double-figure scorer, played a pivot position, had a great season that included three 18-point efforts and was the leading rebounder. 

Nate was on the varsity team in his junior year and on coach Ron Critchfield’s debut season as Palma’s varsity head basketball coach. Nate’s team had the first-ever victory over the Salinas Cowboys and had the winningest season ever with a 20-8 record.

Nate’s senior year topped the previous season by running up an unprecedented 20-3 record and ripping off twelve straight victories in mid-season for a new school record. The biggest surprise of the season was Nate’s performance as center. Nate led the squad in scorin, rebounding, and shooting percentage, achieving All-League, All-Tournament, and All-Diocesan honors, as well as being name Most Valuable Player in the MTAL.

Greg Lane '88

High School – Greg was a talented athlete who excelled in three sports: football, basketball, and track. However, most of his awards and accolades were earned through football. He was a three-time All-MTAL tailback (1985,1986,1987), three-time All-CCS (1985,1986,1987), a two-time MTAL Offensive Back of the Year (1986, 1987), a two-time Salinas Valley Offensive MVP (1986, 1987), a three-time All Salinas Valley Offense (1985,1986,1987), and the CCS Sophomore of the Year (1985). In basketball, Greg played as a guard and received the following recognitions: All MBL Honorable Mention in 1986 and 1987, and All MTAL Honorable Mention in 1988. Greg was a CCS Qualifier in the triple, long jump, and 4 x 400 relay in 1987 and 1988.

College – Greg played football at Hartnell for two years. He was an All Coast Conference player in 1988 and 1989 and received Honorable Mention in 1988. Later, he transferred to Washburn University in Kansas, where he was named All MIAA and Team Offensive MVP in 1990.



Coach – In 2004, Greg returned to his alma mater as the jumping coach. During his coaching career, he has trained four of the top five record holders in the long jump, one top record holder in the triple jump, two CCS Champions, and four State Qualifiers. Greg is also the jumping coach for Notre Dame and has coached three of the top five record holders in both the long jump and triple jump.

Ron Critchfield

Ron was a successful coach at Palma from 1966 to 2002. In 1966, he joined the Palma family as a PE teacher, assistant football coach, and head basketball coach. Like most coaches, Ron would attend clinics to learn from the best coaches. This particular year, he spent time listening to the great John Wooden. Wooden would say that “moving without the ball” was a lost art and the most difficult thing for a player to do. He came away knowing that he had to find an offense that would feature ball and player movement. After an 0-6 start to his career, Ron instituted the Auburn Shuffle. Anyone who ever played for Coach knows the “SHUFFLE.” This offense emphasized a combination of ball and player movement it was a 5 man-motion offense. That team excelled from day 1 and went on to win 20 in a row before losing in the playoffs. Critchfield would continue to adapt this offense yearly to fit his team’s strengths. During his 26 seasons at the helm, Critchfield never had a losing season and his overall record of 485-157 makes him the winningest coach in Palm history. During his time at the helm, Chieftain basketball was the gold standard in our area winning fourteen league titles, 4 Region IV Crowns, and 3 CCS Division IV titles in 1997, 1999, and 2000. Additionally, under his guidance, Palma reached the Northern California Regional semifinals four times. Coach Critchfield was inducted into the Salinas Valley Sports Hall of Fame in 2015. His 494 career victories rank him #2 on the all-time Salinas Valley prep coaches basketball list.

Tony Rossi '66

Tony was a skilled football player who played at Palma for four years. After that, he returned to his alma mater and joined the coaching staff in 1975. He coached the lineman during his thirty-three years as an assistant coach and was a significant part of Palma’s football dynasty. Palma won twenty-three league championships and thirteen CCS championships during his tenure.

Tony’s coaching skills helped numerous linemen to play collegiate ball and some even went on to play professionally. These include Andy Tribble (Washington State University), Chris Dalman (Stanford University), Marc Matock (University of Southern California), Dirk Giannini (Santa Clara), Steve and Richard Zenk (Santa Clara), Matt Panziera (Santa Clara), Elliott Vallejo (University of California, Los Angeles), and Carlos Rivera (San Jose State) to name a few.

Tony coached alongside Palma Hall of Fame, Salinas Valley Sports Hall of Fame inductee, and friend, coach Norm Costa, and Jeffrey Wright for many years.

1992 Basketball Team

In 1992 the Palma Chieftains became the first – and through 2015 – the only boys basketball team from Monterey County to win a state title. They ended the season on an 18-game win streak and finished 29-2 overall. To reach the state D-IV title game Palma beat WCAL champion Mitty (66-47), Bret Harte (75-51), Drake (55-47), and Cardinal Newman (56-47). The Chieftains played Lincoln Prep of San Diego in the state title game. They trailed 54-53, but center Brandon Peterson tipped in what proved to be the winning basket with 18 seconds to go to give Palma a 55-54 win.

Coach Bob Burlison, Coach John Amaral, Coach Mark Crossgrove, Chad Amaral, Matt Amaral, Mike Bacling, Mike Castagnetto, Joey Diaz, Sky Feekes, Casey Kelly, Robert Long, Marc Matock, Todd McRae, Brandon Peterson, David Sargenti, Josh Short, Ken Young, Steven Zenk.

Click here to view the photo gallery for the 2023 Palma School Hall of Fame.

Hall of Fame Members

Chad Amaral ’92

Matt Amaral ’92

Bob Burlison ’74

Chip Campion ’68

Steve Clayton ’76

Peter Cling ’66

Norm Costa

Chris Dalman ’88

David Esquer ’83

David Fales ’09

Tom Fanoe ’64

Wayne Garvis ’62

Greg Higgins

Marc Matock ’94

John Oliverio ’69

Clem Richardson, Jr. ’67

Angelo Ross, Jr.

Lucille Scattini

Steve Soper