The Washington High School Athletic Department and the Washington High School Athletic Association have presented the fifth class of the Washington High School Athletic Hall of Fame.

The 2025 Hall of Fame Inductees: Dutch Borcherding, David Burns, Kyra Hardesty and the 1959-1962 baseball teams.

Dutch Borcherding

Dutch Borcherding supported the Washington High Athletic Association for over 50 years. His support was most notable as sports editor for the Washington Missourian from 1957 until his retirement in 1990. Through the Missourian, Dutch helped grow the Washington High Athletic Association from its infancy into what it has become today. It can easily be argued that Dutch attended more Washington High School athletic events than anyone else beginning in the 1950s and continuing through his passing in 2013.

Dutch essentially served as the historian for the association; capturing, documenting and sharing all the action. Every event was important to Dutch since he knew the importance of it to the school and the community as a whole. He was there for all the highlights, including the baseball success of the late 1950s and early 1960s, the 1961 third-place finish in basketball, the 1973 football championship, the epic 23-20 Washington-Borgia football playoff game in 1978, and the basketball and volleyball successes of the 1980s. Dutch was the constant at all of those significant events.

Just as important to Dutch was the more common events like a typical freshman basketball game in January and February when there may have just been a few people in attendance. You could count on Dutch to be one of those people and report on the event with the same level of intensity as the big events. Everyone wanted to see their name in the Missourian at least once, and thanks to the care and connection by Dutch, that dream was realized for many Washington High School student athletes. Dutch loved sports, the students, and the Washington community.

David Burns

David Burns was a standout basketball player at Washington High School, where he played two varsity seasons under legendary head coach Glen Cafer. A key contributor on the historic 1960-61 Blue Jays team, Burns averaged 14 points per game as Washington posted a 35–1 record and a third-place state finish. His efforts earned him honorable mention all-state honors, recognizing both his scoring ability and his role on one of the most dominant teams in school history.

Burns’ self-awareness, humility, and work ethic became hallmarks of his game. He openly acknowledged areas for growth and credited Coach Cafer’s patience and his teammates’ support for his steady improvement.

After graduating from WHS, Burns went on to play three seasons of college basketball at North Texas State, where he was a two-year starter and averaged between 15-17 points per game. Though he found individual success at the college level, he often looked back fondly on his Blue Jay years.

Kyra Hardesty

Kyra Hardesty, a 2017 WHS graduate, was a four-year varsity basketball starter. Her team won four straight district championships and made it to the state quarterfinals once. She was first-team team all-conference all four years, conference player of the year three years, and made all-state three years.

Kyra, a point guard, owns the following school records; three-point field goals, free throws,  free throw percentage, and assists. She stands second as Washington’s all-time leading scorer with 1,896 career points, highlighted by a 59-point game during her sophomore year.

Following high school, Kyra was a three-year started at College of the Ozarks. She made the all-conference tournament team twice. Kyra graduated with her Bachelor’s degree in Child studies. She is currently working on getting her Master’s degree in Special Education.

1959-1962 Baseball Teams

From 1959-1962, the WHS baseball teams worked hard and played hard to build a reputation as a powerhouse in the Four Rivers Conference. They won four consecutive FRC titles with a 26-0 record. The players established a reputation for dedication and teamwork to be passed on to the athletes who followed and continued that era of excellence for Blue Jay baseball.

Team members during that period of time were Kenny Ackmann, Cliff Aitch, Charles Althage, Alan Bredfelt, Bill Coons, George Coons, Jackie Coons, Jim Coons, Cal Cowan, Donnie Cowan, Ronnie Cowan, Richard Crawford, John Ebling, Marvin Fennessey, Jim Gordon, Bill Hardy, Tom Hartbaur, Mike Heidmann, Bill Johnson, Chuck Klingsick, Leland Lewis, Wayne Lohmeyer, Stan Massmann, Jerry Pepmueller, Ed Pennington, Gary Perkins, Tim Points, Ken Stettes, Terry Strubbe, Jim Triplett, Ken Triplett, Leroy Vickers, Glen Vogel and Jim Wilson.