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ANCHORAGE - Two Southeast Alaska legends were among the five people selected Monday by the Alaska Sports Hall of Fame for its class of 2009.

Juneau's own Olympic medalist Hilary Lindh and Metlakatla hoopster Wally Leask will join Alaska Baseball League pioneer H.A. "Red" Boucher, U.S. Nordic ski champion Nina Kemppel and polar explorer Col. Norman Vaughan for an induction ceremony in February at the ConocoPhillips atrium in Anchorage. The exact date and time for the public ceremony will be announced later.

"We are very pleased to welcome in the class of 2009," said Harlow Robinson, president of the Alaska Sports Hall of Fame, in a press release. "It is a group remarkable for its resume and for its diversity, and it is certainly a stellar representation of sports in Alaska."

Lindh was only 14 years old when she joined the United States Ski Team, and by 16 she became the first American to win a World Junior Championships downhill title. Her silver medal in the downhill at Albertsville was the pinnacle of her skiing career, but her resume also included a downhill gold medal at the 1997 World Championships in Sestrier, Italy. Lindh earned three World Cup victories, five podiums and 27 top-ten finishes during her storied 11-year World Cup career.

Leask, known as the "dribbling dervish" and the "howitzer" during his basketball career, was the first big-time basketball player from Alaska. He captained the University of Washington basketball team to a 25-5 record as a senior in 1943. His team lost in what is now known as the Elite Eight, but Leask missed the tournament to fulfill his duty as a U.S. Army fighter pilot in World War II. Leask had offers to play professionally for the Harlem Globetrotters and Minneapolis Lakers upon his return from the war, but he opted for a higher paying job and focused on raising a family instead. He died in 2004 at the age of 84.

Boucher, the founder of the Alaska Goldpanners in Fairbanks, pushed Alaska baseball into prominence in the 1960s in the form of the Alaska Baseball League. One of many future major league baseball stars to play for Boucher, Hall of Famer Tom Seaver once said, "The enthusiasm coach Boucher displayed instilled a great sense of pride in all his players. So much so, in fact, that there still remains a feeling of brotherhood among us fortunate enough to have played for him."

Kemppel, a graduate of West High School in Anchorage, went on to become the standard-bearer for U.S. Nordic skiing. Kemppel competed in four Olympics for the United States and won 18 national championships in cross-country skiing over the span of her illustrious career. She also dominated the Alaska mountain running scene, winning a record nine Mount Marathon championships, including a streak of eight in a row.

Vaughan left Harvard University to join Admiral Byrd's first expedition to the South Pole from 1928 to 1932. Byrd named a mountain on the continent after Vaughan, and in 1994, at the age of 88, Vaughan returned to climb the 10,302-foot peak. Vaughan competed in the 1932 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, N.Y., in the sprint dog racing exhibition. He moved to Alaska at the age of 68 to "start a new life." Vaughan went on to compete in 13 Iditarod races (finishing four) and embark on numerous Arctic expeditions. Vaughan died in 2005 at 100 years old.

In addition to the inductees, the hall of fame also announced that it will honor one event and two sports moments during the February ceremony.

The World Eskimo-Indian Olympics was selected as the event and joins the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race and the Great Alaska Shootout in the hall in its category. Since its inception in 1961, the World Eskimo-Indian Olympics has grown into an internationally famous event that celebrates Alaska's indigenous games and athletes.

The moments selected were the epic first winter ascent of Mount McKinley in 1967, and Doug Herron's national-best performance in the 800 meters at the 1985 Alaska High School Track and Field Championships. The successful summit bid by Art Davidson, Ray Genet and Dave Johnston was chronicled in the book "Minus 148," now widely regarded as one of the greatest survival stories ever written. Herron's feat catapulted him into the national spotlight and paved the way for a successful collegiate running career.