Bill Booth
Rex Hawley
Phil Howard
Robert G. Matthews
Douglas Noreen
Bob Wolfe
Bill Booth
CLASS OF 1952
Bill was a 1952 graduate of Apex High School and distinguished himself as a scholar and an athlete during his time at Apex. Playing in the era when Apex High School was known as the Yellow Jackets, Bill was a two-sport letterman in basketball and baseball. A natural athlete, Bill was named First Team All-Conference in basketball during his senior season.
After graduation, Bill attended the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, where he subsequently earned his Bachelor’s Degree in 1956. But it was also at UNC that his athletic career took a turn, as Bill joined the indoor and outdoor track and field teams. Showing his athleticism and speed, he ran on the ACC champion mile relay team in both the indoor and outdoor conference meets.
After graduating from UNC-CH, Bill was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Navy and served his country aboard the USS Roanoke. During his stint in the Navy, Bill continued to impress with his versatility and athleticism, as he played on the 11th Naval District Champion basketball team in 1957. After 20 years of active and reserve service, Bill retired as a commander. He would have loved to have stayed in the Navy, but his family was counting on him to come home and run the family business: Apex Lumber Company.
Bill returned to Apex where he made his residence and left an indelible mark on both the town and the high school. Bill coached Little League baseball for a number of years and took the initiative in helping to get the first Jaycee Little League baseball field built in Apex. More importantly for Apex High School, Bill became the first president of the Apex High School Cougar Club and continued to be a strong presence in supporting all athletic programs at the high school. In addition, Bill served as the chairman of the first Apex Lions’ Relays, an annual high school track and field meet that has grown into one of the largest high school events in the state.
Rex Hawley
CLASS OF 1985
A 1985 graduate of Apex High School, Rex lettered in four sports and was an All-Conference football and baseball player. Playing both ways in football, Rex ran for over 1,000 yards in his junior and senior seasons and led the team in interceptions during those seasons as well. During his senior season, he was selected to play for the North Carolina team in the annual Shrine Bowl, where he started as a defensive back and punter.
The excellence Rex brought onto the football field was matched when he stepped onto the baseball diamond for the Cougars. Rex had one of the greatest senior seasons in Apex baseball history, as he batted .585 as a senior and set the state record for stolen bases with 41. For his efforts, he was named the Wake County 3A Baseball Player of the Year and became the first Apex athlete to appear in the Sports Illustrated “Faces in the Crowd” feature.
If his exploits on the gridiron and baseball diamond were not enough, there was more. Rex was a starting forward on the basketball team and, during his senior year, helped lead Apex into the state playoffs. And when he had an off day in baseball during the spring, Rex would jump in and run the sprints for the Cougars track and field team. That, ladies and gentlemen, is a multisport athlete!
Upon graduation from Apex High School, Rex received an athletic scholarship to play football at the University of Richmond. While playing for the Spiders, Rex continued to distinguish himself. He was a four-year letterman as a running back. Of his many athletic accomplishments, however, he is quick to note the support he received from his family, friends, and coaches. And one of his most cherished memories is of the way his late father, Norm, taught him how to play and respect the game.
Phil howard
CLASS OF 1983
Phil was a 1983 graduate of Apex High School and was a three sport letterman in soccer, outdoor track and field, and cross country. While Phil remains one of the fastest sprinters in Apex history and was, in fact, All Conference in track and field his junior and senior years, the soccer pitch was where he truly distinguished himself. Playing during an era when the soccer team was just starting at Apex High School, Phil became a two-time captain and four-year letterman on the fabled “A Team.” In addition, he was recognized as one of the great soccer players in the area, as he was selected to the All-Conference, All-Metro, and All-Region soccer teams three times during his career. Phil’s stellar play and leadership helped shape the “A Team” from a program in its infancy into a regional and state power.
The long and storied soccer tradition at Apex High School was built on the foundation that Phil, his teammates, and his coaches laid during the early 1980s. Phil was further honored as the Male athlete of the year for Apex High School in 1983. In addition to the many honors that Phil earned as an athlete, he continued to show his Cougar pride as he served as an assistant coach for three years after his graduation.
In fact, one of Phil’s greatest memories is having had the ability and privilege to play for and then coach with another one of our 2017 Hall of Famers, Bob Matthews, as well as another Apex soccer great, Stuart Nisbet. Phil has served our community proudly in a 28-year career in law enforcement. Phil’s multi-faceted roles include serving as a police officer with the Raleigh, Cary, and Morrisville Police Departments, as well as being a detective with the Cary Police Department and an investigator with the Wake County District Attorney’s office.
robert g. MATThEwS
COACH 1980-89
Bob was a social studies teacher and baseball and soccer coach during his tenure at Apex. He arrived at Apex after a highly successful 12-year career coaching baseball at Meadville High School in Pennsylvania. Bob made his mark at Apex in the classroom and as a coach. He was instrumental in growing the soccer program at Apex and quickly built it into a regional and state power. Though he coached the Cougars to four conference titles at the helm of the soccer program, the first championship in 1984 remains one of Bob’s most vivid memories.
In addition, Bob was the baseball coach at Apex until 1988 and was chiefly responsible for getting lights installed in the Cougar baseball stadium. His career record in the two sports at Apex was 110-60, while his overall head coaching record in high school was 391-146 at three different schools. During his career as a high school coach, he was honored as Coach of the Year a remarkable 15 times.
Bob was also an accomplished teacher who received numerous teaching awards throughout his career. He is nationally recognized as the creator of a course on the lessons of the Vietnam War and has been featured in a number of national publications for his work as an educator. But most importantly, Bob earned the loyalty and respect of the student-athletes that he taught and coached, even having the Apex yearbook dedicated to him by the student body in honor of his service to the school and community. Also, 28 of his former Apex players went on to play soccer or baseball in college. Countless more were positively impacted by the lessons of life that he taught, including Rex Hawley and Phil Howard.
douglas noreen
CLASS OF 2003
Douglas, who graduated from Apex High School in 2003, competed in six sports while there: cross country, basketball, swimming, golf, indoor track and field, and outdoor track and field. By his junior year, he focused on cross country, swimming, and indoor and outdoor track and field. During his final two years at Apex, Douglas earned six All-Conference awards, two each in cross country, swimming, and outdoor track and field. But more than anything, Douglas was built to run. During his senior season of 2002-2003, Douglas ran his way into the Apex record books. He earned runner of the year honors by winning the conference cross country meet in the fall and by winning the conference titles in the 800, 1600, and 3200 meter runs in the spring. He set five individual or relay school records that year, all of which still stand. Douglas won the state championship in the 800 meters that spring and finished seventh nationally in that event as well. For his efforts, he was selected as the News and Observer’s Track and Field Athlete of the Year in 2003 and was also chosen as the Male athlete of the year for Apex High School.
Upon graduation, Douglas continued his educational and athletic careers at Davidson College, where he continued to excel in running. While at Davidson, Douglas earned seven All-Conference awards and set school records in 6 events. As a senior, he earned the Most Valuable Track award in the Southern Conference Championships and was awarded the Thomas Sparrow Award — the highest academic and athletic recognition that Davidson awards. Douglas continues to serve his community as a partner in the Howard Stallings Law Firm and through his work in several charitable foundations.
Perhaps his most fitting service comes through his work on the Board of Directors of the North Carolina Chapter of ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), work that Douglas does to honor Eddie Rabenda, a good friend and classmate who was stricken with ALS and passed away several years ago. His best memory of Apex, however, is sharing the common thread of arguing over who was the best Apex runner in the Noreen house, as both of his brothers, Bradley and Bryan, were great runners in their own right.
bob wolfe
COACH 1994-2012
Bob served as the head football coach at Apex High School from 1994 until 2012. Prior to coming to Apex, Bob served as a teacher and coach at several high schools in eastern North Carolina. When he arrived at Apex, he found a program that had struggled for many years. He was unexpectedly thrust into the role of being the head coach several weeks after his arrival at Apex and he attacked it with his customary discipline and energy. During his tenure, the football program had the greatest run of success in the program’s history. Apex won 104 games and 2 conference championships during that span. His teams had a run of successive winning records over 11 years, a period in which the Cougars made the playoffs 10 out of 11 years. Their success culminated in the team reaching the third round of the state playoffs in 2008.
Bob was twice recognized as the conference Coach of the Year and once as the Carolina Panthers Coach of the Year for North Carolina and South Carolina. He was also selected to coach in the N.C. East-West All Star game in 1999 and the Shrine Bowl in 2007.
More than being known only as a coach, however, Bob was also considered to be an excellent teacher. Primarily a mathematics teacher during his career, Bob was recognized in Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers on seven different occasions. Bob was loyal to his assistant coaches and his players. He built a foundation for his football program that was built on the concept of family, an environment in which the players cared for one another and were willing to sacrifice for one another. As well, his football family prepared several of his assistant coaches to move on to become successful head coaches at other schools in the Carolinas. In short, Bob inherited a football program that had struggled for success and he built it into one of the most respected programs in the state.