Soccer star Marvell Wynne II joins PHS Hall of Fame

The Poway High School Alumni Association will be celebrating the achievements of former Titan Marvell Wynne II, who has been named to the high school’s Hall of Fame this year.

Wynne, Class of 2004, is one of two alumni who is joining the Hall of Fame in 2016. The other is artist Victor Hugo Zayas, Class of 1980.

Wynne, a professional soccer player who is a starting defender for the San Jose Earthquakes, said he was “pretty excited” to be named to the Hall of Fame. “When Larry (Ott, president of the Alumni Association) called me to tell me, I said I couldn’t wait to tell my mom, because she tried to get me in (to the Hall of Fame) last year,” said Wynne.

Born in Pittsburgh, Wynne moved to Rancho Bernardo when he was young and lived there until he was in fifth grade, before moving to Poway.

He played on the Poway High junior varsity soccer team his freshman year before playing on the varsity soccer team for the rest of his high school career.

Wynne credits several of his teachers and coaches at Poway High School with helping him succeed. “I was a big fan of my track coach, Coach Sharp, he was a mentor to me,” said Wynne. “And Eugene Morris, he was always a goofy guy, but a good coach. And my favorite academic teacher was (Perry) Minamide, my physics teacher.”

He also said his friends and teammates at Poway High helped him succeed. “I believe high school is a very pivotal time in anyone’s life,” said Wynne. “I was around good friends and good teammates who knew what they were doing in life. I was able to focus on academics and athletics because they were a good influence. (My time at Poway High) was a good time all around.”

Wynne said he will be able to attend the recognition dinner that will be held to honor him and Zayas, as his team will be playing in Los Angeles that weekend. “I’ll be coming straight from the airport and after the dinner I’ll have to drive straight up to Los Angeles,” he said. “But I’m lucky it worked out that I could attend.”

Wynne said he became interested in playing soccer after filling in for another player while watching a friend play. Though he played several other sports growing up, including baseball, gymnastics, basketball and volleyball, Wynne said soccer was the one that stuck.

“My dad tried to get me into baseball, but he also supported me playing soccer. My mom let me try a lot of different sports. My parents have always backed me no matter what I was doing,” said Wynne.

After his soccer career at Poway High School, Wynne was a first team All-American at UCLA and was the first player chosen in the Major League Soccer (MLS) SuperDraft in 2006.

He has played in the MLS for 11 years, starting with the New York Red Bulls; Toronto FC, where he won a Canadian Championship in 2009; and the Colorado Rapids, where he helped the team win the MLS Cup in 2010.

Wynne has also represented the United States in international competition, playing for the U-20 team in the World Youth Championships and as a starter on the U-23 team that represented the United States at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. He also helped the United States qualify for the FIFA World Cup in South Africa as a member of the U.S. Men’s National Team.

Wynne is also a regular participant in the annual Poway High Alumni soccer game.

The recognition dinner will be held at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, May 21 at the Country Club of Rancho Bernardo, 12280 Greens East Road in Rancho Bernardo. Tickets are $35 and include a buffet dinner and no-host bar. For tickets visit www.PHSHallofFame.eventbrite.com.