Newest Crop Of Honorees Inducted Into Enfield Athletic Hall Of Fame

FEEDING HILLS, MA — Four outstanding players, an award-winning sportscaster, an influential youth coach and two championship teams were honored Friday as members of the 26th induction class of the Enfield Athletic Hall of Fame.

The joyous evening at the Oak Ridge Country Club began with the "Parade of Champions," where 19 previous Hall of Fame honorees were introduced, followed by the current group of inductees.

Neil Beaulieu, longtime youth swimming coach who helped develop the skills of Hall of Famers Tammie (Repass) Mangold and Amber (Johnston) Flynn, was presented the George Daly Special Recognition Award by George's wife, Elena Daly.

Assistant coach Ralph Cerrato, as spry as ever at 90, introduced the 11 attending members of the 1961 Enfield High School football team, which captured the inaugural Suburban League championship. In attendance to accept Hall of Fame medals were Ed Ashton, Gus Carlander, Ed Deni, John Jasminski, Joe Javorski, Bob Licitra, Landon McDonald, Ted Plamondon, Tom Taylor, Fran Typrowicz and Doug Warner.

Next up was the 1984-85 Enrico Fermi High School cheerleading squad, which broke new ground by winning the Grand Champion title of the International Cheerleading Foundation camp, and ranking 13th in the nation. Advisor Mary (Civale) Trichilo introduced captains Kathy Parakilas and Maureen (Slattery) Sherwood, as well as team members Tonya (Day) Sargalski, Patti (Jensen) Love, Donna (Vella) Calabrese, Noelle (Wojciechowski) Poole, Debbie (Zipp) Bangs, Kathy (Banahan) Mangiafico, Kelly (Woods) Bowles and Tina (Parakilas) Trondsen. Theresa (Tracey) Solesky and Kim (Okon) Santiago were unable to attend.

Following a break for dinner, the five individual Hall of Fame electees took the stage and were interviewed.

Steve Jones, a 1976 graduate of Enfield High School who has been a football and basketball broadcaster for more than four decades at Penn State University, was unable to attend due to being in Illinois for the Nittany Lions' gridiron opener Saturday. However, a heartfelt acceptance video he had recorded was played, and his plaque was presented to his son Mike and brother Kevin.

Justine Lombardi, a two-time All-State soccer player at Fermi who led the Falcons to back-to-back Class L semifinal appearances, received her plaque from 2018 Hall of Famer Mike Linehan. She earned a full Division I scholarship to Quinnipiac University, earned Rookie of the Year honors as a freshman, then served as a captain during her sophomore, junior and senior years. She held assistant coaching positions at Bridgeport and Quinnipiac, and in 2019, she started a Division I women's soccer program at St. Francis College in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Two-sport standout Jack Griffin was presented his plaque by 1997 Hall of Famer Paul DaSilva. A first-team All-State performer on both the offensive and defensive lines at Enfield High School, he led the Raiders to a 10-2 record and a berth in the 2003 Class M semifinals. An All-New England football selection by SuperPrep, he was also MVP of Enfield's Division IV basketball championship team in 2004. He earned a full football scholarship to the University of Maryland, playing 42 games on both the offensive and defensive lines, including three bowl games.

Stacy (Wilhelm) Lyver, another soccer standout from Enfield High School, was accompanied to the stage by 1996 Hall of Famer Russ Tyler. An All-State and All-New England selection in 1996, she played six years in Connecticut's Olympic Development Program, and for the World Class Soccer Premier Club from 1992 to 2000, winning seven Connecticut State Cup championships and two Region I titles. A four-year starter at Duquesne University, she was team captain as a junior and senior, then coached girls’ soccer at Somers High School from 2002-2008, leading the Spartans to the Class S finals in 2007 and semifinals in 2008.

Rock-solid ice hockey defenseman Mike Little was the final honoree of the evening, receiving his award from 2001 Hall of Famer Bob Bromage. He was tri-captain of the 2004-05 Fermi team which compiled a 19-1 regular season record and was seeded No. 1 in Division I. After four years of hockey at American International College, he turned pro in 2011 and played professionally for 13 seasons. He had American Hockey League stints with Norfolk, Charlotte and Springfield, and played his last eight seasons in pro leagues in Germany, Austria and Denmark.