UPDATE: Enfield Athletic Hall of Fame to Induct Class of 2011

UPDATE:

Tickets are on sale for the Hall of Fame dinner through Wednesday, Sept. 14 only. No tickets will be sold at the door.

ORIGINAL STORY:

A variety of athletes, coaches and organizations will be represented as the Enfield Athletic Hall of Fame inducts its 16th class in September.

This year's honorees are the late Joel Arnold, a pioneer in scholastic wrestling; soccer standout Tony Conte; football player and coach Keith Emery; two-sport standout Sharon (Leonard) Curtis; and baseball star Jeff Spanswick. The 1979 Enfield High School wrestling team, which won the Class L state championship, will also be inducted, and the Enfield Rotary Club will receive the George Daly Special Recognition Award.

The annual induction dinner will take place Saturday, Sept. 17 at 6:30 p.m. at the Holiday Inn in Enfield. Tickets are $35, and are available by calling Kris Couture at 860-749-6789.

A brief look at the Class of 2011:

JOEL ARNOLD - Developed a wrestling program for the town of Enfield, and coached wrestling at Kennedy Junior High School, Enfield High School and Fermi High School throughout his career. Chairman of the state Wrestling Hall of Fame committee, a director of the New England and Connecticut Olympic wrestling camps, and co-chairman of the U.S. Wrestling Federation Kids Wrestling Program. Received Man of the Year Award from the Connecticut High School Coaches Association in 2000.  

TONY CONTE - All-CCIL soccer player at Enfield High School, graduating in 1978. Played four years of soccer at Providence College, where he was the second leading scorer as a junior and team captain as a senior. Part of the first Friars soccer team to rank in the national Top 20 and receive a post-season ECAC/NCAA tournament bid. Longtime involvement in the Cape Cod Soccer League includes being leading scorer and MVP with Chatham Fog in 1984; currently general manager and player/coach of the Wellfleet Breakers.

KEITH EMERY - Earned All-CCC East honors as both an offensive guard and defensive tackle at Enfield High School, graduating in 1990. Received scholar-athlete award from the Northern Connecticut Chapter of the National Football Foundation & Hall of Fame, and from the Connecticut Association of Schools. Played four years at Dickinson College; team won conference championship each year. Became assistant football coach at Kenyon College and later Johns Hopkins University (ultimately associate head football coach). Named assistant coach of the year by American Football Coaches Association in 2004. Named head coach at Western New England College in 2005; NEFC Boyd Coach of the Year in 2010.

SHARON (LEONARD) CURTIS - Played four years of varsity basketball and three years of varsity field hockey at Enfield High School, graduating in 1989. First female to tally over 1,000 points in basketball, including single-game record of 36 in 1988. Earned All-CCC East first team honors three times, All-State honorable mention in 1989, and led conference in scoring with 18.4 points per game as a senior. Posted over 20 career shutouts as a field hockey goalie, making the All-CCC East team twice and earning second team All-State honors as a senior. Four-time selection as Enfield High School's female scholar-athlete of the year.

JEFF SPANSWICK - Standout pitcher at Enfield High School, making the All-CCC East team before graduating in 1987. Played a year at the University of New Haven before transferring to American International College. Set AIC record for wins in a season with 11-1 record (.917 winning percentage) in 1991; lone loss was in the Division II College World Series in Montgomery, Alabama, where AIC made the final eight in the nation. All-American and All-New England in junior year, and MVP of the New England 10 tournament. Received Most Valuable Player and All-New England awards in senior year. Ranks fifth on AIC all-time list in career ERA (2.06) and career strikeouts (168).

TEAM AWARD - The 1978-79 Enfield High School wrestling team, coached by Kirk Parker, won the Central Connecticut Interscholastic League championship, then captured the state Class L crown, compiling 124.5 points to easily outdistance runner-up Bulkeley (100).

GEORGE DALY SPECIAL RECOGNITION AWARD - Two members of the Thompsonville (now Enfield) Rotary Club helped form the Thompsonville Little League in 1950, and another Rotarian donated a playing field. The club sponsored a team in the league from the very beginning, and continues to do so today. In 1993, the club organized a high school girls' basketball tournament during the holiday season, which has become an annual event which has raised more than $20,000 for the Enfield and Fermi High School girls' basketball teams to date.