Sports have a way of teaching invaluable life lessons — building character, fostering teamwork and strengthening the bonds within a community. In the Wallingford area, these values have shaped some truly remarkable athletes from different eras, whose accomplishments continue to inspire.
Patch is celebrating five standout athletes whose achievements have left a lasting mark on our community. This list is just a snapshot, with countless other athletes helping shape the rich sports culture in our area.
Hilary Knight starred for Choate Rosemary Hall from 2003 to 2007, racking up 210 career points before going on to become one of the most decorated players in U.S. women's hockey history. She has represented Team USA at five Olympics, winning gold in 2018 and 2026, and now captains both the national team and the PWHL's Seattle Torrent. In 2026, Knight was named to TIME's 100 Most Influential People for her role building the sport's first stable pro league.
A 2011 graduate of Lyman Hall High School, P.J. Higgins grew up playing in Wallingford Little League before starring at Old Dominion University. The Chicago Cubs drafted him in 2015, and he made his major league debut in 2021, going on to play for both the Cubs and Cincinnati Reds. Higgins remains one of only a handful of Lyman Hall alumni ever drafted into pro baseball.
Cathy Inglese won a state title as a junior at Sheehan High School before starring at Southern Connecticut State, where she was later inducted into the school's athletic hall of fame. She went on to a 39-year coaching career, most notably leading Boston College's women's basketball program to seven NCAA tournament appearances and a Big East title in 2004. Inglese was also inducted into the Connecticut Women's Basketball Hall of Fame before her death in 2019.
TJ DeLucia starred at Lyman Hall before helping Southern Connecticut State win back-to-back national championships, earning tournament MVP honors in 1999. He was named Northeast-10 Conference Defensive Player of the Year and a first-team All-American as team captain in 2000. DeLucia went on to captain the U.S. national amateur soccer team from 2001 to 2007.
Tim Fleiszer spent his final two years of high school at Choate Rosemary Hall, captaining the football team to back-to-back New England prep championships in 1993 and 1994. He went on to start at Harvard before being taken first overall in the 1998 CFL Draft, eventually becoming the only player in CFL history to win four Grey Cups with four different teams. Fleiszer was inducted into the Choate Athletics Hall of Fame in recognition of that career.
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