Three Sachem Alum To Be Inducted Into Suffolk Hall of Fame

Three members of the Sachem community will be inducted into the Suffolk County Sports Hall of Fame in 2013, according to Chris Vaccaro, Sachem's PR director.

Vaccaro presented the information to the Board of Education at the January 16 general meeting. A standing room only crowd applauded the coming induction of Jeff Ruland, Nicole Kaczmarski and former Sachem girl’s basketball coach Risa Zander. 

According to Vaccaro's announcement in The Sachem Report, Ruland was a basketball star at Sachem, graduated in 1977 and took his talents all the way to the NBA, playing for almost 10 years in Washington and Philadelphia. He's currently the head coach at the University of the District of Columbia.

Kaczmarski graduated from Sachem in 1999 and is considered one of the greatest girl's basketball players in New York. Her number 23 was retired at Sachem High School in 2012.

Risa Zander, already a member of the New York State Basketball Hall of Fame, was the Sachem Girl's Basketball Coach from 1975 to 1990. She won more than 300 games for Sachem, one state championship and four county championships.

All three will be inducted at a ceremony in May. Once inducted it will bring the number of Sachem members enshrined at the Hall to 10.