Published in the November 16, 2017 edition
THE 1979 NRHS football team was inducted into the Hornet Hall of Fame. The ‘79 Hornets (8-0-1) were Cape Ann League Champs and Division 3 Super Bowl finalists. Pictured from left to right are: Brad Hillard, ‘81; Bill Warnock, ‘80; Marco Vittozzi, ‘81; captain Brian Mahoney, ‘80; Kevin Freeman, ‘80; Jim Tremblay, ‘80 and Doug Barnard, ‘80. (John Friberg Photo)
NORTH READING — The North Reading High School Hall of Fame induction ceremony was held at the Hillview Country Club on October 21 where 130 guests welcomed and honored the class of 2017.
Six individual athletes, the 1979 Football team and one legendary coach/athletic director were inducted for sports glories past, while a community service award was presented to someone who went above in beyond in support of NRHS athletics.
The Community Service award was presented to Rita Mullin, an NRHS alumnus from the class of 1967. Mullin has been a member of the Town Recreation Committee for 42 years and the Land Utilization Committee for 23 years. Some of her work and contributions includes helping build Ipswich River Park and the new Arthur J. Kenney Field as a member of the Design and Build Committee. Mullin is also a 10-year member of the Youth Services Committee, a Community Impact Team member, and a long-time member of the NRHS Athletic Sub Committee.
Inducted into what is typically known as the coaches category was Roy Condon, although the longtime fixture of NRHS athletics created his own category as most might remember him as the NRHS Director of Athletics from 1982 to 2005. Condon was the boys’ soccer coach from 1971 to 1981; the Cape Ann League boys’ lacrosse Commissioner from 1974 to 2018; the CAL boys’ and girls’ soccer Commissioner from 1982 to 2017; a MIAA boys’ lacrosse Committee member from 1975 to 2005, a MIAA soccer Committee member from 1995 to 2005 and the MIAA District 1 Representative from 1985 to 2000.
THE 1979 NRHS football team was inducted into the Hornet Hall of Fame. The ‘79 Hornets (8-0-1) were Cape Ann League Champs and Division 3 Super Bowl finalists. Pictured from left to right are: Brad Hillard, ‘81; Bill Warnock, ‘80; Marco Vittozzi, ‘81; captain Brian Mahoney, ‘80; Kevin Freeman, ‘80; Jim Tremblay, ‘80 and Doug Barnard, ‘80. (John Friberg Photo)
Individual athletes inducted were:
Chuck Carucci, Class of 1960: 8 varsity letters in football, baseball and track. Carucci was the captain of the football team in 1959 and scored the first touchdown in NRHS history. He also scored the first touchdown on what would become Arthur J. Kenney Field. Carucci played in the Greater Lawrence/Lowell All Star game in 1960. Carucci was a three-year starter and captain of the baseball team in 1960, as well as a two-year varsity track sprinter. Keri Forrest Verdonck, Class of 1993: 9 varsity letters in tennis, volleyball and swimming. Forrest Verdonck was the captain of the 1992 Division 2 North Championship Volleyball team, the team MVP in 1992 and 1993 and a Boston Globe and Boston Herald All-Scholastic in 1992. For the Tennis team, Forrest Verdonck was the captain in 1992 and 1993 and the team MVP for three consecutive years from 1991 to 1993. For the NR swim team, Forrest Verdonck was the team MVP in 1992 (the inaugural year of the program) and the captain in 1993. She would go on to play four years of volleyball at St. Michael’s College. Forrest Verdonck returned to the NRHS athletic program as a a volleyball coach from 1999 to 2009, guiding the team to a State Title in 2008. Ann Brophy Flaherty, Class of 1996: 8 varsity letters in soccer, basketball and softball. Brophy Flaherty was the soccer captain in 1994 and 1995. She was a three-time CAL All-League member in soccer and the CAL Player of the Year in 1994, the same year she was named to the All-State team by the MA Soccer Coaches Association. Brophy Flaherty was a two-time CAL All-Star in basketball and a 1994 CAL All-Star in softball. A 1996 Lester E. Levey Scholar Athlete Award Winner, Brophy Flaherty went on to play four years of soccer at Williams College. Adam Kacamburas, Class of 2000: 11 varsity letters in soccer, indoor track and baseball. Kacamburas was the captain of the soccer team in 1999 and the indoor track and baseball teams in 2000. He compiled 24 career pitching wins for the baseball team. His baseball accolades include a CAL Player of the Year Award in 1999, a CAL All-League team member in 1999 and 2000 and an MBCA Eastern Mass. All-Star in 1999. He was a CAL soccer All-Star and team MVP in 1999. A 2000 Nicholas Martinho Award Winner, Kacamburas went on to play four years of baseball at Tufts University. Elizabeth Short, Class of 2008: cross country, indoor track and outdoor track. Short was the 2007 Division 4 State Champion in the 2 Mile and the 2007 Division 4 State runner-up in cross country. Short set the cross country home course school record in 2005, the Mile school record with a time of 5:19.7 and the 2 Mile indoor school record with a time of 11:37.35. Short was a four-year member of the Dartmouth College cross country and track teams. Lauren Hebert, Class of 2012: 11 varsity letters in soccer, basketball and track. A captain of the soccer, basketball and spring track teams, Hebert was the soccer team’s leading scorer for three consecutive years from 2009 to 2011. She was a CAL basketball All-League selection and MVP of the basketball team in 2011 and 2012. Hebert placed 4th in a javelin All-State Meet (119’10”) and finished 4th at the State Meet in the heptathlon. A 2012 Lester E. Levey Award Winner, Hebert went on to play four years of basketball at the University of New Haven, and played professional basketball in England. This year’s special inductees were members the 1979 Cape Ann League Champion football team. The ‘79 Hornets finished with a record of 8-0-1 and were Division 3 Super Bowl Finalists.
