On November 4, eleven former athletes and two honorees will be inducted into the King Philip Athletic Hall of Fame. The event, to be held at Lake Pearl Luciano’s, celebrates the achievements of the inductees and recognizes their contributions to the school’s athletic department.
This will be the sixth class to be inducted into KP’s Hall of Fame.
Bill Rice, a former King Philip Middle School principal and KP High School athletic director, served on the first Hall of Fame committee in 2005, and helped put together the bylaws and determine the selection process for the inductees. That first committee consisted of coaches, former athletes, community representatives, and then-school superintendent Dick Robbat.
According to Rice, the committee met for two years to work on the criteria for the Hall of Fame before inducting the first class in 2007.
“We wanted to make sure that if we were going to do it, we were going to do it right,” explained Rice, who said the committee decided that program contributors, not just athletes, should be honored too. These folks, said Rice, despite being behind-the-scenes, are a big part of the athletic program too. The first class included Lenny Thornhill, the KP bus driver who was responsible for driving the athletes to away-games for over 40 years.
Rice has seen KP athletics grow from just a few sports to the strong program it is today.
“The success of the programs over the last 10 to 15 years has just been unbelievable,” said Rice. “But King Philip has produced a lot of very, very good athletes over the years, both male and female. These are not just great athletes, they are great people. It just speaks volumes as to what King Philip has been producing for a very long time.”
Rice, who says he “went to KP 100 years ago,” was inducted himself in 2008, along with his daughter. Rice played football, basketball, baseball, and later coached those sports at the high school. The William A. Rice Recreational Complex in Wrentham is named after Rice, who also served as the town’s recreation director.
Rice is no longer officially on the selection committee, but serves as Master of Ceremonies for the event. The night, he says, “is as King Philip as you can be,” with old friends, former inductees, family members and coaches returning to honor the new class and celebrate past accomplishments and the long-standing athletic tradition at the school.
“To me, it’s what KP athletics are all about,” said Rice.
Here are the 2017 KP Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees:
Allison Cuozzo (2006)—Cuozzo played soccer and lacrosse, and ran indoor track, earning 12 varsity letters and numerous awards, including Boston Globe All-Scholastic honors in track. While a sophomore, Cuozzo won the Division 3 and All-State titles in the 600-meter run. She continued on to Union College, where she was named All-American in both soccer and track.
Andrea Hurley Robinson (1996)—Robinson played soccer and ran track at KP, and captained three sports her senior year. She was the Hockomock League champion in the 1,000 meter run several times, and was a member of the 4 x 800 relay team that qualified for the national championship meet. After collecting numerous awards, including Hockomock League All-Star four times, Robinson went on to play soccer at Bryant College, where she was a captain.
Dennis Lavallee (Contributor)—Known as “D-Lo” to legions of KP students, Lavallee has been the school’s Faculty Manager of Athletics since 1983 and, some would say, the athletic program’s number one fan. Ticket manager for all MIAA tournament games and an assistant to each athletic director, Lavallee has been the unsung hero of the athletic department and a constant presence at KP athletic events.
Henry Phelan (1975)—A cross country and track standout at KP, Phelan was a Hockomock All-Star several times. He won the league championship his senior year in the 2-mile, and rewrote the record book in the mile. Phelan continued on to Keene State, where he was an All-American cross-country runner. Later, he went on to coach at the Bromfield School and Lincoln-Sudbury High School, producing numerous state champions and teams. He is now an assistant coach at Towson University.
Jack Dwyer (Contributor)—Dwyer established the tennis program at KP, and set the foundation for the team’s success today. In his 34 years of coaching at KP, Dwyer set the standard for tennis coaches in the league, and served as a mentor for the coaches that followed him. Known for his sportsmanship, he embodied dignity on and off the tennis court, and instilled those qualities in his teams.
Jim Weir (1989)—Excelling in both football and baseball, Weir won many Hockomock All-Star and Sun Chronicle All-star awards, and was named the Boston Globe’s Player of the Week his senior year during football season. After garnering Team MVP and Offensive Player of the Year his senior season of baseball, Weir continued on to be the starting quarterback for the University of New Haven.
Joe DeStefano (1992)—One of the most accomplished wrestlers in KP history, DeStefano was the South Sectional Champion both his junior and senior years, as well as the 1992 Massachusetts State Champion. A three-sport athlete, DeStefano also played football and baseball at KP before continuing his wrestling career at Springfield College.
John G. Robbins (1972)—The first 100-point scorer in KP hockey history, Robbins collected four varsity letters and awards while leading the league in scoring his junior and senior years. Robbins also played baseball and football at KP, and was recognized for his academic accomplishments by being elected to represent the North American Legion at Boys’ State his senior year.
Julie Anne Pasquantonio Boudreau (2005)—As a member of the first KP girls lacrosse team, Pasquantonio helped define the program’s success by leading the team to league titles while accumulating awards for her contributions. Also a member of the girls soccer and field hockey teams, Pasquantonio went on to play lacrosse at UMass-Amherst. She is now the girls lacrosse coach at KP.
Kaitlin Lamothe-Vaughn (2005)—A member of the 2001 Division 2 State Champion soccer team, Lamothe-Vaughn collected awards and recognition for her soccer success, including Boston Globe and Boston Herald All-Scholastic awards. She also played basketball and ran track at KP, serving as captain of both sports while setting records and winning more awards. The accolades and awards followed Lamothe-Vaughn when she moved on to play soccer at Syracuse University and then Bridgewater State University.
W. Lawrence Enegren (1975)—A senior captain in football and basketball, Enegren also played baseball at KP, and in his spare time served as class president. He earned Hockomock League All-Star honors as a linebacker, and went on to Suffield Academy and Bowdoin College, earning more awards before returning to KP in 1980 as the freshmen football coach.
Sarah Mick Sullivan (1989)—A tennis and basketball captain, Sullivan helped the basketball team qualify for the state tournament her senior year. On the tennis court, Sullivan collected numerous awards for her racquet skills, and won the Hockomock League Singles Tournament both junior and senior years. She went on to play tennis at Holy Cross.
Stacy Latham Godby (1988)—As a member of the field hockey and indoor and outdoor track teams, Godby excelled at racking up points. Her achievements included leading scorer all four years in field hockey, as well as league champion in the 50-meter dash (indoor track), 200 and 400-meter dashes (outdoor track), and the triple-jump (outdoor track). Along with Hockomock League honors, she was named the teams’ MVP in all three sports her senior year.
Issue Date:
November, 2017
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