Five outstanding Maine student athletes will receive $5000 scholarships from the Maine Sports Hall of Fame. This year’s recipients include Emma Charles of Mount Blue High School, a Nordic skier who has dominated her sport; Sydney Gallop of Hermon a two-time All American soccer player; Thomas Horton of Bonny Eagle, a football player who won Maine’s top awards as a two-way lineman; Maddie Strouse who led Scarborough to the state volleyball championship and Trevor Wozny of Marshwood High who played three sports.

Masthead Maine and the Maine Sports Hall of Fame will present a panel discussion commemorating the 50th Anniversary of Title IX. Panelists include University of Maine Basketball Coach Amy Vachon, University of New England Athletic Director Heather Davis, and Lisa Blais Manning who won a national championship as a player at Old Dominion. The event will take place on Wednesday, May 18th from 7:00-8:00 P.M.

The Maine Sports Hall of Fame is proud to announce its 2022 class. All 12 will be honored on October 30, 2022, at the Merrill Auditorium in Portland.

“As chair of the Maine Sports Hall of Fame board, it gives me great pride to welcome an amazing and diverse new class,” said Brian Corcoran. “These inductees represent the best of the best and share our commitment to a better Maine through sport.”

“It’s a struggle for the committee every year,” said MSHOF Executive Director Bill Green. “There are many, many qualified people and it is agonizing to pick just ten, which is why we chose twelve.”

This year’s induction ceremony will be held at Portland’s Merrill Auditorium on October 30. Tickets will go on sale June 1 at mshof.com/tickets.

The 2022 inductees in alphabetical order are:

Ron Cote played football, basketball and baseball at St. Louis High School in Biddeford. He was All-State in football and basketball and an honorable mention All-Telegram League baseball player. He went on to play quarterback at Maine for three seasons. He was a highly successful basketball coach who amassed 350 victories mostly with Biddeford boys and girls teams as well as at the University of New England. He has been named coach of the year six times and the SMAA Girls’ Basketball Coach of the Year Award is named in his honor.

Michael DeVito played 110 games at defensive end over nine seasons for the Kansas City Chiefs and New York Jets. He starred at the University of Maine where he was a captain, Defensive Player of the Year and was twice named All-Atlantic 10. Michael lived in the Bangor area for most of his NFL career and remains involved with football as a commentator, podcaster and clinician. He annually works with area youth, takes part in many charitable causes and works with defensive players during spring ball at Maine. Michael and his wife Jessie have three sons and live in Hampden. He is currently working on his PhD in Philosophy at the University of Birmingham in England.

Clare Egan is a two-time Olympic biathlete who has represented the United States on the World Cup tour for six seasons. She was the fourth fastest woman in the Beijing Olympics inaugural biathlon event, the Mixed-Relay in which the U. S. had its highest finish ever. Her Nordic career began at Cape Elizabeth High School where she won states and twice made the New England Junior National Team. At Wellesley College, she ran cross-country and track, started a ski team and was The Blue’s first All-American in track. She continued all three sports during a year of graduate study at UNH. She is fluent in five languages and conversant in two others. She was chair of the International Biathlon Union Athletes’ Committee and has taken strong stances against steroid use.

Ryan Flaherty played three sports at Deering High School, leading his teams to state championships in football and baseball. His Nova American Legion baseball team won the National Championship in 2004. He went on to Vanderbilt where he played shortstop for four seasons and was named to two All-America teams. Selected in the first round by the Chicago Cubs, he would go on to play nine Major League seasons, mostly with the Orioles. He was a valuable utility player at the Major League level, playing every position except catcher. He and wife Ashley have two children. Ryan is an advance scout and development coach for the San Diego Padres.

Christy Gardner participated in field hockey, soccer and basketball as well as track and field at Edward Little High School. She attended Long Island University on a track scholarship before joining the U.S. Army. In 2006, she sustained injuries which resulted in her losing both legs. She became one of America’s top International Paralympic Committee (IPC) athletes. She was a member of the USA National Sledge Hockey Team and competed in the first International Jamboree. She helped her sledge hockey team to the first International Cup gold medal. She was named 2013 USA Hockey Disabled Athlete of the Year. Christy also won Paralympic trials in shot put and discus in 2018.

Mikey LeBlanc chose the road less traveled and has become a living legend in the sport of snowboarding. After growing up in Topsham and the mountains of Maine, he moved west and became a top global performer for 17 years. He is known for pioneering skateboard-style snowboarding, bringing the sport to urban settings, and for pushing the boundaries of big mountain backcountry freestyle maneuvers. He was named a “Mountain GOAT” by Snowboarder Magazine, the Outstanding Rider of the Year by Transworld Snowboarding and was featured as a character in the launch edition of the X-Box Snowboarding game. He is an award-winning filmmaker and featured performer, who has also impacted mountain sports through his eco-conscious clothing company Holden Outerwear, which he founded nearly two decades ago.

Lori McPherson becomes the first person honored by MSHOF in the sport of cheerleading. She is known as a driving force which changed cheering from an activity to a highly competitive sport. She became coach at Marshwood in 1987 and began building a powerhouse while helping many other teams and establishing herself as the leader in this rapidly evolving sport. Her high school teams won six regional and five state championships. She was named Maine Coach of the Year twice. Her Maine Stars Gym produced three National Champions and a World Championship team. Lori lives in Wells and has two grown children.

Hank Pfeifle’s family owned the Sugarloaf Inn so he literally grew up on the mountain as a ski racer. He earned four varsity letters at Phillips Andover and the University of Vermont. He took up cross-country running his senior year of college and earned team MVP honors, setting several course records. Upon graduation, he returned to Maine and embarked on a world class cross-country career. He won 19 races in Maine, had dozens of top-ten finishes in national events, qualified for two Olympic trials and posted the fastest time ever by a Mainer in the Boston Marathon. In 1991, at age 40, he turned to biking, quickly advanced to the top category and won an age-group world championship and two national titles. Hank and his wife Beth have been married for 49 years and have three grown children.

Adrienne Shibles of Knox was a star at Mt. View High School. She went on to Bates where she was a two-time captain and 1000-point scorer. She then began a remarkable coaching career. She took a 7-17 Swarthmore team and turned it into a Centennial Conference Championship team in just four years. Adrienne is best known for her success at Bowdoin where she compiled a 281-65 record over 12 seasons, winning two NESCAC titles. She took the Polar Bears to 11 NCAA Tournaments and made it to the finals twice. Her 2020 Bears were 27-2 when their national championship bid was halted by COVID-19. In 2021, she began the process of rebuilding the Dartmouth Women’s Basketball program. She and husband Kirk Daulerio have two children, Madeline and Elsa.

Emily Caras Snyder was one of the finest swimmers to come out of Maine and Cornell University. She was setting short course records by the time she reached the age of 10, and 34 of those records still stand. At Cape Elizabeth High School, she set five state records, won multiple titles, and was named to the All-State and NISCA All-America Teams. She captained Cornell Women’s Swimming & Diving, set four school records and wrapped up her career with four personal bests in her final meet. She was awarded Cornell’s Achievement and Leadership Award, and was a member of the 400 Club (varsity athletes who achieve a 4.0 GPA) and the Student Athlete Advisory Council. Emily died of sudden cardiac arrest at the age of 33 on September 17, 2020. She is survived by her husband Charley and their two-year-old twin daughters Olivia and Caroline.

Diana Walker is retiring after coaching Sanford Field Hockey for 39 years. She amassed nearly 400 victories while winning four regional titles and two state championships. She is highly regarded for the contributions she made to her students’ development. Her teams won four Regional Championships and two State Championships. From 1999 to 2001, her teams won 50 straight games. She is beloved in her community for her coaching and her physical education teaching.

Rod Wotton passed away in November of 2021 having won 16 state championships in four classes at Marshwood High, where he compiled a 220-33-3 record. In one stretch, the Hawks won 45 consecutive games. He left Marshwood for St. Thomas Aquinas (Dover, NH) in 1992 and retired as the winningest football coach in New England history with 342 victories. He was voted Maine’s Greatest High School Football Coach in an on-line poll held by the Bangor Daily News. He was a loving family man and is survived by Norma his wife of sixty years, three children and seven grandchildren.

Maine Sports Hall of Fame is accepting applications for five $5,000 scholarships which will be awarded to Maine high school seniors in June. The scholarships are based on athletic performance, academic excellence and community service. Students can apply by using this link and filling out the form. Applications are due by April 4th with winners announced on the 1st of June.