NBHS Athletic Hall of Fame to Induct 11 in 2012

On July 22, 2012, the Athletic Hall of Fame will sponsor an Induction Dinner at Woodwinds in Branford to recognize 11 outstanding individuals who have made significant contributions to the athletic program at the high school either as a coach or an athlete.

The 2012 honorees include Roy Surprenant, Lynn Frione Lennon, Laura Smith, Fred Salvati, Patti Ferraro, Dave DePaul, Karin Kolstad Augur, Kirsten Kolstad McCarthy, Aaron Surprenant, Karen O’Keefe Conaghan and Jamie Kehlenbach. These athletes span from Class of 1969 to Class of 1998.

We hope that the teammates, coaches and fans of these exceptional athletes will attend the dinner to show their appreciation. Ticket information is available online.

Roy Surprenant, Class of 1969
Roy played football, basketball and ran track. Since North Branford was not a member of any conference, Roy was not able to be recognized as an All-Conference player, but he did received the Savitt Sportsmanship Award and he played in the Nutmeg Bowl, which his team won 28-6.

He also earned three varsity letters as a member of the track team. He was a sprinter who took second place in the 440-yard dash at states. Roy was also part of the 4x400 relay team that finished second at the state track meet.  

Lynn Frione Lennon, Class of 1973
Lynn was a Steve Lenzi Award-winner. She excelled at and won four varsity letters in both basketball and softball. As a basketball player, Lynn was selected as the captain and due to her leadership, skills, and competitive attitude she was the team MVP. When she played softball, Lynn was a pitcher and first baseman.

But during her career, she displayed a vast variety of skills that her coaches recognized and had confidence that she could play any position on the field which she did do for the benefit of the team. Unfortunately, Lynn played before there were any postseason awards for girls for All-Conference or All-State.

Laura Smith, Volleyball coach
Laura was a pioneer among girls' coaches. Coach Smith took the initiative to start and then develop the volleyball program at NBHS beginning in 1974, winning Shoreline Conference titles in 1978 and 1979.

The skills and strategies that were instilled helped the future teams maintain the winning attitude and even though Coach Smith joined the business world, her successive teams won the SLC titles in1980, 1982 and 1983.  

Fred Salvati, football coach from 1974 until 1980
Fred's 1979 team was undefeated and won the first state championship in football at North Branford. The Championship team was ranked No. 1 in Connecticut for scoring (averaged 47 PPG) and ranked No. 2 for defense (allowing only 5 PPG).

The following year, the team posted a record of 9-1. They were still impressive since they were again ranked No. 1 in Connecticut in scoring (30.6 PPG). Coach Salvati’s teams were recognized by CIAC for Merit Wards five times.

Profiles on the remaining eight inductees will be featured in the coming days. .