RAC seeks Riverhead Hall of Fame nominations

The Riverhead Athletic Club is seeking nominations as they begin a new Hall of Fame to honor former athletes, coaches and others in the district that have significantly impacted and instill pride in the athletic programs at Riverhead.

Although there was a Hall of Fame for student athletes and coaches at Riverhead High School for quite some time sponsored by the athletic department, the tradition fizzled out some 20 years ago, according to Riverhead Athletic Club president Quinn Alexander. 

“For whatever reason, it wasn’t continued, and we don’t really know the details about that,” Ms. Alexander said. “Creating a new Hall of Fame is something that we had talked about as an organization going way, way back in the throes of getting going. Tradition is something that is important when it comes to the Blue Waves athletic teams. We need to recognize all those that came through the program and left a significant imprint. It’s a tradition we want to become longstanding.”

Any candidate nominated must fit certain criteria in order to be considered. They must convey the essence of what it means to be a Riverhead athlete while also representing the best qualities of what makes Riverhead athletics special. Additionally, candidates must have also gone above and beyond normal expectations to contribute to the legacy of sports programs and have left them better than when they found them. 

In the athlete category, a nominee must have attended Riverhead schools for a minimum of three years, graduated from Riverhead and be a minimum of five years out of high school. A candidate would also need to have significant accomplishments both during and beyond high school. 

For a nominee to be considered in the coach and athletic administrator category, they must have made outstanding contributions to the athletes and programs in Riverhead School District as well as significant accomplishment while leading the program.

In the third and final category, the honorary inductee, the nominee must have made outstanding contributions to the athletes and programs in Riverhead School District and also could not qualify for the other two categories. 

There’s also general criteria that the committee will be considering including whether the candidate participated in varsity-level competitions; if they held leadership roles; the impacts they made on their athletic program; their scholastic abilities; additional awards and/or honors they earned; whether the candidate is a league, county or state record holder; and any post graduate images and achievements they might hold. 

“It’s important for us to acknowledge those who have blazed the trail for Riverhead athletics,” Ms. Alexander said. “We have such a rich tradition at Riverhead, and the Hall of Fame is our way of recognizing those that came before us.”

Based on records, Riverhead’s last Hall of Fame induction ceremony was in 2006. According to a document for the 2006 induction ceremony, here are some of those that have already been recognized:

Myron Nelson Class of 1931, Wesley Harris Class of 1941, Walter Gatz Class of 1952, Stephen K. Ross Class of 1967, Waverly “Skeeter” Atkins Class of 1975, Morton Hochheiser Class of 1941, Frederick Reeve Class of 1941, Kevin Braunskill Class of 1987, Felicia Hobson Class of 1991, Kenneth Ross Retired Superintendent, Coach Walter Stewart Retired 1986, Callie Rhodes Class of 1939, Willie Grodski Class of 1946, Frank Nelson Class of 1957, Don Bartlett Class of 1972, Don Troyan Class of 1972, Bob Burns Class of 1938, Harold Goodale Class of 1941, Jack Burns Class of 1942, Ted Wegert Class of 1951, Jerry Nelson Class of 1960, Lonnie Hughes Class of 1975, Andrea Pekar Class of 1986, Edward Danowski Class of 1930, Michael J. McKillop Class of 1938, Walter Miles Class of 1963, Greg Flippen Class of 1971, Carl Smith Class of 1987, Hildreth Booker Class of 1948, Lynn M. Kobylenski Class of 1971, Colleen Fox Class of 1995, Coach “Tony” Daniello Retired 1992.

“We want to incorporate those that have already been named in the previous Hall of Fame as well,” Ms. Alexander said. “Any information we get from prior Hall of Fame inductees and their families will be very useful as we are having trouble finding everyone that was once inducted.”

The RAC plans to induct four to five individuals every year in what they hope to become an annual tradition. They plan to work with the next Athletic Director to assign a physical location somewhere on the school grounds to showcase the honorees.

Nominations are due by August 10. Email the applications to [email protected]. The first induction is planning to be made at the homecoming football game this upcoming football season.