CHENANGO COUNTY – Norwich graduate Peter Burton was one of three area residents inducted into the Section IV Athletics Hall of Fame, Saturday at the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena.
Shelly Miles (Sleezer) of G-MU, and longtime wrestling official, Carl Koenig, also gained induction.
Burton (NHS class of 1994) earned nine varsity letters for Norwich, three apiece in football, basketball, and baseball. Burton started at tight end for Norwich from 1991-1993 on teams that accrued a 27-4-1 mark. He was a three-time all-division pick, and first team all-state in 1993.
Burton was a three-starter and integral component on Norwich's back-to-back state championship basketball teams (1993-1994). He totaled 756 career points and 490 rebounds on one of Section IV's all-time greatest teams. He was a STAC all-division and all-conference pick, twice an all-Metro selection, fourth team all-state in 1993, and was named to the all-tournament team following the 1993 Class B state title.
In baseball, Burton was a three-time division all-star serving as a pitcher and shortstop. He had a career average of .331, and his coaches described him as a great leader on and off the playing field or court.
Miles (G-MU class of 2002), a three-sport athlete for G-MU in soccer, basketball, and softball, earned numerous honors during her athletics career (1998-2002).
As a four-year starter on the basketball team, Miles scored a school-record 1,397 points. Those numbers included 140 three-pointers, nearly 400 rebounds, 300 steals, and 200 assists. She led her club to one Tri-Valley League championship and a sectional semifinals berth, and a was a five-year member of the Catskill Mountain AAU basketball team.
Miles was also a prolific goal scorer for the soccer team, and helped her club to multiple T-V League titles and one Section IV Class D title.
During her long high school career, Miles was named to The Daily Star, The Evening Sun, and the Tri-Valley League all-stars in three sports. She was a first-team all-state player in soccer and second team all-state in basketball. Additionally, she was the Daily Star's People's Choice Player of the Year, and The Evening Sun's Female Athlete of the Year following her senior year.
Following high school, Miles had successful collegiate careers playing soccer and basketball at Green Mountain College and Hartwick College.
Koenig, a longtime teacher, coach, and administrator at Oxford Academy, made his mark as a Section IV wrestling official, a career he started in 1974. He worked as an official until 2006 when he became the area wrestling assigner. In that role, he assigned all matches at the modified, junior varsity, and varsity levels as well as collegiate matches. He continued to serve as an official before retiring at the end of the 2012 season.
As a member of the South Central Wrestling Officials Association, Koenig served as president and vice president, and was selected to work the prestigious Army-Navy matches on several occasions as a representative of Section IV.
Koenig has also served on the New York State Wrestling Officials Association, worked many section, class, and overall championship, and was named the National Federation Officials Association "Wrestling Official of the Year" in 2000.
Most impressive is Koenig's continued service to Section IV in which he has promoted wrestling in various capacities, served on state panels, and worked as the modified wrestling coordinator since 2000.
Koenig continues to work for the section as its Section IV Tournament director for the class and state-qualifying tournaments. As such, he is responsible for the overall administration of the event. In his nomination, Koenig was lauded for his work ethic, ability to communicate, knowledge, integrity, and dedication to student-athletes in the sport of wrestling. Those attributes are unmatched not only in Section IV, but in New York State.