Frank Speziale Photo

BINGHAMTON – Chenango County is home to many standouts in the sports world and a few of the greats were inducted into the Section IV Hall of Fame this past weekend.
The Induction ceremony was held on Saturday, March 4, between the two Section IV basketball championship games that were being played that day at the Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena.
The following is what the Section IV Athletic Council provided for information on all of the 23 individuals who
were inducted – these ath- letes, coaches, official's, and sportswriters come from various places around the section.

Athletes – Courtney Adam (Davenport), Gavin Backus (Gilbertsville/Mt. Upton), Sara Chrystie – Locke) (Oxford), Stefanie Collins (Odessa-Montour), Ashley Constantine (Begeal) (Binghamton), Jason Houghtaling (Windsor), Molly Huddle (Elmira Notre Dame), Lindsay Kimmel (Harpursville), Aaron Klumpp (Windsor), Lindsay Knapp (Elmira Notre Dame), Patrick Manuel (Elmira Notre Dame), Bob Mastro (Union-Endicott), Jay McIntyre (Whitney Point), Erik Scrivener (Edmeston), Megan Shay (Gassman) (Candor), Mary Velan (Stamford), Jim Wright (Hancock).
Coaches – John Pluta (Norwich/Harpursville), Tom Sherwood (Stamford).
Coach/Contributor – Lee Schaeffer (Unatego/Section IV).
Contributors – Bert Beames (Official), Marilyn Ballard (Delaware League/Section IV), Tom Coddington (Sports Editor).

Courtney Adam
Courtney was an exceptional athlete at Charlotte Valley excelling in soccer, basketball, and softball.
Although small in stature, she was big in performance. In her four years of playing soccer she earned both league and state all-star selections. On the field she led the team with 77 career varsity goals and 32 assists and helped secure the Class D Section IV title in 2004. Her tenacious style of play on the basketball court both offensively and defensively helped earn her 1,463 career points, despite being the focus of many defenses, and 396 career steals.

Gavin Backus
Gavin Backus is a 2001 graduate of Gilbertsville-Mt. Upton (Tri-Valley League). Backus was a three sport star and earned 11 varsity letters. He is best known for his deadly 3-point accuracy. He is still the Chenango County record holder for career three-pointers with 189.
Gavin was a high scoring soccer forward and was a 3- time league all-star. He scored the lone goal in a 1-0 defeat of rival Laurens in the 2000 league title game to give the Raiders their 1st TVL soccer title in school history. He scored 33 goals his senior year and led G- MU to the Sectional Semifinals.
Backus is best remem- bered for his abilities on the basketball court. He is the all-time leading scorer in G- MU history with 1,435 points and led his team to the 2001 TVL title with a win over Milford. He was twice named to the NYS Class-D All-State 5th team. Backus nailed 70 three- pointers in his senior season and averaged 24 ppg and 10 RPG.
Gavin was also a tremen- dous Baseball player. The Raiders won their first league title in school history in 1999 and advanced to the Section IV Class-D Baseball finals in 1999 and 2000. Backus had a .350 career batting average and was named a league all-star 3 times.
An amazing career for one of the best athletes that has ever walked the halls at G-MU.

Sara Chrystie (Locke)
Sara Chrystie was a gifted athlete at Oxford Academy whose team and individual achievements compare to the best in Section IV history.
Her 12 varsity letters include competing in track as an 8th grader and winning the Section IV Class C/D long jump championship. That same year she started her five-year varsity field hockey career with 14 goals, contributing to Oxfords Section IV championship in 2001. This was just the beginning of outstanding multi-sport career.
In Field Hockey Sara would go on to score 152 goals, 2nd in Section IV history at the time of her gradu- ation. Twice she scored 7 goals in a game, tying a New York State record. Despite her goal scoring abilities Sara was also considered a very unselfish player contributing 43 assists in her career, which put her in 5th, place overall at the end of her career.
Sara's true love was bas- ketball. In her five-year
career she scored 1840 points, had over 500 rebounds, 400 assists and steals, and 170 blocked shots. She was named all- state three times and was a three year MVP in the Midstate Athletic Conference. These accom- plishments helped Sara lead her teams to two overall MAC championships, a Class D state final four appearance in 2003 and a return to the Section IV championship as a senior in 2006.
Today, Sara is a teacher in Norwich and has two chil- dren with her husband, Tom Locke.

Stefanie Collins
Stefanie played basketball, cross country, and track at 0-M and graduated in 2001 as the Section IV all-time leading scorer in girls' basketball with 2,204 points. She led 0-M to the 2001 NYSPHSAA Class D state championship and was named the NYS Class D player of the year, scoring 811 points her senior season which is still the Section IV single-season record. Stefanie was a 4-time Interscholastic Athletic Conference division MVPand a 3-time all-state team selection and remains the all-time leading scorer in 0- M school history.
She went on to play basketball at St. Bonaventure, where she was the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year in 2002 and scored over 1,000 points. Stefanie still plays professionally today in Great Britain and was the starting point guard for Team GB in the 2012 London Olympic Games. She currently holds the record for most international games played in Great Britain history.
three STAC championships and four Class A sectional titles. She won three Class A sectional singles titles and qualified for five state sin- gles tournaments. Upon graduation, she was granted a full four year Division One tennis scholarship to West Virginia University.
While at WVU she let- tered all four years, won a singles and doubles title at the Martha Thorn Invitational Tournament and participated in four Big East Championships. She was selected to the All Big East Academic team each of her four years.
Ashley graduated Summa Cum Laude with a bachelors and master's degree in Elementary and Special Education. She is currently a special education teacher at Chenango Forks Elementary School.
Ashley resides in Vestal with her husband Brady and daughter BriceAnne.

Lawrence 'Larry' Hinkle
Larry Hinkle, 1972 Cortland High School graduate, excelled in several sports during his high school career but it was wrestling where is he became a standout athlete. Hinkle wrestled under the tutelage of National Wrestling Hall of Fame coach, Gary Dillingham. In 1972 Larry had a breakout season winning the Southern Tier Athletic Conference crown, the Section IV Class A championship and garnering the Most Outstanding Wrestlers Award at the tournament. He later went on and secured the Section IV Championship and finished up his high school career with a 2nd place finish at the New York State Championships in Syracuse.
Ensuing the state championships, Larry was crowned as the champion at the Corning Open (high school division) and also earned the Most Outstanding Wrestlers Award. Following his graduation from Cortland, Larry joined the Air Force and won
the A AU Junior World District (Boston) Freestyle Championship at the 198 pounds weight class.
Following the Air Force, Larry enrolled at Tompkins Community College where he served as the captain and received the Team's Most Valuable Wrestler's Award. He later became the coach of the college's team and received the 1993 Region Ill Wrestling Coach of the Year Award. Furthermore, at Tompkins, Hinkle coached many All Region Ill wrestlers and produced six Region Ill Champions three of whom eventually became NJCAA All American. In addition, he coached high school wrestling at Dryden where he would later become the Assistant Principal and Middle School Principal. The highlight of his high school coaching experience was being hon- ored with the Interscholastic Athletic Conference Wrestling Coach of the Year in 1996.
Larry has also been hon-
ored by being inducted into the TC3 Panther Hall of Fame (1999}, the Cortland High School Wrestling Hall of Fame (2008) and collected the TC3 Distinguished Alumni Association Award in 2008.
He has authored two books on youth coaching- "Pursuing Excellence in Youth Coaching, A Pathway to Success" and "Pursuing Excellence in Youth Coaching: An Orientation and Training." Larry's athletic and professional career is an inspirational and motivational tribute to the youth of Section IV.

Jason Houghtaling
Jason Houghtaling, a Windsor High School alumnus, Class of 1999, was a hardworking and gifted 3 sport athlete. He earned 9 varsity letters, 3 each in football, basketball and baseball.
In baseball, he was a 3- time All Susquenango All Star as an outfielder and 3rd baseman. His three-year batting average was .414 with 17 doubles, 7 home runs, and 80 RBI's. His 5 home runs as a junior is still a tie for most in a season on the school's All Time Records. He started all 3 years for teams with a record of 49 and 23. The teams were 2nd in the Sus. West 3 consecu- tive years and lost in the semifinals of Class "B" in 1997 and 1999.
As a 3-year starting bas- ketball forward, Jason's team was a combined 45 and 21 with two Sus. West Championships, two Windsor Invitation Tournament Championships, one Susquenango Association, one STOP OWl and one Section IV Class "B" Championship to their cred- it. Jason was WIT All Tourney twice, All Sus. West twice and on the Press & Sun Bulletin All Janik team twice. He scored 507 points, collected 405 rebounds; shout 53% from the floor and 72% from the free throw line in his 3 years. He is also 13th in the school history in total career rebounds.
As a football athlete, Jason is one of Windsor's all-time greats. His 3 teams were a combined 26-6, Division V, Class "B" and Regional Champions in 1996, Class "B" Champions again in 1997 and Division IV Champs in 1998. "Hoss" was a Division All Star all 3 seasons, All Metro line- backer as a junior and senior and All State Class "B" First Team linebacker in 1997 and 1998. He had over 90 season tackles all 3 years, 93, 91, 94 and was also the starting center on offense.
Jason is a 2004 graduate of Binghamton University and is now the Head Football Coach at Wagner College.

Molly Huddle
Molly graduated from Notre Dame as the most decorated runner to ever come from this area. In Cross Country she competed for one season and won Sectional, State and federation Titles. She finished 4th at the Foot Locker National Championships which earned her All-American Honors. In Outdoor Track she dominated in the distance events as she won four State titles and four Federation Titles in the 1500m and 3000m. She is still the NYS record holder in the 3000m with a 9:21. As a junior Molly placed 3rd in both the mile and two mile events at the National Championships to earn All-American in both. As a senior she finished second at the National Championships in the mile and won the two-mile National Title with a record breaking 10:01 time in the process.
In all she won five-State titles, five federation titles, a National Title, and was named All-American five-Times. She was the Gatorade Female Athlete of the Year and the NYS Coaches Association Runner of the Year. Molly also com- peted on the soccer and basketball teams up till her senior year.
Upon graduation Molly attended Notre Dame University on a full athletic scholarship and continued to dominate on the track. 15 times Molly was named All-Big East and was named All-American 10 times which is a school record. Molly grad- uated from Notre Dame with a degree in Biology. She now runs professionally where she has competed in three World Championships and the past two Olympics. In Brazil she finished 6th and shattered the American Record for the 10,000.

Lindsay Kimmel
Lindsay is a 2007 graduate of Harpursville Central School. She was a two sport athlete, playing Field Hockey and Basketball. Lindsay was a three time MidState Athletic Conference MVP, three time New York Sports Writers Association All State selection, and the Press & Sun Bulletin Basketball player of the year in 2007.
After sustaining a knee injury that sidelined her for 15 games her junior year, Lindsay had an outstanding senior season, scoring 30.5 ppg, scoring over 600 points on the year, and leading her team to the Sectional Semifinals. Lindsay is the first male or female basketball player from Broome County to score over 2000 career points. She still holds the record at Harpursville for making 81 3-point shots in her senior year.
After Graduation, Lindsay played basketball for two years at Temple University, and two years at Villanova University.
Lindsay currently resides outside of Philadelphia and is a registered nurse in the Trauma Unit at Temple University Hospital. She is working toward her doctorate in Nurse Practictioning.

Aaron Klumpp
Aaron Klumpp earned an astonishing 10 Varsity letters as a 1999 graduate of Windsor High School.
As a 3-year letterman in baseball, his three teams were 49 and 23. His career batting average was .379 with 14 doubles, 3 triples, 3 home runs and 57 RBI's. He also contributed 49 stolen bases. As a pitcher, he was 11 and 4 with 97 2/3 innings pitched, 119 strikeouts and one no hitter vs. Greene in 1997. He was also an All Susquenango West All Star all three years as an outfield- er, then shortstop.
His 3-year football career, where he was the starting QB, resulted in 26 wins and 6 defeats, three Division, two Section IV Class "B" and one Regional Championship. Aaron was an All Division All Star QB all three seasons, a Press & Sun Bulletin Athlete of the Week and the All-Metro QB as a senior in 1998. He is 4th all-time in pass completions with 99 for 203, 11 for 222 and 82 for 144 for an incred- ible 4,574 yds. and 38 touch- downs. He was also the punter and place kicker.
As a 4-year basketball letterman, his teams were a combined 57 and 32 with two WIT, 2 Sus. West, one Sus. Association, one STOP OWl and one Section IV Class "B" Championship. Aaron was All Sus. West as a sophomore,Sus.WestMVP as a junior and senior, All Tourney, then MVP of the WIT as a junior and senior, MVP of the STOP OWl and All Metro his final two years. He is 1st all-time in career assists with 284, 2nd in career scoring with 1,569 points and 6th in career rebounds with 528. His four-year combined 3-point shooting was 120 for 265 at 45%. He averaged 10.2 points as a freshman, 15.1 as a sophomore, 23.9 as a jun- ior and 21.1 as a senior (17.6 as a career).
Aaron is a 2003 graduate of Cornell University.

Lindsay Knapp
Lindsay earned 10 varsity letters at NO competing in soccer, Indoor track, and softball. Lindsay was a member of the 2003 NYS Championship soccer team and was a sectional place-winner on the indoor track team. As a member of the softball team, Lindsay was a standout pitcher. Notre Dame won 4 lAC titles and four-section four titles during Lindsay's career. The team was ranked top five in NYS all four years she played. She was a 4-year varsity starter who was

Ashley Constantine
As an eleven year old seventh grader, Ashley Constantine secured the number one singles position for Binghamton High girls' varsity tennis team. A position that she held during her entire six year varsity career. Ashley helped and led her team to five divisional titles named All-lAC three-times and was twice named All-State. She was a 2004 1st Team All-State pick and was also named to the 2nd Team USA-All-East Regional Team. She is the school
record holder with seven career no-hitters, four no-hitters in a season, 236 strikeouts in a season and a career 0.69 ERA. As a senior her ERA was 0.39 and she had a record of 21-3. She was also an outstanding hitter who batted cleanup and had a .412 batting
average with 40 hits, 32 RBI's and four home runs her senior year.
Lindsay continued her softball career at Franklin Pierce College and Mansfield University where she was named team MVP at both colleges. Elementary
She received her Education degree from Mansfield.

Patrick Manuel
Pat was an outstanding three sport athlete who earned 10 varsity letters competing in Football, Basketball, and Lacrosse. In foot- ball Pat was a 4-year varsity player who earned All-League honors 3-Times. He was twice a Star- Gazette All-Twin Tiers selection, and in his senior year he was named All-State and was awarded the Ernie Davis Award which recognizes the best football player in Elmira. He is still second All-Time in single season TD passes (16), career TD passes (37), and career passing yards (3,054).
In basketball Pat was named 1st Team All-lAC twice.
In Lacrosse Pat was twice named 1st Team All-League, and he graduated as the All-Time Points Leader. As a senior Pat was named Team Captain and Team MVP for all three sports. His senior year Pat was named 2002 Notre Dame Male Athlete of the Year and he was the Joel Stephens Five "C" Award winner. Upon graduation Pat attended the University of Rochester where he played football. He was a 5-time rookie of the week and was named the Conference rookie of the Year. He was named All- League as a quarterback and set the single season Passing (1,979 yds.) and Total Yards (2,146) records. His 15 TD Passes are 2nd highest ever in a season.
Pat graduated in 2006 with an Economics degree.

Robert 'Bob' Mastro
Bob was the dynamic floor leader for U-E's dominant basketball teams from 1976-79. During his three years as a starter, Mastro established school assist records for one season as well as for a career while sparking the Tigers to three division, two Southern Tier Athletic Conference, and three Section IV boys' basketball championships.
He was a very responsible, coachable player, who was well respected by his teammates, and highly regarded by the coaching staff. He was a talented individual whose strong defensive skills and leadership abilities contributed to his successful basketball career at Union Endicott High School.
Bob Mastro, UE's unsung main man, was a three year starter. His 100 assists trail only Tom Buiocchi (125 IN 1975-1976) and last year's co-captain Mark Hillis (110). The 6'1" (Hayes) also dom- inated with 39 steals and was third with 75 rebounds and 11 blocked shots. Furthermore, Mastro generally drew a tough defensive assignment and was UE's chief ball handler.
Starting point guard on a team that won three division championships, two STAC champi- onships, three sectional champi- onships, and one final four appearance in 1979. He is the Union Endicott assist leader with 336 career assists. Bob was selected as the Press and Sun- Bulletin athlete of the week and the top defender in the league three straight years.
He also earned All Division and All STAC honors for his unselfish play. He was a team leader, a scorer, and a rebounder, but most of all, a distributor to open teammates.
He continued his basketball career as a two year starter at Broome Community College under legendary coach Dick Baldwin. Leading the team to the NCJAA regionals for two years running. He then finished his career playing at division one Utica College.
Jay McIntyre
Jay Mcintyre was an outstand- ing athlete at Whitney Point Central School who led his high school Eagles to two Section IV basketball championships.
The 1971 team was selected by the New York Sports Writers Association as the New York State Small School Champions. This was before state playoffs were possible. The team was presented the small school championship trophy in Albany along with the large school winners from Mount Vernon.
Jay was the point guard posi- tion player and directed his team during the season. The Eagles tied with Windsor during the regular season with each winning on the opponent's court. The play-off game was between the two teams rated one and two during the reg- ular season by the NYSSWA. The 1971 play-off game was played at the West Gym of Harpur College. A full house saw Whitney Point win 83-66.
Jay showed many of the same leadership traits on the baseball field as a shortstop. He helped lead a very young team to a Sus Divisional Championship with outstanding defense, situational hitting, and a spark of loyalty to a previously struggling program.

Erik Scrivener
Erik lettered two years in UV/Edmeston football. He was 1st Team Defensive Back, Section IV, and Division IX in his sophomore year.
Erik lettered two years in basketball and averaged around 15 points per game. He was selected to the Tri-Valley 1st team his senior year.
Erik lettered four years in baseball. He hit .440, .407 and .522. He had eight home runs on base percentage of .652 and an out- standing slugging percentage of 1.010 his senior year. He was a Tri-Valley 1st Team in 2003 and 2004. He was selected Daily Star Co-Player of the year and 1st Team All State Class "D" in 2004. He only had one error in 25 games at 1st base.
Megan Shay (Gassman)
Megan was a five year varsity basketball starter from 2001- 2005, she lead Candor to 2 lAC Small Division Championships and one overall lAC Championship. In 2004 she led her team to its only Section IV Championship.
Megan was a four time lAC Small Division All-Star and was selected twice to the Binghamton Press & Sun All Region team. In 2005 Megan was a 1st team All- State selection and NYS Class "C" Player of the Year. Her career points were an astonishing 2,205, which is 3rd in Section IV girls basketball All Time Leading Scorers.
In volleyball, her team was Section IV Class "D" Champions and NYSPHSAA Class "D" Champions both in 2002 and 2003 and Section IV Class "C" Champions and NYSPHSAA Finalists in 2004. Megan was named to the 1st Team All-State for Class "D" in 2002 and 2003. She was named to the 1st Team All-State for Class "C" in 2004 and was her League MVP in 2003 and 2004. Megan was an incredible student-athlete for Candor. She played at a high level of skill and dedication for five years as a varsity in both basketball and volleyball, she dominated the competition, Megan was a force to be reckoned with in both sports.
Megan attended Southern New Hampshire University, played basketball and got her B.S., MBA. She is currently working toward her Ph.D. in International Business and expects to complete the program in 2017.
Mary Velan
Mary graduated from Stamford Central School in 2004, from SUNY Oneonta in 2008. Mary played five years of varsity soccer at Stamford. She was a first team Delaware League All Star all five years. Mary scored 169 career goals, ranked on the NYS web- site. Mary played three years var- sity basketball and was a first team Delaware League All Star her junior and senior years. She ran track her junior and senior years in high school placing 4th and 3rd respectively in the Section IV Class C championship baseball team and was named to the second team all-league. Jim Wright resides in Liverpool NY with his wife Barbara and their three sons: Jim, Patrick and Michael. Jim works for Progressive Insurance Company and a Director.

John Pluta
To be compared to leg- endary Norwich High School football coach Kurt Beyer is an honor, but to actually better his all-time winning percentage is truly remarkable. That, however, is exactly what John Pluta exercised during his 20-year stint as the head grid master for the Tornado.
Taking over as the Norwich leader in 1989, after having assisted Bill Congdon for three falls, Pluta's squads compiled a 119-70-1 log for an impres- sive .630 winning percent- age. Beyer, who coached 28 years (1930-57), posted a winning effort of .625 for his 125-75-9 mark. Like Pluta today, Beyer was inducted into the Section IV Hall of Fame back in 1981.
Over the course of those 20 campaigns under Pluta, Norwich won three Class B crowns in 1992, 1993 and 1999 and eight divisional titles in addition to recording a school-record 20-game winning streak during the 1992 and 1993 seasons. That 1993 outfit, which matched its predecessor of a year before with a 10-1 mark, went as far as a team could venture in capturing a Regional championship with a 28-14 triumph over Section V's Hilton in Rochester- the year before the New York State championship playoffs began.
For his on-the-field suc- cesses, Pluta was named Coach of the Year in 1992 by the Press & Sun-Bulletin
and Section IV, while being tabbed the 1993 Coach of the Year at the 29th annual Binghamton Coaches Clinic.
Norwich's record under Pluta could have been even better when you consider that during the three-year stint between 2003-05 when the Tornado lost eight games, six of those defeats were handed down by Chenango Forks, which won back-to-back state championships in 2003 and 2004 while finishing runner-up in 2005.
Prior to his assistant and subsequent varsity stint at Norwich, Pluta was an assis- tant coach at Harpursville for seven years (1974-80) before taking over the head reins for the Hornets in 1981. He remained there until his move to Norwich in 1986, with Harpursville's record of 5-4 in 1984 being the last winning season for the Hornets until 2012. His combined record at Harpursville and Norwich is 136-97-2 (.584).
Pluta, who was born in Afton and split his high school years between Maine-Endwell and Manlius Military Academy, graduating from the latter in 1970, received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Studies, Elementary and Secondary Education from SUNY Oswego in 1974. He first taught at Harpursville (1974-86) and later at Norwich (1986-2008}, where he earned Norwich City School District Teacher of the Year honors in 2006 for his work as an 11th grade U.S. History teacher. That same year, he was named the Norwich High School Dean of Students.
Besides coaching high school football for 35 years, Pluta also was an assistant track coach at Norwich for 21 seasons. He is presently or has been a member of the American Football Coaches Association, the New York
State High School Football Coaches Association, an assistant coach for the New York/New Jersey Governors' Board and a nationally certified strength and conditioning coach.
Following his retirement, Pluta joined the Morrisville State football coaching staff in the spring of 2009 and remains there today as the Mustangs' defensive line coach.

Tom Sherwood
Tom worked for 33 years at Stamford teaching elementary grade students. While at Stamford he coached modified boys bas- ketball, varsity baseball, var- sity golf and varsity girls' basketball. He started coach- ing the girl's program in the 1987-88 school year.
During his 18 years coaching varsity girls' bas- ketball, his teams went to Sectionals 17 out of 18 years. Tom's overall record was 311 wins and 92 losses at Stamford. Tom's team won nine Delaware League titles, seven Crossover titles, six Section IV Championships, two Regional wins and has three NYSPHSAA Final Four appearances.
Tom was named Oneonta Daily Star Coach of the Year four times (1990, 1993, 1994 and 2000) and the Binghamton Press All-Metro Coach of the Year in 1995. Tom was inducted into the Delaware League Coaches Hall of Fame in 2005.

Lee Schaeffer
Lee was the Varsity Cross Country Coach at Unatego from 1971 to 2010 (the pro- gram was cut due to a lack of numbers) for a total of 40 years. He is currently in his 3rd year as the Coach at Unadilla Valley (2014 to present). In his first 19 years as Coach at Unatego, Lee had one or more runners qualify for the state meet.
He had two boys' teams (1975 and 1984) and one girls team (1984) win Section IV Championships. Six of his boys won individ- ual Section IV Championships and five placed in the top ten at state championships. lee had one boy, Tim Platt, win a state championship in 1983. Three of his girls won Section IV Championships and three placed in the top ten at state championships.
He has also served Section IV as Cross Country Coordinator for Girls since 1981 (35 years). He has been the Cross Country Coordinator for the Susquenango Association (1978-2000) and Midstate Athletic Conference (2001- present). lee has worked closely with various Boys Cross Country Coordinators to provide knowledge and experience organizing annu- al Section IV championship meets as well as helping Section IV host 4 New York State Public High School Athletic Association championship meets.

Marilyn Ballard
Marilyn began her teaching and coaching career at Stamford Central School in 1976. During her 33 years at Stamford, she taught Physical Education and was the Athletic Director for 25 years. Marilyn coached soccer, basketball, volleyball, cheerleading, softball, track and skiing during her tenure.
During her 17 years of coaching varsity softball, her teams won numerous Upper Delaware league Softball Championships as well as capturing the school's only Section IV, Class D Championship in 1979.
Marilyn was very involved with the Section IV Athletic Council for 23 years. She served as the Delaware league Representative all those years, as well as a stint as the
Section IV Vice-President and a member of many Section IV and Delaware League Committees. Marilyn was also the Delaware league Executive Secretary for 8 years. She was inducted into the Delaware league Coaches Hall of Fame in 2013.

Berton 'Bert' Beames
Bert was an outstanding official in Section IV for both football (44 years) and basketball (14 years). His professionalism, unique sense of humor, character, care and concern for coaches and participants earned the respect, admiration and appreciation by all for his work as a referee. Bert was a President and a VicePresident for the Tri-Valley Football Chapter that served the Oneonta and Norwich areas. Bert also was the Rules Interpreter for this chapter for 25 years. As one of the most respected and most requested football officials by coaches in the Oneonta/Norwich areas, he was selected to work four New York State Public High School Athletic Association Championship games (2009, 2010, 2013 and 2014) in the Referee position (white hat) at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse. His ability to work with others, his knowledge of the rules, his passion for the game, his concern for the safety and sportsmanship of the players and his ability to maintain control of tense moments in a game are note- worthy characteristics that exemplify Bert. His experi- ence, leadership and willingness to help others also allowed him to serve as mentor for younger officials in his chapter.

Thomas 'Tom' Coddington
A longtime resident of Andes, NY and graduate of Andes Central School, Tom Coddington began his newspaper career in 1964 for his Hartwick College school paper and continued this venture while serving from 1966-1970 in the US Army by writing for the "Bankok Bolt", his unit's military paper. But what got him unanimously voted into the Section IV Hall of Fame was his dogged and tireless reporting for "The Walton Reporter," first as a local news reporter but more impressively as their Sports Editor for more than 40 years.
Mentored by former "Reporter" legend AI Peake, Tom's coverage area went from Bainbridge, Sidney, Unadilla on the west; Jefferson, Hunter Tannersville to the north and east; and Roscoe, Livingston Manner, Hancock, Deposit to the south and all schools and areas in between- an area sprawling larger than the State of Rhode Island. Being sports editor for the weekly "Reporter" demand- ed working 60-70 hours a week and traveling over 300 miles. His weekly "Cod's Corner", a lively and in- depth column featuring coaches and athletes as well as his own keen observations of local and State sports was required reading for all the local sports enthusiasts who received and faithfully read the "Reporter".
Tom routinely covered all sports in the Delaware League, as well as schools in his coverage area in the old SUS league (now the MAC), Tri Valley (Franklin), and the two schools in the Sullivan County League. Although he fiercely covered all seasonal sports, he paid special attention to the football rivalries between Walton, Delhi, Sidney, Unatego, and B-G and followed them and others- like Deposit softball, Stamford soccer and South Kortright basketball teams - as they made runs in Sectional, Intersectional, and State play.
Jim Adair, Delaware Executive Secretary, sums up Tom's reporting this way ... "with all the events going on in his coverage area in the same week such as games, parades, homecoming, pep rallies - his articles truly showed what high school sports were about. His articles featured the mutual respect and admiration between schools and coaches, teams and fans."
Tom was able to capture that ‘big game’ feeling in small town American schools and pass that on to his readers. He also took the time to feature and acknowledge local New York State Scholar Athlete Program awards in schools throughout his coverage area each season. His love of baseball was highlighted by his undying support for Legion ball throughout local communities in the area, serving as Chairman for more than 40 years.
As he ascends into the twilight of a magnificent sports reporting career, Tom Coddington will be fondly remembered by many as the guy at the end of the court or in the end zone, or behind the baseball bench with his trusty camera around his neck and note pad in hand- watching, writing, and acknowledging the many athletes and coaches he was privileged to know and cover. As a long time Contributor to Section IV Athletics, we welcome Tom's admittance to the Section IV Hall of Fame. Great career Tom.

– Submitted by the Section IV Athletic Council