Sports

Vermont Sports Hall of Fame announces inductees

Eagle Times Staff
The Vermont Sports Hall of Fame Board of Directors announced its 11th group of inductees, its class of 2024. Champions of racetracks and Nordic trails, record-setters in football and the links, top scorers from hoops, ice hockey and soccer, an award-winning broadcaster, the hall’s first lacrosse player and three legendary high school coaches make up the 12 newest inductees of the VSHOF.

The inductees are record-setting football and track athlete, David Ball of Barre and Orange; five-time Vermont Men’s Amateur golf champion Shawn Baker of Brattleboro; state and national cham-pion Nordic skier Andrew Johnson of Greensboro, a two-time Olympian; high school and collegiate ice hockey standout Jim Larkin of Wallingford, also a member of the U.S. Junior National Team; au-to racing champion Kevin Lepage of Shelburne, who competed at NASCAR’s highest level; a wom-en’s soccer star who was all-state in high school and all-region in college, Kristi (Lefebvre) Huizenga of Colchester; Division I women’s lacrosse All-American Alyssa Trudel of Shoreham; Dr. Kim Silloway of St.Johnsbury, a hoops star in the state and then in the ACC; and legendary high school coaches Gail Jette of Middlebury, Donald Maley Sr. of Burlington and Brattleboro’s Andy Natowich. Award-winning sports broadcasting veteran George Commo of Burlington is this year’s Mal Boright Media Inductee.

The class will be formally inducted at the 2024 Vermont Sports Hall of Fame Induction Dinner and Celebration at the Delta Marriott Burlington Hotel on Williston Road in South Burlington on Satur-day, April 27. The evening begins with a reception at 5:30 p.m. and the induction ceremony fol-lows dinner at 6:30 p.m.

Ticket information for the 2024 dinner will be available soon on the VSHOF website at ver-montsportshall.com. Proceeds from the event go to Prevent Child Abuse Vermont, the designated charity of the Vermont Sports Hall of Fame. The past dinners and other fundraisers have raised over $33,000 to support PCAV’s work state-wide.

This year’s class brings the membership in the Vermont Sports Hall of Fame to 130 since its first class was inducted in 2012. The inductees now represent 57 towns in the Green Mountain State and 13 of the state’s 14 counties. The Class of 2024 was selected by three groups: the 15-member VSHOF board of directors, a statewide sports advisory panel and the previous inductees.

Besides honoring those making significant contributions to the state’s sports legacy, the hall is de-signed to help promote and provide inspiration in sports and recreation to the youth of Vermont.

To view previous classes and for more information on the Vermont Sports Hall of Fame, log on to its official website, vermontsportshall.com. For more information on the VSHOF’s designated charity, Prevent Child Abuse Vermont, log on to pcav.org.

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