View inductees by class:
Class of 2010
Gary Waslewski’s yearbook referred to him as “Mr. Baseball,” referring to the sport he played for four years.
Pam Wallace Cavallaro graduated from Berlin High School in 1986 leaving behind a spectacular athletic career.
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Robyn Trevethan Cop graduated from Berlin High School in 1988.
At Berlin High School Phil Tinsley was a three letter man, who graduated in 1949.
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Adam Salina’s athletic accolades began in his Sophomore year when he was selected to the All-Conference and All- State team as a punter.
A native of Newburyport, Mass., Richard Patterson moved to Berlin in 1934.
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Debra Larson, a 1989 graduate of Berlin High School, at the time was considered the finest all-around athlete ever to come out of Berlin High School.
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Art Kevorkian taught industrial arts at Berlin High School from 1947-1967.
Born in Berlin on June 2, 1918, Gibney’s family moved to Seymour where he graduated from Seymour High School in 1936.
Roy Fabian was a long-time educator (40 years) and coach in the Berlin school system.
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Paul Baretta was a 1965 graduate who stood out in both basketball and baseball.
Don Bates was born in Hartford, a former New Britain resident, moving to Berlin in 1951.
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Victor "Vic" Baccaro, graduated in 1940, and was truly the school’s first star student-athlete.
Class of 2011
The 1958 baseball team is being inducted into the Berlin Hall of Fame as the first team to receive that recognition.
Jim Day graduated from CCSU and began his career at Berlin High as a special education teacher.
Al Pelligrinelli was a teacher and coach at Berlin High for 28 years, 1976-2003.
Dave Swanson graduated from Berlin High in 1991 where he excelled in both basketball and baseball.
Forrest Conoly graduated in 1991. He was nicknamed “The Berlin Wall.”
Monica Earley Thompson was a 1990 graduate of Berlin High School.
Ken Pera was a 1989 graduate who participated in football where he was selected to the All Northwest Conference team in his senior year.
Rocky Urso was a 1987 graduate of Berlin High School who stood out in football.
Mauro Gozzo was a 1984 graduate. At the time he was considered one of the best all around athletes to come out of Berlin High School.
Robert McCann was a four-year letterman in football being selected as co-captain during the 1955-56 season.
Class of 2012
The 1986 wrestling team finished the season with a 15-3 dual meet record.
Bob has been selected to be inducted into the Berlin High School Athletic Hall of Fame as a Contributor to Berlin Athletics.
Jennifer Baccaro graduated from Berlin High School in 1991 and was a three sport athlete attaining All State status in all three sports.
Jesse Carlson graduated from Berlin High in 1999 where he was a three sport athlete.
According to Hall of Fame inductee Vic Baccaro,” Joe Simeone was a natural born leader that transcended into sports.”
Ken Parciak graduated from Central Connecticut State College in 1974 and started his teaching career at Berlin High School in 1975.
Kyle Gallo was a 1993 graduate of Berlin High School and was one of the greatest golfers in Berlin High history.
Lino Girone was one of Berlin High School’s first three sport participants.
Susan graduated in 1993 and was a four year starter in three sports at Berlin High School: soccer, gymnastics, and softball.
George Hall spent 36 years in the Berlin School system as a teacher, coach, and 23 years as Athletic Director.
Tammilyn “Tammi” Borkowski was a 1989 graduate of Berlin High and was a three-sport athlete.
Class of 2013
The 1986 Berlin girls softball team was the first girls team at Berlin High School to capture a state championship in any sport.
Powers graduated from Kent Preparatory School where he was captain of the wrestling team and named the most valuable wrestler.
Veleas has been the head varsity baseball coach at Berlin High since 1987.
Anthony Santoro graduated in 1991 and was a three-year varsity baseball starter.
Jason Maule graduated in 1995 and was a four-year athlete in soccer, basketball and baseball.
Jon Veneziano graduated from Berlin High School in 1989, and was a two-year varsity basketball player, but it was on the golf course where he truly excelled.
Todd Marble, a 1977 graduate of Berlin High School, played football for four years, three of those as a varsity starter on offense and defense.
Charles Vigra, who graduated in 1948 from Berlin High School, was a four-year varsity basketball and baseball player.
Wilfred Guite was a 1938 graduate of Berlin High School participating in football, basketball, and baseball for three years.
Class of 2014
The 1963 football team was the first undefeated team since 1948 with a record of 7 and 0 in winning the Northwest Conference Championship.
David was a four-year member of both the baseball and soccer teams.
Lynne Orlowsky Finn graduated from Berlin High in 1994.
Scot Wenzel graduated from Berlin High in 1989 where he had an outstanding career in both football and basketball.
Michelle Bedard Pascetta graduated from Berlin High in 1987 where she was a true scholar athlete excelling in both volleyball and softball.
Richard McKeon graduated from Berlin High in 1975 where he was a 4-year athlete in basketball and baseball and a 3-year member of the varsity football team.
Frank Marturano participated in football, baseball, and track and field.
Carl Ciarcia graduated from Berlin High in 1953 where he was four-year varsity starter on the football team and captain during his senior year.
As a 6-foot-4 center, Jack was a three-year starter on the basketball team.
Class of 2015
The 1998 womens soccer team with teamwork and determination finished with a perfect 20-0 season.
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Bob Zipadelli is being inducted into the Berlin High Athletic Hall of Fame as a contributor for the work he has done in the fund raising area for Berlin athletics.
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Jim Bryers took over the boys’ golf program in 1993 from the legendary coach Don Bates.
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Elizabeth Clements Capson graduated from Berlin High in 2000.
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Katie Baccaro graduated from Berlin High in 1985 where she was a three sport athlete.
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Dan Blanchette graduated from Berlin High in 1969 where he was a standout athlete in three sports track, football, and basketball.
Class of 2016
While deciding on a team to be recognized this year it was hard to overlook the accomplishments of the four golf teams of 1987-90 so it was decided that all four teams would be inducted together this year.
Nate Tarsi graduated from Berlin High in 2001 where he was a three sport athlete excelling in football, basketball, and baseball.
Bob Tarigo attended CCSU from 1965-69 where he played basketball for Coach Bill Detrick.
Joe graduated from Hartford Public High in 1954 and then served in the Military police in Germany from 1954-58.
Davis Stefanowicz graduated from Berlin High in 1993 where he was an outstanding baseball player.
Ann Regan Oliver graduated from Berlin High in 1985 where she excelled in both volleyball and softball.
Scott Meyer graduated from Berlin High in 1995 where he was a 2 sport athlete.
Rebecca Collis Dimauro graduated from Berlin High in 2000 where she was a two-sport athlete.
Jim Capodiece graduated from Berlin high in 1972 where he was a four year letterman in three sports receiving ten varsity letters.
Enso Bighinatti was a varsity player in four sports: baseball, basketball, football, and track.
Class of 2017
Marie Siegal started working as an aide in the Special Education at Berlin High in 1986 after a career in banking.
Roy Early started his softball career in the New Jersey fast pitch factory league as a catcher where he grew up.
The 1955 football team competed in the North Central Football League, playing teams from Plainville, Cheshire, Canton, Gilbert and Farmington, along with Griswold and Simsbury that year.
Walter Pajor graduated from Berlin High School in 1955 where he excelled as an athlete in football, baseball and football.
Shelly Ravizza Moran graduated from Berlin High School in 1993.
Lori Mongillo, who graduated from Berlin High School in 1985, started playing Little League Farm baseball at the age of eight as a pitcher, catcher and first baseman.
Mike Laroche graduated from Berlin High School in 2001, where he excelled as an athlete in football, wrestling and track.
George Kanupka III graduated from Berlin High School in 1964 where he was a four-year athlete in baseball, football and basketball.
Michael Church graduated from Berlin High School in 1991 and was a two-sport participant.
Ken Bratina was a three-sport athlete in basketball, baseball and football.
Class of 2018
The success of Berlin’s baseball program starts at the instructional level and continues to the high school level.
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Sarah graduated from Berlin High in 1993 where she was a three sport participant.
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Christopher Green graduated from Berlin High in 2004 and other than excelling in the classroom he was an outstanding runner.
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Nancy DeBlasio graduated from Berlin High in 1998 where she participated in four sports.
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Paul Coccomo graduated from Berlin High in 1995 where he was a member of both the football and baseball teams.
Woody Anderson was co-captain of the cross country and track teams and among the top runners in school history.
Class of 2019
As stated in the 2006 yearbook that while trekking through 9 losses, the basketball team rose to unfathomable heights to finish with 19 wins and a State Championship.
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Bill Robinson graduated from Berlin High in 1999 where he was a 3-sport athlete participating in football, basketball, and baseball.
Sean Garrison graduated from Berlin High in 1990 where he played varsity soccer and baseball all four years.
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Ken Burt graduated from Berlin High in 1957 where he was a three-sport athlete.
Class of 2020
The 2000 Recoat wrestling team continued the success of the 1999 team repeating Class M State Champions. The team finished a perfect dual meet season winning 19 with no losses to become Berlin's first ever undefeated team.
The 1999 wrestling team was the Class M State Champions setting a new record for points scored in a State Tournament with 261.5 points surpassing the record 234 points scored by the BHS 1986 Class S State Championship team.
Steve Baccaro graduated from Berlin High in 1947 where he was a four-year letterman in baseball, basketball, and football. He was the captain of the football team his senior year.
Phil Peretta graduated from Berlin High in 1961 where he was a four-year varsity athlete in both football and basketball. He was captain of the football team his senior year.
Allison Murphy Semenuk graduated from Berlin High in 2002 where she was a recipient of 12 varsity letters. In soccer Allison was a varsity starter her sophomore, junior, and senior years.
Matt Carasiti graduated from Berlin High in 2009. He was a four-year letterman in baseball and was team captain his senior year.
Robert Manzo graduated from Berlin High in 1990. He was a four-year member of both the soccer and baseball teams between 1986 and 1990.
Cynthia Gozzo Dastoli graduated from Berlin High in 1990. The following appeared in the Class of 1990 yearbook.
John Steurer graduated from Berlin High in 1980 where he was a 3-year starter on the men’s varsity basketball and baseball teams. In baseball John was captain in his senior year and was selected to the All-Northwest Conference team.
Class of 2021
Katelyn Zarotney enjoyed volleyball, but her favorite sport was basketball. She excelled in this roundball sport, in which she ranks first in Berlin history in career field goals (488), rebounds (829) and blocks (113) and second in scored points (1,267).
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Max DeLorenzo is the greatest rusher in Berlin High School history. Current and future Redcoats will chase No. 44’s 5,040 career yards.
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Freshman Ryan DiPietro homered on the first pitch he saw as a varsity player in a Class L second-round game at Zipadelli Field.
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Cliff Landry was a proud contributor to on and off the athletic field. He was the first person Al Pelligrinelli, the winningest football coach in school history, cited in an interview with The Hartford Courant about the line of Berlin coaches he had tried to follow with distinction.
Class of 2022
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Jack Cooper was named the University of Rhode Island's defensive coordinator two years ago, the most important job of his career. It was his sixth college coaching job, all on defense, beginning in 2013.
An inadvertent elbow opened a gash above Kaitlyn Bovee's left eye in a 2010 Class L basketball quarterfinal. "She was patched on the sideline and returned to play," coach Sheila McCabe-King said. "She never let her teammates down."
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Kory Kevorkian graduated from Berlin High School in 2001 where he played 3 sports. He played baseball in his Freshman and Sophomore years, track and field his Junior and Senior years, and football all four years.
Larry Barber needed only a few strides from his front yard on Patterson Way to reach the north end zone of the original Berlin High School football field.
Here's a few things Nikki Kureczka couldn't get around to doing; wash dishes, mow the lawn, change a tire. That's because she was doing everything else.
Rex Smith taught math and coached tennis at Berlin High for 38 years. He directed state tournaments for the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference for over 25 years.
The most difficult opponents for players on the 2000 and '01 Berlin boys golf teams were usually themselves.
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Scott Trevethan's favorite tennis player was Andre Agassi because he was the same age, of similar size and, most importantly, his resolve was unwavering.
After Robert Facey Jr. was notified of his 2022 Hall of Fame induction, he said: "It's so humbling if I made a little contribution to Berlin football and an honor to be in such prestigious company."
Class of 2023
Early in the 1999 baseball season the team was demolishing the opposition.
Adela Sarra McLaughlin's advocacy for girls' athletics was laudatory throughout her almost 40 years as an educator, coach and athletic administrator in the Berlin school system.
Aldo Zovich was a freshman at Berlin High School in 1976 when he went out for the first wrestling team in school history.
Anthony Marzi was an established pitcher on the UConn baseball team in 2013.
Olson said participating in the 1980 U.S. Olympic Trials and setting the 1979 NCAA Division II hammer record were his most memorable sports achievements.
Meagan Guy was a basketball and softball captain as a junior and a senior and a volleyball captain her senior season at Berlin High School.
Nick Pepe was an admired coach for many years at assorted athletic venues.
Roger Pulito’s football career at Southern Connecticut State University began with a harrowing gauntlet.
Class of 2024
Alexys Vazquez, sitting in the back seat of the family car, often was on her phone in search of an open fitness center basketball court, so later she could shoot some three-pointers, while older brother Kyle played baseball.
When an umpire was giving sophomore pitcher Sean Johnston a hard time, Veleas said, “Stop yelling at my player,” Johnston recalled.
Tony Legnani learned about Bob Johnson from newspaper clippings his mother had sent him, while he was on active duty in Okinawa.
After playing youth soccer for several years, Catherine Voelpel was hesitant to take up a new sport, running.
Amy Bordonaro Collins is a two-fer, a double-dose of athletic and academic excellence.
Jason Pires says Brittany Labbadia is on his “Mount Rushmore” of softball players he has coached at Berlin High School.
Berlin High School girls golf coach Jim Barnes looked out from the boisterous bus as it approached the Timberlin Golf Course clubhouse, after the team had won its first CIAC state championship in 2011.
Class of 2025
The arena never mattered to Daniel Klotz, who said, “I was very competitive to be on top, whatever pond I was put into.” Most times, his times were the best.
When Berlin High School baseball coach Leo Veleas was looking for an assistant coach in 1990, Frank Naples just showed up. “I didn’t know he wanted to be a coach,“ Veleas said. “I just knew him as an athlete.”
Jim Barnes had just retired from his position with an insurance corporation in 2009 during his daughter Erica’s senior season with the Berlin High School girls golf team.
A driving range, which was located less than a mile from Julia Kemmling’s home, is an abandoned grassy field adjoining an industrial park on the Berlin Turnpike today. Though the range has vanished, memories remain.
Competitors in the 55-meters race in the 2006 Class M state indoor meet in New Haven were getting settled in their starting blocks. That’s when Berlin High School sophomore Jaime Rasmussen Flotre found herself next to defending champion senior Sashuana Stewart of Weaver High-Hartford.
These 14–15-year-olds were prodigies of the first order. “It started when we were in Little League,” Kyle Cooney said. “We grew up together and were known as the ‘Dirty Dozen.’ ”
Kyle Vazquez didn’t just play on Berlin High School’s Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference championship baseball and basketball teams; he shined in the preeminent contests of those seasons.
Those 1947-48 Berlin High School football teams looked like all other football teams of the era: leather helmets, no faceguards, almost no passing plays and wool jerseys. It was Wing-T and Single-Wing for offense and quick, bulldog lines.
