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Gold
Key Award Winners |
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| Gold
Key Winners Announced; Mignault, Salafia and Webster Honored at Dinner on April 17th |
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| The
Connecticut Sports Writers' Alliance continued its tradition of honoring
the very best in Connecticut sports on April 17th with the 64th Gold
Key Dinner. Ledyard football coach Bill Mignault, former Cromwell boys' basketball and cross country coach Jake Salafia and former University of Bridgeport men's basketball coach Bruce Webster received Gold Keys. The Gold Key is presented to those who have made noteworthy contributions to athletics in Connecticut. It is regarded as the most prestigious sports' award in the state and is often referred to as Connecticut's Hall of Fame. Since 1940 the Alliance has presented 202 Gold Keys to the very best administrators, athletes and coaches, at the amateur, high school, college and professional ranks. The honor roll includes members of the baseball, basketball, football, and hockey halls of fame, Olympic Gold medalists, past commissioners of both Major League Baseball and the National Basketball Association and President George H.W. Bush.  Mignault,
the most successful high school football coach in Connecticut history,
began his coaching career at Waterford High School in 1958, and established
the program at Ledyard, where he's been since 1966. Mignault has amassed
295 wins, including state championships in 1986, 1991 and 1993. Mignault's
teams have been to the state playoffs for three straight seasons and
eight times overall.Mignault set the state record for coaching victories on Oct. 20, 2001 when Ledyard defeated Sports Sciences Academy of Hartford, 47-6. The win was Mignault's 266th, enabling him to surpass former Trumbull coach and past Gold Key recipient Gerry McDougall. In that game, Mignault's grandson, B.K., threw a touchdown pass to Mignault's other grandson, Patrick. B.K. Mignault, who threw nearly 50 touchdown passes in his career and later played at Sacred Heart University, said of his grandfather, "I'll brag and say I played for the most successful coach in Connecticut football history. And then I'll go one better. I'll tell people he's my grandfather." Both of Bill Mignault's sons, Brian and Bill Jr., have been on the Ledyard coaching staff. Brian Mignault, the principal at Ellis Tech of Danielson, remains on the coaching staff. Mignault, 73, was born in Killingly and played football at the University of Connecticut. He has placed numerous players in college programs across the country, including current Purdue linebacker Luis Vasquez. "I couldn't have done this without good players and assistant coaches," Mignault said. "The focus should be on the kids." Mignault plans to return to Ledyard for his 39th season, where he'll likely win his 300th game next season.  Joseph
"Jake" Salafia recalls accepting the Cromwell coaching job
on an "interim basis" in 1962, pointing out the head coach had received
a leave of absence. "The principal and I agreed it would be just one
year but the guy never came back."The Middletown-born Salafia went on to spend a quarter-century at the helm of Cromwell High basketball. He won seven CIAC Class S championships including a record five in a row (1967-through-'71) en route to a 445-119 career record. "A Gold Key is a tremendous honor, a humbling experience," says Salafia, 76 and still a resident of Cromwell. Salafia, who had served two seasons as JV basketball coach, was 8-10 his first season. It was the only losing campaign Cromwell had under Salafia who averaged 17.4 wins a season. His teams went to Class S finals 11 times, also winning the championship in 1979 and '80. He also put seven Class S Cross Country championships in the Cromwell trophy case. He coached the Cromwell harriers from 1958-through-1986. "I was very fortunate," says Salafia, who coached 15 All-Staters. "I had outstanding athletes. Once a program starts winning, it starts getting numbers. That enables a coach to find more and more talent." According to Salafia "the greatest benefits of coaching do not stop when you stop." Many of his players "remain very good friends." Salafia played basketball, football and track at Middletown's Woodrow Wilson High, the latter two under legendary coach Dan Chubbuck. "Playing for Chubbuck was a great experience and I brought some of that to my own career," he says. After military service, he enrolled at Central Connecticut State University where he played some football for Hank Majlinger. He also has a graduate degree from Springfield College. Al Lewis, who went on to Providence College, was Salafia's first basketball All-Stater in 1968. The list also included four-time All Stater Al Weston who went on to play at the University of Connecticut. Salafia had three All-Staters in 1969 (Tim Maher and Pete Denz joining Weston) and four in 1970 Ed and Dave Dlugolenski and Keith Byrd joining Weston). The Dlugolenski twins went on to West Point. Salafia's sons Joe, an All State selection in 1982, and Steve both played for him.  Webster
turned Bridgeport into a Division II national powerhouse in his 34
years of coaching, winning 549 games and leading the Purple Knights
to 15 postseason appearances from 1966-99.His teams played for the NCAA Division II national title in back-to-back seasons, 1991 and 92. He also led the Purple Knights to five Elite Eight appearances (1976, 1979, 1990, 1991, 1992) and three appearances in the NCAA Division II Final Four (1979, 1991, 1992). Webster was the National Association of Basketball Coaches Division II National Coach of the Year in 1992, as well as the NABC District I Coach of the Year in 1976, 1979, and 1992. His 549 wins entered this season 68th all-time among all division men's basketball coaches. He ranks 17th in Division II history. Only Jim Calhoun (Northeaster/Connecticut) has more wins in New England. Webster averaged 18 victories per season, had 10 seasons with 20 or more wins and coached 11 All-Americans. The list of All-Americans during Webster's tenure includes Manute Bol, who went on to a career in the NBA after being drafted by the Washington Bullets. On Feb. 28, 2004, Bridgeport honored Webster by dedicating the court at Harvey Hubbell gym in his honor. Dave Bike, longtime Sacred Heart coach and a past Gold Key recipient was one of many speakers, stating, " "We knew we made it when we played UB," he said."He could have easily brushed me off. But he helped me. He mentored me -- he had a heart." Webster, a member of the New England Basketball Hall of Fame, took the Bridgeport job in 1965, a year after the Purple Knights won just two games. A Long Island native, Webster was a three-sport standout at Rutgers, and took the Bridgeport job after serving as a graduate assistant at Rutgers. He was 9-15 in his first season, 16-9 his second and 19-8 his third. Tickets for the Gold Key Dinner, which begins at 4:30 p.m. at the Aqua Turf Club in Southington, are $60. Please make checks payable to CSWA, P.O. Box 70, Unionville, Ct., 06085. For more information please contact Sean Barker at 203-789-5651 or goldkeydinner@sbcglobal.net. Other award winners will be announced in the coming weeks. |
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| Geremia, Milardo are Doc McInerney Award Winners | ||||||||||||||
| For
release Sunday A.M., January 30-- A pair of state championship coaches
have been selected by the Conecticut Sports Writers Alliance as 2005
recipients of the Doc McInerney Awards as state high school coaches
of the year. North Branford boys' soccer coach Rick Geremia and Nathan Hale-Ray (East Haddam) girls' softball coach Lou Milardo share the awards, named after a former Waterbury sports writer who covered high school sports. Geremia, has led North Branford High to two straight undefeated seasons and CIAC Class M boys' soccer championships. Over the past two seasons, North Branford has posted identical 21-0-1 records bringing Geremia's seven-year record at the school to 118-18-7 with five Shoreline Conference championships. Geremia, who has taken the Thunderbirds to four straight Class M finals, will be one of several honorees at the CSWA Gold Key Dinner Sunday April 17 at the Aqua Turf. in Southington. "I've always preached the team concept to my players and we will accept this award in the same way," said Geremia who has coached 13 All Staters, four of which were All New England selections as well. "I have had so many gifted players." An Amity of Woodbridge High product where he played for George Taylor, Geremia "learned a great deal" from Bob Dikranian at Southern Connecticut State University before a two-year coaching stint at Amity in the early 1980s. He returned to coaching after a 13-year hiatus at Bunnell High of Stratford before moving to North Branford in 1998. A health and physical education teach at North Branford, Geremia calls coaching "gratifying," pointing out many of his players have gone on to play in college. The Shoreline is the "toughest conference in the state for Class M and S schools," insists Geremia who points out it is made up of "a number of perennial powers." He is the unofficial Shoreline boys soccer historian, his efforts evident on the conference's website www.eteamz.com/boysshorelinesoccer.com. Geremia's research gives ample evidence that, in the Shoreline anyway, "you are not going to go too far without first being successful in the league." North Branford is the 21st Shoreline champion to go on to win a state title. In all, 35 Shoreline teams have won a state soccer championship Milardo's softball teams at Nathan Hale-Ray High School have won four state Class S championships, eight conference championships (Quinebaug Valley and Shoreline Conferences), have appeared in eight state title games, and have appeared in the last five consecutive championship games. His 2004 team won the Class S title with a 4-0 win over Woodland Regional and finished 26-0. Milardo called it the best Class S team in the history of the state. He has twice been selected Shoreline Conference Coach of the Year (2001, 2004). He was the Connecticut High School Coaches Association Softball Coach of the Year (1999), a National High School Coach of the Year finalist in 2002, and is a member of the Connecticut Scholastic and Collegiate Softball Hall of Fame and Nathan Hale-Ray High School's Hall of Fame. His career record is 510-143. He has served on the CHSCA Softball Committee since 1997 and on the CIAC Softball Committee since 1980. Milardo was born and raised in Middletown and graduated from Middletown High where he lettered in cross-country, basketball and baseball. He is an alumnus of Bates College and holds an MBA from Boston University. He began his teaching career in mathematics at Hale-Ray in 1968 and stayed at Hale-Ray until his retirement several years ago. Milardo is a cancer survivor, having undergone treatment for both renal cancer and lymphoma several years ago. He lives in Cromwell with his wife Joane and has two married daughters, Lisa and Michelle, and has four grandchildren. |
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| Orlovksy, Hatch and Janangelo are Athletes of the Year | ||||||||||||||
| A record-setting
quarterback, Olympic medalist and one of golf's brightest young stars
have been selected as Connecticut's athletes of the year by the Connecticut
Sports Writers' Alliance. University of Connecticut quarterback Dan Orlovksy of Shelton has been named the Bill Lee Male Athlete of the Year. Olympic silver medalist Annia Hatch of West Haven and Duke University golfer Liz Janangelo of West Hartford have been selected Hank O'Donnell Female Athletes of the Year. Orlovksy, projected as an early-round selection in the upcoming NFL Draft, set nearly every quarterback record in lead UConn to national respectability in its leap to Division I-A football. The Huskies were 21-7 in his final 28 games, including a 39-10 win over Mid-American Conference champion Toledo in the Motor City Bowl under the guidance of the 6-foot-5 Orlovsky, who turned down offers from other more established programs to help the fledgling Huskies' program. Orlovksy threw for 10,706 yards (sixth among active players) and 84 touchdowns (third). This season he completed 288 of his 457 passes (63-percent) for 3,354 yards and 23 touchdowns. He was intercepted 15 times. He ranked fifth in Division I-A in passing and 15th in total offense. Orlovksy joins a list of past winners that includes Jeff Bagwell, Dwight Freeney, Bruce Jenner, Brian Leetch, Carl Pavano, Marlon Starling, and Steve Young. Hatch, who battled injuries, the Cuban government and a five-year hiatus from the sport, became the oldest member of the U.S. Olympic gymnastics team since 1964, then went on to win two silver medals _ one team medal and another in the vault, her signature event. Hatch stuck her medal-winning landing on a left knee marred by four scars, the remnants of surgery that patched together the anterior cruciate ligament she had torn one year earlier. She was a seven-time national champion in Cuba before coming to the United States. She was a bronze medalist the 1996 world championships, where she met her future husband, Alan Hatch. Cuba failed to file the proper paper work in 1996, thus holding her back from competing in the 1996 Atlanta Games. She was married to Alan and moved to the United States in 1998, but war barred from international competition by Cuba for one year. Janangelo, who also received this honor in 2001, was the top-ranked player in women's collegiate golf and was named the Atlantic Coast Conference and NCAA Division I player of the year. She set an NCAA record with a 9-under-par 62 in the final round of the ACC-SEC Challenge. Those honors led to Janangelo receiving a special exemption to the Kraft Nabisco Championship, the LPGA Tour's first major of the year in Palm Desert, Calif., where she tied for 40th. She defended her title in the Connecticut Women's Open and then joined Suzy Whaley as the only women to qualify for the Connecticut Open. And she did it like no one before her _ playing from the men's tees in a qualifier. Janangelo made a 6-foot par putt on the final hole to win her singles match and the clinching point as the U.S. rallied to beat Great Britain-Ireland in the Curtis Cup matches in Merseyside, England. Hank O'Donnell was executive sports editor and columnist for the Waterbury newspapers. His sportswriting career spanned 61 years. The award has been presented since 1984. Bill Lee spent nearly a half century in the sports writing profession. He was sports editor and columnist of The Hartford Courant from 1939 to 1974. The award is given to the state male athlete of the year. Prior to 1984, both male and female athletes were eligible for the award. Other past winners include: Dorothy Hamill, Joan Joyce, Kristine Lilly, Rebecca Lobo, Jen Rizzotti, Diana Taurasi and Suzy Whaley. |
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| Courant's Berlet is McGinley Winner | ||||||||||||||
| Bruce
Berlet, who started working for the Hartford Courant 35 years ago
as a senior at the University of Connecticut, is this year's recipient
of the Connecticut Sports Writers' Alliance Art McGinley Meritorious
Service Award. Berlet, a fixture on the state and national golf scene, has also covered the Hartford Wolf Pack, Hartford Whalers, UConn men's and women's basketball, the NFL and Yale football during his tenure. "Bruce has always shown passion for whatever job he has been asked to do here, and over the years he has had a lot of roles," Hartford Courant sports editor Jeff Otterbein said. "Whether it's working the UConn women's beat, the golf beat, the Wolf Pack beat or even a stint in the composing room, two things you can always count on from Bruce: He cares deeply about the Hartford Courant readers and the people he covers." That passion and caring has also been evident in his work with the Bo Kolinsky Scholarship Golf tournament. "Bruce's tireless efforts over the past year have made the Bo Kolinsky Scholarship Golf tournament a success," Alliance president Sean Barker said. "His passion for producing a first-class event will help us provide scholarships for years to come." Arthur B. McGinley was a long-time sports editor and columnist of The Hartford Times; and also a popular toastmaster in Connecticut. The McGinley award is given to a current or former Alliance member for meritorious service. Berlet, 57, and his wife of 29 years, Nancy, have one child, Brooke, and an eight-month grandson, Ryan. |
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| Five Good Sports to be Honored | ||||||||||||||
| The
Connecticut Sports Writers' Alliance presented five John Wentworth
Good Sport Awards at its 64th Gold Key Dinner April 17 at the Aqua
Turf in Southington. The Good Sport is presented to those individuals who unselfishly devote their time and resources to the promotion of athletics in their communities. George Burr of Shelton, Christopher Everone of West Haven, Mike McLaughlin of New London, Jody Sheeley of Norwich and Bob Watson of Bristol were honored for their work. George Burr Burr first got involved in Little League when he served as an announcer and official scorer in Trumbull at age 14. He's still involved 44 years later, the past 26 with Shelton National. He has run the Little Fellows Baseball Classic, a predecessor to the 9-10 state Little League tournament, for the past 21 years. The tournament now includes 32 teams that do not advance to the state tournament. Burr is also active in high school hockey, serving as scorekeeper at Notre Dame-Fairfield since 1986, when his son David, an All-State selection played. Burr has also been involved with the Greater Bridgeport Hockey Association, as a color commentator for WEDU, as a scorekeeper for Sacred Heart University and as an umpire at the Little League level. Burr lives with his wife Mary Ann. He has a daughter, Lisa, and two grandsons, Nicholas and Matthew, both of whom play baseball and hockey. Christopher Everone Everone, 27, has played a major role in maintaining and managing the high school fields at West Haven, some of the most respected and most used fields in the state for a variety of events. Everone, who began working at West Haven High when he was 15 as a scoreboard operator, became the sports complex manager four years ago after working at the facility since high school. His most impressive feat was his work two years ago, when he and his crew of high school and college-aged part-time help got the Ken Strong Stadium complex ready to play host for each of the six 2003 CIAC state football championship games. West Haven was scheduled to play host to just two games, but a snowstorm forced two other sites to cancel games. Everone jokes he can see the football stadium from the back porch of his home. West Haven also plays host to the National Football Foundation's high school all-star game between New Haven and Fairfield Counties as well as to several state and youth tournament games in softball and baseball. Everone, a graduate of West Haven High and Albertus Magnus College, also helped with work on the Whitey Piurek baseball field. Mike McLauglin McLaughlin has been involved with eastern Connecticut youth and high school sports for more than 30 years. McLaughlin sponsors scholarships in his name at Eastern Connecticut State University and Quinnipiac University. He still sponsors the Tip-off Tournaments for the men's and women's basketball teams at Eastern Connecticut. He was a softball umpire and recreation league basketball official for 20 years in New London and ran the Big Brothers/Big Sisters basketball game for local high school seniors for 25 years. Mike is a radio broadcaster at WSUB Radio in New London. He has broadcasted more than 50 state championship games. Mike is retired from the state of Connecticut, working for more tha 20 years as a Job Connection liaison. He was an adjunct professor at the University of New Haven and is the current academic advisor for the athletic programs at UConn-Avery Point. Mike lives in Waterford with his daughter, Kelly. Jody Sheeley Boxing helped get Sheeley through his young adult years, he said, and through a bout with drugs and alcoholism. Now, he's giving other kids the opportunity to get boxing in their blood. The 38-year-old career Norwich firefighter runs 2nd Chance Gym out of his garage and, with the help of former local pro boxers, trains young adults who have aspirations of getting somewhere with boxing. Since opening in October of 2002, some of Sheeley's pupils have gone on to compete in boxing tournaments around the Northeast. For Sheeley - who hasn't touched alcohol in 10 years - he says 2nd Chance Gym is a way to make sure these kids don't go down the same path he did at their age. Bob Watson Watson continues to serve as a major cog in the efficient volunteer army that annually supports the Little League Baseball Eastern Regionals held in August at the A. Bartlett Giamatti Leadership and Training Center in Bristol. The retired Bristol policeman has long been associated with Bristol's Forestville Little League, which rewarded him in 1985 with its inaugural award for his years of dedicated service. He was a coach on the 1976 Forestville All-Star team that won state and New England titles before finishing fifth at the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa. Watson was an instrumental force in bringing the Eastern Regionals to Bristol as a founding father of the Giamatti Center facility. A member of the Bristol Sports Hall of Fame, Watson has long served as the Little League's Connecticut District 5 administrator. In 1995, he was named the Little League Volunteer of the Year. He was recently honored by the Bristol Tramps, the name for a series of local sports teams from the 1930s and 1940s that evolved into a sports-related social organization. |
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| Special Honorees | ||||||||||||||
| The
Connecticut Sports Writers' Alliance continued its tradition of honoring
national collegiate champions by recognizing the Trinity men's squash
team and Yale women's squash team at the 64th Gold Key Dinner on April
17 at the Aqua Turf Club in Southington. Trinity won its seventh straight title this past winter in men's squash, while Yale won its second consecutive national title. The Trinity football team, which has won a Division III best 22 straight games, including back-to-back undefeated seasons, will receive a special recognition award. Stephanie Novotny, a swimmer at East Lyme high school, who showed an admirable act of sportsmanship during the ECC swim championships, was honored with the President's Award. Novotny came in second in the 100-yard backstroke behind Bacon Academy-Colchester's Casey Blake, who broke the meet record by almost 4 seconds. Blake was informed she was disqualified for having her nickname printed on her cap. Novotny presented her gold medal to Blake. The ruling was later overturned, but Novotny's sportsmanship deserves recognition. |
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