On Saturday, November 18, the Suffield Athletic Hall of Fame held their 11th induction ceremony at Suffield High School. This year’s inductees are profiled below. The ceremony included dinner, a video summary of each inductee’s career, presentation of a Hall of Fame plaque, and a short speech from each honoree or a representative. Information about the Suffield Athletic Hall of Fame, including nomination forms for future candidates, is available at www.sahof.org.
Taylor Bartini
Taylor Bartini is among a select few athletes to earn 12 varsity letters at SHS, and one of only a handful to be named to All-State teams in two different sports. Her soccer teams played in four State Championship games and won two of them, including an undefeated season in 2005 capped off by Taylor’s two goals in the finals. As a senior she earned team MVP, All-State, and All-New England honors. She scored 86 career goals, third all-time at SHS. She then had a solid career at Providence College, where she was the second leading scorer her senior year.
On the basketball court, Taylor was an effective scorer, but really stood out because of her passing and tenacious defense. As a senior, she was the team captain and earned All-Conference honors.
On the softball field Taylor’s excellent hitting and game-changing speed helped her progress from a varsity starter as a freshman to All-Conference as a sophomore to All-State as a junior. During her career the team went 67 – 18, won two Conference titles, and was the State runner-up her senior year.
Walter Beck
Walter Beck has been an outstanding swim coach for SHS since 1994. He started as an assistant and then took over as the girls varsity head coach in 1997. His teams have compiled a record of 171-83-3 thus far. Walter has coached 31 All-State athletes, six State Open champions, two All-Americans in six different events, one junior national swimmer and numerous league champions and record holders.
In 2006 he was named Connecticut girls swimming coach of the year, and he also started the Suffield boys’ swim team. At various points Walter has been a volunteer coach and official for youth swimmers and Special Olympians while also serving on the CIAC State Girls Swim Committee and Hartford Board of Swim Officials. Over the years he also coached girls’ basketball and served as an official for track and field and golf. Parents have praised his success in developing fitness, character, sportsmanship, and strength, while his athletes attest to his ability to guide, encourage, support, challenge and inspire them. The title of “Father of Suffield Swimming” is a fitting tribute to his work.
Chloe McKay
Chloe McKay played four years of both varsity basketball and soccer for SHS, and also two years of varsity golf. She finished her soccer career with 108 goals and 84 assists, both all-time records at SHS. Her teams won State Championships in 2005 and 2006, in addition to being the runner-up in 2004. Chloe was named to the All-State team four times, along with being named All-New England and The Hartford Courant Player of the Year in 2006.
She is the seventh leading basketball career scorer at SHS with 1,042 career points while being a three-time All-Conference selection and team MVP.
Chloe went on to play soccer at Indiana University, where she was named to the Great Lakes All-Freshmen team in 2007 and finished her career third all-time for assists and seventh all-time in career games played. After graduating, Chloe was an assistant coach for Indiana during the 2011 and 2012 seasons.
Kelly Patterson
Kelly Patterson had a ground-breaking start to her athletic career. In the mid-70s she became the first girl to play on a Suffield Little League boys’ “A” level baseball team. She then moved on to an exceptional three-sport career at Suffield Academy, earning 11 varsity letters. In soccer she led her team in scoring, and as a senior, she was selected to the All- State team.
Kelly led the basketball team in scoring her junior and senior years and made several all-tournament teams including the All- New England prep team, where she scored 27 points in a tournament semi-final.
Kelly also excelled in softball. She was named to the Western New England All-Star team as a shortstop and was the leading hitter on the team during her four varsity seasons. As a senior, she was a co-caption of all three teams and was named Suffield Academy’s best female athlete.
Kelly later returned to become an assistant coach at the Academy for 4 Western New England championship softball teams and several very successful basketball and soccer teams.
Paul Sanderson
Paul Sanderson made tremendous contributions to the growth of soccer both locally and nationally. He spent over 20 years coaching soccer at Suffield Academy, accumulating 156 wins, 72 losses and 22 ties. His impact went far beyond coaching, as he co-founded the Western New England Prep School Soccer Association, which tripled in size during his tenure. Paul worked tirelessly to connect the college game with high school by bringing some of the best college teams to high school campuses for exhibition games, followed by clinics for hundreds of coaches and players.
In addition, he played an integral role in making the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) the largest coaches association in the world, with over 25,000 members who coach both genders at all levels of the sport. As a result he was inducted into the NSCAA Hall of Fame in 2008. Recognizing the growing popularity of the sport in Connecticut, Paul was a co-founder of the Hartford Bicentennials, who played in the North American Soccer League.
Joe Simonoko
Joe Simonoko had an excellent career at Suffield High School from 1977 through 1981. He was a soccer goalie who played on two state runner-up teams, and he played two years of varsity basketball, earning All-Conference honors as a senior and helping the team win the conference championship. Baseball was his best sport, as he played varsity all four years and earned All-Conference honors twice. His senior year he was the team captain and ace of the pitching staff as well as an outstanding shortstop. In the summers he played for the Windsor Locks Legion team, earning three All-Star honors and a team MVP award.
Joe earned a spot on the UConn baseball team and became a key member of the starting rotation. As a senior he was named team captain and was the starting pitcher in the first game of the Big East conference championships. Joe also played in the prestigious Cape Cod Summer Baseball League for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox, one of the elite summer baseball leagues in the country.
Connecticut State Soccer Champions, Class S, 1960
1960 Boys Soccer Team
Prior to 1960, no team in any sport had ever gone undefeated at SHS. The 1960 boys’ soccer team did just that, while also setting new records at the time for wins (17), goals scored (75), and fewest goals allowed (5).
Their offense was led by Dave Lill (22 goals) and Co-captain Ray Galetta (21 goals). The other forwards were Peter Gaughan, Louie Grabowski, Rod Ritter, Bobby Duni, Terry Hartmann, Allan Tallis, Roy Harriman, Louie Favreau, Toby Moffett, Bob Flynn, and Michael Balch. The midfielders were led by Co-captain Bob Chase, Donald Kennett and Gary McQuillan, with help from Woody Jacobus, Randy Walker, John Smith, Paul Pochron, and Julius Drenzek. The defense was anchored by goalie Dave Landry and led by George Bellmore and George Leel with help from John Samsel and John Zenisky.
The team was coached by Bill Atkinson and Stan Miela.
After 15 wins and one tie in the regular season, the Suffield team played a hard fought 2-2 tie in the conference finals against Bacon Academy.
Suffield settled the score in the state tournament, beating Bacon Academy 3-0 in the semi-finals. In the finals, Suf-field played Hale-Ray of Moodus, who had won 56 games in a row. Suffield’s defense was stellar, and Dave Lill scored the only goal they needed. The 1-0 win put them in the record book as the first undefeated SHS State Championship team!