The following twelve (12) distinguished athletes, coaches, officials and administrators were inducted into the Rhode Island Interscholastic League High School Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2009 on Wednesday, May 6, 2009 at The Crowne Plaza Hotel, Warwick, Rhode Island.
Charles J. Ajootian
Charles Ajootian of Classical High School was a Rhode Island State, New England and National high school shot put champion in the 1960’s. He was coached by the legendary Al Morro. His record throw of 62’ 5.25” has been the Rhode Island State standard since 1964. While competing at Harvard University, he was the school’s first track athlete to win an individual NCAA title.
William Francis Almon
Bill Almon, the 1971 Providence Journal Bulletin Honor Roll Boy, was an All-State student-athlete selection in basketball and baseball at Warwick Veterans High School. He attended Brown University where he was a two-time All-Ivy League and named the College’s Baseball Player of the Year in 1974. He went on to a 15 year Major League career.
Mary L. Burke
Mary Burke was a Providence Journal two sport All-State student-athlete at Toll Gate High School in the early 1980’s. She played basketball and volleyball, earning three All-State honors in both sports. She was a Converse All-American as a prep player and named the RI Words Unlimited Schoolgirl Athlete of the Year for 1983. While at Providence College, she starred on the Friar Basketball Team for four years. She is currently Head Women’s Basketball Coach at Bryant University, a position she has held for the past seventeen years.
Manuel “Manny” Correira
Manuel “Manny” Correira spent 21 years as sports editor/photographer for the East Bay Newspapers. For 15 years, he was the Providence Journal’s East Bay sportswriter before returning to East Bay Newspapers. He rejoined the Journal in 2002 before retiring four years later. He was a high school sports reporter who always maintained perspective when writing about high school student-athletes.
James Dionizio
Jim Dionizio was a three-sport standout for the Cranston East Thunderbolts and named the 1987 Rhode Island Schoolboy Athlete of the Year by USA Today. He was selected All-State in Football, Basketball and Baseball by the Providence Journal. He played football and baseball at Colby College. He is currently a teacher in the Cranston Public Schools and an assistant football and baseball coach at his alma mater.
George M. Egan
George Egan is “Mr. Rhode Island High School Hockey” for his total dedication and advocate for Rhode Island high school hockey. He was a high school coach at both Coventry High School and Ponaganset High School and is currently the RIIL Director of Hockey for the past five years. He was twice named Hockey Coach of the Year by his colleagues. He established the official hockey site that maintains every statistic on high school hockey players.
John R. Gray
John R. Gray, Principal, Barrington High School and a fifteen year member of the Rhode Island Interscholastic League Principals’ Committee on Athletics and its current Chairman. He served as RIIL Director of Golf for fourteen years. He was named 2006 Sports Ethics Fellow by the Institute of International Sport for his commitment to high school sports and fostering the important role athletics play in the educational experience of the high school student-athlete.
Richard Hazard
Richard “Dick” Hazard has served four decades as a basketball official, officiating supervisor and official assignor. He remains active as an assignor for RIIL Boys’ Basketball games. He serves as a role model and mentor for other officials for his dedication and professionalism.
Arthur J. Kershaw III
Art Kershaw was a legendary coach at East Greenwich High School from 1963 to 2002. He coached football winning five Super Bowls, as wrestling coach winning a Division title, and led the Avenger Baseball Teams to ten Divisional titles. He is the only coach at East Greenwich High School to win championship titles in three major sports.
Jerome “Jerry”Morgan
Jerome “Jerry” Morgan coached boys’ basketball at Hope High School for 32 years and football for 29 years. Winning State basketball championships in 1986 and 1994, he was named Coach of the Year both years. A 1961 graduate of the University of Northern Iowa where he played football, he went on to play professional football.
Christina (Batastini) Sheehan
Christina (Batastini) Sheehan, Classical High School graduate in 1996, was a Providence Journal All-State in three sports: Cross Country twice, Basketball three times and Outdoor Track three times in the Long Jump. She attended Stanford University where she played basketball for four years including a trip to the 1997 NCAA Final Four.
Michael Stenhouse
Mike Stenhouse was named the 1976 Journal Honor Roll Boy while at Cranston High School East. A star baseball player, he was an All-State for three years batting .580 in his senior year. He attended Harvard University, named twice the All-American first team in baseball and then spent nearly a decade playing professional baseball.
