PORTLAND, Maine — The Maine Sports Hall of Fame class of 2015 includes a philanthropist, sports agent, Olympic gold medal rower and stars of the National Hockey League and Major League Soccer, announced organization president Dick Whitmore.
Nine people who have made "A Better Maine Through Sport" — William (Bill) Alfond, Peter Carlisle, Glenn Dumont, Anna Goodale, Roger Levesque, Rob Pendergist, Marcie Lane Schulenberg, Eric Weinrich and Amy Winchester — will be inducted into the hall at the 40th annual awards dinner at noon Sunday, May 3, 2015, at the Augusta Civic Center.
"This is another great class," said Whitmore. "The quality, breadth and contributive level to Maine sport are exceptional. In our quest to honor the best of the best, the honor and accomplishment of these exceptional people add another distinctive dimension to our rolls."
Alfond, of Dexter and Waterville, is president of the William and Joan Alfond Foundation, which has contributed millions of dollars to build athletic fields and facilities at numerous universities, colleges and centers in Maine. The 1972 Colby College graduate is director of Dexter Enterprises, Inc. and the Harold Alfond Foundation. The limited partner with the Boston Red Sox serves on various boards, including the U.S. Biathlon Committee. His father, Harold Alfond, was inducted in 1992.
Carlisle, of Saco and South Portland, is managing director of Olympics & Action Sports. The Bates College ('91) and University of Maine School of Law ('94) graduate has been an agent for Olympic medalists Seth Wescott and Michael Phelps and presides over the global agency that has represented the most Olympic medalists and marketable Olympic athletes since 2002. The inductee of Sports Business Journal's Forty-Under-Forty Hall of Fame continues to work in Maine.
Dumont, who graduated in 1965 from Winslow High School, is the greatest running back in the storied history of the Black Raiders football program. He was an All-American at American International College in 1969, where he is a member of the school's Hall of Fame and holds the record for most points scored in a football career. After making it to the final cut of Kansas City Chiefs, he was a member of the coaching staff of two Winslow High School state champion teams. Dumont also was a long-time high school football official.
Goodale, of Camden, won Olympic gold in 2008 with the U.S. Women's Eight in Beijing, China, as well as gold in the eight at the 2009 and 2007 World Rowing Championships. The five-time national champion and an All-American rower at Syracuse University took up the sport in college. Goodale was home-schooled until age 9 and participated in organized sports for the first time at Camden Hills Regional High School. She is an assistant rowing coach at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington.
Levesque, a 1999 graduate of Falmouth High School, is one of the most honored players in Seattle Sounders history. In 2010, he was ranked 19th among the United Soccer League's best 25 players of the previous decade. Levesque was an All-American and Pac-10 Player of the Year at Stanford University. At Falmouth High School, the All-State soccer player and two-time Maine Gatorade Player of the Year led the Yachtsmen to two state soccer crowns and three straight gold balls in basketball.
Pendergist, a 1989 graduate of Ellsworth High School, was state champion in the long jump, high jump, high hurdles and javelin and was the national pentathlon high school champion. At Mount St. Mary's College in Maryland, he was All-American in the decathlon and four-time IC4A pentathlon champion. After his legendary career, he was inducted into his college hall of fame. Pendergist competed at the 1992 U.S. Olympic Trials.
Schulenberg, of Augusta, is one of the most renowned high school female athletes of her generation. The 1989 Cony High School graduate starred on two Class A state championship basketball teams and two state championship field hockey teams. The all-state selection in basketball, field hockey and softball was a scholarship player at Boston University and the University of New Hampshire. She holds records for three-point shooting and assists at UNH.
Weinrich, of Yarmouth and Gardiner, played 17 years in the NHL, where he made three all-star appearances and was named to the 1991 All-Rookie Team. The defenseman scored 70 goals and made 318 assists for 388 points in 1,157 games. He represented the U.S. in the World Cup, Olympics, Canada Cup and at nine World Championships. Weinrich, who skated at the University of Maine for coach Shawn Walsh, graduated in 1985 from North Yarmouth Academy.
Winchester, of Brewer, was a five-time state champion in track &emdash; twice in shot and discus and once in javelin — at Brewer High School. The 1992 BHS graduate also excelled on the hardwood and on the pitch, earning All-State honors in basketball and soccer. At Dartmouth College, the four-time All-Ivy League first-team selection won nine heptagonal championships and holds the school shot record. She placed in the shot at the 1996 NCAA Division I Outdoor Championship and qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials.
Also at the induction ceremony in May, five high school scholar-athletes, to be announced in February, will be awarded $5,000 scholarships toward their future education.
Tickets to the banquet, which cost $50 for individuals may be purchased through April 29. A reserved table for 10 is $450. Social hour starts at 11:30 a.m. and the buffet lunch begins at noon. Tickets can be purchased online by <a href=“banquet/tickets/“>clicking here</a> or make checks payable to the Maine Sports Hall of Fame and mail them to Kelly Pinney-Michaud, 58 Town Farm Road, Oakland, ME 04963.
Maine Sports Hall of Fame
P.O. Box 2
Cumberland, ME 04021
Phone (207) 807-7666
INFOMSHOF
The Maine Sports Hall of Fame was established in 1972 for the purpose of: 1) appointing and bestowing recognition awards and scholarships to outstanding Maine high school scholar-athletes; and, 2) to formally honor and memorialize Maine athletes and sports figures who have brought distinction and honor to the state of Maine.