COLCHESTER — The 2020 Vermont Sports Hall of Fame class was announced Wednesday, as 10 new members were selected.
The VSHOF board of directors announced the inductees during a press conference at the Tarrant Center on the campus of St. Michael’s College.
The class will be formally inducted at an induction dinner at the Delta Marriott Burlington Hotel on Williston Road in South Burlington on April 25.
Following are the 2020 inductees:
Tara Chaplin, Middlesex, cross country and track & field: A standout runner at U-32, she was a state champion and All-American runner. She went on to be the 2001 NCAA Division I Cross Country champion and an All-American at the University of Arizona.
Jim Cross, University of Vermont/Burlington, hockey (coach): The architect of the University of Vermont men’s hockey program in the 1960s and 1970s, his success with the Catamounts also sped the rapid development of youth and high school hockey in Vermont. Overall, Cross was 280-251-9 in 19 seasons at UVM.
Toby Ducolon, St. Albans, hockey (player/coach): At BFA-St. Albans, Ducolon helped the Bobwhites to back-to-back D-I state championships in 1982 and 1983. He was the 50th overall selection in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft by the St. Louis Blues, the first Vermonter to ever be drafted, and was named to the 40-man U.S. Junior National Team that summer.
Debbie Dunkley, South Burlington, gymnastics: Was part of the Dunkley family that is synonymous with gymnastics in Vermont and beyond. Debbie Dunkley is arguably the top gymnast the state has produced. She was unbeaten in high school and was part of two national championship teams at Springfield College.
Jeff Hastings, Norwich, ski-jumping: A four-time U.S. ski-jumping champion, Hastings narrowly missed a medal in the 1984 Olympics finishing fourth at the Sarajevo games. His fourth-place finish on the 120-meter hill, just 0.2 points away from third, is the best score by a U.S. jumper in modern Olympic history.
Ed Hockenbury, Northfield, basketball: The winningest men’s basketball coach in Norwich University history, the late Ed Hockenbury Sr. led the Cadets to their first two appearances in the NCAA Division III tournament. In 16 years at Norwich, he amassed 181 wins, bringing the program from a sub-.500 level to New England prominence.
Thomas M. ‘Tom’ Pierce, Rutland, golf: Vermont’s most accomplished men’s amateur golfer by dominating the sport from the mid-1930s to the 1950s, the late Tom Pierce is the first men’s golfer to be inducted in the VSHOF. As a 16-year-old in 1935, Pierce won the first of his record seven Vermont Amateur golf championships. The long-time Rutland County Club members added state titles in 1938, 1939, 1940, 1946, 1947 and 1950. He also had great success at the northeast and national level reaching the match play portion of the U.S. Amateur Championship four times. He won RCC’s inaugural Leslie D. Pierce Memorial, named for his father.
Sarah Schreib, East Fairfield, basketball: The state’s top high school basketball player as a senior at Essex, Schreib went to D-I James Madison where she was an all-conference standout. She graduated at Essex as the all-time leading scorer (1663 points), and at James Madison, the career leader in rebounds.
Libby Smith, Essex, golf/basketball: An outstanding athlete at Essex High, Smith went on to a standout career in basketball and golf at UVM, later earning a spot on the LPGA Tour. On the court at she was a four-year starter at Essex helping the Hornets to a 93-3 record including three 24-0 seasons and winning four state titles.
Carol Weston, Bristol, ice hockey/multi-sport: The Mount Abraham graduate is the first female hockey player inducted in the VSHOF. Carol Weston was a pioneer in the then-young sport of women’s ice hockey as she went from rural Vermont to star for a top NCAA Division I program at the University of New Hampshire. She was a four-year regular on defense for UNH (1987-91), where she helped lead UNH to back-to-back ECAC titles as a junior and a senior.