By Christopher Tremblay, Staff Sports Writer

Twenty-four years ago, then Athletic Director Kelly Butler established the Hopedale Jr/Sr High School Hall of Fame with two teams, an athlete and an AD/Coach being enshrined. 

Since that inaugural induction Hopedale has unfortunately not placed another class into its Hall of Fame. 

Having taken over the Athletic Director duties five years ago Stephanie Ridolfi has always wanted to reestablish the Hall of Fame. In fact, she had gotten the ball rolling but then Covid-19 hit in 2020 and things came to a screeching halt.

“It has been way too long with so many teams and players going unrecognized,” the Hopedale AD said back in 2023. “We haven’t been able to give them the recognition they so rightfully deserve.”

Qualifications to be considered for the Hall of Fame are as follows:

Athletes must have brought distinction, honor, and Raider Pride to himself/herself and to the school athletic program through athletic achievement. Demonstrated outstanding character, sportsmanship, and citizenship while at Hopedale High School, graduated and be at least 10 years removed from graduation and received recognition for exceptional athletic performance.

Teams, in addition to bringing distinction, honor and raider Pride to itself and to the school through its efforts and achievements, must also achieve success at the District / State level while demonstrating outstanding sportsmanship on the playing field. They too must be 10 years beyond their championship date.

Coaches, Administrators and /or Contributors must have made a significant and substantial contribution to the athletic program, dedicated a dedication to the growth of his or her athletes both on and off the field and shown through dedication, character and enthusiasm a true love for the sport. They must have also had a significant impact and brought credit, distinction and honor to the Hopedale Athletic Program and the Hopedale Jr/Sr High School.

Last spring Ridolfi once again got the ball rolling and qualified applicants started flowing in. This past September, the second class of the Hopedale Jr/Sr High School Hall of Fame was announced and those individuals and teams were fully recognized.

“Our goal when we began this endeavor was to pay tribute to those individuals and teams who have contributed to the success of Hopedale athletics over the years,” Ridolfi said. “We wanted to create a social event that would bring together the great athletes and personalities of the past and present to share experiences with each other, their friends and families with our community.”

This year Ridolfi and her committee (Brian Dean, Tom Bresciani, Laurie Reynolds, Mike Bresciani and William DeVita) selected two athletes and two teams to grace the walls of the Hopedale Hall of Fame joining the first four inductees. Athletes Cheryl Daudelin and Robert Redden along with 2005 boys cross country and girls soccer team were finally given their moment in the sun.

Having graduated in 1989 Daudelin had served as class president and was a member of the National Honor Society. As a four-year starter on the basketball team, she made an impact right away during her freshman campaign as the team’s second leading scorer. The Blue Raider hoopster was known for her numerous block shots per game while averaging double-digits in scoring and rebounds for three seasons while with Hopedale. 

She was named to the Dual Valley Conference All-Star team during her sophomore, junior and senior seasons and was also the DVC Player of the Year in her final year with the Blue Raiders. In addition to those honors, she etched her name in the Hopedale record books by becoming the school’s first ever female 1,000-point scorer and was also the first female basketball player from the school to receive an athletic scholarship to a Division 1 college. She would go onto play for Providence College in the Big East Conference. 

Redden, a member of the class of 1960, was a standout 4-year player for the baseball and basketball teams. As a freshman, his 1957 team went undefeated on the basketball court and won the prestigious Clark Tournament. Unfortunately, his sophomore campaign was marred by injury and he was forced to sit on the sidelines for considerable time and was only able to see limited action. As a junior, he averaged 13-points a game playing center for the Blue Raiders and as a captain in his final campaign he helped the team to a 14-5 record averaging 24 points per game. Redden would go on to score a total of 441 points that season breaking the Blue Raiders scoring record. 

On the diamond he played various positions to help his teams. During his junior year while playing first base he batted over .500 and the following year as a captain and the team’s shortstop he help Hopedale to a 16-2 season with the team being named co-champions of the Tri-Valley League. In the playoffs against Bellingham, he hit a three-run homer over the trees in left field breaking a window of a nearby home to lead Hopedale to the victory 5-2.

In November of 2005 the boys cross country team made Hopedale history when they took home the State Championship under the guidance of Coach Joe Drugan. Prior to winning the State Title the Blue Raider team, made up of Colin Ogilvie, Thompson Ogilvie, Chris Betschart, Matt Turco, Arthur Posch, John Saras, Thomas Hagerdorn, Adam Miller, Joe Jarvis and Jeff Donaher, completed the regular season undefeated. Drugan put together a strong team that included five Dual Valley All-stars and the DVC Runner of the Year in Thompson Ogilvie. Ogilvie would conclude his senior season running cross country by taking home first place as an induvial runner.

Rounding out this year’s inductees is the 2005 girls’ soccer team coached by Patty Cronin and Kelly McGowan. The team consisted of Erika Apicella, Kathryn Benotti, Kaela Bresciani, Grace Burberry-Martin, Jessica Bushnell, Lekia Cowen, Ryan Farrell, Jillian Kizielewicz, Shanna Lathrop, Stacia Lathrop, Morgan Mason, Rachel Miranda, Hannah Mitchell, Lauren Mossman, Jessica Peacock, Lauren Peacock, Samantha Polikowski, Sara Tenenholtz and Lyndsay Travis.

Following the impressive season Coach Cronin called it the year of firsts.  Not only was it the Coaches first season at the helm, but she had a starting lineup take the field that included 5 DVC All-Stars in Cowen, Miranda, Mitchell and both Peacock sisters. The squad would enter the tournament being the first to ever qualify for the post-season at Hopedale and then blanking their first three opponents before going up against Douglas in the District Finals. Hopedale was able to defeat Douglas 4-1 for the first time in the program’s history.

Each of the firsts for the girls’ soccer team would lead to another opportunity to establish another first. After the District Championship the team went on to a 6-1 win in the State Semi-Finals and then captured its first ever State Finals Championship when it outscored Hamilton-Wenham on penalty kicks after two sudden death periods.

Qualifications to be considered for future Hall of Fame nominees are as follows:

Athletes must have brought distinction, honor, and Raider Pride to himself/herself and to the school athletic program through athletic achievement. Demonstrated outstanding character, sportsmanship, and citizenship while at Hopedale High School, graduated and be at least 10 years removed from graduation and received recognition for exceptional athletic performance.

Teams, in addition to bringing distinction, honor and raider Pride to itself and to the school through its efforts and achievements, must also achieve success at the District / State level while demonstrating outstanding sportsmanship on the playing field. They too must be 10 years beyond their championship date.

Coaches, Administrators and /or Contributors must have made a significant and substantial contribution to the athletic program, dedicated a dedication to the growth of his or her athletes both on and off the field and shown through dedication, character and enthusiasm a true love for the sport. They must have also had a significant impact and brought credit, distinction and honor to the Hopedale Athletic Program and the Hopedale Jr-Sr High School.

The official nomination forms may be found on the Hopedale Athletics home page or on their Facebook page. Applications must be mailed to Hopedale High School Hall of Fame c/o Stephanie Ridolfi, 25 Adin St., Hopedale 01747.