Midcoast Sports Hall of Fame to induct eight more individuals

Wed, 07/31/2019 - 1:30pm

On Saturday, Oct. 19, the Midcoast Sports Hall of Fame will induct eight more individuals into the Hall of Fame at their annual banquet.

Inductees for 2019 include:

Ann Betts Daggett – Ann graduated from Georges Valley High School where she played field hockey and basketball. She was a Courier Gazette All Star in field hockey her junior and senior years but basketball was her sport of choice. She became a starter for GVHS basketball her sophomore year, helping the team make the Western Maine semi-finals before losing to Traip Academy. The team was 15-3 that year. She was co-captain of the team her junior year, as they went 18-0 during the regular season, losing again in the Western Maine semi-finals to Livermore Falls.

The team was also undefeated during her senior year, accumulating a total record of 85-15 during her four years at GVHS. Ann was selected as a Courier Gazette All Star in basketball during her junior and senior years also. She went on to the University of Maine at Farmington where she played basketball for four years. Ann captained the team her junior and senior years, was an All Conference selection both those years and was a 1,000 point scorer in her career.

David Deshon (Posthumous) - It is said that David was one of the best athletes ever to attend Rockland District High School from 1951-55. David played football, basketball, and baseball all four years and track his sophomore, junior and senior years. Basketball and baseball were David’s best sports in high school. He was often high scorer for the Tiger basketball team, scoring over 20 points per game in many of the Tigers contests. As a baseball player for the Tigers, newspaper clippings often mentioned his heroics of hitting a home run to win the game. David went on to the University of Maine where he played basketball in 1955-56 and 56-57, and baseball in 1956 until a career ending injury occurred in 1957. David passed away in 2015.

Scott Graffam – Scott graduated from Medomak Valley High School in 1974 winning varsity letters in cross country, basketball and baseball. He was MVP of the cross country team his junior and senior years, helping the team achieve four consecutive years as Knox-Lincoln Champions. In basketball Scott won three varsity letters, as the team was ranked #1 in Western Maine in 1972 and 1974, and a fourth seed in 1973. Scott was selected best offensive player for Coach Art Dyer’s Panthers his junior year and MVP his senior year, along with being selected as a Bangor Daily News Honorable Mention All State selection. Scott still has the single game and season assist records at MVHS. In baseball Scott’s teams were Knox-Lincoln League Champions four consecutive years, making it to the Western Maine Final in 1971 and the semi-finals in 1972, 73 and 74. Scott went on to Colby College where he played basketball, winning a varsity letter three years. Scott continued on in basketball as a coach for the past 36 years. He has accumulated 370 wins with numerous tournament appearances and selected as Coach of the Year in the KVAC, Eastern Maine Class A and Northern Maine Class AA.

Neil Lash – Neil graduated from Waldoboro High School in 1959, playing basketball and baseball his junior and senior years. He went on to Gorham State Teachers College (USM) where he played four years of baseball. Neil also played baseball for the Friendship and Waldoboro semi-pro teams and the Auburn Aces.

In the mid-70s he was one of the top road runners in the state. Neil has coached numerous sports at the high school and college level, served as director of Hoop Camp and been the unofficial assistant AD at Medomak Valley High School since 2003. Neil has dedicated thousands of hours over the years improving athletic facilities at Medomak and working on home events. One of his greatest attributes is the hundreds of student/athletes that he has mentored over the past 54 years as a teacher and coach.

Bruno Mazzeo (Posthumous) – Bruno attended Rockland High School in the mid-1930s, competing on the track team. He was an outstanding distance runner, holding the mile record for over 20 years until broken by MSHF inductee Bob Hillgrove. Bruno became interested in the Boston Marathon in the early 30s and hitchhiked to Boston, sometimes sleeping on park benches, to participate in many distance races there plus the Marathon. Three consecutive years he won the Revere 12 miler. Bruno ran the Boston Marathon six times starting in 1936, finishing as high as seventh place in 1944, Bruno and his younger brother Emilio (Dave) took turns winning the Portland Boys Club 5 Miler in 1941 and 1942 and were considered several of the top distance runners in the country. Bruno was inducted into the Maine Running Hall of Fame in 1994.

Meridith Messer – Meridith grew up in Aroostook County, graduating from Washburn High School in 1990. She played soccer for Washburn then went on to UNE in 1990, transferring to U-Maine Farmington in 1991 where she played soccer, receiving All Conference recognition and being selected as an All American Scholar/Athlete. In 1996 Meridith was hired as the girls varsity soccer coach at Camden-Rockport High School and this is where her Hall of Fame journey began. In the 23 years of coaching girls soccer at Camden-Rockport (CHRHS) she has 245 wins, making the state playoffs 20 of the 23 years, being KVAC Champions five times, several Eastern Maine runner-up spots, Northern Maine Class A Champions three times and State Class A Champions in 2016, 17 and 18. Meridith has been selected KVAC Coach of the Year in 1996 and 2012 and State Large School Coach of the Year in 2016 and 2017.

Josh Nash – Josh graduated from Medomak Valley High School in 1995 where he played basketball and ran track. In 1995 he won the State 200 meter dash at the annual State Track Meet. Basketball was Josh’s game though, becoming the All Time leading scorer in Medomak Valley history. He was selected as Mr. Basketball for the State in 1995, Class A Tournament MVP in 1994, All Tourney Team in 1995, and All State Teams in 1994 and 95. He was All KVAC all four years of high school and in 1995 was Courier Gazette Athlete of the Year. Josh received a full basketball scholarship to the University of Maine, playing a key role his freshman year, only to have a career ending injury occur during his sophomore year.

Larry Terrio – At Rockland District High School Larry played football, basketball and baseball. In football, as a running back, he had a 300-yard rushing game, scoring three touchdowns. He was captain of the 1960 KVAC Champion basketball team that went 15-3 and played in the Eastern Maine Tournament. In baseball, Larry batted over .300. He was offered a scholarship to play basketball at Colby College. Larry has also made his mark in the Midcoast area as a coach at many levels, including Little League, Babe Ruth, and high school basketball and baseball. He served as the varsity boys’ basketball coach at RDHS for five years after serving 10 years as the assistant with teams making the tournament during 10 of those 15 years. Larry was hired as the first recreation director for the town of Thomaston in 1977 and was instrumental in starting many youth programs in the area, serving as president of several local baseball leagues, and initiating many special sporting events for both boys and girls.