ATHLETICS AT LA
Athletics at Lawrence Academy have come a long way since James Lawrence donated the first gymnasium equipment in 1878. Used by both boys and girls, the gym — which also served as a study hall, theatre, and faculty meeting space — featured horizontal bars, dumbbells, Indian clubs, and the like. There were no fields until 1900, when Shumway Field opened, so outdoor “sports” were limited to walking and running. There was, however, a tennis court, which the Student Aid of June 1889 called “one of the pleasant features connected with our school.”
Football had been played informally since around 1880, though the principal, Mr. Ball, quickly banned it because of the destruction it wrought on the lawns (he proposed croquet in its place!). With a new field created in 1901, however, the sport caught on quickly. Out of a total school enrollment of 28 boys, 13 were on the team during that first season. Baseball thrived in those days as well, and basketball became a team sport within a few years.
The modern era of LA athletics really began with the arrival of young Norman Grant in 1929. He added lacrosse as a varsity sport, and in 1940, the school started construction of the Spaulding-Stearns Athletic Fields. By the end of that decade, the Fred C. Gray Building opened, providing the Academy’s first dedicated athletic facility. It included squash courts and a wrestling room; LA added the latter sport in 1950.
The athletic program expanded again with the return to coeducation in 1971–’72, and the construction of the Stone Athletic Center in 1993 provided up-to-date facilities for both boys and girls. The Academy’s first year in the Independent School League, 1976, saw undefeated football and cross-country teams; the football team shared the ISL championship. That winter, moreover, the boys’ varsity hockey team won the ISL Keller Division title.
Lawrence’s athletes in 1976 ushered in a new level of competition and recognition. Since that time, Lawrence Academy has celebrated numerous boys’ and girls’ championship teams in the ISL and the New England Division. In addition, many individual athletes have aspired to achieve greatness beyond their days at LA, in collegiate sports and with national teams, both as amateurs and professionals.
ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME
INDUCTION CEREMONY
O RDER OF P ROGRAM
LA Athletics: A Journey Through Time
Opening Remarks
Dan Scheibe, P’23, head of school
Welcome
Master of Ceremonies Richard Johnson ’74 curator for The Sports Museum, Boston, Mass.
COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Kevin Potter, P’13, ’15, athletic director, co-chair
Ben Rogers ’02, director of alumni advancement co-chair
Kim Bohlin Healy, director of athletic programmin, coach
Rich Johnson ’74, master of ceremonies
Sean Sheehan ’87, P’22, ’24, director of college counseling
Donna Mastrangelo, P’15, ’18, faculty
Paul Husted ’64, alumni council member
Pru Glover, program manager for alumni advancement
Many thanks to the following members of the LA community who worked hard to establish, produce, and facilitate Lawrence Academy’s Athletic Hall of Fame:
Dan Scheibe, P’23, head of school
Beth Crutcher, director of advancement
Caitlin O’Brien, P’26, director of advancement communications and special projects
Jonny Gotlib, assistant director of communications
Dale Cunningham, P’13, assistant director of communications
Zach Dawson, visual arts, technical theatre director
Bob Kramer, assistant head of school for finance and operations
Mike Poulin, P’18, ’21, equipment manager, strength & conditioning
BILL COKE CLASS OF 1974
F OOTBALL / H OCKEY
W RESTLING / P OLO
Bill Coke’s hard work on a dairy farm throughout his childhood prepared him well for an active and busy schedule at Lawrence Academy. His mentors, Ben Williams and Gordon Sewall ’67, taught him to apply his strong work ethic to academics and athletics at LA.
Bill, a remarkably well-rounded athlete, competed in a variety of sports while at Lawrence Academy. Prior to his arrival in Groton, Bill had never participated in organized hockey but grew up playing on local ponds. At LA, he played for Coach Bob Cullen, who was a fantastic hockey player and an intense and inspiring coach.
After two years on the team, he decided to try a new sport: wrestling. English teacher and coach Stephen Goldstein taught him how to wrestle. Perhaps influenced by his four-year sport, football, Bill didn’t dance around with his opponents but tackled them to the mat instead.
On the football team, Bill distinguished himself as captain and “one of the best football players ever,” according to his coach Gordon Sewall ’67. “He’s one of the finest I’ve ever seen because he goes to defense and has made 30 tackles.” Coach Sewall inspired Bill and the entire team to do their best.
Bill also enjoyed playing Lacrosse at LA and served as co-captain of the team.
Bill attended UMass Amherst, where he played football and lacrosse. A few years after graduating with a degree in business and finance, he began playing polo. He competed at the Myopia Hunt Club in Hamilton, Mass., for over twenty years and sponsors the Chanticleer Farm Polo Team. A lifelong athlete, Bill enjoys water skiing, downhill skiing, horseback riding, running and tennis.
Bill and his wife, Wendy, have two sons and live in Topsfield, Mass. He is a managing director and wealth advisor at J.P. Morgan Wealth Management. Bill is a Founding Board Governor of the UMass Club in Boston. He was on the Parents Council of the Brooks School in North Andover, Mass. and served two terms on the Board of Trustees at Lawrence Academy.
Bill treasures the relationships he formed on and off the field and believes that Lawrence Academy was the foundation of his personal and professional success.
Congratulations, Bill, on being inducted into the Class of 2024 LA Athletic Hall of Fame!
2024 INDUCTEE
JOE WILLIAMS CLASS OF 1984
F OOTBALL / B ASKETBALL / L ACROSSE
As a top-tier athlete, Joe played varsity football, basketball, and lacrosse at Lawrence Academy. Coming in as a sophomore from Fenn School, Joe was determined to make a name for himself as one of LA’s greats.
Growing up on boarding school campuses, Joe has always been around high school athletics. When Joe’s father, Ben, became Head of School at LA, Joe attended as many games as he could, admiring the students’ talents and accomplishments. Some of Joe’s fondest memories as a child were skating in the rink during stick and puck time, helping as a ball boy at games, and hanging out in the gym playing basketball.
In Joe’s early career, his first love was hockey, but he decided to put his energies and efforts into football, basketball, and lacrosse. As Joe began to develop as an athlete, basketball became his primary focus; he played on various AAU teams and the very competitive Crompton Park Summer League that existed back in the day, and he was invited to attend the prestigious 5-star basketball camp.
When Joe first arrived at LA, he immediately excelled in sports. When Joe became a senior, he was a captain in football, basketball, and lacrosse, selected to the all-ISL team for each sport, and a finalist for the McDonald’s All-America Basketball team.
Following LA, Joe attended Bowdoin College in Maine, where he was recruited to play both basketball and lacrosse. At this time, Joe decided that basketball was going to be his athletic focus. During his college career, Joe was a member of the 1,000-point club, was selected to the all-Maine basketball team in both his junior and senior years, and currently stands as the 10th all-time scoring leader in the program’s history.
Joe was very grateful for the opportunity to play sports at such a high level. Athletics taught Joe valuable lessons on discipline, preparation, and teamwork while developing meaningful relationships with players and coaches that remain intact today.
In his post-athletic days, Joe worked in the marketing department at Reebok before returning to the prep school world at Kimball Union Academy, where he served as an administrator and coach. Joe is now the Head of School at New Hampton School in New Hampton, NH, where he is not just a school leader but also teaches teamwork and fair play.
Congratulations, Joe, on being inducted into the Class of 2024 LA Athletic Hall of Fame!
2024 INDUCTEE
GRACE MOORE LEE CLASS OF 2004
S OCCER / B ASKETBALL / L ACROSSE
A twelve-letter winner and top scholar in her four years at Lawrence Academy, Grace was an outstanding three-sport athlete. She excelled in soccer, basketball, and lacrosse, and captained all three teams in her senior year.
Grace started at center-midfield in soccer, a position that allowed her to play two-way soccer and capitalized on her ability to distribute the ball. She earned All-League recognition in her junior and senior seasons and led the team to ISL and NEPSAC Championships in her junior year. In basketball, her coaches maximized her defensive skills and tenacity, often assigning Grace to defend the opposing team’s top player. As a ninth grader, lacrosse was a brand-new sport for Grace. Determined to excel, she transferred her speed and agility to the required stickwork and quickly became the starting center for the remainder of her career, gaining All-League, All-New England All-Star, and Most Valuable Player honors. She was inducted into the Cum Laude Society junior year and was awarded the Richmond Baker Prize and the Ferguson Prize for Leadership at graduation.
Grace went on to Bowdoin College, where she led the women’s soccer and lacrosse programs on and off the field for four years as a starting defender and senior captain. At center back in soccer, Grace harnessed her unrelenting determination and exceptional athleticism to shut down opposing offenders, garnering All-New England and All-NESCAC honors. She was voted the team’s MVP as a junior and the Unsung Hero as a senior. An even more decorated college lacrosse player, Grace’s defensive prowess inspired her lacrosse coach to rename the term “face-guarding” to “Grace-guarding,” and she used her speed and versatility to score several goals in transition each season. Grace was celebrated as an All-American, All-Region, and AllNESCAC lacrosse player. Grace was also recognized with All-Academic Honors throughout her collegiate athletic career. In 2008, Grace was named NESCAC Woman of the Year for her tremendous accomplishments in athletics, academics, leadership, and community service. She graduated Magna Cum Laude.
Grace is now a nurse practitioner in the San Francisco area, where she lives with her husband and two daughters. In her post-collegiate days, she continues to pursue athletic endeavors. She has run five marathons, qualifying for Boston in 2011 and 2014, where she ran a remarkable race, finishing in 3:04.
Congratulations, Grace, on being inducted into the Class of 2024 LA Athletic Hall of Fame!
THE 2001 VARSITY FOOTBALL TEAM
Guided by the leadership of the seven members of the Class of 2002, the 2001 football team achieved an exceptional 8-0 record, winning the ISL Championship. This record marked Lawrence Academy's first undefeated football season since 1976, when the team concluded with a 6-0-2 record.
A team of gifted student-athletes, the 2001 Spartans valued team success over individual accolades. Dominating their opponents by outscoring them 267 to 58, the first-team defense only allowed four touchdowns throughout the season. The exemplary leadership and skill exhibited by the team's four captains – Taylor Sele ’02, Andrew Narog ’02, Michael Ryan ’02, and Jeff Nadelson ’02 – were instrumental to the team’s success.
Taylor Sele’s extraordinary performance distinguished him as one of the standout players in Lawrence Academy football history, amassing 1,540 rushing yards and 24 touchdowns. Taylor’s remarkable achievements earned him accolades, including ISL Player of the Year, NEPSAC Class B Player of the Year, and a coveted position on the Gridiron Club of Boston’s “Super 26 All-State High School Football Team.” Andrew Narog’s defensive prowess, evidenced by his five interceptions from the linebacker position, earned him All-ISL and All-NEPSAC honors, with Coach Sean Sheehan ’87; P’22, ’24 calling Narog perhaps the finest linebacker in the school’s history.
Significantly, the team’s younger members made substantial contributions to its success, with Michael Ball ’03, Sean Ball ’03, Jarred Gagnon ’03, and Tim Lamare ’04 securing spots on the All-ISL team along with Sele and Narog. Notably, football was not the primary sport for many of the members of the team. Michael Ball, Sean Ball, Tim Lamare, and Andrew Narog played Division I lacrosse in college. Ed Tudrick ’02, Jarred Gagnon, John Geverd ’03, Jonathan Swift ’03, Walter Wright ’04, and Peter Vetri ’05 played college hockey and Sylvester Seay ’04 played Division I basketball. Sele played football at BC, while Chris Leon ’05, Jeff Nadelson, and Rayon Mattis ’05 also played football in college.
The success of the 2001 football team was indebted to its skilled coaching staff, led by Head Coach Sean Sheehan and Assistant Coaches Rick Arena, David Breeden, Lloyd Hamovit, Derek Krein, and Chris Millsback. Coach Sheehan praised the team's collective commitment to excellence, describing them as an exceptional group of athletes who embraced competition with unwavering determination.
With profound respect and admiration, we pay tribute to each member of the 2001 varsity football team, celebrating their enduring legacy of unparalleled success as they rightfully ascend to the Lawrence Academy Athletic Hall of Fame.
PAST INDUCTEES
2014 INDUCTEES
Raymond T. “Scooter” McLean ’32
Victor Heyliger ’33
William Flynn ’35
Norman B. Grant, faculty
Cindy Ryder Matthes ’84
David A. Jensen ’84
Laurie Baker ’95
2015 INDUCTEES
William J. Stewart Jr. ’39
Thomas B. Warner ’75
Richmond Baker, faculty
Victoria Wellington Hanna ’97
Craig MacDonald ’95
Anthony Voce ’00
The 1965 Tennis Team
2016 INDUCTEES
Guillermo “Memo” Cantu ’86
Jonathan Edwards ’91
Patricia MacDougall White ’93
Kristen Laggis Pedroli ’95
The 1955 Varsity Football Team
2017 INDUCTEES
The Honorable Judge
Harold B. Jackson Jr. ’57
The 1975 Girls’ Varsity Soccer Team
Tasha V. Taiste ’95
Christopher M. Spatola ’97
2018 INDUCTEES
The 1972 Boys’ Varsity Soccer Team
Stephen H. Heinze ’88
Edward J. (Ted) Crowley ’89
Heather Goehringer Causey ’89
2019 INDUCTEES
Nathaniel Holmes Bishop 1852
The 1959 Boys’ Varsity Lacrosse Team
Michelle McAteer ’99
Richard Roby ’04
The 2008 Girls’ Varsity Field Hockey Team
2022 INDUCTEES
Benjamin F. D. Lord ’75
Kyle M. McDonough ’85
Kim J. Knox ’95
The 1994 Girls’ varsity Soccer Team
Donna Bibbo Mastrangelo
LA Faculty 1985 – Present