Woodland Hall of Fame inaugural class set

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BEACON FALLS — There are some things in life that just don’t happen that much—perfect weather for a week of vacation, the whole family looking dapper for a portrait, or our favorite football team winning the Super Bowl (at least for us Jets fans).

Here’s another thing—the selection of the inaugural class in a hall of fame.

The Woodland Regional High School Hall of Fame Committee recently voted on its first class for the brand-new WRHS Hall of Fame to celebrate the conclusion of the 10th year of the school, so without further ado, here are the seven historic inductees.

•    The 2004 Woodland football team is one of two group inductees in the inaugural class. The 2004 Hawks, under head coach Chris Anderson, were the only undefeated team in any sport in Woodland history and won the school’s first state championship. They finished ranked sixth in the final New Haven Register poll and were CN’s Woodland Team of the Decade.

•    Chris Anderson started the Woodland football program and was its head coach from 2001-07. He won two Naugatuck Valley League and Class SS state championships while racking up a 49-21 record in six varsity seasons. He was the New Haven Register Coach of the Year in 2004 and is now an assistant coach at the University of New Haven.

•    Maureen Carroll was on the founding faculty of Woodland, first as an English and history teacher before serving as assistant principal from 2003 until her retirement in 2010. She was responsible for organizing the computer system for grading and scheduling and is still called by Woodland faculty the “moral compass of Woodland to this day.”

•    Gina DellaRose ‘05 was a combined six-time All-State, seven-time All-NVL selection as a soccer and track star. She was the first-ever All-State athlete at Woodland and still holds a number of soccer and track records. She was named CN’s Woodland Athlete of the Decade. She played soccer and track at Southern Connecticut State University.

•    Dr. Arnold Frank was the first and still only principal of Woodland. He was responsible for hiring the entire founding staff and others since, and oversaw the coordination of the building of the high school, curriculum, daily schedules and extracurricular activities. He also implemented the advisory program and block scheduling, leading Woodland to its NEASC accreditation.

•    Patryk Krakowski ’05 was the only three-year captain of the football team and led the Hawks to the 2004 NVL and Class SS state championships. He earned All-State honors in 2004, All-NVL honors in 2003 and 2004, and is still top 10 in state history in touchdowns scored. He was ranked fifth in CN’s Woodland Athletes of the Decade and played football at Marist College.

•    The Region 16 High School Cooperative was a coalition of Beacon Falls and Prospect parents heavily responsible for helping the high school building referendum passed in 1998 after decades of failed efforts. The group was co-founded by Theresa Graveline and Mike Miele and included parents from both towns.

Nominations for this year’s class were open to the public during March and April and the final class was voted upon by the 12-member WRHS Hall of Fame Committee. A similar process will be followed next year.

On behalf of the WRHS Hall of Fame Committee, CN extends its congratulations to the seven inductees in the inaugural class of the WRHS Hall of Fame.

The inductees will be officially presented and inducted as part of Woodland’s Academic Awards Night on June 9 at 6:30 p.m. in the Woodland auditorium.

1 COMMENT

  1. Congratulations to all the inductees and to the Hall of Fame Committee. As the Regional School system prepares to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the high school, the decision to initiate this Hall of Fame is fitting. There have been so many accomplishments over the past ten years, everyone involved must be extremely proud. Again, congratulations to the Hall of Fame inductees and to Woodland High School for a decade of firsts.

    Selectman Michael A Krenesky