Vermont Technical College’s Athletic Department hosted its inaugural Athletic Hall of Fame event in conjunction with the college’s annual Homecoming weekend events on September 24-25, 2022, at its campus in Randolph Center, Vermont.
In total, 18 athletes and one administrator were inducted:
Basketball, Bob Pietryka, 1967
Nordic Skiing, James (Jim) Lehneman, 1984
Nordic Skiing, Andy Whitney, 1986
Nordic Skiing, Michelle Bean, 1989
Basketball, Lance Boire, 1999 & 2001
Basketball, Robby Cosgriff, 1999 & 2001
Basketball, Marybeth LaRocque, 2000 & 2002
Soccer, Chad Albrecht, 2002
Soccer, William (Billy) Field, 2002
Baseball, Jordan Hodge, 2008
Soccer, Shannon Leland, 2008
Cross Country, Justin Newland, 2011
Soccer, Amy Galipeault, 2011
Basketball, Kevin Carr, 2013
Basketball, Paige Wells, 2015
Basketball, Jamal Hughes, 2015
Soccer, Phil Hepburn, 2017 & 2019
Cross Country, Rebecca Broadbent, 2019
Administrator/Coach, Skip Distel
“We want to ensure that Vermont Tech’s athletics legacy is retained in a formal manner,” said Hilary Linehan, Director of Athletics and Recreation at the college. “The athletes inaugurated into this first Hall of Fame class showed exceptional talent and willingness to work hard both in the classroom and on the playing surface.”
Athletics have a long history at Vermont Tech, dating back to the 1960s. The athletic teams started as part of the NJCAA, competing with some schools within the same athletic conference for more than 50 years. After the college added its first bachelor’s degree program in architectural engineering technology in 1993, Vermont Tech moved over to the U.S. Small College Athletic Association, which rebranded as the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) in 2005.
Vermont Tech has a history of excellence in athletics, with hundreds of student-athletes earning national and conference All-Academic, All-Conference and All-American awards. Our teams have also followed this pattern of excellence, appearing in over 50 different Conference and National Championship tournaments and events, and winning nine of these.
“While we honor this year’s class of athletes, we know there are more out there that will be nominated for a future class,” Linehan said. “We expect to open nominations in late spring each year so please be sure to check the website to place your nomination.”
The Hall of Fame Kiosk is located in the alcove next to the SHAPE entrance on the Randolph campus. Visitors may view the Hall of Fame online by using the Hall of Fame link on the Vermont Tech athletic website under “Inside Athletics”.