Former major leaguer Ryan Flaherty, longtime NFL player Mike DeVito and current Olympian Clare Egan are among the 12-member 2022 class for the Maine Sports Hall of Fame that was announced Sunday.
The induction ceremony will be Oct. 30 at Portland’s Merrill Auditorium. Tickets will go on sale June 1 at mshof.com/tickets.
The inductees are:
• Ron Cote, a three-sport star at St. Louis High School in Biddeford who played quarterback for three years at the University of Maine and then had a long coaching career at both the high school and college levels, including winning more than 350 games as a boys’ and girls’ basketball coach at Biddeford High School.
• Mike DeVito, who played nine NFL seasons as a defensive end for the Kansas City Chiefs and New York Jets after starring for UMaine.
• Clare Egan, a member of the 2018 and 2022 U.S. Olympic teams in biathlon. Egan was a standout runner and skier for Cape Elizabeth High School and a track and field All-American at Wellesley College. She’s the chair of the International Biathlon Union Athletes’ Committee.
• Ryan Flaherty, a three-sport standout at Deering High School who played eight seasons in the majors for the Orioles, Braves and Indians after earning All-America honors at Vanderbilt University. Flaherty is currently an advanced scout and development coach for the San Diego Padres.
• Christy Gardner, who played four sports at Edward Little High School and later became a top Paralympic athlete after losing both of her legs while serving in the Army. She was of the member of the U.S. sledge hockey team and was the 2013 USA Hockey Disabled Athlete of the Year.
• Mikey Leblanc, a snowboarder from Topsham who is regarded as a pioneer of skateboard-style snowboarding and street riding. Now an award-winning filmmaker, Leblanc is the co-founder of Holden Outwear, an eco-conscious clothing company.
• Lori McPherson, who won five state championships as the cheerleading coach at Marshwood High School and was twice named Maine’s Coach of the Year.
• Hank Pfeifle, a ski racer in high school and college who later became a top runner, qualifying twice for the Olympic marathon trials. After turning 40, he won age-group world championship and two national titles as a cyclist.
• Adrienne Shibles, a star basketball player at Mt. View High School and Bates College who then became a successful coach, twice leading Bowdoin to the NCAA Division III championship game. She’s now the women’s basketball coach at Dartmouth.
• Emily Caras Snyder, a standout swimmer for Cape Elizabeth High School and Cornell University. Snyder died at age 33 of cardiac arrest in 2020.
• Diana Walker, who recently retired from coaching field hockey after winning two state championships and nearly 400 games during a 39-year career at Sanford High School.
• Rod Wotton, whose football teams at Marshwood High School won a total of 16 state championships spanning four classes. Wotton, who died in November, finished his coaching career with a New England record 342 victories at Marshwood and St. Thomas Aquinas in Dover, New Hampshire.
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