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09/22/2024 10:23 PMTen people will be inducted into the Branford Sports Hall of Fame on Thursday, Nov. 21 at The Woodwinds in Branford.
The inductees include A.J. Alessi (2005), Branford’s first All-American lacrosse player and member of the school’s first state championship in 2003. Alessi scored five goals in the championship and was named the game’s Most Valuable Player. Jennifer (Wasserman) Badger (2001) was a four-year starter and two-time All-State selection who led the Branford field hockey team to an undefeated (23-0) Southern Connecticut Conference (SCC) record during her junior and senior seasons. Another inductee in Rich Balzano (1973) was the long-time American Legion baseball coach who led Branford American Legion Post 83 to three state and Northeast Regional championships, and three appearances in the American Legion World Series.
Anthony Castellon (1973) was a three-sport athlete at Branford High school, All Housatonic League basketball champion (1972), and soccer coach and volunteer in the Branford Youth Soccer program for over 30 years. Inductees also include Orlaith (Cunningham) Delgado (2004), two-time Southern Connecticut Conference cross country champion, New Haven Register All-Area Cross Country Most Valuable Player, and member of the UConn cross country and track teams.
Lindsay (Freund) DeGrasse (2004) was a three-time All-State and three-time New Haven Register All-Area gymnast, while Kara Glynn (1996) was a four-time All State and two-time state champion freestyle swimmer who went on to swim at Boston College, where she was a member of four Big East Championship teams and still holds the school record in the 800 Freestyle. John Limone (2002) was a two-sport captain and standout football and baseball player at Branford. Limone returned to his alma mater as a football coach in 2004 and was named head coach in 2013.
Mike Olt (2007) was a three-time All-State selection and state champion baseball player at Branford High School, two-time American Legion state and Northeast Regional champion, and four-year starter at UConn before being selected 49th in the 2010 Major League Baseball draft. Olt played in the Majors from 2012-2015 with the Texas Rangers, Chicago Cubs, and Chicago White Sox. Finally, Jeffrey Quinn Stoddard (2011) was a New Haven Register All-Area Baseball MVP, and he was the winning pitcher in Branford High School’s 2009 state championship game and the 2010 American Legion state championship game before taking his talents to Sacred Heart University, where he was a two-year captain.
The cocktail hour begins at 5:30 p.m. Dinner tickets are $60 and can be purchased by contacting Andrea Kenney at 203-605-5366.