Inter-Lakes to induct 7 players, coaches into new hall of fame in January

MEREDITH — Inter-Lakes High School will induct seven inaugural members into their new athletics hall of fame next month. Athletic Director Sarah Dumais is excited for the first class of athletes to be recognized.

Dumais was a former employee of Manchester West High School, and while there, she started the process for their athletic hall of fame. When she got to Inter-Lakes seven years ago, the district didn’t have one, and she started looking into how to get one together. The pandemic threw a monkey wrench into the initial plans, but now things are coming to fruition thanks to her work, a hall of fame committee, and the Inter-Lakes Alumni Association.

“I felt strongly as an athletic director that a school should have an athletic hall of fame,” she said.

The seven inductees represent a variety of high school sports.

Michael Roy, a member of the class of 1996, was star basketball player for the Lakers, who went on to play college ball at The Citadel, where he started at guard for three of his four years. He was a prolific scorer at Inter-Lakes, and shares the school record with 1,335 points.

Joan Pettengill graduated in 1980, and excelled in both basketball and softball. She owns the scoring record for girls’ basketball with a total of 1,329 points.

Thomas Allen is a 1986 graduate of Inter-Lakes, and is being recognized for track and field success. According to a previous article in The Laconia Daily Sun, Allen went to Northeastern University on a scholarship, and while there was recruited to be on the national bobsled team. He later became an alternate for the 1992 Olympic team, and later, the U.S. Olympic team manager for the bobsled and skeleton federation.

Nathan Torr retired from coaching in 2007, and is being honored for his work at the helm of the track and field, soccer, and basketball squads.

Danica Goodheart is a 2012 graduate who was nominated for her dominance in gymnastics, track and field, and volleyball.

Nelson Goddard, a 1968 graduate, was a three-sport athlete who shined on the basketball court and the soccer field, as well as in track and field.

Last but not least is Jim Durkee, who is being inducted to the hall of fame posthumously. Durkee, who died in 2014, was a coach for 45 years, all the way up to 2012, and is a member of the Walter A. Smith Coaches Hall of Fame, according to his obituary. He coached track and field, cross country, and basketball for the Lakers.

Dumais said last spring she was looking to the community for nominations. A committee got together and chose the first seven inductees, and those not selected will stay in a file for the next five years to be considered for the next round. There were 17 nominees altogether, so the committee is looking to have multiple inductions coming down the road.

“This is ongoing, so we are always looking for nominations,” Dumais said. “I’m not sure how often we will do it at this point, maybe every other year, or back-to-back. It will depend on the number of nominations we get.”

To nominate an Inter-Lakes athlete, visit interlakes.org/departments/athletics-home/athletics-home.

Meredith Selectboard member Steve Aiken, who is also the president of the Inter-Lakes Alumni Association, recently informed the board about the new hall of fame in the works, and it received positive feedback from the selectboard.

“We are very supportive of this program,” Aiken said.

The first class will be inducted into the Inter-Lakes Hall of Fame at 6 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 2, in the high school auditorium.