Londonderry High School will be inducting a new class of Hall of Fame recipients on the evening of Saturday, Sept. 23, with folks from Londonderry High sports, the arts, academics, and the Londonderry community at large receiving the honor of being placed among some of the most significant contributors to LHS history in the hall.
That group of 10 individuals will be inducted at the end of Mack Plaque play, during which varsity games are played between the Londonderry High and Pinkerton Academy fall sports squads. The induction ceremony will be held from 6-9 on the night of the 23rd in the LHS cafeteria.
“Once again the committee did an excellent job of selecting a well-rounded group of individuals that have distinguished themselves with many great accomplishments associated with their time at Londonderry High School and beyond,” said LHS athletic director and Hall of Fame committee member Howard Sobolov.
Among the inductees will be LHS Class of 2008 grad and professional football player Ryan Griffin and newly-retired Londonderry school superintendent Nate Greenberg. But there are absolutely no slouches of any kind among the 10-person group of hall of famers-to-be.
Other folks with distinct connections to Londonderry High sports are former multi-sport star Jon McMahon (Class of 2007), track and field standout Becca Parascandola (Class of 2010), longtime softball coach and math teacher Wayne MacDougall, MacDougall’s former varsity assistant and sub-varsity softball coach/ English teacher/Athletic Leadership Counsel Director Crystal Rich, and Class of 2011 graduate and former all-state musician Nick DeFrancesco, who sang the national anthem a great many times prior to LHS sporting events during his four years at the school.
Other inductees include LHS English teacher and school newspaper director Mary DeWinkeleer, current Londonderry High principal and huge sports supporter – not to mention a former Manchester Memorial basketball star – Jason Parent, and valued community member William O’Connor.
The most high-profile of the inductees is unquestionably Houston Texans’ talented tight end Griffin, who has become a veteran National Football League standout since graduating from the University of Connecticut.
Whether or not he’ll be able to attend the induction ceremony – with his Texans playing in Foxboro, Mass., against the New England Patriots the next day – is still in question. The folks in the LHS athletic department office haven’t had any recent contact with the LHS grad.