By Janelle Davis
Liverpool High School inducted four individuals and two teams into the athletic hall of fame at and induction and awards ceremony on Friday, Sept. 15, at 4:30 p.m. in the Liverpool Athletics lobby at LHS. They continued introductions of the inductees during halftime at the Hall of Fame football game versus Henninger.
The Liverpool High School Athletic Hall of Fame Committee historically honors former Liverpool graduates who have accomplished themselves on the athletic fields at LHS.
The first class of inductees took place in 1987.
The gymnasium lobby at LHS houses the hall of fame inductees with plaques to honor over 200 past inductees for their athletic achievements and contributions to the athletic program.
Nominations for inductees are accepted each year in April. Once the nomination is submitted, the nominee remains eligible to be inducted for the following five years.
Eligibility includes candidates to have attended Liverpool High School, a written resume submitted of his or her athletic achievements at LHS, have participated in at least one varsity sport at LHS, and be at least five years out of high school.
Among the inductees on Friday was Michael Parsons, nominated for his achievement in baseball.
He graduated in 2011.
Shawn Peake remembered Parson’s athletic achievements.
“Mike was one of the best people and baseball players to ever walk the halls of LHS,” Peake said. “My teammate who set multiple records and had some of the most success in Liverpool baseball history, passed away at 30 years old. We won sectionals in 2011. His legend will always live on. To get Michael into the hall of fame is beyond deserving.”
Also inducted was Ben Petrella for cross country and track and field.
Graduating in 2016, Petrella held many honors, including multiple state championships.
He won the Individual State Champion in Cross Country in 2015, was the Individual State Champion in Outdoor Track in 2016, and still holds the New York State outdoor meet record.
Petrella continued his running career at the US Military Academy at West Point, where he was an Academic All-American. He graduated from USMA at Westpoint in 2020. He is currently stationed in South Korea.
Brianna Socker was recognized for her abilities in field hockey and basketball.
She graduated from LHS in 2017.
A quote from her nomination describes her dedication, “Bre was a four-year member of the Liverpool Field Hockey team and a three-year member of the Liverpool Basketball team. She cherished her time at Liverpool both academically and athletically. Her teammates valued her opinions and expertise both on and off the field. The lessons she learned from her coaches and teammates at Liverpool helped her succeed both on the field and in college.”
Jeff “JJ” Ross was honored for swimming, diving, and crew.
“At Liverpool High School JJ not only excelled in swimming and crew, but also in the classroom. He finished sixth in his class out of 524 and received many academic awards,” JJ’s father, Jeff Ross said.
His academic awards include the 2018 Section III Scholar-Athlete Award and the 2018 Academic All-American. Ross is currently a United States Army Ranger.
One of the LHS teams inducted was the Boys Varsity Cross Country Team (2015) which included Ben Petrella, Ty Brownlow, Stevie Schulz, Terrell Coleman, Ryan Comstock, Dan Hunt, Gabe Albert, and Coach Tracey Vannatta.
Only some of their accolades include first place at the McQuaid Invitational, Section lll Class A Champions, second place NYSPHSAA Champions, and first place NXN NY Regional, qualifying for the NXN National championship.
The other team to be inducted into the Liverpool Highschool Athletic Hall of Fame was the Boys Varsity Baseball Team (2017) who included Nick Antonello, Peter Belgrader, Tommy Bianchi, Jordan Brown, Joel Ciccarelli, Jeff DeStefano, Jake Evans, Brandon Exner, Jonah Harder, Andre Leatherwood, Devan Mederios, Gerard Mouton, Zach Pieklik, Matt Rioux, Niko Saunders, Zach Scannell, Zach Scharett, Jake Sisto, Ryan Syrko, Owen Valentine, Joey Zywicki, Coach Fred Terzini, Coach Matt Dolph, Coach CJ Vivacqua and Coach Dan LaDuke.
“These boys were and still are a brotherhood of talented, successful young men who deserve to be recognized for their accomplishment of being the first-ever NYS champions for varsity baseball in school history,” Christine Ciccarelli said.
