Six athletes, two coaches, one team to be inducted into Avon High Hall of Fame

The fifth Avon Falcons Athletic Hall of Fame inductions will be Friday, May 1 at the Golf Club of Avon. Tickets are now on sale. 

Six former athletes, two coaches and one cross country team have been selected to be inducted into the Avon Falcons Athletic Hall of Fame on Friday, May 1, at the Golf Club of Avon.

Athletes Adam Blankenbicker (Class of 2000), Kyle Bourque (1998), the late Buddy Harris (1972), JD Kosakowski (1989), Ed Roy (1971), Caroline Schaefer (2014) will be inducted along with coaches Jack Trumbull and Frank Waters and the 1984 Avon girls cross country team.

Tickets are now on sale at the Hall of Fame website at https://www.avonfalconshalloffame.com.

Blankenbicker played soccer and track at Avon, earning All-State honors in both sports. He was a two-time state champion in the pole vault.

Bourque helped Avon win two state championships in boys soccer (1985, 1987), scoring 50 goals as a Falcon. He played soccer at the University of Vermont where he was four-year starter and joined the U.S. Army after graduation.

Harris was a three-sport athlete at Avon, running cross country and participating in indoor track and outdoor track. He was a state champion in cross country in 1971 and a two-time state champion in outdoor track in 1971 and 1972. He died at the age of 48 in 2002 after being involved in an auto accident.

Kosakowski, an All-State and All-New England soccer player, graduated as the leading goal scorer in school history (50 goals) before playing for Harvard University. In 1988, the Falcons were 20-0 and won the Class M state championship.

Roy was a standout athlete on the track and field team, setting a school record with a leap of 13 feet, 3 inches in 1971.

Schaefer was a standout player at Avon from 2010-13, helping the Falcons win three consecutive North Central Connecticut Conference (NCCC) championships and advance twice to the Class M semifinals. She played four years at Colgate and was inducted into the Connecticut Field Hockey Hall of Fame in 2024.

Hired a physical education teacher in 1967, Trumbull coached football, wrestling, girls golf and softball at Avon. He coached football in the 1990s. He coached the wrestling team for 10 seasons (1972-81) and led the Falcons to seven Northwest Confernce titles and an undefeated season (14-0) in 1972.

Waters coached the girls basketball team from 1997 through 2016, leading the Falcons to 13 league championships in the North Central Connecticut Conference and a state championship in 2008. He had a career-record of 378-95.

The 1984 Avon High girls cross country team won the Northwest Conference title, snapped Montville’s six-year reign as Class M champions and won the State Open title for the first time in school history, ending Montville’s three-year run as Open champions.

Over 70 nominations of distinguished nominees were carefully reviewed by the selection committee, and evaluated for athletic excellence, accomplishments in high school and beyond, and overall impact on Avon athletics.

Members of the committee are former AHS athletes, coaches, and community leaders, and include Lisa Abate, Al Dadario, Susan Rietano Davey (chairperson), Suzanne Lancaster, John McLaughlin, Jim Murray, Don Papio, Jon Yolles and Dave Zlatin.

To order your tickets, nominate an athlete for next year’s class, or learn more about the Avon Falcons Athletic Hall of Fame, please visit: https://www.avonfalconshalloffame.com

Previous induction ceremonies

2025
2024
2023
2022