Six alumni inducted to Foxcroft Academy Athletic Hall of Fame

    DOVER-FOXCROFT — Foxcroft Academy inducted the following six new members to the Foxcroft Academy Athletic Hall of Fame at halftime of Sept. 20’s thrilling 28-27 victory over Belfast:

Photo courtesy of Foxcroft Academy senior Bob Chen
HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2013 — Six new members were inducted into the Foxcroft Academy Athletic Hall of Fame this year, and the half dozen were recognized during halftime of the Sept. 20 football game. From left is Bob Thomas ’64, Jenny Joyce Stuckey ’79, Jerod Rideout ’08, Virginia Appleby Robinson ’56, Lisa Robinson Richardson ’85 and Lou Stevens ’49. 
  Lou Stevens ’49 – While a student at Foxcroft Academy, Lou served as team manager for the football, basketball and baseball teams, earning three white rings for his left sleeve on his varsity letter sweater. He remembers scrubbing the court at Central Hall with Coach Stewart to remove the wax flakes left from the previous night’s dance.
    After graduating from Foxcroft Academy, Lou earned a B.S. in journalism from Boston University and served two years in the U.S. Army. He covered local sports as a reporter for the Piscataquis Observer and Eastern Gazette for many years and authored two books on the history of Foxcroft Academy football. Lou’s name has become synonymous with high school sports in Piscataquis County, and in 1994 he received the “Media Award” from the Maine Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association.
    Virginia Appleby Robinson ’56 – Ginny played basketball and softball during her years at Foxcroft Academy, and she and her peers were trendsetters in putting Pony female athletics on the map. Legendary coach and fellow Hall of Famer Lap Lary said she was the most gifted athlete he ever coached.
    In basketball she was the leading scorer on two county championship teams in 1955 and 1956, once scoring 28 second-half points to will her team to a win over Milo after a sluggish first half. In softball Ginny played shortstop and batted clean up, and was, according to Lary, a natural. As the team’s best defensive player and leading hitter, she led FA to its first softball county championship, igniting a stretch in which the Ponies won 12 in 15 years.
    Bob Thomas ’64 – Bob played football, basketball, and baseball at Foxcroft Academy in the early 1960s. In football, he scored a team-leading eight touchdowns in 1963 and led the Ponies to the state championship under coach Walt Beaulieu. He was named to the LTC Second Team as a quarterback and was elected captain both his junior and senior years.
    Bob also earned the respect of his peers on the basketball court, being voted captain his junior and senior year and earning a selection to the All-State Third Team as a senior after leading the league in scoring.  He cited a tournament basketball game against Madison in 1964 as a particularly memorable point in his high school career. Bob has stayed quite active since leaving FA, completing 29 triathlons, running 27 full marathons and finishing first among Maine competitors in the 1977 Boston Marathon.
    Jenny Joyce Stuckey ’79 – During her tenure at Foxcroft Academy, Jenny was a standout athlete in field hockey and track and a pioneer in cheerleading. As captain of the field hockey squad, she led her team to the Eastern Maine finals and was voted team MVP for both her mastery of the game and her leadership. As a cheerleader, Jenny led the squad to its first-ever state championship, with judges noting the team’s discipline in performing precision dance, gymnastic tumbling, pyramids, and double stunts. She was later invited to become a professional cheerleading instructor for the National Cheerleaders Association.
    During track season, Jenny set a school record in the 80-yard low hurdles, consistently qualified for states in hurdles and the 100-yard dash, and was named team captain her senior year. She was awarded the Earnest Lap Lary Award as her class’s most outstanding female athlete and the Jon B. Weatherbee Award for being a standout all-around student who excelled in athletics, academics, and leadership.
    Jenny went on to become a member of the dance company and the cheerleading team at UMO, and she later moved to New York City to become an actor, model and spokesperson. She recalls a deep respect and love for Gene Philpot, her field hockey and track coach, who she described as a consummate professional with a sparkling sense of humor who taught her players to be champions. She also credits Mr. Jim Brown for bringing Twain and Shakespeare to life and Mr. Wayne Champeon for his model of integrity and elegance.
    Lisa Robinson Richardson ’85 – Lisa played field hockey, basketball, and softball during her career at Foxcroft Academy. A four-year starter in field hockey, she played halfback and led her team to the playoffs three times, garnering team MVP and All-State honors following both her junior and senior seasons.
    Lisa was also a four-year starter in basketball, leading the Ponies in assists and points her last three seasons and averaging 12.5 points per game as a senior to earn a spot on the Piscataquis Observer’s All-County Team. In softball she played shortstop and was the team MVP her final three seasons, identified as “the team’s catalyst” by Coach Jim Brown. After graduation, Lisa went on to star for the University of Maine at Farmington field hockey team and was inducted to their Hall of Fame in 2004.
    Jerod Rideout ’08 – Jerod played football and wrestled during his time at Foxcroft Academy. In football he was known as a hard-nosed tailback and fierce outside linebacker, but in was on the wrestling mat that he shined most brightly, finishing with a career record of 158-12. He is one of only a few four-time state champions in Maine wrestling history and was also a four-time regional and conference champion.
    As a junior he won his weight class in the prestigious McDonald’s tournament and was named Outstanding Wrestler of the Meet, and he also won the highly-competitive Sanford Redskin Tournament as a sophomore and Noble Tournament as a junior. Jerod was named to the Maine wrestling.com All-State Team and the Maine Sunday Telegram First Team as a sophomore and junior and as a senior he battled injuries but still managed to win the state final on his home mat in a match that many consider the most exciting  they’ve ever seen at FA. Jerod graduated in 2008 as Foxcroft Academy’s career record holder in wins, pins, takedowns and technical falls.