Six new members were inducted into the Hall of Fame at a ceremony and luncheon held in the cafeteria on November 28. The Selection Committee chose Neil Burke (football, baseball), David Fouracre (baseball), Ilya Nicholas (basketball), Brad Ostiguy (baseball), Deb Taylor Lewis (basketball), and the 1973 Super Bowl football team for induction.

“It’s great to be back to Algonquin,” Brad Ostiguy, Class of 1974, said. “This is a very cool day for me.”

“I look at kids in high school and say to myself, I know what you are feeling,” Lewis, Class of 1984, wrote in her personal statement. “It wasn’t long ago (even though it was!), and we are forever united by similar experiences. I would love to be in the Algonquin Regional High School Hall of Fame so that I can be remembered as a part of that again.”

“It is a honor, truly an honor, to be here to today and to participate in this induction celebration,” Superintendent Christine Johnson said. “At Algonquin, athletics is not just something that students do. It is, for so many students, what brings education to life. Thank you all who have contributed to this and the legacies you leave. We honor you today.”

Along with Johnson, Principal Tom Mead and Director of Athletics Karrah Ellis also attended the induction.

Many of the new members of the Hall of Fame continue to be involved in the sports that they played in high school. Lewis continues to coach basketball and even qualified for the Boston Marathon in 2004 and 2015.

“When I talk to my kids it is really just about enjoying every moment you get, whether you are a journalist or an athlete, because it goes by so quick,” Lewis said. “And then you get to come back and reflect on it, and you really want to be able to reflect on it in a positive and happy way.”

Dick Walsh, one of the four coaches of the 1973 football team, was also honored at the induction ceremony. The Super Bowl team of 1973 continues to be the only football team in Algonquin history to go undefeated.  

“They just happened to be a great bunch of kids that could work together and they refused to lose,” Walsh said. “It is great for them [being inducted]. It’s nice to see some of the old people come back.”

The Hall of Fame Selection Committee receives many nominations for possible athletes or coaches to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. The nomination process includes filling out a form and emailing it to the Chairman of the Selection Committee Kevin Merchant.

“It really is an honor just to be nominated because there are so many great athletes,” Merchant said. “[But] it’s which ones are good athletes, which ones are great athletes, and which ones are Hall of Fame athletes.”

Merchant was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2001 and became the Chairman of the Selection Committee a year later.

“All I wanted to do was to play sports at Algonquin,” Merchant said. “When you have a successful career and then someone calls you and says that you are considered one of the best athletes in the history of the school, it [is] incredibly humbling and gratifying.”

All the inductees, both past and present, have legacies that are commemorated not only with plaques on the wall but also their lasting impact on and off the field.

“Our current athletes and coaches respect the legacies of those being inducted today and began so many years ago.” Johnson said. “On behalf of the school community and the Northborough-Southborough Regional School Committee, I extend a congratulations to all of this year’s Hall of Fame inductees and a warm welcome to family, coaches, and supporters of what now has become not just one school’s sports program but an entire T-Hawk nation.”