Pair of individuals, 2012 baseball team selected as 2023 NECC Hall of Fame Class
The Northern Essex Community College Athletic Department has announced its Hall of Fame Class of 2023. The 2023 class will be formally inducted in a ceremony on March 2nd.
Haverhill, MA (December 19, 2022) – The Northern Essex Community College Athletic Department has announced its Hall of Fame Class of 2023. The 2023 class will be formally inducted in a ceremony on March 2nd. The Class will include former All-American track and cross-country standout Laura Rudd and the 2012 baseball team. The class will also include Eagle-Tribune sports writer Dave Dyer who will be the first inductee to the Hall of Fame in the Contributor category.
Rudd, a native of Amesbury and 2007 graduate of NECC was a four-time All-American in track and field and cross country while doubling as a two-time Academic All-American. On the track she earned a pair of All-America awards in 2006 in the 5,000m and 10,000m, and repeated the feat in the 10,000m in 2007 by virtue of top three finishes in each race at the national championship. On the trails she earned All-America status in 2007 with an 11th place finish in the national meet. During her time with the Knights Rudd held three different school records and today still ranks as the record holder in the 5,000- and 10,000-meter events.
The 2012 baseball team was the first team in the programs history to reach the 30-win plateau as they finished with an overall record of 30-9 and finished with a third-place finish at the 2012 NJCAA World Series. Coached by Chris Shanahan, the team set the standard for the college as it would reel off five straight trips to the World Series. Ranked in every weekly national poll except for the first ranking of the season, the Knights ranked as high as third in the polls. The team included national batting champion Pat Parker who batted .507 and the team finished third in national batting average at .378. 14 members of the team went on to continue their careers at four-year institutions throughout the northeast.
No local sportswriter in the Merrimack Valley has provided more coverage and exposure to the Knights athletics program than longtime Eagle-Tribune sports writer Dave Dyer over his near four-decade tenure at the newspaper. Known nationally for his high school wrestling coverage, Dyer has spent countless hours in the Knights gymnasium and on the fields providing individual game coverage and feature stories on student-athletes from throughout the region and beyond.
The 2023 Hall of Fame class will be the fourth class inducted into the Hall of Fame since its inception in 2019 and bring the total hall to nine members including three teams and six individuals. The ceremony set for March 2nd will be held in the Hartleb Technology Center on the Haverhill campus at 6:00pm. The event will feature a buffet dinner and cash bar. Tickets are available for $35 by clicking here. For additional information on the Northern Essex Community College Athletic Hall of Fame please contact NECC Director of Athletics Dan Blair dblair@necc.mass.edu