PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — The new class of inductees for the Presque Isle High School Athletic Hall of Fame has been chosen.
Those to be inducted during the Jan. 15, 2016 ceremony at the Northeastland Hotel are Jack Belden, John Dean, Natasha Deschene, Dana Hews and Don Kilpatrick.
Dr. Belden spearheaded a group to establish hockey as a varsity sport at Presque Isle High School. He worked countless hours on fundraisers as the team began play during the 1991-92 season and 24 years later is still going strong.
Dean graduated in 1978 and was an all-conference player in basketball and baseball. He made the Bangor Daily News all-state second team in basketball. He helped the basketball team to the Eastern Maine finals in 1978 and the baseball team to the regional championship the previous year. He went on to enjoy a fine career at UM-Farmington and was named to the university’s athletic hall of fame in 2003.
Deschene was a three-sport star who graduated in 2005. She played soccer, basketball and tennis all four years and excelled in all three sports, receiving numerous honors along the way. She was an all-state soccer player, made the BDN all-state third team in basketball and reached the state singles tournament in tennis.
Hews is a longtime educator, coach, guidance counselor, athletic director, principal and basketball official. While at PIHS, he made soccer part of the physical education program and helped establish it as a varsity sport in the mid-1960s. He also coached basketball and led the 1961 team to an Eastern Maine championship.
Kilpatrick will be inducted posthumously. He is a 1938 graduate of PIHS and was a baseball standout for the Wildcats. He was a top-notch student who was involved in many extra-curricular activities. He went on to play three sports at the University of Maine, excelling in baseball. Kilpatrick enlisted in the military and became a bomber pilot. He was killed in action during World War II.
For more information on the ceremony or the hall of fame in general, contact Mark White at 764-6507 or Jim Carter at 551-3452.
