Grand entrance: Which former Westport athletes were inducted into the Hall of Fame?
WESTPORT — The Westport High School Athletics Hall of Fame swelled its ranks considerably during induction ceremonies on Sunday at White's of Westport.
The Hall welcomed 13 athletes, including a pair of sibling combinations, as well as seven special award winners.
MARTHA MANCHESTER
Class 1972
As part of two classes that attended the high school as eighth graders, Manchester played five years of softball. She went on to also play volleyball, field hockey, basketball and softball. The '72 field hockey team won the Bristol County League title. She played all four sports under the same, coach, hall of famer Joan Carpenter, who, Manchester said, “instilled in all of us a sense of good sportsmanship which I hope we all still carry today.”
GUS CARIGLIA
Class of 1976
An iconic figure in WHS athletics, Craiglia played four years of basketball and was captain/MVP, was selected all-league, and Herald News and Standard Times All-Scholastic his junior and senior years. The Wildcats won Bay State Invitational tournament championship in 1976. Cariglia, who plaed baseball his senior year, returned to coach varsity golf (2000-2015), freshman basketball, and JV basketball and baseball at Westport High School.
CHERYL (VIEIRA) GUILD
Class of 1998
A three-sport (volleyball, basketball, softball) athlete, she played varsity in all three for three years and earned multiple league and newspaper all-star honors. The school's Best All-Around Female Athlete in 1998, Vieira was a key and versatile member of softball program which went undefeated in the league in 1996. In basketball, she was a 3-point threat and in volleyball is remembered for her outside hitting. She has been teaching in Westport for 20 years.
STEPHANIE (GRANT) WARD
Class of 2002
A busy student-athlete, she participated in soccer, indoor track and field and softball, serving as a team captain in both track and field and softball. In the spring of 2002, she was named the Westport High School Most Outstanding Female Athlete for the school year. She subsequently coached athletics at the town middle school and has also coached in town youth leagues.
KRISTIN GIZZI
Class of 2004
Gizzi hit the courts and fields running at WHS, playing four years of both basketball and softball. She also played two years of volleyball and captained in all three sports. She helped the 2001 basketball team to the South Sectional semifinals, and she garnered multiple league and newspaper all-star honors. In her senior year, she was the school's Dave Cowens Award nominee and helped both basketball and softball to Mayflower League co-championships.
JENNIFER (FARIAS) CONNERY
Class of 2007
A two-sport athlete (field hockey, basketball), she was a four-year starter and Mayflower League all star and a two-time member of The Standard Times' basketball Super Team. She earned team MVP honors in both sports, was a Dave Cowens Award nominee for basketball, and was recognized by the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association as a female athlete who exemplifies commitment and perseverance. She has been teaching freshman English at Durfee High School for 12 years.
NICK JAGOE
Class of 2008
A fine basketball (Dave Cowens Award nominee) and baseball player, Jagoe made his biggest mark in golf. In his senior year, he was the Mayflower Lague's individual champion and was all league in golf, basketball and baseball. That same year, he was honored as the school's Outstanding Male Athlete and also given the Carigilia Memorial Sportsmanship Award. He had an outstanding golf career at UMass Dartmouth and is a PGA Teaching professional at Wanumetonomy Country Club in Middletown, R.I. He is the former head pro at Allendale Country Club in Dartmouth.
KATE (FARIAS) COOKE
Class of 2009
Sister of fellow 2024 inductee Jennifer, Kate was Westport High's Best All Around Female Athlete in 2008. She was a four-year starter in field hockey and basketball and two-time team MVP in basketball. Kate was selected as an EAC (field hockey) and as Mayflower League All Star (basketball) and a Standard Times All-Star recipient and two-time member of the ST Super Team. She was also the 2009 nominee for the Dave Cowens Award in addition to receiving the Joanne Charest Memorial Sportsmanship Award in 2008 and 2009. She teaches second grade at Pulaski School in New Bedford.
NICK FRIAR
Class of 2010
An earner of nine varsity letters (4 baseball, 3 basketball, 2 soccer), Friar was a tri-winner of the WHS Outstanding Male Athlete in 2010. In baseball, he batted .407 for his career and .519 as a senior while his career pitching numbers were a 1.75 ERA with 222 strikeouts over 172⅓ innings. His senior year, he had a nine-inning, 21-strikeout performance. He was named Mayflower League MVP for his junior and senior seasons and earned a baseball scholarship to D1 Northwestern University. He was a determined defender in both basketball and soccer. Friar graduated sixth in his class.
MATT MEDEIROS
Class of 2010
A four-year starter in basketball, he scored 1,118 career points and as a senior averaged an area-best 23.0 points per game. A two-time Herald News All Scholastic and a Standard Times Player of the Year, he helped the Wildcats to three sectional finals and is the school's lone Dave Cowens Award winner. He started three years in baseball and as a senior batted .409 with 30 RBIs and a 3-0 pitching record with a perfect game. WHS soccer posted a 41-14-3 record during Medeiros' three years as a starting defender. He was a tri-winner of Best All Around Male Athlete in 2010.
ALEX FERREIRA
Class of 2011
It took Ferreira a few minutes, at the most, to establish himself as a standout for the Westport High School boys soccer program. And by the time his four years on the pitch were history, the dynamic forward had re-written the WHS soccer record book. In his junior year, he set the school single-season goal-scoring mark by knocking home 45 goals. He finished his Wildcat career with a school career-record total of 140 goals. In the spring, Ferreira put his athleticism to use, playing two seasons of baseball and two seasons of tennis.
KAYLA KIRBY
Class of 2012
Westport High School's Best All Around Female Athlete for the 2011-2-12 school year, Kirby excelled in volleyball, basketball and softball. A strong-armed catcher who made a habit of picking off runners, Kirby in softball as a senior batted .375 with three home runs and 29 RBIs. She earned league all-star honors in volleyball, basketball and softball. She won both an MIAA Award of Excellence for Sportsmanship and the school's Joanne Charest Memorial Sportsmanship Award. At UMass Dartmouth, Kirby played three years of volleyball and captained the Corsairs her senior season.
JACOB FRIAR
Class of 2013
Younger brother of fellow 2024 inductee Nick Friar, Jacob was his brother's catcher for a year. A true student-athlete, Friar is the only Wildcat to be valedictorian and Most Outstanding Athlete in the same year. He earned 11 varsity letters (4 golf, 4 baseball, 3 basketball). In baseball, he earned multiple newspaper and league honors, was selected to EMass All-Star team as a senior, and earned a scholarship at Sacred Heart University. In golf, Friar as a senior placed third (78) at the sectionals to earn a spot at the state D3 tourney and was a multiple newspaper and league all star.
GLENN LINCOLN (Jeff Hague Award)
A coach for all seasons, he led the Wildcat volleyball, girls' basketball, and baseball teams. He coavhed baseball for 27 seasons (338-241 record), girls' basketball for 16 seasons (242-126), and volleyball for six years (75-53). He was an HFHS basketball coach of the year, a D4 South basketball coach of the year, a baseball D3 coach of the year, and was given a D3 Sportsmaship Alliance of Massachusetts Award at Fenway Park.
JOHN T. HICKEY AWARD
(service to Westport High School athletics)
Todd and Lisa MacMaster, Paul and Ann Vigeant, Larry and Nancy Ramos.
This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Thirteen former athletes are inducted into the Westport Hall of Fame
