Churchville-Chili High School will welcome four new members to its Athletic Hall of Fame this year. Also, for the first time, a varsity team has been chosen for recognition. The 2020 inductees, honored for their accomplishments and contributions to the Saints’ athletics program, are:
Gary Boyce – Coach
Gary Boyce coached varsity boys cross country for 17 years and was the first coach in school history for varsity girls cross country. During his tenure, he led the Saints boys cross country team to three division titles in 1981, 1982, and 1999 and four Section V titles in 1982, 1999, 2001, and 2002. He guided the 1982 boys cross country team to a 19-0 record and a second-place in the NYS finals.
Coach Boyce was also named the 2001 Section V Class A boys cross country Coach of the Year and holds the record for most coaching wins in boys cross country in school history with 207.
Mary Pat Dewey – Coach
Mary Pat Dewey coached the varsity softball team for 20 years and varsity girls basketball for 13 years. She accrued the most wins for a coach in girls basketball school history with 156 and also in softball with 204. She was named Monroe County girls basketball Coach of the Year four times; Monroe County softball Coach of the Year twice; and AGR girls basketball Coach of the Year in 1998. She piloted the Saints softball team to division titles in 1997 and 2004 and led the 2004 softball team to win the Section V Class AA title.
Coach Dewey was also the YAC Advisor to the school’s first Unified Basketball team. She assisted the promotion and all aspects of this sport during the first five years of its existence until she retired in 2019. Her direction helped lead Churchville-Chili to be recognized by NYSPHSAA and Special Olympics for having one of the best-run programs in the state.
Luke Pavone – Class of 2013
Luke Pavone is one of the best soccer players in Saints school history. As a three-year varsity soccer player, he was named 1st team All-County in 2011 and 2012, Monroe County Division II Co-Player of the Year in 2012. He was chosen for the Section V Class AA All-Tournament team and Section V Senior All-Star game in 2012. He was also a 1st team AGR and 5th team All-State selection in 2012. Pavone received an athletic scholarship to D1 University of Massachusetts. He played soccer there before transferring to Buffalo State College and playing three more seasons. He racked up many honors at Buffalo State, including being named 1st team All-SUNYAC in 2015 and 2017, 3rd team NSCAA All-East Region in 2015, United Soccer Coaches 2nd team All-American in 2017, and United Soccer Coaches 1st team All-East Region team in 2017.
Following college, Pavone signed a two-year contract to play professional soccer for Hapoel Petah Tikva FC in Liga Leumit, the second division league in Israel. In 2019, he signed with and is currently still playing for the Richmond Kickers in the USL professional soccer league.
Leslie Troup – Class of 1987
Leslie Troup was a highly talented three-sport athlete in volleyball, basketball, and softball; she earned 1st team All-County honors in all three sports. She set many school records in both volleyball and softball. Many of these records, especially in softball, still stand today, including the highest batting average in one season at .667 in 1987, highest career batting average at .542, most career home runs with 14, most hits in one season with 50 in 1986, most career hits with 123, most career RBI with 98, and most career runs with 95.
Troup went on to play both volleyball and softball for two years at Genesee Community College and then two years at SUNY Brockport. At Brockport, she was a two-time All-SUNYAC and All-State selection in softball and helped lead the Golden Eagles to both the SUNYAC and State Championships in 1991. She was also named All-SUNYAC and All-Northeast in volleyball in both of her years at Brockport. She was inducted into SUNY Brockport Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007.
2003 Boys Varsity Volleyball Team
This team of 16 outstanding athletes was coached by Joe Eschberger and went entirely undefeated at 24-0. They were Monroe County Division champs, the #1 seed in Section V Class A, won the Section V Class A title, and went on to become the New York state regional champions. Regional champion was the highest honor a team could win in boys volleyball at that time, as there was no official NYSPHSAA state championship tournament. The team members were: Peter Bartell, James Clar, Chris DeHority, Colin Dooling, Michael Fink, Brian Kelvie, Randy Mathews, Zach Owen, Eric Palumbo, Brian Rebman, Andrew Reff, Jeremy Rossignolo, Bryan Saeva, Chris Shekell, Keven Speares, and Andrew Zess.
The date and location for the 2020 Athletic Hall of Fame presentation are still to be determined.
Churchville-Chili High School’s Athletic Hall of Fame celebrates the accomplishments of outstanding athletes, coaches, administrators, and anyone who has made a significant contribution to Saints athletics. For more information or to submit a nomination for 2021, visit www.cccsd.org/AthleticHallofFame.
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