Bridgewater-Raritan High School Athletic Hall of Fame 5th Induction Dinner 2026 By Bruce Doorly Photos by Dawn Wilde
	It was a festive occasion on Saturday, March 21st at the Bridgewater Marriott for the 2026 B-R High School Athletic Hall of Fame induction dinner. Over 320 people were in attendance as 14 players, 4 coaches, 2 contributors, and 3 teams were inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame. After five induction classes, this year marked a milestone, as the 100th person was inducted.
	On Saturday at 11AM inductees were invited to the high school to view their Hall of Fame plaques that were mounted in the hallway outside the gym. The inductees would receive an identical plaque later at the dinner to take home.
	At the dinner everyone received a 64-page program with profiles on the inductees, information on the Hall of Fame, and a list of previous inductees. The back cover featured a poem entitled “Shared Ground” by Lisa Adams Passyn of BRHS West Class of 1988, herself a Hall of Fame inductee. The poem is about the old East – West rivalry and the eventual merging of the two high schools. The usual cocktail “hour” that begins a banquet was two hours. The extra time is a necessity when old friends reunite to talk about their glory days of athletic stardom.
	On display was the once cherished trophy which in years past was in possession of the high school that won the East-West Thanksgiving Day Football game. That game was the premiere event in Bridgewater and Raritan from 1968-1991. Each game was attended by up to 10-12 thousand people.
	During the cocktail hours a slide show appeared on two large screens - showing photos, accomplishments, and quotes from the inductees. A professional photographer, Dawn Wilde, was hired for the event. She would take over 270 photos.
All photos by Dawn Wilde can be viewed in DropBox. Click for link
	At the start of the beginning of the sit-down portion of the evening the inductees lined up outside the room and entered to the sounds of a bagpiper. Opening remarks were made by Hall of Fame Committee chairman Dick Myers, who then handed the microphone over to the emcee for the evening Jim Gano. Jim explained that to involve the current high school athletes with the Hall of Fame - 14 student athletes would tonight be escorting the inductees as they came up for their individual speeches. Jim Gano put together a five-minute video about the history of the B/R High Schools – highlighting the football rivalry. The video was well received by those in attendance.
Chairman Dick Myers and Emcee Jim Gano
	Click for PDF of Slideshow about the Inductees
	The Inductees Two of the individual inductees were deceased – Peter Scavo and Carl Schindelar. Dale Dalrymple was not in attendance due to health issues. The four-hour evening never seemed to drag on, as the speeches were interesting and filled with sentiment. Each inductee could give a 90-second speech. There were many highlights from the speeches.
	Dave Wessell, inducted for East Football 1968-71, talked about many of his teammates. Then he ended his speech by saying “without my teammates, I would not be up here today.”
Dave Wessell
	Dan Engelhardt has the distinction of being the only B/R Athlete to be a starter on multiple state championship teams in the same year. In 1989, he started on the basketball and baseball team – both state champions. He thanked a lot of people, including family, teammates, and friends. He said that his coaches and administrators – Carl Weigner, Tim Ortelli, Norm Hewitt, and Vaughn Stapleton - were the epitome of integrity, leadership, and excellence.
Dan Engelhardt
	Christine Scavo accepted for her late husband Peter. On the podium she wore his high school varsity soccer jacket. Peter, the first soccer player inducted into the Hall of Fame as a Panther, was a leading scorer from 1992-1996. Christine said despite all of Peter’s athletic achievements, he was most proud to be her husband and the father of their four sons.
Christine Scavo
	Jim DeCicco, at a healthy 95 years old, was inducted as a “Contributor.” Jim was on the original staff as teacher and track coach when the high school first opened in 1959. He later was the principal at East High School for 12 years. He talked about his and other’s implementation of Title IX back in the early 70's that ensured that girls’ sports had equal access to funding and facilities as boys sports teams did.
Jim DeCicco
	Rob Apgar, inducted for East Football 1968-1971 - playing Center and Linebacker, started his speech by quoting a few lines from the Bruce Springsteen song “Glory Days:” Glory Days - they'll pass you by in the wink of a young girl's eye. Rob said that East Football were his glory days. He closed out his speech by again using lines from “Glory Days.” When we get old, we will probably be sitting around talking about stories and trying to recapture a little of the glory days.
Rob Apgar
	Dorcas Miller had the distinction of being both a player and coach in girls’ basketball. As a player from 1997-1999 she scored 1,389 points. She returned after college to coach at the high school.
Dorcas Miller
	The late Carl Schindelar was inducted for football and track. Back in 1961, he was the school’s first All-State player as a lineman in football who played both offense and defense. His induction speech was given by his track coach – Jim DeCicco - who said Carl was a coach’s dream. DeCicco said whatever you asked him to do, he did it. But perhaps the most interesting comment about Carl Schindelar appeared in the slideshow. As a football teammate said: “Carl was a 210-pound specimen who was strong and fast. When Carl removed his two front false teeth for games, he seemed like a man playing against boys.”
Family of Carl Schindelar - Carl during playing days
	Veronica Finlay was inducted as a contributor. She oversaw the fund raising of over $700,000 for the Turf Field at Basilone Stadium. She talked about how a team of members of the community came together to make the turf field a reality.
Veronica Finlay
	The State Champion 1983 East Boys’ Tennis Team was one of the three teams inducted. Six of the seven surviving members of the team were present including Cris Berglund, who traveled all the way from Sweden for the induction dinner.
1983 East Boys' Tennis Team
	The State Champion 1981 West Wrestling Team said that their Coach Mike Leta didn’t just teach them how to wrestle, he taught them how to lead, endure, win with class, and have fun at the same time.
1981 West Wrestling Team
	Perhaps the biggest ovation of the night was for Andy Martin. While he was inducted for his 1964-1965 basketball accomplishments, the crowd rose to their feet when it was said that Andy was awarded the Silver Star for heroism in battle in Vietnam.
Andy Martin on left with Jim Gano
	It was truly a remarkable night. The B/R Athletic Hall of Fame welcomes nominations from the public for next year’s induction class. The nominations deadline for the next induction class is August 31st, 2026. Nominations can be made at the Hall of Fame website www.brathletichof.com - click for link
The entire induction dinner can be seen on YouTube. Click for link
	The full list of the 2026 Inductees: Rob Apgar – BRHS East Dale Dalrymple – BRHS East Jim DeCicco – Contributor – East Dan Engelhardt – BRHS West Veronica Finlay – Contributor Katie Geiger – BRHS East Andy Martin – BRHS Dorcas Miller – BRHS Panthers Michelle Possessky – BRHS West Chris Raffo – BRHS East Peter Scavo – BRHS Panthers Carl Schindelar – BRHS Tom Shoolbraid – BRHS East Dave Wessel – BRHS East Charlie Winchock – BRHS West Bob Fischer – Coach BRHS West Gus Duryea – Coach BRHS East & West Norm Hewitt – Coach BRHS West Tony Maglione – Coach BRHS West & Panthers 1989 East Football Team 1983 East Boy’s Tennis Team 1981 West Wrestling Team