Norwich Announces Hall of Fame Class of 2019

Posted on , updated on by George Commo

Courtesy Norwich Sports Information

NORTHFIELD –– Norwich University Director of Athletics Tony Mariano announced the inductees for Norwich University’s Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2019 on Wednesday.

Nine individuals and the 1984 men’s soccer team will be recognized as part of NU Homecoming and Bicentennial Weekend festivities Sept. 18-22. The inductees are as follows:

Nikita Kashirsky ’09 – Kashirsky had a decorated four-year career with the men’s ice hockey team, culminating with being selected as a two-time AHCA All-American in back-to-back years as a junior and senior. Kashirsky earned second team honors in 2008, scoring 20 goals and notching 22 assists for 42 points and helping lead NU to the NCAA Frozen Four. As a senior, he was named the ECAC East Player of the Year and earned First Team All-American honors after scoring 17 goals and tallying 17 assists for 34 points. Kashirsky totaled 73 goals and 71 assists for 144 points in 110 career games to rank tied for 16th on the all-time Norwich scoring list.

Chris Prybella ’09 – Prybella is one of the best swimmers in the Norwich men’s swimming and diving program history. He won two New England individual titles in the 200-freestyle as a junior in 2008 and he also won the 50-freestyle in 2006 as a freshman. He finished as the New England runner-up in three different individual freestyle events as a senior and also finished third in the 200-individual medley and the 800-freestyle relay. Prybella earned the “Senior High Point Man” award at the NEISDA Championship meet in 2009, helping guide the Cadets to a fourth-place team finish. Prybella still holds the 50-freestyle and 100-freestyle school records and is part of the fastest 400-freestyle relay team in school history.

Lisa Belmonte ’04 – Belmonte is one of the most decorated players to ever wear the women’s basketball maroon and gold uniform. She is the Norwich career assist leader with 596 assists, nearly 200 more than second best. Belmonte was a two-time GNAC First Team All-Conference selection as a junior and a senior. She ranks second all-time in steals with 274 and is third all-time in 3-point field goals made with 195. Belmonte was a three-year captain and was named the GNAC Rookie of the Year in 2001. She was a GNAC Second Team All-Conference selection as a freshman and ranks fourth all-time in school history with 1,292 career points.
Mike Archambault ‘94 – Archambault was a two-sport standout for the Cadets in football and indoor track. He was an ECAC First Team selection as a tight end as a senior and also served as a two-year team captain. Archambault earned ECAC Honorable Mention honors for his performance in a 19-16 loss to SUNY Albany. Archambault was also a star in the throwing events for the track and field program, serving as a captain on both the indoor and outdoor teams. He also placed fourth four consecutive times over two years at the NCAA Division III New England Indoor and Outdoor Championship in the shot put as a junior and a senior.

Andrea Parmelee Shotwell ’89 – Parmelee was a member of the inaugural women’s soccer team in 1985 and became an integral cog in the foundation of the program. She tallied 30 goals and notched seven assists for 67 points, which both stood as program records until the 1991 season. She still ranks eighth on the all-time points list and tied for fifth in goals all-time in program history. Parmelee’s nine points in a single game vs. New England College on Oct. 10, 1988 is still tied for the program record. She served as a team captain and was named the team Most Valuable Player for three straight seasons from 1986-1988.

Fred Gilbert ’69 – Gilbert is a posthumous selection to the Hall of Fame after he passed away this past June. The four-year standout swimmer shattered nearly every school record at the time, ending his career in 1969 with 12 school records and six pool records. He still held six individual school records in 1975 and was a member of two more school relay records that were eventually broken in the early 1980s. As a senior, he won 13 of 16 races and finished with a 29-3 record vs. intercollegiate competition. Gilbert earned All-New England honors three straight years from 1967-69.

Rich Brooks ’79 – Brooks is the first of two Distinguished Letterwinners in this year’s Hall of Fame Class. He was a three-year letterwinner with the men’s ice hockey team as a standout goaltender. He helped backstop Norwich to the most wins in program history at the time with a 19-10 record as a senior in the 1978-79 season. Brooks helped lead Norwich to the ECAC Western Finals, highlighted by a heroic effort in the championship game before the Cadets eventually bowed out with a 2-1 loss to archrival Middlebury.

Arne McMullen ’89 – McMullen is the second of two Distinguished Letterwinners in this year’s Hall of Fame Class. He was a three-year letterwinner with the football team and was the first-ever civilian captain of the team as a senior in 1988. He was one of the top offensive options on the 1988 team that finished with a 4-6 record. He ranked second on the team in rushing yards and fourth on the team in receiving yards to go along with three touchdowns.

Mike McShane – The legendary men’s ice hockey coach is this year’s honorary inductee into the Hall of Fame. McShane guided the Cadets to four NCAA Division III National Championships in his remarkable 23-year career at the helm of the Norwich men’s ice hockey program. McShane took the program to new heights, leading it to 12 NCAA Division III Frozen Four appearances and compiling a 497-130-38 record as the Cadets’ bench boss. He was named the New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) Coach of the Year a record 11 times and won five American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) Ed Jeremiah National Coach of the Year awards.

1983 Men’s Soccer Team – The 1983 men’s soccer team set the single-season record for wins with an 11-4-1 record. The Cadets had a seven-game unbeaten streak in the middle of the season, highlighted by a 2-1 win over the Coast Guard Academy. Two of Norwich’s four losses came to Division II opponents Saint Michael’s and Saint Anselm. Guido Verdelli was named an All-American and All-New England, while Frank Simonetti earned team Most Valuable Player honors. Verdelli scored seven goals and had five assists for 19 points, while Bill Gavin led the team with 11 goals and three assists for 25 points.

The 2019 Norwich University Hall of Fame brunch and induction ceremony will take place on Sunday, Sept. 22 at 10:00 a.m. in Plumley Armory as a part of NU Homecoming and Bicentennial Weekend festivities.