Roxbury

High School

Athletic Hall of Fame

The Roxbury High School Athletic Hall of Fame Committee has announced the RHS Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2019. This class, comprised of six athletes, one coach, one team, and one athletic contributor, will be the fifth group to be inducted into the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame. These inductees represent over five decades of Gaels’ athletic tradition.

The formal induction ceremony took place on Saturday, May 18, 2019, at 5:00 p.m. at Roxbury High School. Please click here to view some photos from the evening.

The Class of 2019 Inductees

The Roxbury High School Athletic Hall of Fame honors alumni, coaches, and friends of Roxbury High School who have demonstrated exceptional personal achievement, distinctive contributions to the advancement of athletics and heartfelt dedication to Roxbury High School.

Their outstanding achievement and contribution to the Roxbury High School athletic program has deemed them worthy of this recognition.

Laura Ahern

Class of 2004, Laura remains the highest scorer among both boys and girls in Roxbury basketball history. Playing under the direction of 2017 RHS Hall of Fame inductee Frank Dekmar, Ahern scored 1,632 points in four varsity seasons. As a senior in 2003-04, Ahern led the team to a 23-2 record and runner-up finishes in the Morris County Tournament and the Section 1 - Group 4 playoffs. That 2003-04 squad went a perfect 16-0 in the Iron Division. Ahern went onto to become a four-year letter-winner on the Division 1 level at Wagner College.

Sandy Alexander

Class of 1978, Sandy played a significant role in transforming the girls cross country program at Roxbury from a new program into a powerhouse. As a freshman, Alexander was on the school’s first girls cross country team and won the individual Iron Area Conference title. Sandy won three Conference Championships in her career. She was the Morris County Champion as a sophomore and junior, and finished as runner-up in her senior year behind fellow Hall of Famer Nancy Seeger, a 2013 inductee. A four-year first team All-Morris County selection, Alexander was a part of three undefeated, Iron Area Conference winning teams in her career. She went onto a successful running career on the college level at Penn State.

Jessica Musmanno

Class of 2011, Jessica will be inducted as one of the most prolific players that the perennially successful girls soccer program at Roxbury has produced. As a midfielder, she played a vital role as a freshman on Coach Justin Renna’s 2007 Morris County championship club. Musmanno was a first-team All-Morris County selection as a junior and senior and a first team all-state player as a senior. In college, Musmanno appeared in 62 games and was a four-year letter winner for the University of Southern California.

Alan Andrews

Class of 1979, Alan played under Hall of Fame Coach Jim Fiorello. Alan was an All-Morris County selection as a junior and senior and an All-State selection as a senior. In 1978 Andrews was instrumental in leading the Gaels to their first Iron Hills Conference-Iron Division title. Andrews had a standout career in college, starting as a tight end for three years at Rutgers. Named a second-team Associated Press All-American as a senior in 1984, Andrews was drafted in the seventh round of the 1985 draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Mike Bennett

Class of 1972, Mike will be the fourth wrestler inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2019. Wrestling under legendary coach Sam Rossi, Bennett became Roxbury’s fourth New Jersey state champion as a senior in 1972 when he won the 178-pound title with a dominating 6-0 decision to cap off an undefeated, 24-0 season that also included a District 2 and Region 4 title. Bennett graduated Roxbury High School with an overall career record of 46 - 6.

Angelo Mangiro

Class of 2011, Angelo was a football stand-out and a key member of the 2009 sectional championship team. He will enter the hall as one of Roxbury’s most decorated athletes. Mangiro was a two-time first team All-State offensive lineman selection. He was selected to play in the Under Armour - All-American game after his senior season. Mangiro would go on to start for three seasons at center for Penn State University and earned the designation as captain his senior year there. Mangiro also contributed on the basketball court at Roxbury High School, where he graduated as the all-time leading boys scorer with 1,074 points scored in his career (a distinction he still holds) and led the program to its first-ever Morris County Tournament final in his senior season.

Coach Byron Collins

Coach Byron Collins helped transform the cross-country programs at Roxbury into one of the area’s best in the 1970’s. A popular English Teacher at Roxbury High School, Collins coached the boys and girls cross country teams from 1974-1995, and then again from 2008-2010. He coached Roxbury Hall of Famers Nancy Seeger and Sandy Alexander in his earlier years and coached four undefeated teams (two boys and two girls). His 1992 boys team went a perfect 8 - 0 in the Iron Hills Conference.

1998 Football Team

The 1998 football team has the distinction of being the first football team in school history to win an on-field state championship. (1926, 1928, 1959 were declared by the NJSIAA) Under the leadership of Head Coach John Quinn, the Gaels finished with an overall record of 10 - 2. After defeating Bloomfield and Randolph in the first two rounds, Roxbury stunned 3rd ranked Plainfield 7-6, in the Section 2, Group 4 state finals at Giants Stadium.

Bill Tardive

Bill Tardive excelled in football, basketball, and baseball at Roxbury High School. After graduating in 1953, Bill served in the Navy during the Korean War from 1955-1957. Bill is being inducted into the Hall of Fame because of the enormous impact his contributions had in the athletic community. Bill Tardive was instrumental in starting organized football in Roxbury. He and his brothers, Dominick and Vince, established the Roxbury Colts junior football program in 1958 to enable boys in Roxbury to play organized sports without needing to travel long distances. Bill would go on to coach the Colts for 28 years. He coached and mentored hundreds of Roxbury kids through the Colts program. Players, such as Hall of Famers Dave Bennett, Len Perfetti, and dozens of others that who go on to excel at Roxbury High School fell in love with the game playing for Coach Tardive.