Class of 2019

Ann Betts Daggett

Ann was one of the best two sports athletes that ever graduated from Georges Valley High School. She was a two time Courier-Gazette All Star in both field hockey and basketball. In basketball, her teams made the tournament four years in a row, won three Mid Maine Conference Championships, finished first in the heal point standings three years in a row, and won 45 straight games during the regular season. During her junior and senior years the Lady Bucs went undefeated during the regular season. During Ann’s career, from 1985-1990, their record was an amazing 85-15. She was also a 1,000 point scorer. Ann was a leader and served as co-captain her junior and senior years. An intense defensive player, she usually guarded the best big girl for the opposition and was a great rebounder. She also competed in the state foul shooting competition after making 48 out of 50 shots in the regionals. At the University of Maine at Farmington, Ann again was a 1,000 point scorer and was a key player in the revival of the UMF program. She was a complete player and could bring the ball up the court and score both inside and outside. Thanks to Ann’s leadership UMF became one of the best collegiate teams in the state. She was named Captain her junior and senior years and was named to the all conference team in both years. Her Junior year they were MAC runners up and her senior year they made the MAC final four.

Scott Graffam

Scott has been a highly successful high school basketball for 40 years. Coaching at Oxford Hills, Scarborough,and Medomak Valley, he has amassed 383 victories. His teams have played for one State championship in 1990, four Eastern Maine titles and 3 KVAC championships. During that span, he was honored by being named Coach of the Year in the KVAC 7 times, Eastern Maine A twice and Eastern Maine AA once.

He has coached two players who are the all-time leading scorers at their school including Josh Nash at Medomak Valley and Andrew Fleming at Oxford Hills. His 2004 team set an Oxford Hills best regular season win record with a 17-1 mark. Lately he has been on a consistent roll with 5 straight seasons of 10 or more wins and qualifying for 7 consecutive postseason tournaments.

Prior to coaching, he played at Colby College for Hall of Fame coach, Dick Whitmore. Earning three letters as a Mule, he was a starter as a junior and a senior. Scott had an outstanding athletic high school career at Medomak Valley between 1970 and 1974. During this span, he earned 11 letters along with several MVP's.

A four year letter winner in cross-country, he finished 7th or better in winning all four Knox-Lincoln championships. In winning three Central Regionals, he logged times that placed him 6th, 5th and 4th, respectively. For his efforts, he was named MVP both his junior and senior years.

Being the first in a succession of excellent point guards who played for Art Dyer, he earned three letters. The Panthers were ranked #1 in Western Maine twice and 4th once during this span. They finished as a Western Maine finalist in 1974 and as a semi-finalist in both 72 and 73.

Recognized for his accomplishments, he was named Offensive Player of the Year in 1973, and team MVP in 1974 as well as All-State Honorable Mention by the Bangor Daily as a senior. While scoring 799 points in his career, he still holds records for assists in a game and season. His 18 foul shots in a single game also still stands.

On the diamond he was the mainstay of four Knox-Lincoln title teams. They played for the Western Maine final once and made it to the semi-final game three times. In 1974, Scott was named the Medomak Valley Athlete of the Year.

All of these accomplishments came naturally to him as he was born into a competitive family as well as for all the hours he spent running cross country races in the house (yes in the house) and the thousands of nerf basketball games played in his room. So the rest of the family could enjoy these games, he also provided crowd noise.

Neil Lash

Neil W. Lash has a long history in the Midcoast as an outstanding coach, curator, community leader, educator and athlete. Neil's tenure spans from Waldoboro High School, Gorham State (Now the University of Southern Maine), Walton School and Edward Little High School in Auburn, Rumford and the University of Maine-Machias, coaching boy's basketball, baseball, girl's cross-country and serving as the University of Maine Machias Men's Assistant Basketball Coach. He was an outstanding athlete in basketball and baseball while at Waldoboro High School. In college, he was a four year pitcher for Gorham State. He played semi-pro baseball for Friendship, Waldoboro and for the Auburn Aces. His 1982-83 Medomak Valley Boy’s Basketball team went 17-1, a group that he still cherishes to this day. A true man of character, he stepped away from varsity coaching because he found himself thinking about x’s and o’s on Sunday mornings rather than praying in church. He is currently the unofficial assistant A.D. at Medomak Valley High School attending and volunteering for a myriad of games throughout the school year. Neil was one of the founding fathers of the Medomak Valley Nature Trail, and upon completion, the trail was dedicated to him in 2011. It is now called the Neil W. Lash Nature Trail. In 2010 he was honored by receiving the Medomak Valley High School Athletics Service Award. Perhaps his most significant contribution to basketball in Maine is his role in guiding and directing over six hundred players per summer at the legendary “Hoop Camp” in Casco, serving as the camp’s Director from 1970-1988. He currently serves as Vice President of Midcoast Sports Hall of Fame, and is the curator and director of artifacts for the “Hall.” Numerous visitors have mentioned that the “Hall” and its decorum is one of the best local Sports Halls of Fame in the New England region. At Medomak Valley Neal is known worldwide for his work with the Heirloom Seed Project. Not only did Neal sow seeds in the ground, but seeds in the brains of a myriad of students over the past fifty years. He and Jon Thurston co-founded The Seed Saving Program at Medomak Valley. This program is known throughout the United States and world, and the living history arboretum has touched the lives of many pre-med and life skills students from Medomak Valley.

Bruno Mazzeo

Bruno Mazzeo was born on February 19, 1916 and a graduate of Rockland High School, was one of the nation’s top distance runners in the 1930s and 40s. He, and his brother Emilio, competed against and beat many of the nation’s best, including John A. Kelley, Clarence DeMar, Les Pawson, and Gerard Cote. Bruno was also on Rockland High School’s football and track teams, and in the 1935 Knox-Lincoln track meet set a school record in the mile with the time of 4:42, which stood for 25 years. His mile record was broken by Rockland runner and fellow Midcoast Sports Hall of Fame inductee Bob Hillgrove. Following graduation in 1935, Bruno would hitch-hike to enter in any road race he could find. With little money, he would sleep anywhere he could find a place, once even on a park bench in the Boston Common, and another in the Framingham firehouse . Among his many running accomplishments were winning several Portland Boy’s Club races, the C.R. Edwards Memorial Point of Pines 12 Miler in Revere, Mass three straight times in 1936, 1937, and 1938, and most notably placing 7th in the 1944 Boston Marathon, 10th in 1943, and 12th in 1942. One of the legendary stories attributed to Bruno was hitch-hiking to Boston, placing 12th in the 1942 Boston Marathon with a time of 2:47:19, and then returning in time to work the night shift in the South Portland Shipyard. The next day, with no sleep, he won the annual Portland Boy’s Club 5 miler with the time of 26 minutes and 51 seconds. For this accomplishment, the Portland papers named him the “Iron Man”. In those days of running most runners couldn’t afford special running shoes, and Bruno and brother Emilio ran in high top basketball sneakers which they cut down to remove the extra weight. For his impressive running achievements he was inducted into the Maine Running Hall of Fame in 1994.

Meredith Hews Messer

Meredith Hews Messer played soccer and basketball at Washburn High School from 1986 to 1990. She was a 1989 Maine Soccer Coaches Class D North Regional All Star, a member of the Class D State Champion girls' basketball team, and was named to the All-Tourney Basketball Team and was named a Maine Basketball Hall of Fame Female Scholar Athlete. She played soccer at the University of Maine at Farmington for three years and captained the 1992 team. In 1992, she was selected as a member of the Maine Soccer Coaches All Collegiate Team as a defender and Honorable Mention NAIA District 5 All District Team. In 1993, she was selected to the Maine Athletic Conference All Conference Team and the NAIA District 5 All District Team, and was named an All Academic All American by the National Soccer Coaches Association. Meredith joined the faculty at Camden-Rockport High School in the fall of 1994, beginning her coaching career as the JV soccer coach. Since 1996, when she became the varsity coach, she has compiled an amazing record of 245 wins, 94 losses, and 24 ties. Her teams have been KVAC champions five times, in 2010, 2012, 2016, 2017 and 2018. They were Eastern Maine Runner up in Class B soccer in 1998 and 2002. In 2014, girls' soccer was on the rise when they made it to the Class B semifinals before losing to eventual state champions Waterville. In 2015, Camden Hills was moved to Class A, a move that many felt would dampen their chances for a state championship. However, with future All-American players that Meredith helped to develop, including her daughter Charlotte, Kassie and Kaylyn Krul, and Kristina Kelly, Camden Hills was Northern Maine Runner up in Class A in 2015, and then Northern Maine and State Champions in Class A in 2016, 2017 and 2018. Since moving to Class A, Meredith's teams have compiled an incredible 67-2-2 record, and her 2019 team is currently ranked #4 in New England and are 20th ranked of all girl’s high school soccer teams by USA Today. Meredith was named the Maine Soccer Coaches Large school Coach of the Year in both 2016 and 2017. In January of 2020, she was named the National Federation of High Schools (NFHS) National Coach of the Year.

Josh Nash

Josh Nash attended Medomak Valley High School from 1991-1995. One of the top basketball players this state has ever produced, Nash dominated Eastern Maine and KVAC Class A, during a time when the region and league produced several scholarship players. A four-year starter, he was KVAC Class A 1st team all- conference each year and Class A Player of the Year his senior year. Nash also was 3rd team all-state his sophomore year, and Bangor Daily News, Portland Press Herald and USA Today 1st team all-state junior and senior years. He was voted as the Kennebec Journal and Lewiston Sun Class A Player of the Year in 1994. He also holds the distinction of being the winner of the first William C. Warner Award, as the Eastern Maine Class A Tournament MVP in 1994. Josh earned Mid-Coast Courier Gazette Player of the Year junior and senior years and was the paper’s Athlete of the Year in 1995. He led his team to Eastern Maine Class A runners-up finishes in 1994 and 1995. He earned the coveted “Maine Mr. Basketball Award” after his senior season.

Nash holds four boy’s basketball records at Medomak Valley High School, including most career points with 1798. He scored a record 43 playoff points in a 79-72 semi-final win over Waterville in 1994, a game in which he had 27 at the half. He set marks for points scored in a season with 527 his senior year, and also for free-throws made in a season with 170 during his junior year. He finished his high school career with averages of 22.5 PPG and 9.2 RPG. He posted staggering averages his senior year with 25.5 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 blocks, and 3 steals per game.

On the AAU circuit, Josh was the 1993 State 15 & under Tournament MVP and his 1994 Maine Hoops Team Qualified for the National Tournament. The ’94 team is considered by many to be the best AAU team to come out of Maine, as along with Nash, included future Division 1 players Andy Bedard and TJ Caouette, just to name a few.

If basketball wasn’t enough, Josh decided to try track his junior year and became the 1995 Class B Regional and State Champion in the 200m his senior year. His 22.9 200m time is a school record that still stands today. After graduation, Josh accepted a full basketball scholarship to the University of Maine. He was the team’s 6th man as a shooting guard and America East Scholar Athlete his freshman year. His career was cut short due to a series of injuries. After receiving his Master’s Degree from UMaine, Josh was selected to attend the FBI Academy in Quantico, VA. He currently is the Senior Vice President & Director of Technology for Camden National Bank.

Larry Terrio

Larry was a three sport star at Rockland District High School playing football, basketball, and baseball. Some of the highlights of Larry’s high school sports career included a 300 yard game with three touchdowns, being named captain of the basketball team his senior year when the team went 15-3 and advanced to the Eastern Maine Tournament and batting over .300 in baseball.

Larry’s life revolved around sports and he coached at the pee-wee, Little League, Babe Ruth and High School level. He coached basketball for 19 years in the Rockland system from 1981 to 2000. During these years Rockland went to the EM tournament 14 times. He was an assistant coach 10 of those years and the varsity coach 4 of those years. They won 3 EM Championships and a State Championship with Larry as an assistant to Coach Elkington. In 1995, Larry’s team was 17-1 and he was named KVAC coach of the year. His varsity coaching record was 63 wins and 32 losses. He also coached for 12 years in the RDHS baseball program and won a State Championship as an assistant to coach Morrill in 1989.

As the recreation Director in Thomaston he helped start the boys” and girls’ pee wee basketball programs, and men’s basketball leagues. He also initiated grants for construction of tennis courts, basketball courts and a Little League baseball field. In 1991 Larry was named the Rockland Elks Lodge Elk of the Year because of his service to youth. He also played on the Elks team that won three over 40 state championship softball titles. Larry facilitated the donation of land that became Rockland’s primary Little League field. He also had the South Thomaston Town Report dedicated to him in 2014.