SOUTH BURLINGTON — Two winter Olympians, including a two-time medalist, a legend of the hardwood, a wrestler who represented his country on the mat, a multi-time champion in track and field, a talented baseball player who earned a World Series ring, an all-American women’s lacrosse player, an award-winning sportswriter and a pair of championship collegiate coaches are the 10 newest inductees of the Vermont Sports Hall of Fame (VSHOF). The VSHOF Board of Directors announced the members of its 2026 induction class, its 13th since its inception in 2011.
The inductees are lacrosse standout Sarah Dalton Graddock of Cornwall; Susan Dunklee of Barton who was a three-time Olympic biathlete and a multi-sport standout in high school and college; Saint Michael’s College basketball star and longtime high school coach Dick Falkenbush of South Burlington; the first-ever wrestler inducted, Steven Forrest of Bennington, a champion and national team member; track and field star Mary Heitkamp of Orwell; Olympic moguls skiing medalist Hannah Kearney of Norwich; Swanton’s Matt Raleigh, a standout player and successful coach at all levels of baseball; legendary collegiate coaches Mickey Heinecken of Cornwall and Middlebury College and Mike McShane of Norwich University; and finally veteran award-winning sportswriter Tom Haley of Proctor is this year’s Mal Boright Media Inductee.
Dunklee is the daughter of Brattleboro’s Stan Dunklee, one of America’s top cross-country ski stars of the late 1970s who skied in two Olympics for the United States.
The class will be formally inducted at the 2026 Vermont Sports Hall of Fame Induction Dinner and Celebration on Saturday, April 25 at the Delta Marriott Burlington Hotel on 1117 Williston Road in South Burlington. The evening begins with a reception at 5:30 p.m. This will be followed with the induction ceremony that will take place after dinner.
Unable to attend last year, football and track star, Rutland’s Bill Looker, a member of the 2025 class, also will be inducted at the 2026 dinner.
With this year’s class, the membership in the VSHOF has 153 inductees since its first class was inducted in 2012. The inductees now represent 64 towns in Vermont and 13 of the state’s 14 counties, missing only Essex County. The Class of 2026 was selected by three groups of voters: the 15-member VSHOF board of directors, a statewide sports advisory panel and the previous inductees. Nominations are accepted year round by the general public with information on the VSHOF’s website.
Besides honoring those making significant contributions to the state’s sports legacy, the Hall is designed to help promote and provide inspiration in sports and recreation to the youth of Vermont.
Ticket information for the dinner will be available soon on the VSHOF website at www.vermontsportshall.com. You can also view previous classes and find more information about the VSHOF on the website. Complete biographies for this year’s inductees can be found at http://www.vermontsportshall.com/2026class.html.
Proceeds from the event go to Prevent Child Abuse Vermont (PCAVT), the designated charity of the VSHOF. The past dinners and other fundraisers have raised well over $37,000 to support PCAVT’s work state-wide. For more information on PCAVT, log on to www.pcavt.org.
