Housatonic honors former Mountaineers

Willy Yahn, class of ‘14, speaks at the HVRHS Hall of Fame induction ceremony Sunday, Oct. 13.

Patrick L. Sullivan

Housatonic honors former Mountaineers

FALLS VILLAGE — Ten athletes were inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame at Housatonic Valley Regional High School in a ceremony Sunday, Oct. 13.

The members of the Hall of Fame Class of 2024 are:

Tim Hawley ‘71 (cross country, track); Julia Neilson ‘98 (soccer, basketball, softball); Joseph B. Nilsen ‘54 (football, track); Tina Paruta ‘87 (cross country, indoor and outdoor track); Brad Paulsen ‘79 (soccer, track); Paul Prindle ‘60 (football, track); Robert Ullram ‘66 (football, ice hockey, baseball); Maggie Yahn Umana ‘09 (soccer, basketball, track); Willy Yahn ‘14 (soccer, baseball); Denise Bergenty ‘73 (field hockey, basketball, softball).

Hawley recalled being an unathletic youth, wearing orthopedic shoes everywhere except gym class.

Thanks to encouragement from HVRHS coaches and classmates, he was able to become a championship athlete in high school and college.

“Housatonic has meant, for me, opportunity, support, scholarship and history.”

Paruta credited longtime track coach David Lindsay for keeping her on her toes. “He was like a motivational poster.”

Warren Prindle, accepting the award for his cousin Paul, said Paul became the strongest student at HVRHS by growing up on a farm. Athletics were “far less arduous than throwing bales of hay or shoveling manure.”

Yahn joked that the real reason he was chosen for the Hall of Fame was because he served as ball boy for his sister’s soccer team.

Yahn, who starred in baseball at HVRHS and the University of Connecticut and played six seasons in the minor leagues for the Baltimore Orioles organization, acknowledged he “came up a little short” on his goal of reaching the major leagues.

But, he added, “I wanted to be a part of great teams with great friends.

“I have absolutely no regrets on my athletic journey.”

Latest News

Student recital returns for 43rd year

Jazz and classical ensembles from Salisbury School and Indian Mountain School, and solo pianists and a cellist, will perform for the 43rd annual student recital at the United Congregational Church in Salisbury on Sunday, Feb. 23.

Photo by Nathan Miller

The annual student recital is returning for its 43rd year at Salisbury Congregational Church at 30 Main St.

This year’s performance is set for Sunday, Feb. 23, at 3 p.m.

Keep ReadingShow less
McCarron wins silver at state meet

Indoor track BL champs

Provided

Housatonic Valley Regional High School senior Kyle McCarron’s 1600-meter time of 4:30.31 earned him second place in this year’s indoor state meet. He was within two seconds of first-place finisher Matthew Kraszewski from Nathan Hale-Ray High School.

McCarron was one of eight runners to represent HVRHS in the 2025 Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference Class S indoor track meet at Floyd Little Athletic Center in New Haven Feb. 15. In addition to his 1600-meter silver medal, McCarron placed sixth in the 3200-meter run.

Keep ReadingShow less
Joy Brown’s retrospective celebrates 50 years of women at Hotchkiss

Joy Brown installing work for her show at the Tremaine Art Gallery at Hotchkiss.

Natalia Zukerman

This year, The Hotchkiss School is marking 50 years of co-education with a series of special events, including an exhibition by renowned sculptor Joy Brown. “The Art of Joy Brown,” opening Saturday, Feb. 22, in the Tremaine Art Gallery, offers a rare retrospective of Brown’s work, spanning five decades from her early pottery to her large-scale bronze sculptures.

“It’s an honor to show my work in celebration of fifty years of women at Hotchkiss,” Brown shared. “This exhibition traces my journey—from my roots in pottery to the figures and murals that have evolved over time.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Special screening of ‘The Brutalist’ at the Triplex Cinema
Yale professor Elihu Rubin led discussions before and after “The Brutalist” screening at Triplex Cinema on Feb. 2. He highlighted how the film brings architecture into focus, inviting the audience to explore Brutalism as both a style and a theme.
L. Tomaino

A special screening of “The Brutalist” was held on Feb. 2 at the Triplex Cinema in Great Barrington. Elihu Rubin, a Henry Hart Rice Associate Professor of Architecture and Urban Studies at Yale, led discussions both before and after the film.

“The Brutalist” stars Adrien Brody as fictional character, architect Laszlo Toth, a Hungarian-born Jewish architect. Toth trained at the Bauhaus and was interred at the concentration camp Buchenwald during World War II. The film tells of his struggle as an immigrant to gain back his standing and respect as an architect. Brody was winner of the Best Actor Golden Globe, while Bradley Corbet, director of the film, won best director and the film took home the Golden Globe for Best Film Drama. They have been nominated again for Academy Awards.

Keep ReadingShow less