Hall of Fame Class of 2012 Inductees
Denise (Bagarose) Potenza ,1982
Denise played one year of softball (10th grade), one year of basketball (9th grade) and three years of tennis. She was also the statistician for the boys basketball team. Tennis was the sport she excelled in and was on the varsity team for three years. She was a member of the inaugural team in 1979, coached by Tony Schilling.
Denise was an outstanding tennis player who was elected team captain all three years by her teammates. She played in the #1 position all three years on varsity. In her sophomore year, the team finished with a 7-2 record, her junior year they were undefeated with a 13-0 record. During the third year of the program, and the first year competing in the newly formed Colonial Council Girls Varsity Tennis League, the team went undefeated with an 11-0 record. They captured the championship of the Colonial Council as well as the section 2 Class “C” championship.
Playing in the competitive #1 position, Denise won the majority of her individual matches and was tremendously integral to the success of the team and the program. Over the three year period that she played, the team compiled an amazing 31-2 record. Denise was an honor student and the salutatorian of the class of 1982.
She graduated from SUNY Cortland in 1986 with a degree in psychology, where she also played on the varsity tennis team. She received a masters in school counseling from the College of Saint Rose in 1996.
For the past 19 years, she has been employed at the Oak Hill School as a family worker/counselor working with students with emotional disabilities and their families. She is also in her second year as the head women’s tennis coach at HVCC.
Denise lives in Latham with her husband, Ted, and her two children, Nina, a junior at Oneonta State, and Teddy, a senior at Shaker High School.
Robert Campbell, 1982
Rob played four years of basketball at WHS. He played on the freshmen team and during his sophomore year he was promoted by head coach George Mardigan to the varsity team after five games on the junior varsity team.
He was a two-year starter on the varsity basketball team averaging a double-double in points and rebounds in both years. He was the co-captain, along with fellow Hall of Famer, Jim Chartrand, in his senior year.
Rob was selected as the MVP of the Ravena Gold Medal Tournament in his senior year; the Colonial Council 1st Team All Stars; 1st Team All City and the Troy Record “player of the year” for small schools. He averaged 16.6 points per game as he led the “Cannoneers” in the 1981-82 season to a 22-4 record, which included the colonial council championship and the section 2 Class “C-CC” championship, which was the first of many championships during Coach Mardigan’s career. The 22 wins in one season was a school record at the time. they lost in the first round in the Regionals of the NYS Boys Basketball Tournament.
After graduating as a honor student, Rob graduated from HVCC where he played basketball until he injured his ACL in his second year. He later graduated from the University at Albany with a degree in business.
Rob has been in the banking industry for the past 25 years and is currently vice president at First Niagara Bank.
He lives in Clifton Park with his wife, Tina, and children—son Liam and daughter Jaime—who both attend Shenendehowa High School.
James “Sharky” Chartrand, 1982
Jim played baseball his sophomore year, soccer his junior and senior years and basketball all four years. Basketball was his favorite sport and anyone who watched him play remembers his ball-handling skills and ability to see the floor. As a junior, he averaged 15 points per game and was named 3rd team Colonial Council, Honorable Mention All-City Team and Team Defensive Player of the Year. As a senior, he averaged 13 points per game, 7 assists per game, 4 steals per game and shot 85 percent from the foul line. He was 1st Team Colonial Council, 1st Team All-City,2nd team All Area, All-Tournament Team in the Ravena Gold Medal Tourney and Team Defensive Player of the Year.
He was the co-captain along with fellow Hall of Famer, Rob Campbell in 1981-82 and led the Cannoneers to a 22-4 record, which included the Colonial Council Championship and the Section 2 “Class C-CC” Championship, which was the first of many championships in Coach George Mardigan’s career. They lost in the first round in the Regionals of the NYS Boys basketball Tournament. The 22 wins in one season, at that time was a school record. One of the highlights of Jim’s career was scoring the winning basket and scoring 38 points against Schalmont [12-19-81] in his senior year.
Following graduation from WHS, Jim graduated from HVCC, where his major was in the electrical field. He also played basketball at HVCC.
Jim has been a firefighter for the past 17 years and is presently a lieutenant/paramedic in the Watervliet Fire Department. He also has been the sole proprietor of Capitaland Electric for 20 years.
Jim lives in Watervliet with his wife, Chris and their daughter, Alysa, who graduated from Watervliet High School in June 2012. He has been a proud supporter of Watervliet High School Athletics for many years.
Al Dean, 1946
Al was a four-sport athlete at WHS, playing football, basketball, baseball and track. His favorite sport was baseball. He was the shortstop on the varsity team for three years. He was the All Star Shortstop and led the Principals League in hitting in 1945 and 1946. He was the captain of the team in 1946, and a member of the championship teams in the Principals League in 1944, 1945 and 1946.
In basketball, he was an outstanding passer playing at the guard position. He was a member of the championship team of the Class ”B” Eastern New York Public High School League in his junior year. In his senior year he was the captain of the team .
Al also played football in his senior year after Watervliet High School fielded a team coached by Tom Jones, following a 25 year absence. He also participated on the track team in between baseball games. Al was voted the Most Athletic in the Class of 1946.
Following graduation from Watervliet High School, Al was drafted into the U.S. Army. Following his service commitment, he worked at the Watervliet Arsenal and then Cluett & Peabody in Troy, which at the time was a worldwide shirt manufacturing company. While at Cluett’s, he was sent to Japan for five years and Hong Kong for three years.
He finally settled in Australia and pursued new business ventures. He is now retired and lives in Australia with his wife, Sally of 49 years. They have two daughters, Lisa and Karen, and four grandchildren.
Scott Heid, 1997
Scott was a four- year starter on the varsity football team. He is the all-time leading receiver for WHS in receptions (84), which is the 11th all-time in Section 2 history, and he has the most yardage in receptions for WHS (1240), which is 23rd all time in Section 2 history. He played in more varsity football games (40) and wins (34) than anyone in WHS history. He was a co-captain on the 1996 NYS Class “C” Championship team, coached by Dan Reinfurt, finishing 13-0—the most victories in a season at WHS.
Scott received many individual awards in football including: 1st Team All NYS Wide Receiver, 1st Team All League Wide Receiver, 1st team All Area Wide Receiver by the Troy Record and the Schenectady Gazette, 2nd Team All Area Wide Receiver by the Albany Times Union and the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame Scholar Athlete Award.
Scott was also an outstanding baseball player. He was a three-year starter on the varsity baseball team. In his sophomore year, he was selected to the Colonial Council All Star as an outfielder and was a member Adirondack Region Baseball Team in the Empire State Games. In his junior year, he won the team defensive award and was an alternate member of the Adirondack Region Baseball Team. In his senior year, he was the team captain and All League 2nd team outfielder.
Scott was a high honor student and graduated 5th in the Class of 1997. He graduated from Ithaca College in 2001 with a degree in accounting. He played two years of football.
Scott has worked for the NYS Comptroller’s Office since 2001, and lives in Latham with his wife, Melissa, step-daughter, Emma, and son, Alex.
Erin Henderson, 2002
Erin began playing soccer, her favorite sport while at Maplewood Elementary School and continued to develop skill and her love for the game with the Watervliet Soccer League. She played four years of varsity on the girls’ soccer team, serving as the team captain for three years. She was the offensive player of the year, was the team’s leading scorer, and the MVP for all four years.
In addition, she was a Colonial Council All Star for four years. During her last two, she was selected to the 1st Team. She was selected as Section 2 Class ”C” Player of the Year in 2001-02. In the same year, she was selected to the NYS All Star 2nd Team.
Erin also played for the Scholastic and Women’s Open Teams for the NYS Empire Games, winning two bronze, one silver and two gold medals.
She also played 3 years of varsity basketball at WHS for coach Gordie Johnson, as a starter in her junior and senior years and captain in her senior year .
Erin was a Capital Region Scholar Athlete in 2001-02. She was 16th in her class. She was also selected as the “Female Athlete of the Year” in 2002.
Erin received an athletic scholarship to St. John’s University where she enjoyed a successful career as a four-year starter and captain in her senior year. While at St. John’s, she was the MVP at the Army Tournament at West Point and the Columbia University Invitational Tournament. She was a Big East Academic All Star, on the Dean’s List at St. John’s, and the president’s society– the highest honor society at St. John’s .
Erin graduated from St. John’s with a degree in sports management. She is presently finishing her second year as a physical therapy student at Russell Sage College in Troy. She will graduate in May 2013 having earned her doctorate in physical therapy. She presently lives in Watervliet with her parents, Wendy and Larry Henderson and continues to be involved in soccer as a coach with the Latham Soccer League.
Robert Hotaling, 1991
Bob played football, baseball and was a member of the wrestling team at WHS. He was an outstanding quarterback in football and a pitcher and outfielder in baseball. Bob’s three year varsity career in football and baseball reached its peak during his senior year when he led the “Cannoneers” to the NYS Class ”C” Championships on the gridiron and the diamond, joining only a handful of athletes to accomplish this feat.
The strong-armed quarterback completed 64 passes for 1013 yards during the 1990 campaign that culminated in a thrilling 22-15 win over Nanuet in the regional championship which earned WHS the top spot in the season ending poll. The team finished with a record of 11-0, Watervliet’s first ever undefeated and untied season. The final victory completed a string of 16 straight that eventually stretched to 36. The “streak” began in October 1989 and ended in November 1992. Coach Dan Reinfurt’s teams set a Section 2 record with 36 straight wins. Bob passed for 1647 yards with 123 completions in his career. He also had 18 completions in one game vs. Albany Academy as a junior (3rd best in WHS history). He was a co-captain on the 1990 team and was selected as the All League QB and the all area QB during his senior year.
Bob was a pitcher and outfielder on the varsity baseball team. As a pitcher, he was 3-0 as a junior and 6-1 as a senior. His final start was a brilliant 15 strikeout performance over Ticonderoga in the regional championship. In the NYS championship game, Bob had the key hit that broke the game open in their win. For his efforts at the state championship games he was named MVP of the tourament. He was also selected to the All Area Baseball Team as an outfielder in both his junior and senior years. In his junior year, he batted .313, had 30 hits, 4 homeruns and 32 rbi’s. In his senior year he batted .325, had 26 hits, one homerun and 24 rbi’s.
Bob played on national championship teams in fast pitch softball and flag football with his two brothers Mark an Brian. Today, he is a foreman for local 669 pipe fitters and lives in Ballston Lake with his wife, Dana (WHS 1991) and two daughters, Luccabella and Gianna.
Kim Peregrim, 1985
Kim was a four-sport athlete at WHS. She participated in soccer, volleyball, basketball and softball. She was a three-year starter on the girl’s basketball team. In her sophomore year she was a member of the championship team that finished 17-1 and won the Colonial Council Championship.
She was named to 3rd Team Colonial Council All Star Team in her junior year when the team finished with a record of 17-3 and finished 2nd in the Colonial Council.
Kim was the captain of the girl’s soccer team and was the MVP of the four teams, soccer, volleyball, basketball and softball. In her senior year, she was received the U.S. Army Reserve National Scholar Athlete Award and was selected the “Female Athlete of the Year” in the Class of 1985.
Kim graduated from Russell Sage College with a degree in biology and graduated from medical school, New York College of Osteopathic Medicine, in 1999. She served her internship at the University of Massachusetts Memorial Hospital in 2000, and completed her residency at the same hospital in 2002.
Today she lives in Latham and practices internal medicine in Albany at Prime Care Physicians.
Watervliet Athletics … A Tradition of Excellence