Three members have been named by the North Carolina Athletic Directors Association as the 15th class for induction in its own Hall of Fame.
Sandra Langley of Pinetops, Bob Catapano of Raleigh and Shelly Marsh of Smithfield will become the newest members of the NCADA Hall of Fame. The three will be recognized at the annual North Carolina Athletic Directors Association state conference at the Wilmington Hilton Riverside with the Hall of Fame banquet scheduled for Tuesday night, March 31.
The NCADA Hall of Fame has been established to recognize
achievement and excellence for athletic administration. The inductees are honored at the NCADA№s annual state convention, and a permanent display honoring the athletic directors№ Hall of Fame is located in the offices of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association in Chapel Hill. The
new class brings to 61 the number in the Hall.
In addition, two members will be added to the Roll of Honor for
deceased honorees, including Branch Pope of Rosewood and Marshall Hamilton of Raleigh.
This year's inductees include:
BOB CATAPANO
Bob Catapano is one of the state№s most successful high school soccer coaches as well as a leading athletic director.
A native of Glen Rock, N.J., Catapano attended North Carolina
State University, where he was a four-year starter on the men's soccer team.
Following graduation, he embarked on a teaching and coaching career in Wake County that has spanned 36 years.
After four years at Martin Middle School, he went to Sanderson
High School, where he created a soccer dynasty. In 20 years as head coach his teams won 17 conference championships and compiled an amazing 363-44-21 record, including a stretch spanning five seasons that Sanderson teams
went a then-national record 103 games without a loss.
A former member of the NCHSAA Realignment Committee and the National Federation soccer rules committee, Catapano has been athletic director at Sanderson for 27 years. He is an NFHS Fundamentals of Coaching instructor and was inducted into the North Carolina Soccer Hall of Fame in 1999.
SANDRA LANGLEY
Sandra Langley has compiled a brilliant record as a head women's basketball coach and athletic director, primarily at SouthWest Edgecombe.
A lifelong resident of Edgecombe County and graduate of Atlantic Christian College (now Barton), Langley has coached track, softball, volleyball and basketball during her career. She has been the head women's basketball coach at SouthWest since 1978 and is currently the winningest active coach with a total around the 650 mark.
Her teams have won four basketball state crowns and been
runners-up twice to go with 17 conference titles, and she also
coached volleyball teams to nine conference championships. The Associated Press has named her the North Carolina Coach of the Year on four different occasions.
She has served as athletic director since 1991 and during her
tenure 13 sports have been added to the school program as well as starting a SouthWest Edgecombe Hall of Fame.
Sandra is a member of the Twin County (Nash/Edgecombe) Hall of Fame and the Barton College Sports Hall of Fame.
SHELLY MARSH
Shelly Marsh is currently the deputy superintendent of the
Johnston County schools have an outstanding career as a men's basketball coach and administrator.
After graduation from North Carolina A&T State University, he began his career in coaching and teaching. He spent 11 years as basketball coach and athletic director at Greenville's D.H. Conley High School. He also served at Havelock as assistant principal and basketball coach from 1985 to '93, and then while coaching at West Johnston, he earned his 500th career victory in 2007.
His administrative stints have also included four years as
assistant principal at Princeton High, five years as principal of
Cleveland Middle in Johnston County, and four years as the hearing officer and county athletic director for the Johnston system.
He previously earned a service award from the North Carolina
Athletic Directors Association and has been honored by the NCHSAA.
In terms of the Roll of Honor, Marshall Hamilton was an athletic
director for 25 years and was an outstanding basketball coach during stints at Clinton, Southern Wayne, Broughton and Leesville Road. Branch Pope, a former president of the North Carolina Athletic Directors' Association, served at Rosewood as athletic director and also coached football and basketball.
