Anna Lastra selected to receive Hall of Fame scholarship

Anna Lastra

Anna Lastra

Anna Lastra, a senior at Fryeburg Academy, will be one of five scholar-athletes to receive $5,000 scholarships from the Maine Sports Hall of Fame at the 41st annual induction ceremony on Sunday, May 1 at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor.

There were more than 200 entrants for the scholarship program.

Anna earned a grade point average of 4.19 and starred in cross country, indoor track and outdoor track for the Fryeburg Academy Raiders.

The daughter of Susan and Bruce Lastra, Anna attended Dirigo Girls State and is a member of the CAKE (Caring Acts of Kindness Everywhere) Club. She plans to attend Carnegie Mellon, Stonehill or West Point.

Hall of Fame inductees include:

Kristin Barry of South Portland, and Sheri Piers of Westbrook, who have achieved success running races in the state, region and country. In 2008, they qualified for the Olympic Marathon trials. The friends who train together have placed in the upper tier of the Boston Marathon and Beach to Beacon. The pair, who also coached together, are still successful in masters' competitions.

Kirsten Clark-Rickenbach of Raymond was a downhill skier on the U.S. Ski Team, competing in three Winter Olympics. She won seven U.S. titles, had 30 top 10 finishes in World Cup speed events, competed in six World Alpine Championships and, in 2003, won the Silver Medal in super-G. The junior national champion attended Carrabassett Valley Academy.

The Cross family, of Bangor, has advanced sport through its naming rights at the Cross Insurance Center and Cross Insurance Arena. The Cross Insurance Pavilion & Business Center is in Gillette Stadium and the family — including Woodrow, Royce, Brent (to be inducted posthumously), Jonathan and Woodrow II — has a presence with the Red Sox, Celtics and Bruins.

Pennie Page Cummings of Lewiston has had a legendary golf career in Maine and New England. She won the Maine Women's Amateur Championship six times in four decades and finished as runner-up nine times. Cummings also has won 11 Senior Championships in the last two decades.

Doug Friedman of Cape Elizabeth enjoyed a nine-year professional ice hockey career, winning a Calder Cup while captaining the Hershey Bears in the AHL and playing with Edmonton and Nashville in the NHL. The former Boston University captain, and three-time Final Four participant, is head ice hockey coach and director of athletics at Kents Hill School.

Dan Hamblett of Portland won 28 state powerlifting championships, 19 national championships and five world championships while setting three American records and one world record. Hamblett, who graduated from Deering High School and Maine Maritime Academy, participated in national and world competitions for more than 20 years.

John “Jack” Kelley, a U.S. Hockey Hall of Famer who coached the Colby College men's ice hockey team, guided Boston University to two national titles, led the Hartford Whalers to an AVCO Cup and was president of the Pittsburgh Penguins, leads the Maine Sports Hall of Fame 2016 induction class.

Ralph Payne of Brewer was a tri-captain and an all-state running back for state champion Brewer High School. Letterman Magazine called him one of the 22 best running backs in the nation and the 1970 Kick-Off Magazine listed him as the second best running back in the New England/Mid Atlantic states. Payne was chosen for several all-American football squads.

Ed Phillips of Portland who pitched in relief in 1970 for the Red Sox, also had a stellar career in Minor League Baseball. Phillips was the No. 1 hurler for Colby College, was an All-State player at Deering High School and starred on state and New England Little League championship teams. He notched a number of no-hitters during his career.

Travis Roy of Yarmouth was an elite high school ice hockey player who became a quadriplegic when he crashed into the boards in his first game at Boston University. The author, speaker and fundraiser for spinal cord injury research and survivors is the lone Terrier to have his number retired. The Boston Bruins recently awarded him a one-day contract to recognize his work.

Amy Vachon of Augusta is an assistant coach at the University of Maine where, as a player, she set school and league assist records and guided the Black Bears to two America East championships and four NCAA Tournament appearances. At Cony, she was USA Today Maine Player of the Year, Gatorade Player of the Year and Miss Maine Basketball.