High school to induct three athletes and two teams

The Beacon High School Athletic Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place on Friday, Jan. 11, at 6 p.m., before the boys’ basketball game against Lourdes.

The 2019 inductees are Tori Alexander (Class of 2011), Tori Kerr (2012), Chelsea Dexter (2012) and the 1983 and 1984 girls’ spring track teams.

Tori Alexander was the school, league and county record holder in the 55-, 60- and 100-meter dashes. She qualified for the state indoor and spring track and field championships in five events and was runner-up in the 55-, 100- and 200-meter dash.

At the state championships during her senior year, Alexander won the Section 1 sportsmanship award. She received a track scholarship to Northeastern University, where she recorded the Huskies’ eighth-best time in the 60-meter dash and the seventh-best in the 200 meters.

Tori Kerr is the first female lacrosse player and the first granddaughter of an earlier Hall of Fame member, Pat Kerr, to be inducted. Tori was a member of the inaugural girls’ lacrosse team in 2008 and played for four years on the varsity squad. In her senior year, she led Dutchess County in scoring with 80 goals. She went on to become a four-year starter at Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, where, as a junior, she posted 66 points, 56 goals and 10 assists and, as a senior, had 81 points, 50 goals and 31 assists.

Chelsea Dexter earned letters in volleyball and basketball but will be honored for her accomplishments in softball. (She and her sister, Kristen, will be the second pair of sisters to become Hall of Fame members.) Dexter was a four-year starter at left field, second base and, during her senior year, at catcher, where she was named first team All-State. As a senior, she led the team to its first league and sectional championships in 13 seasons, hitting .409 with seven home runs, 32 RBI, 30 runs scored and an .851 slugging percentage.

After playing volleyball and softball at Dutchess Community College, Dexter was a two-year starter at Mount Saint Mary College and led the team in batting as a senior.

The 1983 and 1984 Bulldogs girls’ spring track-and-field teams were undefeated in dual meets and won the league championships. Nine members were selected All-League, including Beacon’s first female All-American, Dorothy Vereen, who set four Section 1 records and was a state champion. In the high jump, the undefeated Brynne Ortquist was the region’s best, setting the county record (5-6).

Vereen is already a member of the Hall of Fame as an individual, as is the 4×100-meter relay team from 1984 (Vereen, Rahmah Gray, Christina Rama, Della Porter and Sonia Johnson).

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