Central Regional Hall Of Fame Inductees Announced

Central Regional school officials and alumni will gather Saturday night in the high school gym lobby at 6 p.m. to induct the latest members of the high school's Hall of Fame, Superintendent Triantafillos Parlapanides said.

The 2017 inductees include:

DAN DUDDY - Call him Mr. Central Regional. Duddy was hired as both the head football coach and as a teacher at Central in 1992.

His teams had 10 straight winning seasons, including a B-South championship in 1994. He earned six "Coach of the Year" honors, coached the Ocean County football All-Star teams many times and the New Jersey football All-Stars against New York in the Governor's Bowl.

He also started a school-wide mentoring program in 2002, which is still growing today. He was the assistant coach for the girls varsity basketball championship team and the girls track 4 by 400 relay team. He is already honored in a Hall of Fame sponsored by the Chicago Bears, Jersey Shore Sports, Brick High School and Central Regional.

BOB BREITENBACH - Class of 1967. Bob was a four-year varsity football team member and played halfback and defensive safety. He was named Central's most valuable player and first team All-County during his senior year and led the county in scoring.

Bob also earned a varsity letter in baseball and played catcher and center field for the Golden Eagles. He was drafted into the Army after high school and spent a year in Vietnam. He finished his Army career at Fort Bragg, North Carolina as a sergeant.

Bob continued playing softball in many Ocean County leagues, especially with Henry's Playland. In 1984 the team won the national championship and Bob was named the tournament's most valuable player. He was inducted into the New Jersey Modified Pitch Softball Hall of Fame in 2015.

Bob retired from his construction business after 40 years, in January 2017.

CHRISTOPHER ALAN GNEHM - Class of 1992 - Chris was a varsity soccer starter goalie his junior and senior years at Central. He was named as one of the top two goalkeepers in the state during his senior year and was the first Golden Eagles soccer play to earn this honor.

He also earned first team all-conference, 1st team all-shore and first team all-state group 3. He graduated from Averett College with a bachelor's of science degree in education. He is currently the head women's soccer coach at Palm Beach Atlantic University. He lives in Jupiter, Florida with his wife Tiffany and their son Bodhi.

ERIKA APPLEGATE-WALTON - Class of 1994. Erika was a four-year varsity started on the girls softball team, and played second base, third base and catcher. She was a second team all-state selections and was named twice to the second team all-shore and all-county selections. She had a career batting average of .318 and a fielding average of .948.

She led Central to three consecutive B-South championships and was named the most valuable player in an Ocean County tournament championship.

She continued her winning ways at Monmouth University, where she was the team captain on the softball team and was a nominee for Monmouth University's Woman of the year. She had a career batting average of .338 and is one of the statistic leaders at Monmouth in runs scored, RBIs, triples and walks.

She is currently a physical therapist.

HARRIE GARRIS - Class of 1986. Harrie was a three-year varsity basketball starter and played both power forward and point guard. He served as team captain during his junior and senior years, was named team most valuable player, was named to the All-Shore first team. WOBM's player of the year and to the All-State second team in his senior year.
Harrie ranks second in all-time individual career points with 1,515, 708 career rebounds and 321 career free throws.
He went to Monmouth University where he played basketball on a scholarship.

FAITH CLYBURN - Class of 2005. Faith was a four-year varsity starter in spring track and a three-year varsity starter in field hockey and basketball. She was named most valuable player six times during her three-sport career.

She was named to the first All-County and first team All-Shore in field hockey. She holds a number of Central Regional honors in basketball, including the record for rebounds in a single game. But track and field was her main sport. She made first team All-County, first team All-Shore and first team All-State. She placed second in the state Meet of Champions in the triple jump, with a jump of 37 feet, 7 inches. She is the school record holder in the 200 meter race and a member of the record-setting 4 by 400 relay team.

She received a full track scholarship to Fairleigh Dickinson University. She works at Central Regional as a paraprofessional, and also coaches field hockey, girls basketball and girls spring track and field.

Photo: Patricia A. Miller