The 1982 Warwick Valley High School Girls State Champion Team. The school will celebrate the team with a "Homecoming" on Friday, Jan. 31. (
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Warwick Valley High School will celebrate the 1982 Warwick Valley Girls Basketball State Champion with a homecoming on Friday evening, Jan. 31.
Athlete Director Gregory Sirico provided the following updates on where members of the team are today:
Coach Fran Higgins
Fran Higgins (Ithaca College graduate) taught physical education in the Warwick Valley School District for more than 30 years and was a pioneer in developing the footprint for Women’s Sports in Warwick.
Coach Higgins was at the ground level of the beginning of soccer, softball and the modernization of girls basketball in Wildcat Country.
Assistant Coach Steve Hagerdon
Steve Hagerdon was JV Coach and Varsity Assistant for 10 years. He taught Social Studies for the Warwick Valley School District for 21 years.
His best memories include hearing girls sing “We Will Rock You” and “We are the Champions” on the bus ride to Queensbury for the state title game.
Point guard Janet Daly
Janet Daily played at the University of Tampa, Florida.
Today she works for the city of Las Vegas in the municipal court. She is the mother of two children and four grandchildren.
Her memory: “All the hard work, yelling and suicide runs (shuttle) all paid off. I couldn’t have asked for a better coach. I learned many life lessons from her, which I carried on to adulthood.”
Beverly Hagerdon
Bev Hagerdon played for Dartmouth University as a government major an would go on to earn a Masters in International Affairs.
She worked overseas for 22 years; today, she works in Washington, D.C., for the International Foundation for Electoral Systems.
Her memory: “I remember boosting our guards into Fran Higgins' office window to access the gym on Saturdays for practice. Also snowball fights until a custodian arrived to let us in. Also pre-game cheers and singing on the bus to Supertramp, Hall and Oats, and Billy Squire
Wendy Trone Warnock
Wendy Warnock studied and ran at East Carolina University. She raised three children while working in the finance and accounting field. She has one grandchild. She also coached track for 20 years and officiated at track 10 years.
Her memory: The bus ride with Bill Lemin and singing the 80’s songs and “five months of intense basketball training.”
Caroll Ferguson, team captain
Caroll Ferguson played at SUNY Cortland and became certified to be a PE teacher and coach. She earned her Master's Degree at Brooklyn College.
She works as a PE teacher and coach at Minisink Valley while raising four children. She also has one grandchild. Sh's also refereed basketball as well.
Her memory: "Fran Higgins loving and guiding us like we were her own children, on the court and off. Also the support of the town and our fans. The Varsity Jackets gifted to us from the Fire Department and the firetruck escort back into town after our championship."
Linda Harrison
Linda Harrison played basketball at Orange County Community College. She worked as a tennis pro in Franklin Lakes, N.J., for 20 years. She returned to school to study Health and Physical Education at Montclair State.
She currently teaches elementary PE in Teaneck, N.J., where she was Teacher of the Year in 2018.
Her memory: “Parade into town after the championship; singing on the long bus rides and hanging out in Fran Higgins office."
Becky Hagerdon Filipowski, captain and MVP
Becky Filipowski played at Long Beach, California. She earned a Physical Education and Athletic Training degree at SUNY Cortland. She has worked as an athletic trainer, coach, PE and Health teacher while raising four boys.
Her memory: “Winning each weekend to move on in the State tournament.”
Sharon Scherman Martino
Sharon studied at Ithaca and Hunter colleges to be a Physical Therapist. She received a Masters in Education from Stony Brook University on Long Island and a PhD from Nova Southeastern in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Sharon is an associate professor at Stony Brook University in the Physical Therapy Department and co-owner of Martino Physical Therapy in Holtsville on Long Island. She's raised two children and has one grandchild.
Her memory: ”How tight we were on the court.”
Alison Moran Martin
Alison attended College in Austin, Texas, and works as a Hospice nurse. She raised four children in Pflugerville, Texas, and has four grandchildren.
Her memory: “Being part of an awesome team and singing on the bus to Supertramp and Billy Squire.”
Patty Daly Cavanaugh
Patty Daly Cavanaugh moved to Las Vegas soon after high school and was one of only three women to work as a dealer in a Las Vegas Strip casino. She entered the medical field and managed multiple offices for 25 years while raising her daughter. She also has a granddaughter. She currently is a manager of food and beverage at a marina in a National Park.
Her memory: “Team comradery. WE WERE A TEAM! Looked out for each other and no cliques. The singing on the bus was the best. Those 80’s songs.”
Shelley Carr
Shelley Carr earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Physical Education from East Stroudsburg University. She has gone on to a successful career as a middle school teacher at her alma mater in the Warwick Valley. In her 25 years she has served also served the Warwick Valley School District as a trainer in CPR/AED and First Aid.
Dawn Kleeshulte
Dawn Kleeshulte attended Ithaca College and SUNY Binghamton to earn a masters in Education. Has lived in the Finger Lakes, raising her two children and working in education/employment non-profit field as well as teaching aqua aerobics for 22 years at Ithaca YMCA.
Her memory: “Singing on the bus to J. Giles Band, Billy Squire, Supertramp; pizza-eating contest at Shelley’s house; the dreaded bleacher runs; two elderly gentlemen who always showed up for us; bus driver Mr. Bill with sheets hanging out the window, exclaiming our win, and shuttle runs I strangely liked. Those good times, great team."
Dianne Riccarelli
Dianne applied the many skills she learned from Coach Higgins and applied them to her successful professional life. She lives with her family in Alabama. She loves yoga.
Her memory: "Fran Higgins yelling 'Riccarelli!' Fran had nicknames for many of us."