This weekend, the Auburn High School Athletic Hall of Fame will honor a new class of inductees.
Eight former student-athletes and coaches will be recognized in a banquet held at the Springside Inn.
Auburn founded its athletic hall of fame in 2001, with its initial 10-member class featuring local legends like Bob Adams and Bob Dean.
Honorees are meant to reflect Auburn’s “rich athletic tradition” and “exemplify Auburn’s commitment to academics, community and athletic excellence.”
Athletic honorees much be graduates of Auburn High, graduated at least 15 years ago, participated in varsity athletics and exhibit “an exceptional degree of accomplishment in his/her professional endeavors that reflect well on the honoree and their alma mater.”
The criteria for coaching selections is to have coached varsity for at least five years and retired from coaching at least five years ago.
Here are this year’s selections:
Chris Brown
Christopher Brown
A 1973 graduate of Auburn High School, Brown excelled in varsity tennis and gymnastics.
Brown complied a 101-9 record during his high school tennis career and went unbeaten in the CNY Cities League during regular season play. As a freshman, his come-from-behind victory helped Auburn secure its first Section III team title in 15 years while also earning the third singles section title.
Brown was a team captain from 1971 through 1973 and was the CNY Cities League singles champion each year, while also leading the Maroons to three straight league team titles.
After Auburn, Brown attended Miami Dade Junior College (1974) and Clemson University (1975 to 1977), where he continued his tennis career. Before retiring in 2017, Brown was a member of the United States Professional Tennis Association.
Brown has also worked with countless organizations and businesses to organize charity events, including three world record tennis marathons. In 1980, he led an 80-hour marathon in Shreveport, Louisiana to raise money for Centenary College’s tennis courts. He also led a pair of marathons in Athens, Georgia to raise $100,000 for the American Cancer Society — a 103-hour marathon in 1989 and a 125-hour marathon in 1991.
Gary A. Cogar
Gary A. Cogar
A 1964 graduate of East High School, Cogar was a standout athlete for the Maroons’ track and field, cross country and football programs.
Cogar was a three-year letterman for Auburn’s track and field team. He helped the Maroons’ capture the sprint medley relay section title (while setting a school record) and the Section III team championship in 1963.
In 1964, Cogar went undefeated in the 880-yard run in dual meets and was runner-up in that event at the section championships.
As a cross country runner, Cogar was a consistent to-three finisher for the Maroons. He took on the gridiron during his freshman and sophomore campaigns.
Cogar continued his athletic career his freshman year at Colgate University, where he was an intramural champion in the 880-yard run and 4×220 meter relay.
Amber M. Weinerth-Eilertsen
Amber M. Weinerth-Eilertsen
A 2002 graduate of Auburn High School, Weinerth-Eilertsen completed for the Maroons’ varsity golf, field hockey and basketball teams.
Competing for Auburn’s golf team for six years, Weinerth-Eilertsen was an OHSL all-league selection in seventh, eighth and ninth grade, helping the Maroons capture the team section title her rookie year. From 1999 through 2001, Weinerth-Eilertsen captured the Section III individual title each year, while also pushing Auburn to the team title her senior season. Outside of high school competition, Weinerth-Eilertsen was the Syracuse District’s player of the year from 1996 to 1999, earning 17 first-place finishes in the process. She was a runner-up in the 2000 NYS Girls Junior Golf Championship.
Weinerth-Eilertsen played varsity basketball for four seasons, and was the field hockey team’s goalie in 2000.
After her time at Auburn, Weinerth-Eilertsen played golf at Penn State University, where she was named an Academic All-American in 2002 and 2003, while also receiving the Mary Kennedy-Zierke Award in 2004 for leadership and dedication to golf.
Christopher Lombardozzi
Christopher Lombardozzi
Lombardozzi graduated from Auburn in 1982 and played two years for the Maroons’ varsity baseball team.
He transferred to Auburn after two years at Niskayuna High School, where he played baseball, basketball and golf.
During the 1981 and 1982 spring seasons, Lombardozzi was a member of baseball teams that compiled nearly 40 victorys and consecutive CNY Cities League championships. As a senior, he hit .386 and had a team-high 21 walks as Auburn totaled 20 wins and an appearance in the Section III championship game.
Lombardozzi played collegiately and Gulf Coast Community College and the University of Florida, before being drafted by the New York Yankees in the ninth round of the 1985 amateur draft. As a minor league prospect, Lombardozzi helped the Oneonta Yankees capture the New York-Penn League championship in 1985, ironically over the Auburn Astros.
His pro career continued through 1991, with additional stops with the Cincinnati Reds and Milwaukee Brewers organizations, as well the Black Panthers Ronchi in a professional league in Italy.
Bridget E. Metzler
Bridget E. Metzler
A 1979 graduate of Auburn, Metzler spent six years competing for the Maroons’ girls swim team and set 34 school records during her career.
Metzler set individual records in the 100 butterfly and 500 freestyle, and relay titles in the 200 IM and all three sprint relays. She was an all-league selection as a 10th-, 11th- and 12th-grader and reached the New York state championships in 1995 and 1996.
Metzler also played varsity lacrosse for two seasons her junior and senior seasons.
Outside of high school competition, Metzler competed for the Auburn YMCA Stringrays from 1986 through 1997 and reached the national tournament several times. She still holds one YMCA record.
After high school, Metzler attended John Hopkins University and the University of Michigan where she earned multiple degrees in health. At John Hopkins, Metzler competed for the varsity swim team from 1998 to 2001 and was a captain the final two seasons. Metzler was a two-time Division III All-American, two-time Academic All-American and two-time qualifier for the NCAA Division III swimming championships.
Tom Clary, Jr.
Tom Clary, Jr.
A 1975 graduate of Auburn High School, Clary returned to his alma mater following a successful career at St. Bonaventure to lead the Maroons’ varsity swimming teams for over two decades.
Clary led the girls varsity team from 1987 to 2010, and coached the boys team for four seasons (1995 to 1997, and 2009). He is the winningest coach in AHS swimming history, which included 17-straight winning seasons until his departure. He was named the Section III, Class A Coach of the Year in 2009.
In 1995-96, Clary guided Auburn’s boys team to an undefeated season and Section III, Class A team title. He added runner-up finishes at the 1997 and 2009 sectional meets.
During his tenure, Clary coached various Section III champions, state championship meet qualifies and multiple New York state champions.
Bill Fitzpatrick
Bill Fitzpatrick
A 1959 graduate of Mount Carmel, Fitzpatrick is recognized for coaching various programs in the Auburn area.
Fitzpatrick coached football under Bob Adams from 1967 to 1977, and was instrumental in joining the Auburn and Mt. Carmel players when the latter closed. He also coached junior varsity basketball and track for Auburn.
As an athlete, Fitzpatrick played varsity football and basketball from 1955 to 1959 and was named a high school All-American by the Sporting News in 1958. He continued his athletic career at Boston College, where he played football from 1959 to 1963 and basketball in 1960.
Fitzpatrick died in 2019.
Bob Lee
Bob Lee
A 1970 graduate of East High School, Lee is nominated for his extensive coaching career in the Auburn school district. Lee’s resume includes 95 seasons and 1,550 games for various programs.
He coached Auburn soccer for 41 seasons and led the Maroons’ girls team to sectionals in 11 out of 16 seasons. In softball, Lee coached for 40 years, including 15 as varsity head coach. His softball teams qualified for sectionals 13 times and won the CNYCL title in 2012. Lee was also named CNYCL Coach of the Year in 2012 and 2016.
All but one of Lee’s soccer and softball teams were named NYS Scholar Athlete teams, while 19 of his former players have already been inducted into the AHS Athletic Hall of Fame.
Lee also coached 14 years in Auburn’s basketball program (one with JV, 13 with modified).
Outside of the Auburn school district, Lee founded the Auburn Arsenal Soccer Club in 1996 and the Auburn Xtreme travel softball program in 2003, and coached little league baseball for 11 years.
He was presented with a Key to the City of Auburn in 1983.