Sanford High School is proud to announce this year's nominees for the Sanford Athletics Hall of Honor. This year's nominees include Katie Lawrence Dixon, Brian Lapham, James Merrifield, Amy Patterson Schmitt, and Richard Faulkner. The five will be honored at Sanford High School's 3rd Annual Hall of Honor Ceremony at the Performing Arts Center on Saturday, November 28 at 1 pm. There will be a reception at the Elks Hall following the ceremony from 3:00-7:00 pm. 

Katie Lawrence Dixon

Katie Lawrence Dixon stands among the most decorated multi-sport athletes in Sanford High School history. A member of the Class of 1988, Dixon excelled in field hockey, basketball, and softball during her four years at SHS, leaving a legacy of records and recognitions that have stood the test of time.

In field hockey, Dixon earned 2nd Team All-State honors in 1988 and set the program’s single-season scoring record with 16 goals. She made her biggest mark on the basketball court, where she was a three-year varsity standout, earning 2nd Team All-Telegram honors in 1986 and 1st Team All-Telegram honors in both 1987 and 1988, along with a selection to the East-West All-Star game. Dixon scored 1,073 points over her three varsity seasons — averaging 23.3 points per game and pulling down 250 rebounds — a scoring record that, remarkably, still stands 36 years later. In softball, Dixon was equally dominant, batting .511 and earning 1st Team All-Telegram honors in both 1987 and 1988, along with team MVP honors and a Journal Tribune Cup.

Dixon’s success continued well beyond her time at Sanford High. She has been named a five-time All-American in women’s softball, most recently in 2016, and competed in the World Series of coed softball. She has also given back to the game as an umpire at the world military and local levels.

Dixon is nominated for the Sanford Athletics Hall of Honor in recognition of her extraordinary three-sport career and the enduring records she left behind — a legacy that continues to define excellence in Sanford athletics.

Brian Lapham

Brian Lapham, a 2001 graduate of Sanford High School, was a standout four-year letterman in football and basketball, and a member of the track team. His combination of athletic dominance and academic excellence made him one of the most accomplished student-athletes in school history.

On the football field, Lapham anchored the offensive and defensive lines, helping lead Sanford to a Class A State Championship in 1998 and a conference runner-up finish in 1999. A dominant interior lineman at 6’5” and 285 pounds by his senior year, he earned All-State honors in both 1999 and 2000, was a 1st Team All-Conference selection his junior and senior years, and was named a semifinalist for the prestigious Fitzpatrick Trophy. He also earned a spot on the Maine Shrine Lobster Bowl roster and was named to the All-Academic Team, graduating second in his class. He is remembered as one of the finest linemen to play for Sanford High in 35 years of the program.

Lapham carried that same excellence to Harvard University, where he played football for five years and graduated as a member of two Ivy League Championship teams. A two-time First-Team All-Ivy selection at interior offensive line, he helped Harvard to a 40-9 record during his tenure and was honored with the Joseph E. Wolf Award as the program’s outstanding lineman. His talents drew a free agent tryout with the Cincinnati Bengals before he went on to build a successful career in medical sciences.

Lapham is nominated for the Sanford Athletics Hall of Honor as, in the words of longtime coach Mike Fallon, the most impressive student-athlete he coached in 34 years — a player whose championships, accolades, and academic distinction embody everything the Hall of Honor was created to celebrate.

James Merrifield

James “Jim” Merrifield, a 1960 graduate of Sanford High School, was a three-sport standout and one of the most celebrated halfbacks in school history, earning the nickname “Mr. Touchdown” during his playing days.

A four-year letterman in baseball, Merrifield also starred in football for three years, serving as co-captain, and ran track for two years as team captain. His finest achievement came as a key member of Sanford High’s only undefeated State of Maine High School Championship football team. He still holds the school record for most rushing yards in a single season, highlighted by a memorable 78-yard touchdown run against Brunswick in 1959. His coach later called him one of the greatest halfbacks in Sanford history, a sentiment echoed in a 2009 Foster’s Daily Democrat feature on his career.

After graduating, Merrifield served in the United States Navy from 1960 to 1964, including duty aboard a destroyer during the blockade of Cuba at the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Merrifield is remembered not only for the records he set and the championship he helped bring to Sanford, but for his enduring pride in and love for Sanford High School Athletics. He is nominated for the Hall of Honor in recognition of his exceptional athletic achievements, his sportsmanship, and the lasting mark he left on the program. Merrifield is survived by his family, who carry forward his deep connection to Sanford.

Amy Patterson Schmitt

Amy Patterson Schmitt, a 1989 graduate of Sanford High School, was a standout distance runner and three-sport athlete whose talent on the track carried her from Sanford to the Division I level.

A four-year member of Sanford’s track and field program, Patterson Schmitt placed in the 800 every year of high school, finishing 2nd as a sophomore, junior, and senior, while also winning state titles in the 1600 meters and 3200 meters as a senior, when she posted times of 5:08.4 and 11:17.92. She earned an invitation to the Olympic Dream event in the 1500 meters and was a two-time Class B state cross country champion. She also received the Tribune Cup as a member of the Class of 1989.

Patterson Schmitt continued her track career at the University of Maine before transferring to Auburn University, where she earned a redshirt season and SEC All-District Cross Country honors as a freshman. She went on to become a two-time All-District selection, an SEC Outdoor 5000-meter champion, and an NCAA provisional qualifier in both the indoor and outdoor 5000 meters, setting Auburn’s school record in the event. She competed at the NCAA Outdoor Track prelims in Boise, Idaho, and finished 10th overall in the 5000 meters at the Penn Relays. She graduated from Auburn in December 1994 with a degree in Human Sciences/Education.

After college, Patterson Schmitt built a career as an educator, teaching family and consumer science and child development courses in Tennessee, Connecticut, and Colorado. She currently serves as a teacher’s assistant and head coach of indoor and outdoor track, as well as cross country, at Falmouth Middle School. She and her husband, Jeff Schmitt, have three children — Caitlin, Nate, and Allie — who have all followed their mother into the sport, competing in track and field themselves.

Patterson Schmitt is nominated for the Sanford Athletics Hall of Honor not only for her exceptional accomplishments on the track and in the classroom, but for the leadership and character she exemplified both in high school and college — qualities she continues to pass on through her work with young athletes today.

Richard Faulkner

Richard Faulkner is one of the most decorated coaches in Sanford High School history, spending more than three decades at SHS as a physical education teacher and varsity coach in wrestling, football, and track — a career that produced championships, national recognition, and a lasting impact on generations of Sanford student-athletes.

A Sanford product himself, Faulkner played linebacker for the Redskins from 1965 to 1967, earning First-Team All-State honors in 1967, before going on to play four years at the University of Maine. He returned to SHS and spent 34 years in the classroom while building one of the finest wrestling programs in Maine history. As head wrestling coach, he led Sanford to State Championships in 1979, 1980, 1991, and 1992, Regional Championships on seven occasions, and an extraordinary run of 45 consecutive dual meet wins from 1980 to 1982. His 1992 team was rated among the top 25 programs in the nation, and he served as Director of the Redskin Invitational for 23 years. He was named MHSCA Coach of the Year in 1978, SMAA Wrestling Coach of the Year in 1989 and 1991, and was inducted into the Maine State Amateur Hall of Fame for Wrestling in 2021.

On the football field, Faulkner served as an assistant under three head coaches — George Riley, Pat Conley, and Mike Fallon — contributing to the 1982 Class A runner-up team and the 1998 Class A State Championship before taking over as head coach in 2001 and leading the Redskins to the playoffs.

Richard Faulkner is nominated for the Sanford Athletics Hall of Honor in recognition of a coaching career defined by championships, consistency, and an enduring dedication to Sanford athletics that spanned more than thirty years.