Sports
Chemung County Sports Hall of Fame class of 2024 includes six inductees
A twin tandem from Horseheads High School and two of the most accomplished athletes in Elmira Notre Dame history are among six people who will be inducted into the Chemung County Sports Hall of Fame this month.
The class of 2024 includes Amanda (Kent) Hoobler and Matthew Kent, sister and brother who starred at Horseheads in the late 1990s.
Notre Dame’s Natalie Frost and Olivia May, who were both part of state championship teams, will also be inducted.
The other inductees are Elmira Southside alum David Holleran, who coached football in the Elmira City School District, and longtime area coach and broadcaster Larry Ransey.
Ceremony to take place during hoops tourney
The induction ceremony will take place before the final game of the opening day of the four-day Josh Palmer Fund Clarion Inn Classic basketball tournament Dec. 27 at Elmira High School. That 8:30 p.m. contest between the Elmira and North Rockland girls will follow a 6:45 girls tilt between Horseheads and Starpoint.
Tickets are $45 for a family tournament pass, $20 for an adult tournament pass, $15 for a student tournament pass, $7 for an adult day pass, and $5 for a student day pass.
About the inductions
Inductees were voted on by the Chemung County Sports Hall of Fame committee based on nominations submitted from committee members and members of the public. Nomination forms for future years and a list of current Hall of Fame members are available at chemungcosportshof.com.
Amanda (Kent) Hoobler
Hoobler is a 1999 Horseheads graduate who played four seasons of soccer and softball, along with competing in track & field for three seasons.
She earned first-team all-state honors in softball and was an All-Sullivan Trail Conference first-team selection in soccer. In track, she helped Section 4’s 1,600-meter relay team to a state title.
She earned a combined 12 varsity letters and helped Horseheads to the Class A state softball title in 1996, when Class A was the highest classification in New York.
Hoobler played collegiately at St. John Fisher, where she was a Division III All-American, four-time All-Northeast Region selection, and set multiple program records, including runs in season (53), career (164), doubles (44), home runs (26), total bases (336) and consecutive home runs in a game (3).
She was inducted into the St. John Fisher Athletics Hall of Fame in 2013 and the Horseheads Hall of Fame in 2009.
Matthew Kent
Kent, also a 1999 Horseheads graduate, played three seasons of varsity soccer, basketball and lacrosse for the Blue Raiders.
He was a Section 4 first-team all-star in lacrosse as a junior and senior, and helped the Raiders to a sectional championship in 1998.
In basketball, Kent set program records for assists in a game and season.
He played lacrosse at Nazareth College, earning Empire 8 Player of the Year honors in 2003. He was inducted into the Horseheads High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2009.
David Holleran
Holleran graduated in 2003 from Southside, where he played three seasons of varsity football, two seasons of basketball, and competed in track & field for four seasons.
He was a Star-Gazette All-Twin Tiers football selection in 2002 and was named to the Ernie Davis Classic team that year. He helped Southside win a Section 4 championship in boys basketball as a senior.
Holleran played college football at Cortland State, starting at right tackle as a junior and senior. He was a second-team New Jersey Athletic Conference all-star as senior.
He was an assistant varsity football coach for the Elmira Express from 2011 to 2023, contributing to five Section 4 titles.
Natalie Frost
Frost graduated from Notre Dame in 2004 after playing five seasons of varsity soccer and four seasons of basketball. She helped the Crusaders to a combined eight sectional finals and six appearances in the state tournament. Frost was Notre Dame’s Female Athlete of the Year as a senior.
She still holds Notre Dame records for goals (139) and points (338) in soccer. Frost had 60 career assists. Frost was a first-team all-state pick as a senior in 2003, when she helped Notre Dame to the Class C state title. She was a third-team all-state choice in 2001 and 2002.
Frost was part of five sectional championships in softball and was a four-time all-state selection.
She helped Niagara University’s women’s soccer team to two Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship games and the program’s first MAAC title in 2006. She was chosen to the MAAC all-rookie team as a freshman.
Olivia May
May, a 2013 Notre Dame graduate, was a two-time Class C Player of the Year in softball and was named first-team all-state four times.
She pitched Notre Dame to a 26-0 record and a Class C state championship in 2011. May tossed 17 shutouts and had a 0.33 ERA that season.
May set 10 state pitching records and her overall record was 90-11, including 46 shutouts, 12 no-hitters and 1,138 strikeouts. At the plate, she hit 26 career home runs and drove in 178 runs.
In addition, May was a two-time all-state pick in basketball and a tennis standout.
She played softball at Cornell University. May was inducted into the New York State Softball Hall of Fame in 2023 and was inducted into the Section 4 Hall of Fame earlier this year.
Larry Ransey
Ransey started coaching in 1976, leading a CYO team at St. Peter and Paul. He coached Elmira Small Fry in the 1970s and 1980s, then was assistant boys basketball coach at Elmira Free Academy from 1991 to 1997.
He started broadcasting games in the 1980s for WELM radio, and has worked as a color commentator alongside Bob Michaels on RLM Sports. Ransey called games on WETM-TV from 2007 to 2010.
Follow Andrew Legare on Twitter: @SGAndrewLegare. You can also reach him at alegare@gannett.com. To get unlimited access to the latest news, please subscribe or activate your digital account today
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