The Maine Sports Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Recognizes Lori McPherson and Rod Wotton
On October 30, 2022, Lori McPherson an educator at Marshwood Great Works School, and Rod Wotton were among 12 recognized by the Maine Sports Hall of Fame for their contributions to Maine sports.
“As chair of the Maine Sports Hall of Fame board, it gives me great pride to welcome an amazing and diverse new class,” said Brian Corcoran. “These inductees represent the best of the best and share our commitment to a better Maine through sport.” He honored McPherson and Wotton this way:
Lori McPherson becomes the first person honored by MSHOF in the sport of cheerleading. She is known as a driving force that changed cheering from an activity to a highly competitive sport. She became a coach at Marshwood in 1987 and began building a powerhouse while helping many other teams and establishing herself as the leader in this rapidly evolving sport. Her high school teams won six regional and five state championships. She was named Maine Coach of the Year twice. Her Maine Stars Gym produced three National Champions and a World Championship team. Lori lives in Wells and has two grown children.
Rod Wotton passed away in November of 2021 having won 16 state championships in four classes at Marshwood High, where he compiled a 220-33-3 record. In one stretch, the Hawks won 45 consecutive games. He left Marshwood for St. Thomas Aquinas (Dover, NH) in 1992 and retired as the winningest football coach in New England history with 342 victories. He was voted Maine’s Greatest High School Football Coach in an online poll held by the Bangor Daily News. He was a loving family man and is survived by Norma his wife of sixty years, three children, and seven grandchildren.