Norwell High School announced that five of its former student-athletes will be inducted into the 2023 Hall of Fame class.
Members of the class include Boys’ basketball player Kent Hoopingarner, girls’ basketball coach Terri Worden, track and field runner Joyce Kitchin, baseball player Jarrod Parker, and girls’ basketball player Jessica Rupright.
The 2023 class will be recognized at the boys’ home varisty basketball game at 7:45 p.m. Friday, Feb. 10, against Huntington North.
The following information of the class was provided by Norwell High School:
• Kent Hoopingarner — Norwell graduate of 1973 and led the Knights’ to its first sectional championship in school history. At the time of his graduation, Hoopingarner was the first 1,000-point scorer and all-time leading rebounder, along with his third-team all-state selection. He was an all-conference performer in track and football and furthered his athletic career at TriState University.
• Terri Worden — Worden was the girls’ varsity basketball coach from 1975-1984, posting a 123-70 record in her nine seasons. She led the 1977 Knights to the semi-state championship and added two conference championships, four sectionals, and two regional titles to her resume.
Worden also coached the girls’ tennis team for 34 years and led them to more than 300 victories, five sectional titles, and three ACAC championships. She was a Norwell graduate in 1971.
• Joyce Kitchin —A 1985 graduate of NHS, Kitchin ran varsity track for four years. She was a 12-time conference and sectional champion and three-time regional champ. She qualified for the state track meet all four years and still is the current school record holder for both the 100m and 200m races and the 4×100 relay team. She continued her track career at the University of Indianapolis.
Kitchin was a four-year starter on the volleyball team, where she was on the 1981 team that qualified for state and was an academic all-state member in 1984.
• Jarrod Parker — A 2007 graduate who played baseball and led the program to a state runner-up finish in 2006 and the state title in 2007. In the state title season, Parker won 12 games and pitched six shutouts with a 0.10 earned run average to give him the Gatorade and Louisville Slugger Indiana Player of the year.
Parker also was a First Team All-American and was a member of the 2006 USA Junior National Team. The accolades helped him get drafted in the first round of the 2007 Major League Baseball draft, ninth overall, to the Arizona Diamondbacks, where he pitched in three seasons before injuries forced him to retire.
• Jessica Rupright — 2012 graduate who played on the varsity girls’ basketball team for the Knights and led them to two sectional titles in 2011 and 2012, along with three NHC conference championships. She was an Indiana Junior All-Star in 2011 and was named Miss Basketball in 2012. Rupright is still the all-time leading scorer and rebounder with 1,591 points and 728 rebounds.
She played basketball at the University of Miami (Ohio) from 2012-2016.
