Art Kadish, Kateema Riettie to be Inducted into SCSU Hall of Fame

Southern Connecticut State University athletic department  host The Athletic Alumni Hall of Fame dinner on Wednesday, May 17, 2017 at the Grassy Hill Country Club in Orange, Conn.

  
Individual tickets and table rates are also available for those wishing only to attend the Athletic Alumni Hall of Fame induction event. Tickets are $75 each and include a Cocktail Hour, dinner buffet and complimentary beer, wine and soda. Tables of 10 are available for $750.

Two notable track and field inductees will be long time coach Art Kadish and National Champion javelin thrower Kateema Riettie.
To reserve your seat click here.


Art Kadish '71, MS '72, Student-Athlete, Coach

Kadish began his affiliation with Southern Connecticut as a student-athlete on the men's track and field team. A decorated pole vaulter, he was a nationals qualifier and school record holder in that event both indoors and outdoors. He finished as high as ninth nationally and was also recognized with the school's Outstanding Physical Education Student Award.
 
After completing his undergraduate degree, Kadish served as an associate professor in exercise science at SCSU from 1971-99 and was also an assistant track and field coach during that same stretch, as well as from 2003-09. During this time, he coached three NCAA Champions in the pole vault and 18 All-Americans. His pole vaulters also brought acclaim to SCSU with Penn Relays and IC4A Championships. Kadish also took on the role of head men's volleyball coach, starting that program in 1980 and turning it into a New England power.

Art began his career at Brien McMahon High School. As a senior in '67, Kadish finished runner-up in the state and third in New England. His school record at McMahon lasted more than three decades.

Not only was Art an accomplished coach, he was also a musician that performed in SCSU's dorms and local establishments and entertained many Southern students for decades.  He was a well respected educator to his athletes and his many students throughout his tenure at SCSU.  

Kateema Riettie '03, Women's Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field, Student-Athlete
Riettie was a two-time NCAA national champion (2001 and 2002) in the javelin for the Owls and finished as the runner-up in that event in 2003. Riettie is one of only four female student-athletes in the school's history to win a NCAA individual national championship.

She was also a two-time Northeast-10 Conference and New England champion in the javelin, and still holds the school record for the javelin throw at 166 feet, one inch. Riettie was a United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-Academic Team selection and also represented the Jamaican National Team in international competition. A seven-time Jamaican national champion in the javelin, she was also previously inducted into the Northeast-10 Conference Hall of Fame in 2011.

Riettie, is currently an instructor at the Bridgeport Police Training Academy and still competes for Central Park Track Club.