Chris Lapointe led the Westfield State football team to heights it had never seen before.
So high in fact, no Owls squad has replicated that success in the 16 years since he graduated.
It’s only fitting that the Turners Falls native was honored for his place in athletic history at his alma mater.
Lapointe found out this week that he was selected to the 24th class of the Westfield State Athletics Hall of Fame. The former star quarterback, who graduated in 2004, said he was surprised, and honored, by the recognition.
“When I was playing, I always wanted to be the best and strived to get there, but I never thought, ‘Hey, I’m going to be in the Hall of Fame someday,’” Lapointe offered. “When you’re little and you want to achieve goals, you aim for it but it’s certainly not a given that things like this will happen. I played on some phenomenal teams with tons of great players.”
Lapointe was a three-year starter at quarterback for the Owls. He was under center in 2001, his first year with the program, when the team posted a perfect 10-0 mark in the regular season and made the only NCAA Playoff appearance in school history. He set 11 school records for passing and offense, and was a first-team All-New England Football Conference pick.
After graduating from Turners Falls High School in 1999, Lapointe took his talents to I-AA Central Connecticut State. He redshirted one year and played another, but decided to transfer prior to the 2001-02 school year.
“It was a huge jump from a small school like Turners to (CCSU) that was I-AA at the time,” began Lapointe. “But I’ll tell you what, it was the best thing that ever happened to me because I really focused on watching film, watching plays develop, studying the different nuisances of the quarterback position.
“It was a difficult decision to transfer but looking back, everything worked out for a reason,” he continued. “Westfield was far enough away and there were some great players on the team, but they weren’t very good at the time. I thought with the players coming in, and the thought of joining them, we could do something special. It was a difficult choice but the right choice.”
Lapointe won a three-man battle for the starting quarterback job out of camp his first year at Westfield, and the Owls cruised to an undefeated season, conference title and NCAA berth in 2001. They lost to Western Connecticut, 8-7, in the only NCAA Tournament game in Westfield State football history.
“That ’01 season was so special,” recalled Lapointe. “We had so many great players. The year before that I think they went 3-6, but that year, it all clicked. Our defense was so stout, I really just had to manage the game. There was pressure going in, sure, being the new guy, but I worked hard because I wanted to prove myself.”
The Owls played in conference championship games all three seasons Lapointe was under center. Westfield went 8-3 in 2002 and 7-3 in 2003. He broke his hand in ’03 and missed eight games, but returned for the conference title game. While he said he could have applied for a medical waiver for one more year of eligibility, he was ready for the next chapter upon graduating in 2004.
Lapointe was the head coach at Turners Falls High School for nearly a decade, and coached the quarterbacks at Deerfield Academy in 2019.
“Everyone misses the game but for me personally, the longer removed from the game, the harder it became,” he said.
Lapointe said he’s been reliving those Westfield days this week, hearing from former teammates and receiving congratulatory phone calls from old friends he hasn’t talked to in years.
“It’s been unbelievable,” he explained. “It really means a lot to me, kind of an indescribable feeling. I had teammates who I only played one year with reaching out, thanking me for being a leader and stepping up. That’s cool, particularly for a transfer who came in because obviously they thought I did something right.”
The rest of the class includes soccer standout Dennis Dugas ’76, NCAA high jump national champion Marlee Berg-Haryasz ’09, record-setting volleyball hitter Lindsay (Skaret) Gunderson ’07, all-conference soccer midfielder Chris Streeter ’98, and longtime coach and athletic director Ken Magarian ’71.
The 1978 ECAC Championship men’s ice hockey team will be recognized as a team of distinction.
The event is tentatively scheduled for Oct. 16, pending public health policies permitting gatherings. The date will be officially confirmed later this summer.