For the second straight year a Sachem alum is being inducted to the C.W. Post Athletics Hall of Fame.
Paul Engelhardt, who graduated from Sachem in 1987, is one of four Post athletes to be honored this September.
Engelhardt was a four-year starter at defensive back who played from 1987-90. He registered 158 tackles along with 26 pass break ups and seven interceptions. Named a College Football Preview Preseason All-American in 1990, Engelhardt was also recognized as a Liberty Conference Second Team All-Star in 1987 and 1988.
At Sachem, he was a member of the last Rutgers Trophy team in 1986. That season he was an integral part of Sachem’s Suffolk County championship team that will go down as one of the best in school history.
Engelhardt won the Black Helmet Award and Defensive MVP Award at Sachem in 1986, while earning All-Division honors.
Last year Engelhardt’s teammate Dave Shanahan, now the head football coach at John Glenn High School, was inducted to Post Hall of Fame. Sachem alum Jim Byrne, a current coach and teacher in the school district, who holds the C.W. Post single-game rushing record with 266 yards against Alfred in 1993, was is also a member of the Post Hall of Fame.
RELATED: Read the original press release from C.W. Post about the induction
-Words and photo by Chris R. Vaccaro