Five inducted into the Menlo School Athletics Hall of Fame
Menlo School welcomed five inductees into the Athletics Hall of Fame during a ceremony earlier this month at the West Gym of the Athletic Center. Hall of Famers are recognized for leadership, sportsmanship and superiority in athletic competition, and dedicating countless hours to helping others achieve their athletic goals. Inductees are:
Jason Armstrong ’00 – baseball and football
Armstrong was named to the San Mateo County first team as quarterback, and led Menlo School football to a league championship and CCS berth in his senior season. On the diamond, Armstrong was a three-year varsity starter, and was named to the Private School Athletic League and all-San Mateo County first team. Armstrong was recently named to Menlo School Baseball’s All-Decade teams of the 1990s and 2000s. He went on to play baseball at Trinity College, where he was a four-year starter, and still ranks in the top three in school history in games started, career batting average, career and single-season hits, career and single-season runs, career and single-season doubles, career and single-season triples, and wins.
Armstrong, the conference player of the year in 2004, became the highest position player draft pick in Trinity history after being selected in the 25th round of the 2004 draft by the Toronto Blue Jays. Armstrong retired in 2008 due to multiple injuries and began his coaching career at Menlo School under the guidance of Menlo Hall of Fame coach Craig Schoof. From there, Armstrong returned to Trinity to serve as associate head coach before stepping to the NCAA Div. I stage as hitting coach for UC-Davis, and currently San Jose State.
Kelley Finch ’05 – soccer
Finch was a four-year varsity starter, patrolling center midfield for Menlo. She was co-captain during her senior year, and was the Knights’ leading scorer. Finch was named league MVP as a senior and received first team all-league honors each of those four years. She was also part of the Olympic Development program from 2002-2004 and a member of the U.S. Youth Soccer Regional Team in 2004.
Finch went on to play NCAA Div. I soccer at USC from 2005 to 2008. A versatile leader, Finch was a key player when the Trojans win their first national championship in 2007. She was named to the Pac 10 all-academic team from 2005-2008 and won the coaches award her senior year.
John Maletis ’95 – basketball and baseball
Maletis was a three-year varsity point guard on Menlo’s basketball team, leading the team to three consecutive CCS playoff berths. He was a first-team all-league selection his junior and senior years. On the diamond, Maletis was a two-year varsity center fielder and leadoff batter, and named to the first-team all-league as a senior. Maletis was Menlo’s male athlete of the year and a finalist for San Mateo County athlete of the year his senior year.
He went on to become a two-sport standout at Middlebury where he captained both teams as a senior. On the hardcourt, he scored 564 points in his four seasons, dishing out 94 assists, while knocking down 93 three-pointers. On the baseball field, Maletis had a career batting average of .332, scoring 75 runs, while driving in 56. He graduated with over 100 hits and held the school record for all-time career hits.
Julia Martin ’05 – lacrosse and basketball
At Menlo, Martin played midfield as a three-year varsity lacrosse player. A three-time U.S. Lacrosse first-team, all-American and co-captain, Martin helped lead the team to back-to-back Peninsula Athletic League Championships. Martin was also a three-year varsity point guard for the Knights’ basketball team.
After graduating from Menlo, Martin was a four-year member of the NCAA Div. I William and Mary lacrosse squad, and a key contributor on teams that finished atop the Colonial Athletic Association regular season standings in back-to-back seasons (2008 and 2009). She also served as a co-captain for her senior season.
Martin graduated from William & Mary in 2009, majoring in kinesiology with an art minor, and in 2012 she completed her Master’s in Organizational Dynamics from the University of Pennsylvania. She currently resides in Philadelphia and works at Penn as the Athletics Coordinator for the Division of Recreation and Intercollegiate Athletics.
Scott Roche ’90 – diving, water polo, and swimming
Roche moved to Menlo Park in 1986, entering Menlo School as a freshman. On arrival from Connecticut, he was an accomplished swimmer and diver. When he graduated four years later, he was a nationally competitive water polo player who had helped Menlo School to its most successful season.
In the three years at Menlo, Roche lettered in water polo, swimming, and diving. He spent his junior year at Corona Del Mar High in Newport Beach training under future Olympic Water Polo coach John Vargas before returning to Menlo his senior year.
Roche’s leadership and inspirational play in 1989 helped Menlo achieve its best boys’ water polo record, its first Conference Championship, and they made it to the CCS playoffs. Menlo’s renowned Scott AC Roche Invitational is named in Scott’s memory and is known around California as “The Roche”.
Roche then went on to Princeton where he continued his prowess in water polo as a four-year varsity letter winner. He helped transform Princeton from a perennial underachiever to the Ivy League and Eastern Regional Champs both his junior and senior years. He was co-captain of the first Princeton team to defeat the long dominant Navy, Harvard, and Brown teams which earned a berth in the NCAA Championships.
Pictured from left: D’Arcy Roche (father of Scott Roche), Julia Martin, John Maletis, Kelley Finch, Jason Armstrong
