Inductees

Athlete Bio


Soccer
10, 11, 12

Midfield

Lacrosse
10, 11, 12

Attack

Fencing
9, 10, 11, 12

Foil

Caitlin Bilodeau

Class of 1983

Caitlin Bilodeau is perhaps the most accomplished female athlete ever to attend Concord-Carlisle High School. She dominated three interscholastic sports, but it was in foil fencing that she struck gold as a champion of the Pan American games - not once but twice - and a member of two U.S. Olympic Teams (Seoul 1988 and Barcelona 1992).

Katy's love for competition and drive for success were evident at an early age. As one of the youngest of a large, athletic family, it was easy for her to develop the needed competitive edge. With three older brothers, Tom, Chris, and Sean (All-American at Southern Connecticut) involved in wrestling, she had no choice but to learn how to fight. However, it was her two older sisters, Becky (three time All-American at Cornell) and Mary (All-American at Temple) who sparked her interest in fencing. And in an incredible Coincidence, it was Katy's future stepfather, and fellow 1994 Hall of Fame inductee John O'Connell, who convinced Eliot Lillian to establish the CCHS fencing program in the late 70's. Little did he know that CCHS's most successful fencer would later become a member of his own family!

Recognizing a special breed, Katy's fencing coaches often tried to limit her involvement in other sports, but she wouldn't hear of it. A three year varsity letter winner in both soccer and lacrosse, she led her teams to three league championships. By the time she graduated in 1983 Katy had been recognized as an All-Scholastic in soccer and lacrosse and an All-American in both fencing and lacrosse!

She moved on after high school to Division I fencing powerhouse Penn State, but transferred to Columbia to train under her favorite coach, Hungarian Aladar Koglar, after he defected to the United States. Bilodeau was a four time All-American at Columbia, and is in the Guinness Book of Records as one of only two women ever to win the NCAA fencing championship twice. She was also voted a Columbia Athlete of the Decade.

Amazingly, Katy also played varsity soccer at Columbia for two years until a broken nose and sprained ankle Convinced her (and Coach Koglar) to concentrate on fencing.

Although Katy's fencing career has led her away from Concord to the fencing haven of Quebec, Canada, she remains close to family and friends. She and Canadian fencer husband Jean Marie Banos recently added another saber rattler, Justin, to the Bilodeau family.