Sachem alum Chris La Morte received the latest honor of his gymnastics career after being inducted into the Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame in the Class of 2023. He was honored on May 18 at East Wind in Wading River, N.Y.
La Morte, who was previously inducted into the Sachem Athletic Hall of Fame, is one of the best male gymnasts to come out of New York. The 1992 Sachem graduate, was ranked No. 1 in the United States on the rings from 1992 through 1998.
He was a four-time state champion at rings from 1989 through 1992. He was a high school national champion in 1992, the same year he achieved a perfect 10.0 on the rings at the Empire State Games, which was the first achievement of its kind in the state.
La Morte was also a two-time NCAA Division I ring champion at the University of New Mexico. Even better, he is the only person in NCAA gymnastics history to win an NCAA title as a freshman.
In 1996, he was a finalist at the World Championships, the only person from the U.S. to reach that level that year, and in 1998 he was a champion at the Goodwill Games.
He was presented his Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame plaque by fellow Sachem alum Chris R. Vaccaro, who oversees the Suffolk Hall.
