EAST PROVIDENCE — East Providence High School’s Bob Lyons is among the Class of 2020 inductees into the Rhode Island Track and Field Coaches Association Hall of Fame, the organization announced recently.

Lyons, who for some two decades has served as the Townies boys’ indoor and outdoor track head coach, is joined by fellow mentors Carol Beaudette from Bay View, Peter Dion from East Greenwich, Ted Gibbons from Rogers, Ken Skelly from LaSalle as well as officials David Wilbur and Susan Wilbur.

“It’s definitely an honor. The only negative, I guess, when you get this kind of award is it means you’re getting older,” quipped Lyons, who is a teacher at Riverside Middle School.

“But it’s definitely an honor,” he continued. “It’s nice to know you’ve been appreciated for the things you’ve done. What really touched me is when people found out a lot of the kids I’ve coached over the years called, people who I haven’t seen in a long time reached out. Everyone likes to be appreciated for what they do, but it especially meant a lot to me that the kids were so happy for me.”

One of Lyons’ former EPHS athletes and now a coach at LaSalle Academy, All-State hurdler Eldon Santiago, will deliver the induction speech. The ceremony will be held at Twelve Acres in Smithfield on Tuesday, March 31, beginning at 6 p.m. There is a cocktail hour from 6-7 followed by dinner and the induction ceremony.

Mr. Lyons was notified of his selection by Tom Kenwood, chairman of the RITCA Hall of Fame Committee. Mr. Kenwood’s correspondence included the following passage, “Thank you for all you have done to further the sports of cross country and track & field in Rhode Island. The Rhode Island Track Coaches Association welcomes you to their Hall of Fame…We have taken a great deal of pride in selecting the finest coaches, officials, athletes, etc. to the Hall of Fame.”

Lyons, himself a former All-State and All-New England performer at EPHS in the early 1980s, has coached numerous All-State athletes. His Townie teams have been noted over the years for producing some of the state’s best jumpers and sprinters, the latter in which he excelled in his competitive days.

A multi-time state coach of the year recipient, his teams have won several notable ancillary competitions over the years such as the Classical Classic, Hendricken Invitational and Schomp Invitational. His 2018 team was awarded the RITCA sportsmanship award for its outstanding attitude and behavior while competing during the season.

“It’s pretty cool to be in,” Lyons continued. “It’s really nice when people who I’ve coach with and against all these years, people who I’m friendly with and even those I don’t know well, come up to me to tell me it’s well-deserved. And you don’t get there without the kids performing for you. That’s what it’s all about, the kids and the relationships you build are what’s important. I’m very appreciative.”

The highlight of Lyons’ career to date was East Providence’s outdoor state championship won in the spring of 2013. More recently, Lyons has added head coaching duties of the EPHS boys’ cross country team. He has also been chosen as the Northeast Region coach of the year and was once a finalist for a similar national award.

“It’s an honor. It’s a place you want to be in,” Lyons added. “And I want to keep building on what we’ve done here at East Providence for as many years as I keep coaching.”