Vermont Academy Inducts Two into the Athletic Hall of Fame: Brooke Mooney ’14 and Chad Wittman ’98

Brooke Mooney ’14 came to Vermont Academy in 2013 as an accomplished junior national Nordic skier. It was at Vermont Academy that coach Thom Collins recruited her to row. Brooke’s newfound skills earned her a spot on the University of Washington’s D1 Rowing team, which placed in the top three NCAA Rowing Championships during three of her four years at the University.

She was named the 2018 Pac-12 Athlete of the Year and first-team All-Pac-12. She went on to win the USRowing Indoor National Championships in 2019. Brooke rowed in the 2021 Olympics (postponed from 2020) in Tokyo where she finished fourth in the women’s eight. 

In March of the same year, she broke the indoor women’s ergometer world record for 2,000 meters with a time of 6:21. 

Brooke is currently training for the 2024 Olympic qualifiers.

As a Vermont Academy student, Chad Wittman ’98 was a three-sport athlete and an All-American lacrosse player. After graduating, he attended the University of Denver where he was co-captain of his lacrosse team and was named Most Valuable Offensive Player. 

After college, he was drafted by the Vancouver Ravens of the National Lacrosse League. With 20 goals recorded and 23 assists in a 25-game career with both the Ravens and the Anaheim Storm, he was a force to be reckoned with. 

Chad channeled his athleticism into a successful career that included working at Harrow Sports and Reebok, where he climbed the ranks to vice president and brand director for the Asia Pacific region. He completed two Harvard Business School Executive Development programs in 2018 and 2019.

In 2020, he launched ACTIV8 Partners, LLC., merging personal coaching with management consulting.