5 Super Athletes With Ties To Farmington

Sports have a way of teaching invaluable life lessons — building character, fostering teamwork and strengthening the bonds within a community. In the Farmington area, these values have shaped some truly remarkable athletes from different eras, whose accomplishments continue to inspire.

Patch is celebrating five standout athletes whose achievements have left a lasting mark on our community. This list is just a snapshot, with countless other athletes helping shape the rich sports culture in our area.

1. Suzy Whaley (Golf)

Suzy Whaley called Farmington home while building her career, working at local courses including Blue Fox Run and Tumble Brook. She won three Connecticut Women's Open titles between 1999 and 2002, and in 2003 became the first woman since Babe Didrikson Zaharias in 1945 to qualify for a PGA Tour event, teeing off at the Greater Hartford Open. In 2018, the former Farmington resident made history again, becoming the first woman ever elected president of the PGA of America in the organization's 102-year history. She was inducted into the PGA of America Hall of Fame in 2023.

2. Erin Pac (Bobsled)

A Farmington native, Erin Pac came to bobsled after running track at Springfield College, and climbed quickly through the U.S. national team ranks. She and brakewoman Elana Meyers won the bronze medal in the two-woman bobsled event at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, edging a Canadian sled for the podium spot. Pac also picked up a silver and a bronze at the FIBT World Championships in 2007 and 2008. She retired from competition in late 2010 after an eight-year run on the national team.

3. Nick Bonino (Hockey)

Nick Bonino grew up in Farmington and led Farmington High School to its first hockey state championship before transferring to Avon Old Farms and later starring at Boston University, where he scored the tying goal in the final seconds of the 2009 NCAA championship game. Drafted by the San Jose Sharks in 2007, Bonino went on to a 15-year NHL career that included stops with Anaheim, Vancouver, Pittsburgh, Nashville, Minnesota, San Jose and the Rangers. As center of Pittsburgh's "HBK Line," he led all Eastern Conference players in playoff assists during the Penguins' 2016 Stanley Cup run and won a second Cup with the team in 2017. He retired in 2025 to join the Penguins' front office.

4. Tim Abromaitis (Basketball)

A Farmington High School graduate, Tim Abromaitis became one of Notre Dame's top shooters and a two-time Academic All-American before a torn ACL cut short his senior season. Undrafted in 2012, he built a long professional career overseas, winning a FIBA Champions League title with Iberostar Tenerife in 2017 and earning a spot on the competition's All-Decade Second Team.

5. Terry Wooden (Football)

Terry Wooden starred as a running back and linebacker at Farmington High School before becoming an All-East linebacker at Syracuse, where he finished his career second on the program's all-time sack list. Seattle selected Wooden in the second round of the 1990 NFL Draft, and he spent seven seasons with the Seahawks, leading the NFL in solo tackles in 1995 en route to the team's Steve Largent Award. He closed out his career with the Chiefs and Raiders, finishing with 700 career tackles, and now works as a national scout for the New Orleans Saints.

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