Ponaganset High School Athletic Hall of Fame
Induction Class of 2016
Mary Beth Gubata
Athlete
Class of 1989
Softball, Basketball
Mary Beth Gubata was an outstanding two-sport athlete at Ponaganset High School, where she was a member of the softball and basketball teams. An unselfish player who always put the good of the team before her own individual accomplishments, she was the type of athlete every coach dreams of having.
The diamond was where Mary Beth really showed off her exceptional abilities, taking a fledgling softball program that was losing more games than it was winning and turning it into a team that was able to truly compete.
A captain her senior year, Mary Beth taught her fellow teammates how to win, leading them by example. Consistently the best hitter on the team, she batted over .500 all four seasons, resulting in First Team All-Division selections at shortstop all four years. Mary Beth was the first Ponaganset athlete, male or female, to earn First Team All-State honors three-straight years, winning as a sophomore, junior and senior. She received an unprecedented four Team MVP awards, a distinction no other Ponaganset athlete has achieved.
As a four-year member of the basketball team, Mary Beth was a hard-nosed competitor who could always be counted on to give 110 percent every time she was on the court. That attitude and skill helped Mary Beth and Ponaganset win a state championship in 1988.
After graduating in 1989, Mary Beth went into the Rhode Island Air National Guard, where she served for 11 years. Mary Beth now lives in Framingham, Mass., with her two children, Kaylie and Cole. She is still active in local softball, giving back some of what she learned during her high school days.