Behrend Lions Athletic Hall of Fame
1998 Inductees
JOHN GRODE: FACULTY ATHLETIC REPRESENTATIVE
John Grode, Penn State Behrend's faculty
athletic representative for 31 years, is being inducted into the Hall
of Fame in his first year of eligibility. Grode served the
college from 1966 to 1997.
In
1972 Penn State Behrend made the transition from a two-year campus of
Penn State, with Junior College athletic programs, to a four year
degree granting college, affiliated with National Association of
Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The NAIA required the College
to have a faculty athletic representative, someone who would represent
faculty interests in upholding academic standards among varsity
athletes. Grode was asked, and agreed, to fill that role.
He continued in that capacity for 25 years, until his retirement from
the faculty in 1997. In 11 years as a member of the NAIA, 14 as
a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the
Behrend Lions were never cited or placed on probation for
improprieties related to athletics. This is a tribute to
John's attention to detail, and his integrity.
Grode
also served the Erie community and as the president of Independence
House for four years, where he earned the Lee Schaaf Award for serving
as an outstanding role model for disabled citizens. In addition,
Grode was named as the first recipient of Penn State Behrend's Dick
Dill Outstanding Service Award in 1984-85 for his dedication to
athletics.
1966-67
MEN'S BASKETBALL: Pennsylvania Junior College Champions
Head coach Roger Sweeting guided the men's basketball team to its
first-ever Pennsylvania Junior College State Championship and a
Regional Junior College Tournament birth. The Penn State Behrend
Cubs beat Pitt-Johnstown for the right to host the tournament.
Then coach Sweeting's charges beat York College in the championship
game for their twentieth win of the season. The twenty-win
season (20-4) was the first in College history, but they lost to top
seeded Wesley College in the opening round of the NJCAA Tournament.
Coach
Sweeting and two members from the team have been inducted into the
Penn State Behrend Hall of Fame. Two members from the team also
went on to play college basketball at Penn State and Fredonia State
after their two years of eligibility concluded at Penn State Behrend.
Members
of the 1966-67 Pennsylvania Junior College Championship team included
Bill Cox, Rick Dylewski, Barney Etzel, Ron Hornyak, Martin Kurtic, Bob
Locke, Randy Lachowski, John Pyle, Bruce Reinhart, Tom Taylor and Joe
Williams.
1968-69
MEN'S BASKETBALL: Undefeated Regular Season
Under the direction of head coach Roger Sweeting, the 1968-69 men's
basketball team finished the regular season a perfect 20-0 and also
earned a Regional JCAA Tournament birth. The twenty-win season
is one of only two in men's basketball history and is the only
undefeated regular season in any sport in College history.
The
1968-69 Cubs team featured a scoring attack that averaged nearly 100
points per game. Five players averaged over ten points per game
with several others just below the ten points per game average.
Head coach Roger Sweeting and three of his players have been inducted
into the Penn State Behrend Hall of Fame. Two members from the
team continued to play college basketball after their two years of
eligibility expired at Penn State Behrend. They played at
Slippery Rock and Fredonia State.
Members
of the 1968-69 undefeated regular season team included Dave Davies,
Dan Fry, Pat Gerity, Mike Hook, Mike Kauffman, assistant coach Herb
Lauffer, Duane May, Dave Moorehead, Doug Moorehead, Eric Obert, Stan
Perett, Pete Saunders, Rob Schweitzer and Doug Zimmerman.
1971
MEN'S SOCCER: Penn State Commonwealth Campus Champions
The 1971 men's soccer team won the Penn State Commonwealth Campus
Championship by dominating their opponents. Head coach Herb
Lauffer's team won all four Commonwealth Campus matches, which
included three by shutout. The booters outscored their Penn
State Commonwealth competition by a 21-goal margin.
Overall,
the team had a 7-4 record and scored well over three goals per game,
while limiting opponents to just two per game. The Cubs earned
one of their biggest wins of the season when they beat national power
Lorain Community College, for their fourth win of the season.
Trailing by one goal heading into the third period Lauffer's crew
knocked home a pair of goals to take the lead. Five members of
the championship team have been inducted into the Penn State Behrend
Hall of Fame.
The
1971 Penn State Commonwealth Campus Championship team included Dave
Aloiz, Chet Bixby, Jim Channas, Dennis Grace, Kevin Fitzgibbon, Ray
Griffin, Penrose Hallowell, Bill Hildenbrand, John Hoge, Bob Jeffery,
Michael Joyce, Irv Kochel, Frank Malena, Mike Marsh, Dave Mitchell,
Chris Moore, Ed Moore, Pat Moore, Roger Nolan, Charley Rainey, John
Reeves and Robert Skwaryk.
1978
MEN'S SOCCER: NAIA District 18 Champions
Head coach Herb Lauffer guided the 1978 men's soccer team to the
District 18 Championship and advanced to the Area 6 championship.
Penn State Behrend defeated backyard rival Mercyhurst by one goal to
earn the District 18 Championship.
The
blue, white and red finished the year 7-6-2 against a tough schedule,
losing four matches by one goal. The Cubs also ruined
Allegheny's perfect season by battling them to 1-1 tie, and handed
Mercyhurst two of their four losses. Coach Lauffer's team had
five shutouts including three in a row and never gave up more than
three goals in a game. The Cubs scored over two goals per game,
while giving up just one goal per game. Two members from the
1978 team have been inducted into the Penn State Behrend Hall of Fame.
The
1978 District 18 Championship team included Tom Bodnor, Bill
Breedlove, Jeff Brightman, Jeff Delach, Pete Forster, Frank
Gidwani, Walt Gotschalk, Paul Heasley, Kurt Huntley, Chet Johnson, Dan
Kelly, Paul Kraus, Bob Lawrence, Jeff Mandl, Dave Miller, Roland
Moore, Mike Oliu, Tony Orlando, Larry Sawyer, Terry Trimble, assistant
coach Tom Trimble, Gary Wolfe and Greg Zemanski.
1981
BASEBALL: NAIA District 18 Champions
Head coach Shorty Stoner's baseball team earned the NAIA District 18
Championship and first twenty-win baseball season (20-11) in College
history. The team advanced to the Area 6 championship, but lost
to Liberty Baptist and future major leaguer Sid Bream.
This
baseball team is the most prolific power hitting team in College
history. The offense crushed 16 home runs and drew the most
walks in a season with 149. The combination of power hitting,
solid pitching and steady defense helped the squad set numerous
records. Four members of the team and coach Stoner have been
inducted into the Penn State Behrend Hall of Fame.
Members
of the 1981 District 18 Championship team included Thomas Allebrand,
Timothy Archer, Greg Breski, Vince Brush, Clifford Caldwell, Shawn
Callaghan, Sam Cianflocco, manager Dave Cochran, Richard Crist, John
Deigan, Doug Fasick, assistant coach Mike Folga, Joseph Fornear, Sean
Gill, Dave Hall, Robert Hurrell, James Kaczorowski, Thomas Knight,
Andrew Lyons, Timothy McQueeny, Michael Mixon, Brent Pomycala, Dan
Rhollans, Robert Roach, Rick Ryver, Gerry Simon and David Weakland.
1984
WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL: NAIA District 18 Champions
A strong core of returning players were in action during the 1984
volleyball season and led Penn State Behrend into the NAIA District 18
playoffs for the fourth consecutive year. Their outstanding
performance in the postseason enabled them to capture the first-ever
volleyball District 18 Championship.
According
to head coach Jan Wilson, the keys to the successful season were the
team's aggressive serving and tenacious defense. The spikers
were led to the title by three NAIA All-District player who also
guided them to a second place finish in the Women's Keystone
Conference, and a sharp 23-12 overall mark. As a team they
compiled an impressive 874 kills and 225 aces in 35 games.
The
members of the 1984 District 18 Championship team included Joan Baker,
Terri Baliantine, Julie (DiFrancisco) Herr, Renee Harrison, Colleen
Kosack, Kathy (Ott) Hansen, Julie Pletz, Mary (Toboz) Eckart and Tracy
Zurasky.
1991-92
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: ECAC Champions
Head coach Jenepher Banker led the 1991-92 basketball team to several
firsts for the women's basketball program. She engineered a
struggling program that had not had a winning season in eight years to
the ECAC Championship-the first in any sport for Penn State Behrend.
The 14 game improvement from the previous season is a NCAA Division
III women's basketball record.
Their
23 wins in a season and winning percentage of 85% remains a women's
basketball record. Coach Banker also led Penn State Behrend to
the first ever NCAA regional and Top 20 women's basketball rankings.
After nearly defeating cross-town Mercyhurst, the team was ranked 19th
in the country. Banker's team also completed the season as 5th
best defensive team in the nation.
Members
of the 1991-92 ECAC Championship team included assistant Brett Banker,
Michele Beisler, Michelle (Grover) Benim, student assistant Paul
Benim, Anne Bonner, Kim Boyd, Darcie Bradley, Krista Hershner, Kim
(Landes) Richey, Karen (Strait) Oberholzer, Heather (Shearer)
O'Donnell, Megan (Musante) Post, Wendy (Ebinger) Sunderman, Becky
Swartz, Missy Thompson, Tracy (Thompson) Buzalka and assitant coach
Rob Wittman.
1992
WOMEN'S SOFTBALL: ECAC Champions
Head coach Brett Banker led Penn State Behrend to the first-ever ECAC
softball Championship. Pitching and defense were the key
ingredients through the team's 3-1 record in the ECAC's. In
1992, the 22-6 record earned them the most wins and highest winning
percentage in softball history.
Coach
Banker's team featured a high powered offense that scored 221 runs,
which ranks third in school history. The softball team tallied
31 hits against Swarthmore, which ranks as the third most hits in a
game in Division III. Offensively, the softballers batted .321
as a team and rattled off 233 hits that year. The squad also
received national exposure as the team finished with the sixth best
GPA and the sixth best fielding percentage among Division III teams.
Members
of the 1992 ECAC Championship team included assistant coach Tammy
Altsman, Beth Balizet, student assistant Paul Banner, Kim Boyd, Darcie
Bradley, Sue Byer, Kelly (Jordan) Diehl, Sue Mazur, Karen (Strait)
Oberholzer, Kelly Orga, Lori (Nadolny) Palisin, Terry Pegher, Megan
(Musante) Post, Casey (Puttemann) Lesco, Melanie (Dunn) Ross, Lisa
(Vanderschaff) Migliaccio, Cherie Varrassa and Lori Wolfe.
1993
WOMEN'S SOFTBALL: ECAC Champions
In his first year as head coach, Paul Benim led the team to a 29 win
season, the most team wins in college history, and the ECAC
Championship. The regional crown was achieved through a dramatic
2-1, eight-inning victory over Mary Washington. A 5-4-2-7 triple
play in the sixth inning enabled Penn State Behrend to keep the score
tied and win their third game of the day.
The
29-6 (83%) record earned the team the fourth best winning percentage
in Division III and the best in college history. Of the six
losses, two were to nationally ranked teams and four were decided by
one run. In addition, the team finished the year ranked fourth
in the NCAA Central Region and were nationally ranked for stolen
bases, fielding average and home runs. Coach Benim also brought
the running game into softball as the team stole 91 out of 102 bases
on the year.
Members
of the 1993 ECAC Championship team included Emmy Arnett, Darcie
Bradley, Tanya Cekovich, Laura Conner, student assistant Bill Graham,
Sue Mazur, Carrie McDougall, Karen (Strait) Oberholzer, Kelly Orga,
Terry Pegher, Megan (Musante) Post, Casey (Putteman) Lesco, Julie
Stocker, Cherie Varrassa and Jenny Young.
1993-94
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: NCAA Tournament
First year head coach Roz Fornari led the women's basketball team to
the college's first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance and second
twenty-win (21-6) season.
In
the NCAA's the Behrend Lions squared off against Denison College.
The Big Red, winners of 12 of 13 entering the contest, went home black
and blue. Fornari's charges shot an incredible 74% from the
field in the first half and cruised to a 92-73 win. Penn State
Behrend lost in the second round to the eventual national champions
Capital University. The blue, white, and red finished the season
ranked 4th in the NCAA Atlantic Region and were ranked in several
statistical categories at year's end. During the year the
Behrend Lions had a win streak of five games and won eight straight
before their regional semifinal loss.
The
1993-94 NCAA tournament team included Michelle (Grover) Benim, Anne
Bonner, Haley (Locher) Butler, Kate Delaney, Kim (Landes) Richey,
Karen (Strait) Oberholzer, Heather (Shearer) O'Donnell, Megan
(Musante) Post, Becky Reed, Marlesse Schlott, Amy Stranahan, Wendy
(Ebinger) Sunderman, Becky Swartz, and assistant coach Rob
Wittman.