Behrend Lions Athletic Hall of Fame
2006 Inductees
The Behrend Lions Athletic Hall of Fame honors individuals and teams for their outstanding accomplishments and contributions to the college. Each year an induction ceremony and dinner are held. This year's event will be held on Saturday, September 23, 2006, at 6:00 p.m. in the McGarvey Commons at Penn State Behrend. For more details please contact the Athletics Office at (814) 898-6180.
Penn State Behrend announced the five members of the 2006 Hall of Fame Class: David Gurska, Marlesse (Schlott) Hames, Karen (Strait) Oberholzer, Megan (Musante) Post and Becky Reed. These individuals are being recognized for their outstanding accomplishments and contributions to the College by inducting them into the Behrend Lions Athletic Hall of Fame. This will be the sixteenth class inducted by the College since establishing the Hall of Fame in 1991.
The Hall of Fame currently has 94 individuals and ten teams as members, and is sponsored by the Behrend Lions Athletic Association.
DAVID GURSKA
Dave Gurska (1987-90) attended Penn State Shenango before playing three seasons of basketball at Behrend. He had a stellar career as a long distance shooter and specialized in making three-pointers in a jam-packed Erie Hall.
In back-to-back seasons, Gurska averaged double-figures after knocking down jumper after jumper. His career-high for the blue and white was 36 when he caught fire against Baldwin-Wallace. When his career concluded in 1990 he was second all-time in three-pointers made with 187. He remains second and third in the annuals for made three-pointers in a season. For his career he averaged 10.5 ppg and 1.5 rpg, while connecting on 42% of his long distance field-goal attempts. Gurska was a career 85% free-throw shooter and missed only one attempt from the line in his final season at Behrend.
Gurska totaled 776 career points and was an integral member of the school’s first-ever ECAC Tournament team. At the conclusion of his senior year he was selected to play in an NCAA vs. NAIA All-Star game.
Gurska came to Behrend after an outstanding career at Hickory High School. He is currently the regional vice-president for Aim Nationalease of Girard, Ohio.
MARLESSE (SCHLOTT) HAMES
Recognized for her achievement in women’s basketball and softball is Marlesse (Schlott) Hames (1993-1996). She transferred into Behrend after playing one year at W & J and guided the women’s basketball program to an NCAA Tournament bid and an ECAC Southern Region Championship in 1995-96 and was named the tournament’s MVP. At the conclusion of her career she ranked second in career rebounds with 665 and third on the charts for 9.6 rebounds per game. She also ranks second in made free throws with 209.
Hames, a tremendous rebounder, still holds the record for most rebounds in a single-season with 338, and the number-one spot for rebounds per game in a single-season at 12.5. During her senior season she scored 448 points, which is third most all-time, and concluded her playing time with 800 total. She currently has an award named after her in the women’s basketball program going to the Most Outstanding Offensive Player of the Year.
Hames was a very productive middle of the line-up hitter on the softball diamond. She played in 85 games over three seasons and helped the squad make a pair of ECAC Tournament appearances and a earn a national ranking. She hit .402 as a senior and her career totals include a .371 batting average, seven home runs and 67 RBIs. The home run total and doubles had her ranked on the top five.
Hames, a graduate of Seneca Valley, earned her degree in biology from Behrend and her master’s in secondary education from Slippery Rock. She is teaching biology at Seneca Valley Intermediate High School.
KAREN (STRAIT) OBERHOLZER
Karen (Strait) Oberholzer (1991-95) was a two-sport standout at Behrend, excelling in both softball and basketball.
On the hoop floor, Oberholzer played four years of basketball and was an instrumental part of the program’s success. She was a key member of the school’s first-ever ECAC Championship in 1991-92 when the hoopsters posted a 23-4 mark, under Hall of Fame head coach Jenepher Banker. Oberholzer came off of the bench to rebound, play defense, and get to the free-throw line. Oberholzer made 230 free-throws in her career and ranked number-one all-time at the conclusion of her career. She helped the team advance to another ECAC playoff and make the NCAA Tournament in rookie coach Roz Fornari’s first season.
She accumulated 494 points and 331 rebounds in 85 games while only playing in eight games as a senior because of an injury which kept her from playing her senior year of softball, however her first 100 games on the field were impressive.
In softball, she helped program win back-to-back ECAC titles and a runner-up title. She was a clutch offensive player who played the game the right way and was an exceptional defensive player at second base.
Oberholzer hit .327 and drove home 72 runners. The 34 single-season RBIs ranked third all-time in a season when her career concluded. Her career totals have her ranked ninth all-time in RBIs and tenth all-time in doubles. She was named to the ECAC All-Star team in 1992.
Oberholzer attended Southern Fulton High School and is the current president of her local women’s softball league. She is employed by the Washington County Board of Education.
MEGAN (MUSANTE) POST
Megan (Musante) Post (1991-95) starred in basketball and softball while at Behrend. During this time she helped her basketball teams make three trips to postseason play and the softball program to four straight. She is a member of four of the ten teams in the Behrend Hall of Fame and was named the 1994-95 Behrend Female Athlete of the Year.
Post’s basketball numbers from the point guard position include being a threat from long distance. She ranks in several offensive categories such as three-point shooting percentage in a season and career, and three-pointers made. Post also hit five threes in one game which ranks on the Behrend charts and dished out 96 assists as a senior. She played a role in the school’s first-ever ECAC Championship, record for most wins (23) and the school’s first-ever NCAA Tournament team. The basketball program, they annually issues a Megan (Musante) Post Hustle Award to the player who best exemplifies her style of play.
In softball, Post worked to become a three-year starter. She was twice named an NSCA All-American scholar athlete and was also tabbed second team all-region in 1995. She guided the softball program to back-to-back ECAC Titles, a runner’s-up finish and another berth. During the most successful four-year stretch in softball history, Post helped the blue and white to defeated national caliber teams and earned their highest national ranking. Post was a .300 career hitter in 87 games and hit .355 as a senior.
Post, a graduate of General McLane High School is a teacher in the Union City School District. She has successfully coached basketball at several levels, currently volunteers with the women’s basketball program, and officiates PIAA basketball.
BECKY REED
Becky Reed (1992-96) was a two-sport athlete competing in both basketball and softball at Behrend leading her teams to six postseason appearances, including two ECAC titles and an NCAA appearance.
In basketball, Reed was a key senior guard on the 1995-96 ECAC Championship team while averaging 12.5 ppg and 4.7 rpg. For her career she made 75 three-point shots—good enough for seventh all-time. Reed also made the fifth most three-pointers in a single-season with 46, and dished out 94 assists and made 76.3% of her free throws, both thirteenth best in single-season school history. The Becky Reed “Spark Plug” Award is issued by the women’s basketball program each year in her honor.
Becky Reed also had a stellar career on the diamond at shortstop. Reed was a clutch performer and had great range through the middle. During her career, the blue and white made the ECAC Tournament three times and won the Southern Region Championship 1993. The squad posted a school-record 29-6 mark while also knocking off some of the top teams in the country.
Reed was voted Third-Team All-Region in 1995 after hitting a career best .384 with four home runs and 38 RBIs. She logged a .351 career average with 13 home runs, 84 RBIs with 40 stolen bases. She completed her career as the program’s all-time leader in hits, runs scored, singles, and doubles. Her amazing athletic career was capped when presented with the school’s Female Athlete of the Year Award in 1996.A graduate of Northwestern High School, Reed was presented with Behrend’s Dick Dill Outstanding Service Award in 2003.
She is in her tenth year as a volunteer assistant coach with coach Roz Fornari and is employed by GE Transportation Systems.