Behrend Lions Athletic Hall of Fame
2008 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, July 26, 2008, at 6:00 p.m. in the McGarvey Commons at Penn State Behrend. For Hall of Fame details please contact the Athletics Office at (814) 898-6180.
Penn State Behrend announced the seven members of the 2008 Hall of Fame Class: Julie Stocker, Ron Derian, Marc Burchanowski, Beth (Calhoun) Wisniewski , Sandy Mishic, Kevin Rinehardt, and Ryan Ruta. In addition, the Behrend Lions Athletic Association will be recognizing five teams of distinction. The 1998-99 women's basketball, 1998 women's tennis, 1998 women's soccer, and the 1998-99 women's softball teams all won AMCC championships, while the 1998-99 men's basketball team captured the ECAC title.
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 100 individuals and ten teams as members, and is sponsored by the Behrend Lions Athletic Association.
MARC BURCHANOWSKI
Marc Burchanowski (1995-98) was an impact player and elevated the baseball program during his four years as a starting catcher and four more as an assistant coach. He enriched the program by providing a new level of toughness to the team and unparalleled leadership for the Behrend Lions and Head Coach Paul Benim.
Burchanowski was revered for his arm, while helping pitchers excel from the bump. As a sophomore he guided the program to its highest win total as an NCAA Division III school and then there was more to come.
Burchanowski was previewed by Collegiate Baseball as a Player to Watch. He did not disappoint. As a junior and senior he was chosen to guide the program as its team captain and was then picked as the team MVP. In 1997-98 he was named Behrend’s Male Athlete of the Year.
During his stellar senior year, Burchanowski led the blue and white to the school-record for wins with 23. He posted a .318 average with 27 RBIs, the third most in a single-season. In addition, Burchanowski was named to the first-ever AMCC All-Conference baseball team.
Burchanowski, a lifetime .321 hitter, finished his career ranking second in games played with 117, third in RBIs (69) and runs scored, fourth in doubles, steals (32) and in hits (106)—tying Hall of Famer Reese Wetzel.
Burchanowski, a Franklin High School graduate, currently teaches science at North East Elementary and is taking the baseball program to new heights.
RON DERIAN
Ron Derian (1993-97) was an outstanding four-year basketball player for the Behrend Lions.
Derian entered the men’s basketball program as a hardworking and physically tough player. He earned ECAC Honor Rolls recognition as a freshman and finished his career as a polished player—guiding the blue and white to the program’s second berth in the ECAC Tournament under head coach Dave Niland.
Derian, routinely led the team in minutes played and came to play each and every night—leaving it all on the floor. The 6-4 forward served as the program’s captain and started 89 of the 95 games he participated in.
His versatile skills enabled him to excel in multiple facets of the game. Derian racked up 908 career points, while also dishing out 179 career assists. As a junior and senior he led the team in rebounds per game at six. Derian is ranked eighth all time for career rebounds with 538. He ranked fourth in career steals (111), and fifth in career free-throws made (239), and thirteenth in assists at the conclusion of his remarkable career.
After the 1996-97 season, Derian was labeled Behrend’s Male Athlete of the Year and the basketball program’s Most Valuable Player. During his highly successful career he earned several accolades, including the Defensive Player of the Year, two-time winner of the Hustle Award, and named the MVP of the Behrend Tip-Off Tournament.
Derian, a graduate of Steel Valley High, is the Director of Admissions at EDMC in Pittsburgh.
SANDY MISHIC
Sandy Mishic (1996-97) was a top-notch performer for the Behrend Lions cross country team and club track and field teams for former head coach John Drew.
Mishic competed in the inaugural Behrend cross country season in the Fall of 1996. She paced the blue and white by finishing first for her squad in all five invites she raced in and routinely set new marks on the courses she competed.
Mishic immediately raised the bar for herself and the program a year later in 1997. She was again the top runner for Behrend in all eight meets, winning the individual titles at the Behrend and La Roche Invitationals. Mishic set course records at both locations and guided the Behrend women’s team to the program’s first ever team title. In addition, she placed second at Thiel College’s event and the AMCC Cross Country Championships. Personally she raced to a twentieth place finish at the NCAA Mid-East Regionals and was named to the 1997 All-Region Team and was tabbed with the Herb Lauffer Leadership Scholarship Award.
In 1997-98, Mishic was named Behrend’s Female Scholar Athlete of the Year, the cross country program’s Most Valuable Runner, and was also named to the first-ever AMCC All-Conference and All-Academic Teams during her outstanding career.
Mishic, was an outstanding student and earned numerous academic scholarships and honors. She was also named to the Dean’s List in every semester she attended Behrend.
A graduate of Kane High School, Mishic is an Early Intervention Physical Therapist.
KEVIN RINEHARDT
Kevin Rinehardt (1994-1998), an Academy High School product, was a standout soccer player for the Behrend Lions under Head Coach Dan Perritano.
Rinehardt made waves early during his soccer career for Penn State Behrend and people took notice. He scored the game-winning goal in the Lochbaum Championship game, a 1-0 victory over Oswego. Later Rinehardt was named the AMCC Player of the Week, after connecting for the only goal in a 1-0 win over John Carroll and in the next contest drove another into the net in a 2-1 win over the La Roche Redhawks for a key AMCC win.
As a junior he led the program to the school record for wins and was named to the Western Pennsylvania Intercollegiate Soccer Conference All-Star team. As a regular member of the Dean’s List, Rinehardt also collected hardware for Behrend’s Male Scholar Athlete of the Year in 1995-96.
Rinehardt followed that season with a terrific senior campaign, which featured another record-breaking season for wins with 13, and an appearance in the AMCC Championship game.
At the conclusion of his brilliant career, the team captain ranked number-one all-time in games played (71) for the Behrend Lions along with fellow inductee and teammate Ryan Ruta. Rinehardt guided the Behrend Lions to 39 wins over his four seasons of play and ranks in the top twenty-five for points scored in a career.
Rinehardt, is teaching at Ashtabula Area City Schools, and is still actively involved in the soccer community as a coach.
RYAN RUTA
Ryan Ruta (1994-97) used his speed to motor and his feet to maneuver around opponents on the pitch during a tremendous four-year run for the men’s soccer program.
The midfielder found ways to make those around him better. He distributed the ball with accuracy and skill. At the conclusion of his playing career, Ruta ranked number-one on the all-time charts for career assists with 17 and second in single-season assists with seven during his sophomore season. He was then named to the Western Pennsylvania Intercollegiate Soccer Conference All-Star Team. In addition, Ruta earned MVP honors after Behrend captured the Lochbaum Tournament title.
As a senior, Ruta led the Behrend Lions to the school record for wins with 12 in 1997. His career culminated with a 1-0 win over Frostburg State in the inaugural AMCC Soccer Championships. In the 75th minute of the scoreless contest, Ruta’s pass to Thomas Helmkamp proved to be the game-winning goal and earn the program’s first league title.
Ruta was then selected as Behrend’s Scholar Athlete of the Year and the winner of the Herb Lauffer Leadership and Scholarship award. He played in a then program record 71 matches, and ranks in the top twenty-five for career points.
The Gates-Chilli High School product also led the blue and white to 38 wins over his four years, and the team’s first-ever regional ranking.
Ruta is a process engineer for Javlyn, Incorporated in Rochester, New York.
JULIE STOCKER
Julie Stocker (1993-96) maximized her capabilities and techniques while excelling in softball, soccer and volleyball during her unique four year career at Behrend.
As an outfielder for the softball squad, she guided the Lady Lions to the ECAC Tournament a school-record three straight seasons, and won the Southern Region Championship in 1993 when Stocker led the team in hitting .392 and set a school record with 32 RBIs. She led the program to 98 wins over a four-year span that often hinged upon her .353 career average. To this day, the team’s 29-6 record remains the best winning percentage in school history.
Stocker was a clutch performer and stepped up against national and regional ranked opponents. Her game-winning hit against nationally ranked Allegheny College knocked off Gators 1-0, while propelling the blue and white to the softball program’s highest national ranking of sixteenth in the country. When her career concluded she ranked number-one in games played (141), walks (44), doubles (23), stolen bases, home runs, and in the top five for career hits (135), runs (76), RBIs (86), average (.353). Stocker was named to the ECAC All-Star Team in 1994 and to the TPS NSCA All-Region team in 1995.
On the soccer field, she was an integral part of the 1994 club team that was a perfect 6-0. Then as team captain in 1995, she led her teammates to post a 10-3-2 mark in the first ever collegiate season. As a two-year volleyball performer, she competed in 100 games and in 1993 assisted the team in earning the program’s most wins in nine years.
Stocker, a Mt. Lebanon High School graduate, now works for PGA Tour Productions in St. Augustine, Florida.
BETH (CALHOUN) Wisniewski
Beth (Calhoun) Wisniewski (1995-98) is the best two-way player to ever suit up for the Behrend Lions softball program after a stellar career for the Harborcreek Huskies.
Wisniewski, a two-time Behrend Female Athlete of the Year honoree, had a Ruthian senior season in 1998. After batting a school record .543 she concluded her career ranking number-one in the record books for career average (.434), hits (165), RBIs (95), doubles (39) and ranked fourth in career runs while only striking out nine times in 380 career at-bats. This amazing performance earned her NCAA All-Region honors, NSCA All-American Scholar-Athlete honors, AMCC MVP and Pitcher of the Year, and Behrend softball MVP. Wisniewski set a school mark for eight RBIs in a single-game and is ranked in the top five in virtually every offensive category in the record books.
This four-year softball letterwinner and team captain worked for 30 mound wins and posted a strong 2.57 ERA while completing 44 of 55 games started and logged 398 innings pitched—ranking atop the charts in all those categories. After leading the program to the ECAC Tournament as a freshman, Wisniewski was tabbed to the NCAA East Region All-Star Team and followed a year later with additional honors.
In conjunction with her highly successful softball career, Wisniewski played two years of volleyball. As the starting middle-hitter, she guided the team to the 1997 AMCC regular-season championship, and is currently ranked in several career statistical categories.
Wisniewski also coached the Behrend softball pitching staff for three seasons and is now employed by Spectrum Control.