Each year, the Blue Jay Athletics Hall of Fame inducts five new members. Athletes and coaches are eligible for nomination five years after their graduation or after five years with the College. They can be nominated for their individual or team accomplishments.
This year’s inductees are Marci Grossman ’93, Mike Schlotterbeck ’95, Kristy Wade ’00, Susan Craig Wood ’63, Coach Yvonne “Yonnie” Kauffman and the 2002 men’s basketball team and coaches.
After meeting the criteria, there are two ways that an athlete or coach can be nominated. There is an online submission form on the Ira R. Herr Athletic Hall of Fame page on the Blue Jay Athletics site where a team, athlete or coach can be electronically nominated. Also located on the page is a PDF so nominations can be mailed in. Nomination submissions are then sent to Director of Athletics and Physical Education Nancy Latimore.
Nominations are received by the athletics board who has the final decision as to whom is inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Susan Craig Wood was a three-sport athlete at Elizabethtown College. She played on the 1961 field hockey team, the only unbeaten and unscored-upon team in the College’s history. She played on the basketball and tennis teams as well. She was the leading scorer on the basketball team her junior year with 14.9 points per game.
Grossman was also a member of the women’s basketball team at Etown. She remains one of the leading scorers in the program’s history. Grossman is only one of 23 players to reach the 1,000-point mark in her career and is the sixth all-time scorer in women’s Blue Jay basketball history with 1,365 points. Her other accomplishments include being a three-time Middle Atlantic Conference Northwest Section All-Star and a 1993 Kodak Division III All-Mid-Atlantic Region selection.
Another outstanding alumni, Schlotterbeck, was a two-sport athlete during his time at the College. He contributed to a pair of Middle Atlantic Conference Championships with the men’s soccer team in 1994 and 1995. However, most of Schlotterbeck’s athletic success came in the pool. He still holds the school record in the 100 and 200-yard breaststrokes. He is also part of the record-setting 400 medley relay team. He earned back-to-back David B. Eavenson Awards in 1994 and 1995 as the Most Outstanding Male Swimmer at the MAC Championships and received multiple gold medals in many events.
Wade was a vital part of the women’s soccer team during her four years at the College. Wade is the most accomplished scorer in Etown soccer history, for both the men’s and the women’s teams, and remains women’s soccer’s career leader in goals (68) and points (171). In 1997, Wade earned a spot on the First Team NSCAA All-Mid-Atlantic Region Team.
The 2001-02 men’s basketball team will also be inducted into the Ira R. Herr Athletic Hall of Fame for their 2002 NCAA Division III National Runner-Up finish. The team won a Commonwealth Conference Championship before venturing to the national tournament. Although the team fell just short of its fourth national championship, the team’s accomplishments are worth celebrating. Members of the 2001-02 team include: Jim Barron, Darryl Brown, Jon Connor, Kyle Conrad, Ian Daecher, Justin Edwards, Jon English, Andrew Flynn, Chad Heller, Dan Keane, Brian Loftus, Brian Marquette, Rocky Parise, Bob Porambo and Graham Smith. Bob Schlosser, who is now entering his 23rd year as the Blue Jays’ head men’s basketball coach, led the team with assistant coaches Barry Acker, Andy Burkholder and Brad Karli.
Kauffman had a surplus of accomplishments during her time at Etown. Kauffman is already a member of the Ira R. Herr Athletic Hall of Fame, having been inducted twice for her 1982 and 1989 National Championship-winning women’s basketball teams. Now she is being recognized for her individual accomplishments.
Kauffman is grateful to be inducted into the Hall of Fame again. At the College, Kauffman coached the women’s basketball team for 42 years, field hockey for 33 years, and tennis for 14 years. Kauffman led each of those teams to victory multiple times. “A national championship, that’s such an amazing experience,” Kauffman said. “I think that’s something that every coach and athlete should have the opportunity to experience.” Kauffman also credited much of her success to her athletes.
The accomplishments of all the aforementioned will be honored at the Blue Jay Athletics Hall of Fame luncheon and awards ceremony following Homecoming and Family Weekend activities on Sunday, Oct. 21. The event will be held in the KAV at 1:00 p.m. More information can be found at www.etownalumni.com.