August 16, 2007 - Rider to Induct 5 in Hall of Fame, ’97 Wrestling Team to be Honored
August 16, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Rider to Induct 5 in Hall of Fame, ’97 Wrestling Team to be Honored
LAWRENCEVILLE—The first female All-American, the last football coach, the first NCAA track qualifier, an All-American wrestler and an All-American basketball player make up the Rider University Athletics Hall of Fame induction class of 2008.
Softball slugger Deanna Dovak ’02, football coach Joe Behot, track star Jose Lopez ’95, wrestling standout Leo Giel ’99 and basketball great Mario Porter ’02 will become Rider’s newest Hall of Famers in a ceremony January 26.
The 1996-97 Rider wrestling team, which was ranked seventh in the nation, will receive the Outstanding Team Achievement Award.
“Once again the Hall of Fame committee did an excellent job of selecting an extremely worthy group of individuals for the class of 2008,” said Rider Director of Athletics Don Harnum.
Dovak earned All-America honors as a junior when she led the nation with 21 home runs. The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Player of the Year and the 2000-01 Rider female Athlete of the Year, Dovak graduated with five Rider career softball records, including a .386 batting average, and six single season Rider records. Her 57 career home runs was sixth highest in the NCAA at the time and is still among the top 15 in the history of Division I softball.
Behot coached the last three Rider football teams; 1949, ‘50 and ’51, compiling a record of 18-5-1. He led Rider to seven straight wins in ’49, a tie with powerhouse Bowling Green in ’50, and a 26-7 victory over East Stroudsburg in Rider’s final football game in 1951.
Lopez became just the second Bronc to ever win an event at the ICAAAA Eastern Championships (400 meter hurdles in 50.36) and Rider’s first NCAA Division I Track & Field qualifier. The Rider male Athlete of the Year for 1994-95, Lopez competed in the Olympic Sports Festival in St. Louis and at the USA National Track & Field Championships in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Giel was the Rider male Athlete of the Year in 1998-99 after placing sixth in the nation at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships to cap a 34-2 season and a 111-35 career record. Giel was 7-7 in three trips to Nationals in his career. As a junior Giel beat two wrestlers who were National Champions and placed third at the prestigious Midlands Tournament.
Porter was the MAAC Basketball Player of the Year in 2001-02, leading the Broncs to a first place finish as an honorable mention All-American. The only Rider player to compile both 1700 points and 700 rebounds, Porter continues to play professionally in France.
The ’97 wrestling team joins the ’67 baseball team and the ‘40 soccer team as a recipient of the Outstanding Team Achievement Award. The team possessed three All-Americans, was ranked seventh in the nation over the final five weeks of the dual meet season, and placed 25th in the nation at the NCAA Championships.
“All of the individual inductees and the 1997 wrestling team achieved at a high level,” Harnum said. “They brought tremendous honor and recognition to their respective sports and to the Athletics Department and to Rider University.”
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