Five to enter Athletics Hall of Fame on February 4, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Rider Athletics to Induct 5 Into Hall of Fame
LAWRENCEVILLE—Five athletes from five different sports will be inducted into the Rider University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2006.
Terrance Armstrong ’94 from the cross country and track & field teams, wrestler Francis Dunn ’97, softball player Colleen Fox ’99, baseball player Ed Horowitz ’89, and basketball player Mark Wilcox ’94 will enter the Athletics Hall of Fame in a ceremony scheduled for February 4, 2006.
Armstrong was the Rider male Athlete of the Year in 1994. He won 10 conference gold medals and competed on seven Conference Championship teams, running cross country, indoor and outdoor track & field.
“My initial feeling when I heard the news was of sheer joy,” said Armstrong. “I was surprised, and very happy to be considered. Probably more shocked than anything else. Some of my friends used to kid me, saying things like ‘someday you’ll be in there,’ but I never really thought about it. This is a true honor.”
Dunn won three individual conference championships and earned All-America honors as a senior. He helped the 1997 Rider wrestling team reach a national ranking of seventh in Division I. Three of the four teams he was a member of won a Conference Championship.
“I was very excited when I got the call,” said Dunn. “I was well aware of the Hall and the great wrestlers who are in there, and sometimes I wondered if I would ever get in. My family was very happy to hear the news and has been making a big deal about it ever since.”
Fox is Rider’s career hit leader (246) and also holds Rider records for hits in a season (77). A career .376 hitter, Fox led Rider to its first NCAA Softball Championship Tournament in 1997 with the series-winning hit in the NCAA Play-In.
“I was absolutely shocked when I got the call,” said Fox. “I thought they had the wrong person. When I saw the list of who is already in the hall I thought ‘I’m not sure if I belong there.’ But it is truly an honor and my family is very happy.”
Horowitz was named the Conference Scholar Athlete for the sport of baseball three times. As a sophomore he was named to the NCAA East Regional All-Tournament team, helping Rider reach the final 16 in the nation in the NCAA Championship Tournament. Horowitz graduated second in career hits, career home runs, career runs scored and career RBI, and went on to play several years in the professional ranks in the Baltimore Orioles organization.
“This is definitely an honor,” said Horowitz. “When I looked at who some of the current members are, some of the great ball players like major leaguers Ed Whited and Jeff Kunkle, and the All-American wrestlers, people who I always thought of as legends, I really felt honored to join this group.”
Wilcox graduated 13th at Rider in career scoring and fourth in career assists, and led the Broncs to three Conference Title games, two Conference Championships, and to two NCAA Basketball Tournaments. He led the conference in three-point field goals as a senior captain, earning second team All-Conference honors.
“This is a great honor,” said Wilcox. “Being a part of the Hall of Fame is something I never even dreamed I could do. I didn’t think I would even play Division I basketball, and I never thought I’d play in the NCAA tournament. So this is just another unbelievable thing for me in my Rider career, and I’m just honored to be a part of it.”
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