Rider announces 2017 Athletics Hall of Fame Class

One of international swimming’s most influential coaches, a pair of record-setting track & field athletes, an All-American wrestler and the 35-year public relations professional who deftly promoted their accomplishments will be inducted into the Rider University Athletics Hall of Fame on June 10. Rider’s 2006-07 MAAC Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field Championship winning team will also be recognized with the Clair Bee Most Outstanding Team Achievement Award.

Greg Meehan ’01 of swimming & diving, Kelly Kajunski ’09 and Greg Calhoun ’91 of track & field, Doug Umbehauer ’09 of wrestling and former Director of Athletic Communications Bud Focht will comprise the 2017 class.

Meehan served as an assistant coach for the U.S. team at the 2016 Olympics and is currently the Head Women’s Swimming Coach at Stanford. While at Rider, Meehan swam the second-fastest 200 backstroke, the third-fastest 100 backstroke and the fifth-fastest 1,000 freestyle at that time. A mathematics and secondary education major and a four-time All-Academic team member, Meehan swam on the MAAC champion relay team. In his four seasons at Stanford, Meehan has coached 19 All-Americans to a combined 131 All-America honors. That includes seven national championship relays and eight individual national championships.

Additionally, Meehan has mentored two Pac-12 Swimmers of the Year and two Pac-12 Newcomers of the Year. As a team under Meehan, Stanford won the 2013 Pac-12 Championships, and has not finished lower than second at the conference meet. The Cardinal also finished as the national runner-up at the NCAA Championships in 2014 and 2016, and placed third in 2015. A two-time Pac-12 Coach of the Year and the 2014 CSCAA National Swimming Coach of the Year, Meehan has led Stanford to a 31-4 dual meet record, including undefeated regular seasons in 2013-14 and 2015-16.

Kajunski set Rider’s high jump record of 5’10” and later tied it. She was named MAAC Championship Most Outstanding Performer in both indoor and outdoor as a junior and was an eight-time All-East and three-time NCAA Regional qualifier. As a sophomore, Kajunski became Rider’s first female NCAA Regional qualifier. As a junior, she won the MAAC high jump and was third in the long jump, fourth in the pole vault, sixth in the triple jump, 10th in the hammer and 13th in the javelin, accounting for 24 points. As a senior, Kajunski was twice the MAAC Performer of the Week and again was an NCAA Regional qualifier.

Calhoun set the Rider indoor record in the 1,000 meters (2:25.63) and ran on the Rider record-setting 2-mile relay. He set the Rider outdoor record in the 800m (1:51.80) and ran on the record-setting 3200m relay, as well as the record-setting distance medley relay. He won the New Jersey 1500 and the East Coast Conference mile during the 1989-90 indoor season and placed second in the 1,000m at the IC4A Indoor Championships as a junior. In the spring of 1990, Calhoun placed second in the 1500 and the 800 at the ECC Championships.

Umbehauer placed third in the nation to earn All-America honors as a senior in 2009. He finished with a career record of 100-35 as a four-time NCAA qualifier and came within one win of All-America honors as a junior. A two-time CAA Champion and a two-time CAA runner-up, he was 24-5 as a senior and was the seventh seed at 2009 Nationals, where he defeated the second seed twice, including the battle to finish third. Umbehauer won 27 matches as a junior and 28 as a sophomore. He placed runner-up at Midlands before his junior season and was a Freshman All-American in 2006.

Focht served as director of athletic communications for 35 years. He’s best known for his feature story writing and his efforts getting regular coverage in The Times of Trenton, Star Ledger and The Trentonian with additional stories picked up by ESPN, channels 3, 6 and 10 in the Philadelphia area, The New York Times, and Sports Illustrated among other news outlets. Focht was a regular contributor to Rider’s Alumni Magazine and instrumental in researching nominations for the Rider Athletics Hall of Fame. Additionally, Focht’s great knowledge of Rider’s athletics history always proved to be an asset in promoting Bronc student-athletes and coaches throughout the years.

In his time at Rider, Focht helped oversee the advancement of public relations and the coverage of the student-athletes into an operation that now includes a robust website, GoBroncs.com which includes LiveStats coverage for men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, softball, field hockey, volleyball and men’s and women’s soccer. During his tenure, BroncVision, the video portal of Rider Athletics, was established and provides in-game coverage for men’s and women’s soccer, field hockey, volleyball and men’s and women’s basketball.