Induction Ceremony and Senior Athlete Recognition April 28, 2012
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INDUCTION CEREMONY AND SENIOR ATHLETE RECOGNITION APRIL 28, 2012 PRESENTED BY: Congratulations 2012 Honorees on Your Induction into the Utica College Pioneer Hall of Fame Thank PRESENTING SPONSOR Anaconda Sports GOLD SPONSORS Carbone Auto Group Dupli Envelope & Graphics SILVER SPONSORS Adirondack Bank McDonald’s SPONSORS Arlott Office Products PJ Green Babe’s Macaroni Grill & Bar Salvatore’s Barnes & Noble College Booksellers Speedy Awards and Engraving, Inc. Birnie Bus Service Slavin • Jackson • Burns, DDS The Black Cat Bar & Grill Twin Orchards Brian J. Jackson, DDS Vista Lanes Celtic Harp Cooley Brand Consultants Dippin Donuts Enterprise Rent-A-Car Innovative Resources Group, Inc. Morehouse Appliances Dr. Alfred Moretz Murray Construction The Nelson Family The Phoenician Thankyou SPONSORS INTRODUCTORY REMARKS JASON POWLES Sports Director, NEWSChannel 2, WKTV WELCOME DAVE FONTAINE ‘89 Director of Physical Education and Athletics PRESENTATION OF INDUCTEES MICHELE DaviS G‘11 - JESSICA BERRY ‘11 Women’s Basketball Head Coach Women’s Basketball, All-American DJ CARSTENSEN ‘85 - KEITH WALKER ‘85 Former Men’s Basketball Player Men’s Basketball Pioneer Hall of Fame Class of 2009 DavE FONtaiNE ‘89 - JIM SpartaNO Director of Physical Education and Athletics Administrator, Coach HANK SCALISE ‘51 - ELSIE SHEMIn-ROTH ‘50 ON BEHALF OF THE Former Women’s Basketball Head Coach FIRST WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TEAM ’49-’50 RECOGNITION OF SENIOR ATHLETES REMARKS STEPHEN KARBOSKI, FOOTBALL - STUDENT ATHLETE CONCLUDING REMARKS TODD S. HUTTON President JASON POWLES MASTER OF CEREMONIES Jason Powles is the Sports Director at NEWSChannel 2 and anchors the sports segment on NEWSChannel 2 at six, ten and eleven. He has helped celebrate the Pioneer Hall of Fame and senior student-athlete recognition for four consecutive years. From September to March, Jason co-anchors Sports Express every Friday night on NEWSChannel 2 and brings you the best high school and college sports action in the area. Jason has been with NBC-WKTV News Channel 2 since July 1996. During his tenure, he has covered the NCAA Tournament, the Orange Bowl, several pro football camps, and the National Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Ceremonies. He has also hosted a continuing series in conjunction with the Hall of Fame called “Heroes of the Game.” However, his local coverage is what has made him an invaluable asset to the News Channel 2 team. He has hosted the High School Football Preview Show and created the News Channel 2 High School Football and Boys’ and Girls’ Basketball All-Star Teams. His work hosting race coverage of the Boilermaker Road Race helped earn WKTV an Associated Press Broadcast Award. He continues to strive to cover the local human interest story as well as give viewers the best highlights from local, regional, and national teams. Jason is originally from Rotterdam, NY, and grew up loving television. His mother said his first words included “Cronkite!” Jason’s interest in the field led him to study public communications at the College of Saint Rose, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in May 1992. He and his wife, Anne, have two daughters, Rachael and Jillian. 2012 P IONEER H ALL OF F AME JESSICA BERRY ‘11 WOMEN’S BASKETBALL, ALL-AMERICAN Jessica Berry ’11 stormed onto the Utica College basketball scene in 2007, and from that point forward she began her ascent to the top of the women’s basketball record books through hard work, dedication and unmatched athleticism. The Rome, NY native not only turned the College’s record books upside down, she solidified herself as one of the best NCAA Division III players in history after becoming just the 11th woman to score more than 2,000 points and register more than 1,000 rebounds in a career. Berry played a major role in lifting the Lady Pioneers to unparalleled success, as they garnered four consecutive Empire 8 Conference Tournament appearances, two Empire 8 Conference titles, and two NCAA Division III Tournament selections. All told, she helped Head Coach Michele Davis and the Pioneers win 72 games. Following her senior campaign she was named to the prestigious Women’s Basketball Coaches Association NCAA Division III All-American Team. Just ten players from a pool of 441 teams were selected for what is considered to be the nation’s elite All-American team. In her final year with the Pioneers, she gathered five other post-season awards, including the 2011 Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Division III Upstate Player of the Year, D3hoops. com 2nd Team All-American, D3hoops.com East Region Player of the Year, Empire 8 Conference Player of the Year and Empire 8 All-Conference First Team recognition. She also earned two of the College’s highest athletic honors, the Dick Miller and Kiwanis Student-Athlete awards. Berry wrapped up her amazing four-year career with a school-record 2,111 points and 1,065 rebounds. Finalist for the Jostens Trophy (National Player of the Year), she was a two-time Empire 8 Conference Player of the Year and a four-time all-conference first team selection. In her senior campaign, she led the conference and ranked 10th nationally with an average of 21.6 points per game. She also led the conference and ranked 39th nationally with 10.5 rebounds per game. In her junior season, she guided UC to a program-best 22-7 overall record, as the Pioneers advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament. AME F Berry, who attended Rome Free Academy, is currently pursuing her master’s OF degree at Utica College, and she remains close to the program as a volunteer ALL assistant for Head Coach Michele Davis H IONEER P 2012 JESSICA BERRY ‘11 KEITH WALKER ‘85 WOMEN’S BASKETBALL, ALL-AMERICAN MEN’S BASKETBALL When Keith Walker ‘85 put up a shot, Head Coach Larry Costello and the rest of the Pioneers knew there was a favorable chance the scoreboard was about to register two more points for Utica College’s Division I men’s basketball program. It’s not that Walker took the most shots on the team, it’s that he always played within himself, and because of that he is the only UC basketball player ever to grace the NCAA Division I record books. As the team’s Most Valuable Player in his senior year, the Philadelphia native single- handedly propelled the Pioneers into the national spotlight by leading the entire country in field goal percentage. Walker shot 71.3% (154-for-215) in his senior campaign, and to this day he ranks third all-time in the Division I record book. In that same year, Walker also netted a game-high 22 points against Syracuse University under the pressure and expectations set by a raucous Carrier Dome crowd. He led the Pioneers to a stunning 69-61 upset victory at home against Canisius, and added a career-best 30-point effort at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Walker, a 6-foot-5 low post threat, was part of the College’s first-ever Division I recruiting class, and his passion, alongside the likes of fellow Pioneer Hall of Famer DJ Carstensen and co-captain Wallace Williams, put the Pioneers on the map in the enormous world of Division I basketball. Walker helped transform the club into a winner in just four short years. During his time at UC he guided the Pioneers to 41 victories, 37 of which came in his final three seasons. In his senior campaign, the Pioneers won a then-best 15 games, including two victories against eventual postseason teams. To this day, he ranks seventh on the College’s all-time list with 487 career rebounds, and he is one of 12 players in school-history to score 1,000 points in a career. Included in this impressive basketball resume is a place atop the College’s all-time career field goal percentage list, having shot 62.8% (429-of-681) from the floor over the course of four seasons (99 games). In his junior campaign, he ranked second on the team, behind Carstenson, with an average of 12.6 points per contest, and averaged 5.6 rebounds per game. In that same season he propelled the Pioneers to a thrilling 60-58 victory over St. Francis after knocking down a hook shot with just two ticks left on the game clock. As a senior on the extremely competitive Philadelphia High School basketball scene, Walker led Benjamin Franklin to a city public school championship, while averaging 16.3 points per contest en route to earning All-State accolades. Keith resides in Bear, Delaware with his wife Kimberly and daughters Aja and Ebony, as well as his son Nicholas. He is a counselor and teacher at Glen Mills School, where he teaches writing skills. He graduated from Utica with a degree in communications. I NDUCTEES JIM SPARTANO ATHLETIC DIRECTOR Jim ‘Doc’ Spartano’s Hall of Fame career could not be judged simply by wins and losses. Instead, his legacy will carry on through the thousands of student-athletes, coaches and colleagues that he mentored and inspired throughout his 38-year tenure. The phrase “positive experience” was not a term that was taken lightly by Spartano, and through his tireless efforts and student-first approach, he was able to create and maintain a culture of fairness and success that reached far beyond any playing surface. He truly embodied the mission of the department by ensuring that a positive student experience remained paramount at all times, and his ability to connect with students, faculty and staff has undoubtedly left an impression on the College that will live on for years to come.